I know that we're all tired and frustrated
I know the last 6 weeks has felt exhausting and mentally draining.
I understand that all that frustration and exhaustion with this whole mess, with infold and papergames, and with valko antis that keep harassing a lot of us with their behavior all ads up.
Despite all this, we can't just fall into a place of resentment. Not towards eachother. Not to neutral parties. And as tempting as it is, bc my god is it tempting, not towards infold.
From the start, we know infold didn't want to cancel valko, they wanted us all to give him a chance. Everything escalated, the gov likely got involved, valko's and LaDS' and infold/PPG's rep all got dragged through the mud from misinformation and rumors spreading out of control.
In the wake of his cancellation we all came together to spread our love of the character. Donations, art, letters for valko, etc etc. We all wanted to show how much we love and appreciated him and the work that brought him to life.
Our message was clear: bring valko back and no valko no money.
Back to the present, the boycott is still going strong, and we all should be proud of that.
We're also at the 6 week mark for our boycott and this is when most boycotts start to fall apart. From boredom and getting sick of waiting for a response, to being fed up with the company, to loosing complete interest in the game, to infighting
And most companies bank on attention decay ending boycotts and end controversy. This is a studied thing and it is often how these end.
So let's reassess and regroup.
And there are some things we need to keep I mind to keep this boycott sustainable, ESPECIALLY in the wake of Rafayel's new myth.
1) we cannot be boycott shaming people.
This isn't how we get people on our side to get people to stay on our side. Something I've kept in mind the whole time I've played LaDS is that at the end of the day it's a gacha game which is basically a form of gambling. Which is addictive by nature. Dame with the serotonin or dopamine boost players get from logging in and seeing their mains. Some people need to ease off it, some people can just quit cold turkery. And no, this isn't the time or place to say 'is your resolve really that weak that you have to log into a game and spend money' habits can be hard to break and shaming people who are still logging in to play without spending money doesn't help our cause. It just makes us sound annoying and holier than thou. The most important thing we can advocate for is lowering spending or not spending. These are the main metrics that will hit infold. If people that are still playing aren't spending shit or are spending far less than they used to that still sends a message to infold. GOING INTO PEOPLE'S DMS AND TELLING THEM HOW AWFUL THEY ARE FOR STILL PLAYING OR BEING EXCITED ABOUT A BANNER DOESNT HELP US. If you see others spending money on the banner, pulling on the banner with the resources they already have, or still logging in, it is not our job to police people or harass them. We are all presumable adults here. People pulling on the banner without spending aren't effecting our boycott, they're not spending actual money and not increasing infold's rev by doing so, same with people still playing and not spending. They are not the enemy here. Their metrics can positively effect our boycott - if they see a decent amount of people still playing, but stalwartly not spending, that will set off red flags bc "why aren't they spending? They're logging in, but why aren't they spending??"
2) The Building Resentment.
I think I can say we're all tired and frustrated with everything. Infold's silence despite promising better communication. The stock customer service replies, them seemingly continuing on business as usual without any regard for the player base. This is generally called stonewalling. And damn does it feel like talking at a brick wall. Its frustrating and demoralizing and we are all getting a bit burnt out from this. Its okay to be angry and upset and frustrated. However we cannot allow this to change our goals and tactics, nor can we allow this to fill us with resentment. This means not attacking or lashing out at other people still playing or pulling. We are not each other's enemies.
This also means not falling for anti bait or trolling. I know their words are vitriolic and harsh. I've seen antis call the pro-valko players crazy and delusional and undergoing a mass psychosis and all kinds of other words and names. They are not our priority. They're already set in their ways and will not change their mind, only lash out and attack and threaten and bully others.
I always recommend falling back on the old adage of 'Don't Feed the Trolls from the earlier internet days. If they're acting like asshole, block and report as needed. Do Not Engage.
Remember our end goal from July - show our love and appreciation of valko and demand his full release into the game as intended through positivity. We are not the CDG. We are adults and we are going to act like it. We are not going to harass infold staff or other players for the characters they enjoy or the choices they make.
Lashing out at others doesn't help our cause and won't bring Valko back, all it will do is breed more resentment towards our cause and the character.
if you are getting to a point where bitterness and resentment feels like its taking over and causing you to lash out at others, take a break. Close the app, put down the phone, log out of twitter or reddit or youtube or tumblr or XHS or Weibo or insta, and walk away for a bit. Play a different game, read a book, interact with your friends, go for a walk outside. Take a break, cool off, and re-asses. at the end of the day, LaDS is still just a game, and there is no reason to be harassing people or acting like a prick to others or wishing harm upon someone or insulting others for pulling or still playing. The rest of us will keep advocating for him and boycotting if you take a break or disconnect for a few days.
From a business perspective, infold and ppg are still in the middle of crisis PR. And for those unaware, in crisis PR, the marketing team and the PR team no longer gets a say in how optics are handled. LEGAL has control now. And legal council will almost always tell their clients to shut the fuck up while they do their jobs. I've seen several posts that PPG and Infold have upcoming court cases for September (rumors so far) (here). I'm unsure if those are directly related to the valko situation, but you know what they say, the devil works fast but corporate legal teams work faster.
So as frustrated and impatient ad we are with infold, we have to wait.
Yes, it's already been 6 weeks.
It's also ONLY been 6 weeks.
That is not a lot of time in the legal world. Our frustration doesn't mean we can lash out out. Not at infold, not at people who are still playing, and not at the anti crowd, no matter how tempting that is.
We need to stick with our goals - bring valko back and showing our love and appreciation for the character.
Let's not forget how far we've come with positivity!
