Where is sparkie

He has been captured and taken away by the evil alien overlords that run pwe for planning to reveal to us their secret plan of world domination. No worries though Finn and Jake are on their way to rescue him. Hopefully in time for sparkie to release the next weekly code to us. I received word from a Squirrel messenger that Finn and Jake were slowed down in their travels to rescue him by donkey banditos but are making headway now and should be at the Unicorn Fairy Reptilian overlord fortress to rescue sparkie shortly. Lets have sparkie in our prayers for now. Only glob knows what kind of cruel and twisted torture he is going through. b:shocked

hugmachine wrote: »

Is he sick or on leave/vacation???
Haven't seen him on so was wondering if anyone knew whats up????

I'm pretty sure he's still staffed with PWE. Unfortunately, PWE seems to have a "save all the moneyz" model, which means that he is working on multiple things at once. If you guys take a look through PWE's website, you'll notice that sparkie is the CM for most of PWE game forums, and he's also the guy that posts news and patch notes for most games. Note: "most"; not all.

So, we've established that he's overworked, right? Kay.

It doesn't really surprise me when he doesn't post much, regulate the forums (manage the community...), etc, because PWE's model is to overwork their staff. A glance at Glassdoor will show company employee issues dating back to PWE's inception. Biggest complaint? Overworked and underpaid. PWE is a stepping stool for many new college grads to get their foot in the door for game companies. I'm not surprised when CMs leave. They aren't treated with respect by the communities they manage, typically, and their job demands too much out of them.

Also, PWE get's it's revenue from a broken model of sucking cash out of parent's wallets for their children. Gambling packs, and the fact that everything is run from China is an issue. Besides a few titles being developed here in the USA and published by PWE, most of PWE's games are subsidiaries of titles in China. This means that when the game breaks or they have problems, they get to have fun with sending complaints and questions across seas to a company that is pretty irresponsible with their games and money (models, fashion events, etc).

I also feel pretty bad for mods of PWE games. They choose to take on a position where they are often criticized, and they are doing this "job" for free. PWE should have the decency to pay the mods, really. They are picking up the slack of PWE's cheap forum-management model. The fact that some of the mods do this actively and for free is absolute bollocks. Any reasonable company would hire them on and pay them some form of wage. In 2014 it's ludicrous to essentially work for a company but not get paid, unless you are interning for free or doing community service.

No joke, I would never accept a mod position. I have the upmost respect for them, though. It's a shame that PWE can't give them monetary values as a reward. They need to eat and survive just like anyone else, but are expected to spend hours a day trolling these forums to move, close, and report users (as well as give credible information). But that's just it; PWE looks to save costs everywhere. They are making hundreds of millions a year from their title line-up, but they can't pay $8.00 an hr for someone to moderate the community? Now, that's a shame.

bluestuffzzz wrote: »

I'm pretty sure he's still staffed with PWE. Unfortunately, PWE seems to have a "save all the moneyz" model, which means that he is working on multiple things at once. If you guys take a look through PWE's website, you'll notice that sparkie is the CM for most of PWE game forums, and he's also the guy that posts news and patch notes for most games. Note: "most"; not all.

So, we've established that he's overworked, right? Kay.

It doesn't really surprise me when he doesn't post much, regulate the forums (manage the community...), etc, because PWE's model is to overwork their staff. A glance at Glassdoor will show company employee issues dating back to PWE's inception. Biggest complaint? Overworked and underpaid. PWE is a stepping stool for many new college grads to get their foot in the door for game companies. I'm not surprised when CMs leave. They aren't treated with respect by the communities they manage, typically, and their job demands too much out of them.

Also, PWE get's it's revenue from a broken model of sucking cash out of parent's wallets for their children. Gambling packs, and the fact that everything is run from China is an issue. Besides a few titles being developed here in the USA and published by PWE, most of PWE's games are subsidiaries of titles in China. This means that when the game breaks or they have problems, they get to have fun with sending complaints and questions across seas to a company that is pretty irresponsible with their games and money (models, fashion events, etc).

I also feel pretty bad for mods of PWE games. They choose to take on a position where they are often criticized, and they are doing this "job" for free. PWE should have the decency to pay the mods, really. They are picking up the slack of PWE's cheap forum-management model. The fact that some of the mods do this actively and for free is absolute bollocks. Any reasonable company would hire them on and pay them some form of wage. In 2014 it's ludicrous to essentially work for a company but not get paid, unless you are interning for free or doing community service.

No joke, I would never accept a mod position. I have the upmost respect for them, though. It's a shame that PWE can't give them monetary values as a reward. They need to eat and survive just like anyone else, but are expected to spend hours a day trolling these forums to move, close, and report users (as well as give credible information). But that's just it; PWE looks to save costs everywhere. They are making hundreds of millions a year from their title line-up, but they can't pay $8.00 an hr for someone to moderate the community? Now, that's a shame.

Sad, but true. Although I think PWE has some kind of policy where they won't employ anyone who is not a resident of California or something like that.

STrickeeN - Harshlands wrote: »

awww i thought sparkiesoft was a girl, but anyways, its a pity dat he was fired

Well, let's not jump to conclusions.

bluestuffzzz wrote: »

I'm pretty sure he's still staffed with PWE. Unfortunately, PWE seems to have a "save all the moneyz" model, which means that he is working on multiple things at once. If you guys take a look through PWE's website, you'll notice that sparkie is the CM for most of PWE game forums, and he's also the guy that posts news and patch notes for most games. Note: "most"; not all.

So, we've established that he's overworked, right? Kay.

Asone - Raging Tide wrote: »

Sad, but true. Although I think PWE has some kind of policy where they won't employ anyone who is not a resident of California or something like that.

Yeah, I know. That's just bad policy. In 2014 most companies are doing telecommuting and digital forms of work. It's silly that an online game publisher would refuse to hire someone just because they aren't in the local populous. Talk about limitations your staff and capabilities as a company. Most companies around here where I live are open to telecommuting (working from home), and hiring staff around the globe. Of course, most of these businesses are in the digital technology field, or at least open to using technology in the workplace.

PWE is using the model of the 1990s and early 2000's.

Aubree - Dreamweaver wrote: »

Today is a holiday. I wouldn't worry unless we don't hear form him tomorrow.

True, though businesses are generally open on this holiday.

bluestuffzzz wrote: »

So much truth

This post brought a tear to my eye.

Sweetiebot please award bluestuffzzz; 30 points for hitting the nail right on the head.

California only? So that's why Morai is so... well... screwed in the GM department. Try finding a Californian resident who speaks both german and french to want to manage a (by now largely) hostile community.

So far nothing official regarding sparkie abscence but our compulsory need for posts from him though... right?

Socqar - Lost City wrote: »

So far nothing official regarding sparkie abscence but our compulsory need for posts from him though... right?

OPKossy wrote: »

This post brought a tear to my eye.

Sweetiebot please award bluestuffzzz; 30 points for hitting the nail right on the head.

Ummm, what would this be then?

where art thou mr sparkplug

Found him!

http://s27.postimg.org/rasxri77j/sparkiesoft.png

Oh my haha. Well, I am in fact not gone and still here. It is true that I have to work on multiple games/Arc, so that may be why you don't see me post as much as I'd like. I was also gone Friday and we, for reasons unknown to me, had Monday off!

Sorry for the few days of silence, I'll be getting back up to speed with some more posts throughout the week! Next up, maintenance thread, yay!

Asone - Raging Tide wrote: »

Good to see you aren't dead yet lol. Monday was Columbus Day, which is probably why you had it off though I'm a little surprised since you don't have a government job, but oh well, you got another day off, always helps! b:chuckle

Haha ya I knew it was Columbus Day, I just don't ever remember getting that day off! Can't complain though!

sparkiesoft wrote: »

Haha ya I knew it was Columbus Day, I just don't ever remember getting that day off! Can't complain though!

Welcome back. Clearly you were missed.b:thanks