I have had SWTOR since it launched and currently have 3 characters. Two of them are level 26 and one is level 12. Back when I first stated playing I remember seeing roughly 100 plus playerss on each planet. The General chat used to be full of people nattering away to each other,offering advice and just generally shooting the breeze.

 

I have noticed recently however that when I come online and say `Hi` to everyone I am usually met with stony silence. There just doesn't seem to be the same level of general friendliness as before. Luckily I am in a Guild with 300+ members and we have an interguild channel that lets me talk across guilds too.

 

Now maybe everyone is in guild chat all the time and they dont even have general chat showing up any more. Am I just unlucky to be on a low population server or are other people seeing the same decline in general chat as me? Just as a comparsion when I play Champions Online there is always plenty of lively chat about the game,LFG requests and people just talking about life etc.

 

I would appreciate it if you could let me know if I'm just simply unlucky with general chat or if this is the sign of gradual decline in community spirit.

Many of us have created custom chat boxes that don't include general chat. I only switch to general occasionally. All the stuff I really want to hear... guild, Ops, etc., is in the custom box.

Try posting this in general chat: "When you cover him in Heinz 57 sauce, it's called marinating, not anointing. And I'll never do it again. I prefer Worcestershire."

 

Then wait.

 

The number of people who comment in the next four minutes will be exactly half of the people paying attention to General Chat.

My server (Mind Trick) still has plenty of chatter in general, not all the time, but a good deal of the time. In my years of gaming though, I don't think I have really seen people respond in a non-sarcastic manner to someone just saying "hi" in general unless the people responding already knew the initiator. If you want to start a conversation, you have to draw peoples interest.

 

If you walked into a crowded room full of people you don't know IRL and just shout "hi" to the whole room you're going to get ignored (or in mmo's /ignored).

 

If you walk into a room of people you do know, and shout "hi" you can expect a response, same goes for guilds and social chat channels.

 

If you want to just shout into a crowded room and get a response though, you have to shout something that makes people want to continue a conversation. Ask a question, make a statement, tell a joke, give people some reason to want to talk to you.

Well obviously I dont just say "Hi" !

 

I do try and ask people how they are, tell jokes, ask if anyone need help etc ...

I normally reply, even to someone just saying Hi in general on logging.

 

I will try to help when and where I can, but I will also look for the "Who" to see if I , for lack of better word, "Feel" I will help.

 

This is because of, example yesterday, a level 14 looking for Help! to kill a level 20 Elite in Quest line. I did not help, feeling that they should be doing the quests that would get them to an appropriate level to continue their story arc.

 

I did not respond, not needing grief for my decision, nor to explain the reason why, for more grief.

I have had SWTOR since it launched and currently have 3 characters. Two of them are level 26 and one is level 12. Back when I first stated playing I remember seeing roughly 100 plus playerss on each planet. The General chat used to be full of people nattering away to each other,offering advice and just generally shooting the breeze.

 

I have noticed recently however that when I come online and say `Hi` to everyone I am usually met with stony silence. There just doesn't seem to be the same level of general friendliness as before. Luckily I am in a Guild with 300+ members and we have an interguild channel that lets me talk across guilds too.

 

Now maybe everyone is in guild chat all the time and they dont even have general chat showing up any more. Am I just unlucky to be on a low population server or are other people seeing the same decline in general chat as me? Just as a comparsion when I play Champions Online there is always plenty of lively chat about the game,LFG requests and people just talking about life etc.

 

I would appreciate it if you could let me know if I'm just simply unlucky with general chat or if this is the sign of gradual decline in community spirit.

 

Please do not take this personally.

 

I'm a bit of a fluffhead, and most of the time I'm in the game I completely fail to notice the chat dialog box at all. I am not in a guild in this game, but in other guilds in other games, my guildmates have to shout in all caps over and over to get me to respond to anything.

 

I cannot imagine I am the only person who does this.