Recently,  information about a hidden forum called the “Champagne Room” was “leaked” to The Matrix Online community. The purpose of this forum was to allow a specific group of players to help provide directed game feedback. These players were asked not to talk about the group outside of that forum, but  the information got out anyway, leading to misunderstandings and hard feelings.

Once the information got out, there was no real reason to hide or deny it,  other than the fact that players had been instructed not to discuss it. Attempts to hush the leak during investigation only made the problem worse, as it appeared there was something that needed to be hidden. Naming the forum “Champagne Room” without providing  information about how players were selected led to protests and cries of favoritism.

Feedback groups are important, however, this was handled poorly. TMO will be having feedback groups in the future, but information on how those will work will be withheld until the moderators decide how these should be run.

Sony Online Entertainment's moderators did issue the following statement on the matter:

"Playing favorites and being unnecessarily harsh are not accusations we take lightly here. It’s not in the interest of the game, the community, or the company to allow these behaviors. I won’t say it never happens, but when it does we act to correct the behaviors.

"We’re human, too; and we make mistakes and poor judgment calls. We do our best to remain professional about situations and try to improve our performance based on the lessons we learn. We also leave channels open to discuss issues with the community and with players who feel they’ve been unfairly treated. It’s in our interest to keep players happy, so when a situation is presented in a bad light, remember there are always at least two sides to every story."

Remember that the first rule of diplomacy and good relations is to keep those communications lines open!