Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
Issue: 9   Editor: Mika


Mika, Nyxxie and the Buzz: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Neverender
Opinions on Nyxxie range from, “I think she’s nice. I’d like to give her a hug.” to “She only got her job because she’s riding 5litre’s jock.” No matter how harsh or how positive the opinions, they are frequently being posted in multitudes across all forums. Not a day goes by that a Nyxxie topic isn’t posted and that might be part of the problem. It has been proven time and time again that players on Bootleggers are very impressionable. If someone comes along with a convincing story, “proof” to back up their claim and the energy to deliver their view most people will agree with them regardless of an opposing view.

In order to try and clear the air with the recent debates and attacks on Nyxxie I was able to have a sit down with her, Mika and Aldarion. The questions varied and some of the answers were a little emotional but I believe it gives some insight into the Buzz and how they are all handling the situation.

The controversy started early in the interviews with all three having different opinions on whether or not Nyxxie actually lived up to her job title with the Buzz. Nyxxie claims that she is “constantly going back and forth with my writers in both bootmail and MSN” while Mika stated, “I think it is safe to say that I am indeed the one who does the practical work on the Buzz Forum”. Aldarion agreed with Mika but also made it clear that he believes Nyxxie is around and does complete her job.

Many players, myself included, feel that Elite Guard members should not be part of the Buzz staff because no matter how neutral you try to be one side always bleeds out into the other. Human emotion cannot be held back when the topic means something to you. In response to this Mika stated, “I can understand that some players feel it might be best if she resigned” and added, “That, however, does not mean I want Nyxxie out, that is simply not up to me to decide.”

Anyone who follows the drama that plagues Bootleggers and the harassment of Nyxxie will know that she is a very straight-forward, albeit controversial at times, Moderator. She has stated publicly and in private that she has no intentions of leaving the Buzz or Elite Guard anytime soon. With that in mind more questions are raised. Will the Buzz continue to lack in articles? Will past and present writers and staff continue to quit, throw their hands in the air and stay fed up? Or will the voices of the players eventually be heard and a complete overhaul of the Buzz and its staff finally come to fruition?

According to Aldarion he was told to focus on editing articles instead of writing them because of the “excessively large team” the Buzz currently holds. However even he admits that not many are active right now, so why not revert to writing and allow the Head Editor to actually perform her duty and edit? Aldarion definitely wants to get back to writing but we’ll see how long it takes for him to get that wish.

In a similar event the players of Bootleggers have strongly voice their opinions that last week’s issue was lacking in almost every aspect. This could be because of the holidays or the fact that the excessively large Buzz staff was just lazy. Nyxxie has another idea, “People are spoiled and expect weekly articles to make the Buzz meaty, we are simply here to relay the news, if there is no news, why are we to blame?” I would say they are to blame due to not having editorials and allowing their writers to actually write. Up to this point fact pushing has been the status quo. Mika agreed with my view, though, and reassured me that “one of the additions we are hoping to implement in the near future is a section (or just several articles) which include more of an opinion.” I do believe this is good news and is a step in the right direction for the Buzz. Let’s all hope that Nyxxie continues to do her job correctly (if indeed she’s currently doing so), Mika is right about sections being added and the Buzz will finally become more “meaty”.