Ryan Shwayder, a game designer for 38 Studios, recently put in his two cents on the official vs. unofficial forums argument. He originally called official forums a necessary evil but when prompted by Warhammer Alliance forum administrator, Garthilk, to name three things official forums could do that unofficial forums couldn't, he changed his tune a bit.To bring some balance, he also listed three pros of unofficial forums. Ryan believes official forums have a leg up on developer-to-player communication, ownership (the forums won't close if admins lose interest), and integration with official web tools and in-game features.Some of the commenters on his post shared a sentiment that they would like to see official forums focus more on developer-to-player communication and technical support, while the unofficial forums focus more on class forums and creative discussion. What are your thoughts? 

In a response post, Blackguard (aka Ryan Shwayder), commented that both forum-types were necessary and neither actually evil. He then listed off three things official forums could do that unofficial forums couldn't. Alternatively, unofficial forums have a leg up with less restrictive codes of conduct, a stronger focus on micro-communities, and feature innovation through creativity. We recently had a chance to interview both WHA and IGN regarding Mythic's official forum announcement and we will share that with you early next week.