I AM DONE WITH EA FORUMS

Weird. I wonder if it's something on my computer then that's causing the problem. I'll go check it periodically and can't pull a thing up. I've seen quite a few other people say they have problems with the forums, technically, as well, so if they are planning on making them the "official" ones, I sure hope they fix them first. I'm not convinced they are, though. It seems like they usually let the developers set up a website and direct users to the developers official forums instead (it's definitely that way with Mass Effect/Bioware).

When I looked at the TS3 page 1 originally, the missing list was about halfway up the page, now it's showing as the last thread on the page for me. Of course, sometimes the pages seem truncated for some reason (again, maybe it has to do with my computer?) so it might just be that I'm only seeing half the threads that are listed.

@Incognito - as long as you don't ask me to post my username there, I don't mind dishing. The mods there are volunteers, they are players just like everybody else and EA abuses the heck out of them. Meaning, they take all the rage and abuse from irate players because of the game crashing, etc. The community managers stay hidden behind their "curtains" and direct the mods to do things that often results in them being destroyed by trolls. There was even a mod who kept getting PMs from somebody who had found their real address and was threatening to find them and kill them. Yes, it was that serious. I have a child and a spouse with a high profile job. I quit shortly after that incident (it wasn't at me, I actually did most of my work behind the scenes) because I didn't want to risk it for FREE. All I ever got out of it was some free content and SWAG from the various game conventions. Then my spouse told me that another popular site was hiring forum moderators and I took that position. I'm still there but will not say the site or my name for the same troll reasons. At least at the new site, mods are paid and have a little more pull to protect themselves when things get really nasty. EA DID notify the authorities about the other incidence and then completely wiped that mods existence off the forums to protect them. The mod came back as somebody else. The biggest mistake people make is use their real names or use the same name across multiple forums/sites. Makes it really easy for a person who wishes them harm to find them.

Since I am a retired mod there, I can access the forum through the mod "view" and that's why it never is down for me. If I go incognito *winks*, then it does often go down. I rarely go there anymore, too many bad memories and really I have no interest. I have ZERO ties to the Sims3.com forum and don't want them. One bout of dealing with EA on that level was more than enough for me, I just want to play my game.

@ebuchala As I said above, if I go to that site under my mod name then I go to a different screen first so the forum loads fine. If I go there as a guest or another name? It sometimes will be down. That forum is a hot mess. It's why I think it will not be the official forum. I have no idea what they have planned, it doesn't make sense to turn the Sims 3 forum into it because of the address. Why would anybody go to a sims3.com URL to learn about Sims 4? Shouldn't it have it's own address?

Wow I really hope the forums don't go over to that site, i'm sorry for your experience Lokisimsies, it sounds horrific

@Lokisimsies
Perhaps they're going to set up a more generic Sims community with TS4 as one of the forums within the community. BUT, the message that the guru sent out sure does imply they're leaving everything in place, as is, with some minor tweaks. I really hope they separate the games out, though, since it's just asking for trouble to keep TS3 and TS4 under the same forum roof at this point.

I can get on that forum with no problems at all, and have used them previously.

I actually enjoy the forum for Sims 4 if for no other reason then I like to debate. I haven't run into too many rude comments in regards to me but then I can banter with the best of them. The complaining does get old quick though. The fact that the same people post over and over and especially go out of their way to post negative stuff on a positive thread really annoys me, but I see those people as sad because in truth they really, really want Sims 4 their way but this ain't Burger King.

Thank you sodagod, this is a nice site y'all have here. I'm looking forward to the positive atmosphere and I especially like the options you have to dislike/like/agree with a post.

Thanks on all accounts, and you are very welcome, and I plan to!

@Lokisimsies That sounds terrible. I guess that is why EA added EA Answers HQ for technical support and is bringing back the ignore feature and allows you to block PMs. People get too serious about games. I hope the mods here don't get a crazy person like that. sodagod and Gigi are really nice.

This sounds like a story outta a nightmare, and I thought The Sims 3 forums were bad, but that story alone.. Just.. Wow!

Yep. That's why I roll my eyes a little when I see posts complaining about how bad the Sims3 forum is. People just don't have any idea how bad it really can get. The Sims3 forum are actually very tame and kind of nice in comparison. Also, they actually comment (they being EA). That surprised me so much!

HQ has more than it's fair share of trolls. It just seems as if official EA forums bring out the worst in people and as soon as you move a forum away from it? Things get nicer.

Seriously, go take a poke around some of the other forums over there. Like the EA Sports one or the Madden Ultimate Team one. Those forums are brutal! It takes a very strong and thick skinned person to even post there.

Every time I go on EA Answers HQ, there is always someone from EA on. Eaeve and EA_Ursula are good about responding to questions. They have given the mods the ability to delete and lock posts. There is an ignore feature and you can now block PMs. EA has really upgraded the forums over there. It is just sad to know that a serious incident triggered the upgrade.

Aren't the Sims 3 forums owned by Maxis? I know people like to lump all of them together but I definitely think there's a difference. It explains why the forums you were on didn't have gurus poking in occasionally but the TS3 forums did.

I don't spend a lot of times on forums, usually, anywhere except Etsy and they are so heavily moderated, it's like pre-school there compared to TS3, let alone any other forums. When I spent time on the ME3 forums, I tended to stick with one group of people with a specific interest so I mainly stayed in the same thread discussing things. Comparing other forums may show people that other places are worse but that doesn't make any of it right. I tend to prefer it when moderators don't over-moderate but some people were downright nasty on those forums.

@ebuchala The Sims 3 forum is still owned by EA. You still have to follow their EULA for posting on there. Eacih developer had their own site for players to register but they decided to consolidate everything to make it easier for players. Players no longer have to have a different Id for each site, they just need one. Also, the websites are easier to find.

People think they have the right to post on any of EA's forums for whatever reasons but they actually don't. Anything you post on an official EA forum belongs to EA. Also, EA can ban your from their forums for whatever reason they want and delete threads whenever they want. When you are in their forums, you are a guest in their house and must abide by their rules just like on here. Even the user id you use to post is their property. The same things go for this forum or any forum.

If someone wants certain rights, they would need to create their own forums.

From what I saw during my time there, it's been over a year since I left, the ea.com forums are owned/run by EA. Then you have their developers who will often start their own forums but they are still tied to EA. It is these developer forums where you will see the most "guru" type participation and it really makes them feel like a nicer and better place.

It calms a fan down when a member of the "team" acknowledges them and let's them know that somebody is at least listening to them and their concerns. It's one of the biggest issues at the ea.com forums, the posters feel as if nobody cares about them and they get even angrier.

About EULA and ToS, I have seen and been involved with people losing everything because of violations. It takes a lot but it does happen. By everything, I mean they will lock down your Origin and all that money you spent? Gone. People really should read the ToS before posting, they have some teeth and some forums are quicker to snap those teeth than others.

I mostly kept the forums running smoothly behind the scenes, got rid of troll posts, cleaned things up, and did some banning. You have to be a certain level of mod to be able to ban people and even then you have to go through channels. It's far easier to just keep removing the threads till the troll gets tired and goes away.

@sodagod - Your forum is open to lurkers, right? Perhaps put things like that behind a members only, special group, forum?

EA won't come after you while you are still small fries but if you have big dreams for this site and want to be part of the group that gets invited to events? I would can that section and not allow anymore discussion of pirating. MTS also doesn't allow it.

I understand wanting to allow freedom of speech but there is also keeping in mind whatever your overall dreams and goals are for this forum.

BTW, I like it here. It's been almost 2 years since I've been this active in any forum. What happened while I was the ea.com forums left such a bad taste in my mouth that I went completely solo and stopped being a part of any forum.