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TTH: Cindy, I know this is a hard topic, but it’s something that is on the minds of many in the gaming community lately.  I'm sure you've seen the many interviews and articles over the ‘net about the purchase of Sigil Games Online by Sony Online Entertainment. Is there anything that you feel you could add to the discussion?

Cindy: Well, I left Sigil over a year ago, so obviously I can't really address any of the events that have happened since my departure. It was really difficult to see problems arising in the community that I had worked so hard to build. I had a long term plan for developing the community in Beta and after launch.

From what I could tell, most of that was scrapped, and it's been frustrating to hear affiliate site operators complain that promises made to them were broken. I was the one that made most of those promises to them. Even though I wasn't there to make sure those promises were kept, it really bothers me that my word was broken.

However, that goes with the job. Things like this tend to happen when you are the public voice for a company. Sometimes, the things you promise on the company’s behalf are not under your control. But it's always tough to watch when it happens, at least for me.

Cindy speaking at one of the Fanguards.

TTH: Did you see, or were you at all affected by the alleged mismanagement at Sigil before you left?

Cindy: Well, I think my biggest issue – when I was working with Sigil – was with my word being broken, as I mentioned before. I had a long term plan and had built relationships with all of the affiliated sites, but things could not work the way they were supposed to once trust was broken.

When I would promise screenshots, interviews or information and then those things would end up showing up somewhere else the foundation of the community began to crumble. From what I read on a number of sites, that trend continued after I left. Again, I can't address what happened within the company after I left. But what I saw happen to the community from the outside was disheartening.

TTH: There are many allegations that go back before you left the company, mostly about mismanaging the project in vital ways. What was your take on it?

Cindy: I would have to agree that from what I saw mismanagement was something that was occurring. This and the lack of leadership led to very low morale, to say the least. I can imagine that if things continued to get worse after I left, the project would have indeed been impacted.

It's all very sad and disturbing. I am very sad for my friends that sacrificed so much and now have nothing to show for it. I hope they all find other homes soon.

TTH: Is there anything that you'd like to say to the Vanguard community to help them understand the current situation and move forward?

Cindy: This is really no different than when you find out your favorite movie star or singer gets caught doing something unacceptable. People feel disillusioned and upset when that happens. If we like the artist, most of us will remain fans and still patronize him or her, we just view them a little differently. It will be interesting to see where Vanguard goes under this new leadership.

TTH Do you think this experience has affected your desires to work for a single game again, or is your decision to start your own project just a matter of timing?

Cindy: I don't think I have been turned off to ever working for a single project again. If a project really caught my interest, I might do it again. But right now, this seems to be the path that is opening for me and the timing seems just right.

TTH: One of the big complaints in the gaming community in general is that the "official forums" of most games become cesspools of flames and trolls. It is surprising to watch the players of Vanguard holler that the affiliate site forums weren't enough for them, and now SOE has opened forums for the game.

You started out at SOE taking the original boards of EQ – which were prone to flames and trolls – and restructuring them. What are your feelings about this trend and what advice can you offer to players and community managers alike in how to make a more “flame resistant” community?

Cindy: First, let me give credit where credit is due. I actually started at SOE the day they reopened the old boards and tied a player’s account to his or her posting privileges. As crazy as it sounds, before that, anyone could make an anonymous account and post anything. However, it was Gordon Wrinn (Abashi) that did most of the restructuring. I was just there to help.

The community lost trust in the Vanguard dev team when their trust was broken.

We then found that two things made a big difference. One was tying a player's posting privileges to his or her account, as previously mentioned. The second is to be very clear and very rigid about your rules. For example, if you don't allow profanity, don't allow it ever, from anyone under any circumstances. Suspend and/or ban when rules are ignored or consistently broken. Structure like this is important in communicating and organizing any large group of people.

TTH: Do you think players can take a stand in this and make a different type of official community? If so, what advice would you give them?

Cindy: Player run communities are often stronger than any others. When I oversaw the Fan Faires, the fan site operators would often get a bigger reception then than anyone else from the company. As far as advice on starting a community, it's a matter of getting information, resources, and people together and promoting your site. But it does take a certain type of personality to really excel at this type of thing. I'm not sure that part is something I can teach. *winks*

TTH: After a bit of a break you seem to be quickly ramping back up to the tempo that you had before your illness. Do you have any last words for our readers?

Cindy: I am happy to be back and working again. Over the years, I have gotten to know some wonderful people in the industry and in the MMOG community. It's been great fun getting caught up with folks again! And I am really looking forward to seeing where this next fork in the road takes me. *smiles*

TTH: Thanks again, Cindy! I hope you'll stop in again and let us know how things are going with all your projects!

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