When/How to Take Community Feedback

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dijit.exe
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I figured getting some advice from the community would be nice.

Currently I am an Event Moderator on a Legacy Site, Fate/Orbis Telos, which dates back to 2016. Its at its golden age, and with the influx of new players, myself and a few staffers have realized theres some major flaws in the site mechanics; some of which need fixing.

The problem: Its some of our site's biggest staples, and ones players have deemed "end game" since about 2018. Its not particularly liked, but the idea of it going away is a possibility that is aloof to staff.

So my question is: Even with a change this big, what's a good balance between getting community feedback on planned changes? Is there something as "replying too much on the feeddback"? Or on the opposite site of the spectrum, "Should Site balance come before community needs"?
last edit on Jan 22, 2022 3:32:36 GMT by dijit.exe
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pear
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As an admin on another site with heavy mechanics, my 2 cents is that if the changes are big, you should surface them to the community for feedback ahead of time. I think when you are looking for feedback, it should always come with the written caveat that even though you care about the community feedback, that the admin team as the final say and may make the changes despite some person opinions, or something like that.

Beyond looking for feedback, this also helps alert members of big changes ahead of time, instead of it being a surprise upon release, which is always nice.

I think communities appreciate staff that's always trying to make their sites better!

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Always listen to feedback, but don't always take it. It's important to feel accessible to the players, but to remain true to the vision of the site regardless of what the player base has to say.