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diff --git a/posts/07_29_2022-on-communities-and-trust.html b/posts/07_29_2022-on-communities-and-trust.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4308af7 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/07_29_2022-on-communities-and-trust.html @@ -0,0 +1,92 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html> + <head> + <title>On Communities and Trust</title> + <link rel="stylesheet" href="/resources/style.css"/> + <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> + </head> + <body> + <nav> + <a href="/">Home</a> + <a href="/about.html">About</a> + <a href="/changelog.html">Changelog</a> + <a href="/posts/">Posts</a> + </nav> + <h1> + On Communities and Trust + <span class="subtitle">Some thoughts on the VRChat security update</span> + </h1> + + <p> + So we've had the VRChat Security Update for a few days now, and while I'm + not the most prolific VR community member, I have heard a fair bit of + discourse about the update. This update has been a polarizing one to say + the least, with users excited for the new features that were and will soon + be added, others decrying the performance issues they have now from Easy + Anti-Cheat, and still others still unable to play due to missing + accessibility features they previously would have gotten via mods. + </p> + + <p> + Overall, my personal concerns about update itself have been resolved. + Although I used to run into issues with EAC crashing when hardware + virtualization was enabled, that seem to no longer be the case, and I + personally haven't even seen a performance hit. I was not + using any mod features, and the changes in the most recent beta + certainly a welcome addition to my experience. + </p> + + <p> + However, I do still have some broader community concerns about how the + update was announced and rolled out, as well as how the VRChat team seems + to be handling this whole scenario as if they're only playing public + opinion damage control. + </p> + + <p> + Regardless of their official policy or any amount of discouragement + towards mods for VRChat, the fact of the matter is that a large portion + of their community relied on mods to add accessibility, performance, or + comfort features to the game. While I have to acknowledge that the VRC + team has added some of these features back into the game since blocking + mods, the fact that they needed to reprioritize these features (as they + have been pretty clear about in their updates) shows us that <b>they had + no interest in adding these features until they faced public backlash.</b> + </p> + + <p> + You might think that a reasonable development team (if they wanted to + reduce the use of mods for their game) might look at the sizable portion + of their community using mods for this sort of enhancement, + and come to the conclusion "clearly there is need for these features, + let's reduce the need for mods by implementing those features". But instead the + VRChat team decided to actively make their game worse for those people instead. + </p> + + <p> + Listen, VRChat team - what sort of conclusions am I supposed to draw about + your priorities here?!? Improving the game experience for your most + vulnerable players doesn't make the roadmap, but pushing an ineffective + solution to a problem <b>against the angry backlash of your community</b> + makes the cut? + </p> + + <p> + So yeah . . . I guess in one sense, the game is fine. It's getting new features, more are + on the horizon, the community feels like they've been listened to. + </p> + + <p> + But in another sense, the security update has made it incredibly clear + that the VRChat team either does not care, or did not think to consider + how their priorities would affect large portions of their community. + </p> + + <p> + In that regard, I feel that even more than the actual removal of features + they have violated our trust - and unless this newfound responsiveness to + the needs of their players sticks around longer than it takes to clean up + their PR mess, I personally am hesitant to forgive them. + </p> + </body> +</html> |