Forum Crowds: Court of Public Opinion

By Darkgolem

I imagine at least some of you could react negatively to this article, but I am quite comfortable with that. Frankly, forum threads aren't the fairest bit of commentary on the planet--nor the most accurate. This is something anyone should keep in mind. After all, excepting the rules laid down by forum moderators, you can write anything you want on the forums.

The official Dungeon and Dragons Online (DDO) forums are no exception. They can be inaccurate, and they are full of opinions--some of which are presented as fact--that readers must examine carefully. Plenty of good information about DDO can be found on the Internet, and many people are fair and balanced in their views on the DDO forums. But because of the misinformation and unfair representation of opinion found there, make sure to read with a careful eye.

The Problem

I try to write in such a way (aside from grammatical errors) that my opinions come across as intelligent, informed, and correct. Note that I say opinions. I could be providing all sorts of information as long as it is presented intelligently, but it still could be wrong. Heck, I could purposefully provide bad information if I wanted. Anyone could do that if the mood struck. So that it's clear that I'm not trying to present myself as perfect, here are a couple of examples of some misinformation I put on the forums accidentally a while ago:

“I think troll regen in ddo is not prevented by fire damage.” I was wrong. Fire can prevent troll regen in DDO.

“Yes, but he's asking about crowd control, which Chill Touch has nothing to do with.” I was wrong. Chill Touch can be used as crowd control with undead.

Now, I try very hard to post correct information on the DDO forums and in my guides here at DDO @ Ten Ton Hammer. I think that, in general, I succeed. But despite that fact, I occasionally end up passing along incorrect information on the forums. When I do, I admit my mistake and move on with life.

The point I am trying to make here is that any one forum post cannot be depended upon to be accurate. Certainly, if you take the time to sift through the information on the forums, you end up with a semi-accurate picture of how things work. The key is to read several posts on the subject. The truth usually lies somewhere in between.

Sometimes the forums come through with solid information, but you have to pick through the threads to find the best responses. Not too long ago  I was researching spell resistance (SR), and I ended up hearing that:

1. SR does not apply to damage spells like lightning bolt. This was the consesus of most forum posters.
   
2. SR reduces ½ damage from damage spells, if successful. This sounds more like the effects of a reflex save to me.
   
3. DDO SR works like pen-and-paper Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). In D&D, casters must make a caster check (1d20 + caster level) at least equal to the target's SR or the spell does not affect the target.

I could go along with the majority of forum posters and believe that SR does not work for damage spells, and that would probably be a safe decision. On this topic, I got lucky and found a DDO developer post that confirmed what most players were saying. In the process, I learned that CR1 (challenge rating 1) casters on normal mode are caster level 2. That same CR1 caster on elite difficulty is caster level 6!

In addition to information of wildly varied accuracy like my scenario with SR, the forums in DDO are full of opinions. Negative and positive, everyone finds it necessary to present his opinions of what other people write. Unfortunately, people too often take these views to be fact. This problem is compounded when people present their opinions as fact. Frankly, it drives me up the wall. It's important, in my opinion (heh), to make sure it's clear that you're presenting an opinion--to make certain people know what you're saying might be wrong. Commenting on other people's posts needs to be done fairly also, or your opinion could end up discrediting someone and spreading misinformation.

Finding the Truth

In general, I suggest a couple guidelines for finding information from any source, including the official DDO web page:

• First, if using the forums, get a second, third and fourth opinion. Don't post a question 3 or 4 times on the forums, this just ends up with one getting the same answers from the same people. You may not get the same answer twice, but it's probable that the right answer will be somewhere in there.
• Second, test things yourself. Many Feats and spells can be checked by making a first level character and just seeing how the thing you wish to know about works. It is much better to test these things yourself than to take the opinions of people who may not be so interested in accuracy as they are participation by commenting on your thread.
• Finally, if you rely on the opinions of other people for information, then take the time to check other comments they have written. If someone is gives a lot of opinions, then likely their comments have been noted and spoken about by others. If you do a quick check, you can often find out how likely they are to be accurate.

Parting Thoughts

With the inaccurate information found about DDO on the official forums,  people who want good information end up making poor choices based in misinformation. Ten Ton Hammer, like most sources of information, can be just as guilty of inaccuracy as the official DDO website. For our part we try to correct our erros and let you know about it (Just take a look at Ralsu's Upon Further Review of Untrained Melody I). Needless to say, comments in the forums need to taken with more than a grain of salt.

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