Whenever an MMO title gets flamed by its players because of problems and issues, it is always the Community Managers or CMs who try to appease the public and answer their queries. Don't get the idea though that these guys are freaks who are forever online just waiting for emails. As RF Online CM Kyle Rowley recently pointed out, a day of a CM is always full and busy.
For starters, Rowley is known around RF Online universe as Laeth. He has handled the reins of RF's community relations for 10 months now and considers himself relatively new to the industry. Despite this, the CM has already learned the ropes and adapted an approach of his own. He explained:
Depending on the company, some community managers are a lot more active on the forums than others. I personally like to keep a persistent presence on the forums. Community members like to know that someone is there reading their feedback, comments, praises or complaints. That's not to say it's always necessarily a pleasant experience.
Aside from the endless forums browsing, Rowley shared that he also often meet with several personalities including the game's developers. Of all these meetings, the official considers the conference call as the most important one:
The purpose of the conference call is to ensure that we as operators and publishers are kept up to date on the latest goings on within the game. Bug fixes, updates, design changes etc. are all on the agenda, so it's important for the community manager to pay close attention.
Rowley finally revealed that there are "moments of repose" in a CM's day, especially during the times when the game is stable and no major patch or updates are being planned. He explained that during these times, he mostly spend his time writing:
My time is spent writing the bi-monthly community newsletter, writing features like this one, checking the Codemasters Code M email inbox, taking additional screenshots, working on new website content, events and whatever else I can do to help boost the game’s awareness and improve the mood within the community.
To know a little more about Kyle Rowley and his position as RF Online's community manager, click on the Read link below.
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