EM Stock of SOE explains how community relations is, like, rilly totally awesome, and, like, way cooler than you thought, right?

Do you know HTML and run your own website? It doesn’t matter what the subject matter is. If you can create pages, manipulate graphics and write good text… you do some of what community professionals do every day.

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Have you ever implemented and moderated your own message board or volunteer moderated on someone else’s board? That is incredibly valuable and applicable experience for this line of work. If you have, chances are that you know more than you think you do about online player behaviors and how to handle them. Knowing that stuff is half the battle for community specialists!

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If you’ve ever thrown a contest on your site or ran fun activities for the people who frequent it…you’re again right on par with what community folks have to dream up on a regular basis for their player communities.

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Have you ever played an MMO? Then that’s also a valuable skill for community relations! You’ve talked to people while playing, right? You’re taking the pulse of the community, and can report back on what they had to say! See, it’s really easy! You can do it!

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OK, OK, you caught me, Jean-Luc, I made that last one up. But come on, could you really tell?

I realize that this is really a breezy recruitment letter for new forum moderators, but come on. If I wanted to write a post that was as blatantly insulting to community people as I possibly could, implying that they have no real job skills other than possibly being able to run a web browser, talk to people without drooling, and having a pulse, I couldn’t have done better. I mean, come on, it’s not like taking the pulse of your community has any impact or anything.

It’s EASY! Anyone can do it! ANYONE! Even you, and clearly we in the MMO industry think you’re an idiot. Just, you know, read the article.