While I'm waiting to board my flight (it's going to be 12 hours in the air! O.O) I wanted to take the time to comment on a few things, I'm on mobile so please bear with me.
Remarks about me being condescending: Nothing I ever say is meant to be an insult to you. Do I come off strong when writing lengthy, no jokes in sight, kind of responses? Absolutely. That's because I believe I should be very serious with you during conversations like this because you deserve my unde attention.
To those of you who I've had polite conversations, reached out to me or responded to me in private messages to chat about things in a more "quiet" space, and those who facilitate a welcoming conversation in threads for all kinds of feedback my comments should have been clear that I wasn't referencing you. The way you engage in providing your thoughts and opinions is the exact engagement that I would like to see throughout all the conversations in the forums and other areas of the Internet. Having mutual respect for one another (developer and customer) is a big deal and I'd like you to know that I have respect for quite a lot of you and am very thankful when you take the time to correct the course of threads when you see someone misquoting or taking something out of context and that you take the time to be constructive with your criticism.
Culling, Relationship Decay: As I've mentioned before, I don't work in development, but as I do work in communications there are somethings that I can do. I had a chat with another member of the Comms team and we will be having a meeting with the right people to see what exactly is going on with this so we can provide you with a clearer answer. I may not be able to provide you an answer right away (traveling plus I have a Disneyland vacation coming up) but I will be working hard to get you some kind of insight into this.
Toddlers: We know that this is a big issue within the community and we definitely are not blind to your pleas for us to tell you something. I wish the answer wasn't one I keep repeating but it's the only one I have for you. With that in mind I want you to know that we absolutely hear you, this is something that is a topic of conversation every day that I'm at work. Because the team hears you, they understand this is a big part of how you immerse yourself in the game and it's a most loved part of the game for many of you. I stickied that toddler thread as acknowledgement that we absolutely hear you, I asked Lyndsay to go into that thread so that she could express that she hears you, and the team appreciates reading every idea/picture that is provided in that thread. We just simply don't want to constantly give you the same answer over and over because it does feel self defeating for us and we know it is frustrating for you. I absolutely HATE asking you this but please be patient when we have something to say in either direction we will tell you.
Influencer feedback: Yes these individuals tell us about things that they see talked about but each has a different community with different concerns. For example: Some are more focused on building than stories so their feedback will be on terrain manipulation, spiral staircases, platform staircases, roofing options, split levels, etc. I try to make sure I work with a variety of people and there are some I've started working with recently so we have even more variety in feedback. But we absolutely look at the feedback / ideas section for themes that we may have never thought of or to confirm that a theme we were thinking is of interest to you.
Phew that was a lot of typing but I'm on my flight now so I will chat with all of you Monday when I'm back in the office
Hope you're enjoying your weekend!