Armus wrote:The Guardian wrote:You wouldn't want us to.
That line is a bit presumptuous, no?
Maybe a little. I didn't mean it to be. I meant it to be self-evident. Like in the phrase, "There's two things you don't want to see made: laws and sausages." You're probably right that it's more internal. I'm "inside" and I agree with it. People shouldn't see the arguments about every decision. It goes down the path of what could have been and distracts from what is. This is obviously very blanket, but I'd like the freedom to say my piece behind closed doors without having to worry about it being weaponized out here.
An example: I'm on Design and you're in Playtesting (which is actually true; thank you publicly for your efforts). Say you disliked a card or a suite of cards. Say another playtest group disagreed with you. The card or cards come out and the community has a reaction that follows one of the playtest groups. Maybe it's you. Maybe it's the other one. Should I tell everyone who got it "right" or "wrong"? How would the community view the "wrong" one? Would they lose credibility? I'm not going to do that. All mistakes are mine. The ones you advocated for. The ones you warned me against. Nobody gets it all right. But nobody gets to see behind the curtain (to mix metaphors).
Let me put you on the other side: Same situation. I now go behind another set of closed doors and discuss an issue with my team and I present the decision as "We decided..." You have no idea if I overruled my fellow designers or they convinced me or we are all on the same page. If it's not what you thought should happen, is it fair for my other designer to throw me under a bus and tell you, "I told him it was a bad idea."? I understand believing that nobody listened to you, but you don't know that either. In that hypothetical, I'm never going to tell you. I'm sorry.
Again, oversimplified, but we must give people the benefit of the doubt.
Armus wrote:(EDIT: reading your most recent post, I think we're in agreement on this point.)
I believe so.
Armus wrote:...and definitely doesn't give your "we have a communications department" a lot of weight.
Ha. I was just watching the board meeting myself. I know I saw the application back when it was posted, but I don't think I retained the info. Oops.
I've been a more casual member for awhile. And for what I believe is a good reason. Still, I don't hold the communication difficulties against the board. I think they are upset every time. I know I am upset when I keep trying to get something right and keep messing up in the same way. I give them the benefit of the doubt. I don't want their heads. (FYI I'm not assuming you do either, Brian.) You're right: it's just Maggie and Brian S. he should have messaged.