Aspyr Media is currently working on the feasibility of porting Civ VI to Linux. They are the same great company that gave us the Linux port for Civ V.
Note: This is also discussed in this Steam group.
The Steam topic in question is about Linux support, wherein we, the Linux community have been expressing interest and support of the possibly upcoming Linux release by Aspyr. We've also been talking about technical challenges, APIs, as well as things we'd like to see in a port.
Aside from the trolling from the usual people like meraco, it's been positive and encouraging.
The moderators are NOT employees of Aspyr, Firaxis or 2K Games. They are "volunteer" moderators who don't seem to have any responsibility to any of the involved companies. The moderators do not seem to have any direct connection or communication with Aspyr/Firaxis/2K Games, they get all their updates from Twitter and other social media just like the rest of us.
Thread:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/289070/discussions/0/364042063110545181/?ctp=6
NOTE: This thread has been heavily edited. Many of the supporting posts have been removed. I preserved a couple screenshots of my post just in case, but I wish I had the whole thing. Maybe some of the other community members can fill in some of the gaps here.
What's happening:
The mods are attacking the Linux community, citing rules violations for expressing support of a Linux port.
We begin, not suprisingly, with the user, meraco. Which you've likely heard of before. This time the mods jump on his bandwagon.
Banned.
This ban really bothers me.
This is what unacceptable developer/publisher support looks like.
A professional troll at work
Several users, myself included, have been banned. Many posts by many more users have been selectively erased to dismantle the consensus of support. None of the [notably anti-Linux] trolls have been banned, however.
The post that got me banned.
My ban notification.
Annnnnd throwing it down the memory hole.
From the 2K Games forum rules:
Should people be arguing with mods in general? No. Probably not.
Should mods visibly undermine Linux discussions? No. Probably not.
Should people be banned for respectfully staying on-topic? Again, No. Definitely not.
Moderation is a responsibility, not a position of power to arbitrarily abuse others for political reasons. If we cannot respectfully discuss these abuses in order to reinstate a positive atmosphere, we are only going to continue to be abused.
We've reached out to Aspyr on this issue. This was their reply:
Thanks again to Aspyr for being Linux champions.
As of writing this we've yet to receive a response from Firaxis or 2K Games.
Notes from liamdawe, the editor
Showing support for Linux games is great, but people like "meraco" should be completely ignored. Do not rise to their apparent trolling by quoting them or replying to them. They and other anti-Linux posters feed on your replies. Just don't rise to them, you make it worse by doing so. The moderators likely would have ignored it if people didn't rise to the trolls.
As for posting "+1", that alone is spam (by Steam's standards) so be sure to reply with more than that.
It's also never a good idea to discuss a moderators actions in public on Steam, as that will obviously have repercussions. Same goes for claiming it's some sort of dictatorship. That goes for any website, not just Steam.
As always, if you want to show support for a Linux port be smart about it. Feel free to use our forum at any time and link developers to it. I won't go around locking them. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Note: This is also discussed in this Steam group.
The Steam topic in question is about Linux support, wherein we, the Linux community have been expressing interest and support of the possibly upcoming Linux release by Aspyr. We've also been talking about technical challenges, APIs, as well as things we'd like to see in a port.
Aside from the trolling from the usual people like meraco, it's been positive and encouraging.
The moderators are NOT employees of Aspyr, Firaxis or 2K Games. They are "volunteer" moderators who don't seem to have any responsibility to any of the involved companies. The moderators do not seem to have any direct connection or communication with Aspyr/Firaxis/2K Games, they get all their updates from Twitter and other social media just like the rest of us.
Thread:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/289070/discussions/0/364042063110545181/?ctp=6
NOTE: This thread has been heavily edited. Many of the supporting posts have been removed. I preserved a couple screenshots of my post just in case, but I wish I had the whole thing. Maybe some of the other community members can fill in some of the gaps here.
What's happening:
The mods are attacking the Linux community, citing rules violations for expressing support of a Linux port.
We begin, not suprisingly, with the user, meraco. Which you've likely heard of before. This time the mods jump on his bandwagon.
Banned.
This ban really bothers me.
This is what unacceptable developer/publisher support looks like.
A professional troll at work
Several users, myself included, have been banned. Many posts by many more users have been selectively erased to dismantle the consensus of support. None of the [notably anti-Linux] trolls have been banned, however.
The post that got me banned.
My ban notification.
Annnnnd throwing it down the memory hole.
From the 2K Games forum rules:
Quote1. Be a Contributor
The 2K forums host civil discussions on a variety of topics, and we always want to keep the conversation welcoming, inclusive, and a positive experience.
Should people be arguing with mods in general? No. Probably not.
Should mods visibly undermine Linux discussions? No. Probably not.
Should people be banned for respectfully staying on-topic? Again, No. Definitely not.
Moderation is a responsibility, not a position of power to arbitrarily abuse others for political reasons. If we cannot respectfully discuss these abuses in order to reinstate a positive atmosphere, we are only going to continue to be abused.
We've reached out to Aspyr on this issue. This was their reply:
QuoteThank you so much for bringing this to our attention. The last thing we want is for players to feel ostracized. I have forwarded this email to those who monitor our forums and we will be discussing what to do shortly.
Again, thank you so much for your concern for this community. We really do appreciate it!
Thanks again to Aspyr for being Linux champions.
As of writing this we've yet to receive a response from Firaxis or 2K Games.
Notes from liamdawe, the editor
Showing support for Linux games is great, but people like "meraco" should be completely ignored. Do not rise to their apparent trolling by quoting them or replying to them. They and other anti-Linux posters feed on your replies. Just don't rise to them, you make it worse by doing so. The moderators likely would have ignored it if people didn't rise to the trolls.
As for posting "+1", that alone is spam (by Steam's standards) so be sure to reply with more than that.
It's also never a good idea to discuss a moderators actions in public on Steam, as that will obviously have repercussions. Same goes for claiming it's some sort of dictatorship. That goes for any website, not just Steam.
As always, if you want to show support for a Linux port be smart about it. Feel free to use our forum at any time and link developers to it. I won't go around locking them. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Not once before has this happened to me, not once before.
I have reported this aforementioned moderator for harassment due to them banning +20 users in under three days' time.
I have ALL Civilization titles previously released and had Civilization VI on my wishlist, but am now boycotting 2K on principle. I will not buy from them, as I am not buying from other companies (Blizzard, Bethesda, EA) who have expressed anti-Linux sympathies.
Vote with your money.
Last edited by Maki on 21 December 2016 at 10:35 am UTC
Also, these windows users who hate on Linux are scum, trash etc. It takes a special kind of asshole to hate on a marginalized group of people.
Linux gamers are too often stamped as "toxic" for passionately and rightfully demanding what simply was PROMISED. Pretty much echoing the tone that was set to upset later on after the promise and when the money was in. It would be the best for developers to not promise anything at all if any doubt factors are present according to a Linux port.
One example is Microsoft having contracts for smaller developers wanting to release on XBox Live Arcade, forcing exclusivity until after the contract expired.
Linux as a whole simply does not have the funds to buy up developer interest in developing for us. There's no Patreon for a Linux advocacy group where we can all pay a monthly fee to help pay for game development. (May be an idea to set one up?)
We simply don't have the financial weight that MS and Apple have.
The underdog mentality is appealing--or at least easy to slip into--but won't help us get anywhere. The best it can do is make us seen and heard, but the worst it can do and indeed has done is give us a reputation as whiny and self-important elitists. Just like a few obnoxious trolls make some of you proclaim all Windows users are like that.
Yes, we have the right not to buy games not available on our OS. What we don't have is the right to expect every developer to cater to our whims. Indifference does not always equal hate. We've got a lot of work ahead us before our tiny platform is important enough to warrant your expectations. The technical stuff is shaping up well, but that's just one step towards the goal.
Please be active and enthusiastic about Linux, but don't throw tantrums when things don't go our way. If you get wrongful treatment from volunteer moderators on a forum, the only productive choice is to report them to the developer. Even a justified shitstorm always results in a stinking mess.
Diversity and multiple choices is, and will always be worth fighting for.
I would send a PM to the moderator asking him about it. Depending on his answer I will accept it or move up the chain of command.
Last edited by Aryvandaar on 21 December 2016 at 2:21 pm UTC
There will always always be someone unhappy about something, willing to spend his/her time annoying someone just for the giggles.
You gain nothing by bringing flamefests into the discussion, and hopefully no one from Aspyr or Firaxis will spend an yota of time with this on the Steam forums, that would be stupid of them. Just give it a rest, live and let live. And if someone feels the need to attack publicly Linux here or in the Steam forums, then i truly feel sorry for them since Linux is truly all around them, from the mobile to the desktop, router or a server, a smart appliance or a car, a camera or a airplane entertainment system... the list goes on.
Just give it a rest, that's not a fight they can win, and fighting them is not a fight you can win either.
That makes no sense, the company didn't do it. It's not even their forum it happened on.
Oh and thanks for the link to that Steam group, i was totally not aware of that. Every Linux gamer should join that Steam group!
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/OnlyBuyLinuxGames/
Last edited by Peapoll on 21 December 2016 at 7:53 pm UTC