Keep everyone posted on what's in the pipe.

I was reading a thread about the initiative tracking suggestions. It kind of made me a bit angry that the responses were simply to wait for the API, and then see what happens. Mentors seem to have some sense of self-entitlement, and that attitude is reflected in a lot of posts, where there is some condescending tones. Furthermore, Nolan closing that thread was a mistake, I think. That is gonna happen. I think he should have simply popped in to tell everyone to get back on track.  All that did was make people upset. There is a lot of unsettled stuff there that'll creep up again. And again. And again. As you grow, you're gonna see more and more discussions like this. Maybe you lost a potential customer. Maybe you don't care. I don't know. You guys are in a bubble, and it could burst at any moment. Right now, as it stands, I know a lot of people that are not interested in paying for this. They see what's available, and aren't convinced. They poked around to find out what's in the works, and they don't see a lot of info. They move on. Simple as that, friends. I can only give them what I know. Keeping the info from the non paying customers can kill you. They need to become paying customers. That's the goal right?  I think that it would be advantageous to put, in the blog, or maybe a new location, something of a  "what's in the works." Look, I know you guys think everything is cool, and we should just give you money to keep the lights on, so you can develop, but that only goes so far. You need to convince people that this is golden. That is one great way to do so. 

If you did any research into previous suggestions for things that automate Roll20, like auto-adding tokens with their initiative roll to the turn order tracker... you'd have discovered that those things simply aren't in the pipeline. One thing the devs have stressed quite a bit is that automated tools in the base Roll20 app just isn't something they're really considering.  So... they're including the API to allow mentors to take advantage of scripts they can write and share to do these automations and script them for their specific game they're playing.

See? condescending tones? Nice assumption about my research abilities. I did mine. You need to lose that. Seriously. Makes people upset. Here's the real deal. I shouldn't have to go digging for information through all of the threads to find out their  philosophy, and what their goals are.   What's in the works should be posted somewhere, for ALL to see. Not just for the people who pay them. This is a huge flaw in the mentor system. The subs and the non subs are in the dark too often. That's the whole point. What they are working on, what's coming up next, and what the future holds. Their goals. Make it clear. That's all. If nobody can see that they have no interest in adding automation to the base of the system,  without digging through countless forum posts, people are going to ask about it.

Kimli-- We were also upset by the response of "just wait for API", and I'm sorry if that didn't get across.  As a supporter, if you have a minute you should listen to today's podcast when it comes out (hopefully in the next couple hours) to hear just how upset we are. That said, right now we're going to keep closing threads that go off track. That's currently our first line of defense to adjusting this recent rash of bad tone on the forums.  But we're going to be implementing a new first line VERY soon.  This very moment, the existence of this thread has taken me away working on a new forum expectations guide that will clarify what we think is acceptable here. The moment we have that up and implemented we will also be coding the ability to ban forum users.  We went a full year of forum use without the need to ban anyone, and we're devastated that this has changed recently.  It appears that we have users that simply refuse to play nice.   We will keep on closing threads beyond that, though.  It's a pruning method to suggest moving along.   As far as the goal of getting more paying users go, let me be clear: we would like that .  And we are  concerned with that.  The assumption that we aren't trying to both clarify what we already have available and do a better job of getting some information out is incorrect, and I'm sorry that anyone would feel that way.  That said, how we're going to do that is our choice, and we're actively working on it.  Expect to see some shifts May 1.  However, as far as some of the things further off on the horizon, we have little intention of making an effort to put them out to general users... we are more focused on giving the access and information to the users already paying us as a benefit, and with the hope of getting their feedback as we work on such items.  We hope that AFTER new features come to light for subscribers that those who haven't jumped on-board will consider, as we work more and more to sweeten the pot. Jonathan-- Your assertion that someone should have to do research on our intentions is false.  It would be much better if the members of the community could, in a way that wasn't mocking, inform new members that the culture here is one that shies away from such things. We hope to see more members of the community assisting in politely helping new users become accustomed to our forums and the program in general.