I really only notice this from GW2 fans.  I see it with TSW, but it's relatively minor.  Honestly, I felt like the TERA fans were more annoying.

Originally posted by GTwander

They are validating the day-1 shills because it benefits them.

Plus, I don't think you have to be a new account to shill a game - you just have to be a completely biased poster that dances around (or completely denies) the negative points brought up. Which I see plenty of, in both GW2 *and* TSW land.

Plenty of posters are actively trying to SELL this game to the unconvinced. That is the pure definition of the word.

more likely is that its a 'tunnel visioned' fanboy..  i don't doubt that there are a number of 'shills' though i think its more 'viral marketing' these days, at least for the 'bigger named' products. About the only obvious shills i've spotted have been cagily staged as 'questions' about a game because of interest that  is designed to open the way to more positive 'feedback' from respondents, probably the same person again with multiple accounts.

Originally posted by Arawulf

Dumb question: What's "shilling"?

when i first read the title i thought she was asking about the amount of money Curt Shilling got from the state of Rhode Island for Amalur LOL

Originally posted by rojo6934

Originally posted by Arawulf

Dumb question: What's "shilling"?

when i first read the title i thought she was asking about the amount of money Curt Shilling got from the state of Rhode Island for Amalur LOL

their still selling KoA on Steam for 30 quid, i can't help but feel thats a very optimistic price, given the games less than remarkable reputation... but if its the only way that RI can recoup the money. i guess that would explain some of it?

Originally posted by Phry

Originally posted by rojo6934

Originally posted by Arawulf

Dumb question: What's "shilling"?

when i first read the title i thought she was asking about the amount of money Curt Shilling got from the state of Rhode Island for Amalur LOL

their still selling KoA on Steam for 30 quid, i can't help but feel thats a very optimistic price, given the games less than remarkable reputation... but if its the only way that RI can recoup the money. i guess that would explain some of it?

there were rumors that RI would raise their taxes because of that, but it was rumors... not sure how is that going on right now. But yeah, i still see KoA for 59.99 digital download on origin while its $40 as a hard copy.

But seriously that was the first thing that came to mind when i saw the title of the thread lol. The shilling dude

I don't know about this whole shilling business but have you guys tried Mortal Online? They've made a ton of improvements and I'd have to say that this game is ready to break out and become one of the major players in the market!  Time to get involved is now, so you can pwn all those noobs when things take off!!!

Originally posted by eyelolled

I don't know about this whole shilling business but have you guys tried Mortal Online? They've made a ton of improvements and I'd have to say that this game is ready to break out and become one of the major players in the market!  Time to get involved is now, so you can pwn all those noobs when things take off!!!

is it still sub based? if so, im fine with Skyrim then.

I like GW2 and I haven't had the guts to visit GW2 forums in six months. The misinformation, the trolls, the blind love and the blind hate...

Originally posted by rojo6934

Originally posted by eyelolled

I don't know about this whole shilling business but have you guys tried Mortal Online? They've made a ton of improvements and I'd have to say that this game is ready to break out and become one of the major players in the market!  Time to get involved is now, so you can pwn all those noobs when things take off!!!

is it still sub based? if so, im fine with Skyrim then.

tbh I don't play, but I've read enough posts like this to have them essentially memorized

Originally posted by Quirhid

I like GW2 and I haven't had the guts to visit GW2 forums in six months. The misinformation, the trolls, the blind love and the blind hate...

I have pre-purchased GW2, am looking forard to it, have friends also ready to play and...yet...due to the non-stop rabid, nut-case forum fanbois in EVERY thread on this site...I almost hate GW2 now.

It's like over saturation. So, like you, I don't even look at the GW2 forums. Which is fine. I'd kinda like to go into the game as a newb. I can catch up if need be pretty quickly once I'm playing.

Note: also skipped beta because I wanted the game to ne new (to me) at launch.

... and why is this new and/or surprising? 

For as long as I've been on gaming forums there have been rabid fans blindly extolling the virtues of their game(s).  Take SWG for example, still today you'd think that game was the best thing since sliced bread and yet reality would tell differently.  There have been a few shills, and from what I've seen they've mostly been taken care of (anyone remember all the Nike and t-shirt ads :p ). 

Instead of getting upset, be the adult and ignore the petulant children (regardless of age).  With the filtering options (e.g. ignore and watch) I think you have the ability to only view the posts you find interesting.

Originally posted by strumpf
It's easier to believe that people have an ulterior motive than that they disagree with/like other things than you, is that what's going on here? Yeah we know, plenty of wars fought over it.

 Exactly. Most times, when someone cries "Shill!", or "Fanboy!" or "Troll!" or "Hater!" or any other such term, it's essentially them demonstrating "You have an opinion different than mine, and I can't tolerate that! so I will attack you personally to invalidate your opinion!"

This image sums it up quite humorously...

Are there shills out there? Absolutely. I don't doubt that for a second. Is everyone with an opinion someone else doesn't agree with a "shill"? Absolutely not. Some people really are just that enthusiastic about something they're playing.

I'd also like to echo what was said in another post about how people assume that because someone says an issue isn't an issue for them, that they're denying that it exists. In many cases, all they're basically saying is "it isn't a big enough problem to ruin the experience for me". I extolled Final Fantasy XI for years as being the best MMO I'd ever played. And it was, to this day (until Abyssea happened). I was accused of "ignoring all the game's issues". Except I wasn't ignoring anything. I was fully aware of all the game's issues. And yes they were annoying. They simply weren't enough to significantly affect my overall opinion of the game itself.

I think even moreso than the "shill problem", people should really deal with their "intolerance" problems first.

Glad you see it as well Teala.

Yeah, it's getting to a saturation point where the whole site is just devalued to the point of being utterly useless.

The worst part about it is that you are not allowed to name them directly because of forum rules.

Even if i believe in Teala's theory why only single out those who say positive stuff about MMO? what about those who say nothing but negative things? shills can also be paid by rival companies to spread negativity you know? every coin has two sides.

Originally posted by lifeordinary

why only single out those who say positive stuff about MMO? what about those who say nothing but negative things? shills can also be paid by rival companies to spread negativity you know? every coin has two sides.

Absolutely.

Hype, dehype.. it's all part of the same excercise in 'creative marketing'. Gush about your game, create concern and negative feeling about your rival.

You can 'opinion form' on the internet very easily by using sites like this.

I am suprised that more people are not aware of the extent of the practise, or not able to spot it easier.

I thought they were called Shrills?  Atleast that makes more sense to me anyway ;D.

shrill - being sharply insistent on being heard; "strident demands"; "shrill criticism"

Originally posted by GTwander

They are validating the day-1 shills because it benefits them.

Plus, I don't think you have to be a new account to shill a game - you just have to be a completely biased poster that dances around (or completely denies) the negative points brought up. Which I see plenty of, in both GW2 *and* TSW land.

Plenty of posters are actively trying to SELL this game to the unconvinced. That is the pure definition of the word.

Not unless they are being PAID for it themselves.  Shills get paid for selling the game.  Fans (aka cultists), do it for free.

Originally posted by Beyorn

I thought they were called Shrills?  Atleast that makes more sense to me anyway ;D.

 

shrill - being sharply insistent on being heard; "strident demands"; "shrill criticism"

 

 Shills can be shrill. :)

But then again, so can any random forum-goer.

Originally posted by TangentPoint

Originally posted by Beyorn

I thought they were called Shrills?  Atleast that makes more sense to me anyway ;D.

 

shrill - being sharply insistent on being heard; "strident demands"; "shrill criticism"

 

 Shills can be shrill. :)

But then again, so can any random forum-goer.

Haha

Originally posted by AwDiddums

Originally posted by WhiteLantern

Originally posted by Arawulf

Originally posted by Teala

A shill: Shill typically refers to someone who purposely gives onlookers the impression that he is an enthusiastic independent customer of a seller (or marketer of ideas) for whom he is secretly working.

When a shill operates and post to forums boards and such, like they do on websites like Pintarest, they are a shill that is shilling.  :)

Thanks for the clarification :D

Yes; unfortunately, Teala has become so jaded with the genre that she thinks anytime someone likes a game, they are a shill.

Thats how it sounded to me aswell.

A poster that has nothing negative to say must therefore = a shill, especially on this site.

 

 

On this site, if you post to say you like a game that someone else does not like, you are obviously a shill.

On this site, if you post to say you do not like a game that someone else likes, you are obviously a troll.