I've heard people asking if we could turn side chat off, and I want everyone's feedback on this.

Personally, I think it's the only community building tool that we have on a public server. It has its advantages and disadvantages like anything else, but I am not seeing people abuse it on our server (I also don't play as much as most of you).

So, do you all think that it's a tool that players can use to meet people, innocently socialize, and diffuse potentially explosive situations?
Or, do you see it as a burden that players use just to declare world peace and say "who's shooting in cherno?"

If you et rid of it how are you going to invite people into TS and get new recruits on the forums? Getting rid of it in my opinion would be a terrible decision.

I like side. With the server set to public I doubt there will be much peace brokering going on. More likely will be the inevitable crying over getting killed. It would be awesome if you could turn VON off for side.

I wish people could toggle it off client side if they wished... I don't mind it when its quiet and the occasional question popping up... but I wish people would ask "whos shooting by me?" in direct rather than side... I don't like people announcing to the world where someone is... "Oh theres a sniper in this town, be careful" after they get killed.... its one thing if you got shot at and lived and updated everyone on some global radio channel, but the whining and crying will only increase as numbers increase... its quiet on side cause we only average 5-15 people at the moment at a given time.

I forsee it becoming a potentially abused system and used as a crutch for people spawning fresh and asking for things.... while thats all part of the game, I wish Day Z would at least implement a radio tool that yo would have to have to contact people so that fresh spawns can't spam side chat with nonsense... If people had to have a radio to use side chat, it would be great... that would make it more survival-like in my opinion... a radio should be something you use at your own risk... who knows on the other end.... you could be broadcasting your location to bandits... and we see it happen in side... "Whos in cherno????" "so-and-so has been killed" "HEY WTF MAN I WAS FRIENDLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"

while its comical every now and then to see a fool get lit up cause he told the world he was at the grocery store... it gets stale when I know where half the server is cause everyone is singing around a campfire in Vorkuta or somethin... Its scarier to me when theres silence ... people talking makes me lower my guard whilst trying to read what they are saying... and face it... its like texting and driving- i see blue text and i glance down at it and its usually absolute nonsense that I should not have even bothered reading, but I couldn't help it... Hasn't killed me yet, but it may some day.

I just think it takes away some of the apocalypse feel... that feeling of being alone until you actually find someone and you actually have to call out in direct "HEY! friendly????" and hope you don't get your butt shot off... not broadcasting world peace cause you are alone and afraid and then get mad when someone shoots you after you tell them all where you are...

Don't get me wrong... i do like side chat... I just don't like it after about an hour into the game lol... I hope standalone puts in radios that are needed to use certain channels other than direct..... I wont be upset if we keep side.. I just know im not the only one who thinks it spoils things...

Then again, im not much for peaceful outcomes ingame... I usually settle my encounters with bullets, so I'm a bit bias.

Thats my 2 cents. And I get what everyone else is saying and I agree on those aspects... ultimately my vision can't be achieved until standalone, i'm sure... so I will hold out for that later.

Side is a necessary evil in my opinion. Yeah it can get annoying, but it also allows for more interactions like trading and so on. The direct chat has far too limited of a range to be any real use.

The global peace thing is fairly easy to solve. People ask if everyone is friendly friends in care bear land, you just don't respond.

I try to be honest. "I am very friendly, but if I see you I'm taking the shot."

I try to shoot everyone who is not on TS with me.

I take it on a case by case basis.

I try to shoot everyone who is on TS with me.