Discord ID: SatinIsle#1880
How old are you?: 31
When you are most active? (including timezone): UTC+0 18:00-00:00
Roughly how much time do you dedicate to the server each week?: I would estimate about 18hours in-game, varying by about 6 hours. I spend a fair bit more working on the server wiki each week too.
Names of notable characters you play in Vorestation: Kara Dreshan, Saquira Eloise, Non Beta, Jasmine Oolong
How long have you been playing Space Station 13?: 12-14 years.
How long have you been playing Vorestation?: About 18 months.
Explain what most interests you about being staff: I have found myself getting a lot of joy out of helping the community. I feel that I've shown my commitment to this through editting the wiki over the past six months.
Explain what you think you will least enjoy about being staff: Anything involving minors would likely be the thing I am least looking forward to, as interacting with anyone that may be a minor is always a concern in an 18+ community. To be more specific, things like having to decide whether someone needs an age-check, and the risk of potentially missing someone who is under 18. I would feel quite responsible for missing anyone who is under 18 slipping through into the server. I want to clarify, I am very happy to ban people who are underage, it's just perhaps something that is VERY important to me and I would be anxious at first about being thorough.
Describe what role-playing means to you: Roleplaying to me is about playing a character other than yourself. To do this, a roleplayer should be consistently acting in the way that character would, and not simply how they would as a person in real life. This includes developing thoughts and beliefs distinct from their own, and interacting this other roleplayers in a different manner in character from out of character.
Define what a "Problem Player" is in your own words: A problem player is someone who distrupts the enjoyment of the server for others. Possibly outside of the game too, on discord or otherwise. The defining word here is problem, and there is often a solution to a problem. Sometimes a problem player does not understand the issues with their behaviour, and an honest discussion can open their eyes, however not all problems can so mutually. The nature of that problem can also vary a lot, from misunderstandings about the rules or other players, to more serious personality issues.
Define a "Toxic Player" in your own words: Unlike a problem player, a toxic player is someone who is inherently a bad fit for the server. They consistently pollute the environment around them, making the game actively worse for others. Generally I would say that they also tend to make other people uncomfortable in some way, whether they are overly aggressive or disregarding other peoples preferences. After some time in trying to help a problem player overcome their issues, it may become clear that they are unable to improve and are actively toxic.
Define "Admin Abuse" in your own words: Using an admin position, authority and powers for personal gain at the detriment of others. Detriment of others is the important part here, as those powers are there to be used and it should be encouraged for a member of staff to use their powers in a fun way that also makes the server more enjoyable the rest of community.
In your opinion, what the biggest problem with the server right now?: I think that the community is generally is quite a good shape right now, but I do often see people who feel that their particular way of enjoying the server is under threat from other groups who enjoy it in different ways. I think this often causes a fair bit of contention.
How would you have it resolved?: A diplomatic and gentle approach to each group of players to make it very clear that their way of playing is going to be protected, and to broach small compromises should be sought to ensure that people can continue to play alongside one another without distruption. In short, talking to people and finding out what exactly they want and need to enjoy the server, let them be included in the discussion and feel that they are being listened to.
Go through the following scenarios and state how you would deal with it...
- An adminhelp comes in claiming an individual is griefing.
How I'd handle it:
I would try to get myself over to the location of the accused griefer as quickly as possible (as a ghost), to observe exactly what they are doing, then checking their logs+*. I do feel that being fast is important in case their behaviour is causing massive disruption. Once I'm observing them, it then varies a lot depending on what exactly they are doing. If it is immediately clear that they are just griefing, such as hacking up people with a blade randomly, I would probably immediately disable them. Otherwise, if there is any doubt at all, I would first message them and ask them politely to explain what they are doing. After chatting with them for a little while, I would hopefully be able to determine whether they're being intentionally disruptive or had perhaps gotten carried away with some roleplay.
What I do at that point very much depends on a number of factors: Their history on the server (whether they find themselves in this situation repeatedly), the severity of their actions, how reasonably they respond to being asked about how their actions and how I perceive their intent. Obviously there is a whole spectrum of suitable actions to take depending on these factors. A person who has never been told off before and apologises for what they've done is likely going to get a "Please be more careful, don't do it again, here's a link to the rules. Happy to answer any questions." A person who is on their 10th telling off clearly isn't learning the lesson and needs a harsher response, regardless of their intent. Someone who appears to just be trolling and is unreceptive to being approached is definitely better being removed immediately, for the sake of other's enjoyments. - A player is upset about a scenario, but they are clearly in the wrong.
How I'd handle it:
I generally maintain that is best to chat with someone one to one and try to understand why they are upset. Even a person who is clearly in the wrong often has a good reason for why they are viewing the situation in their specific way, and I try my best to try an understand it from their point of view. If I'm able to do that, I can usually help that person then try to understand it from my own point of view too. It's important to not come into the situation with an obviously judgemental approach, and to let the person feel that you are on their side and want to help them resolve their perceived issue.
That is just the general approach that I would take regardless of how upset they are, and I would initially take this approach regardless of how angry they might be about their situation. If they aren't outright verbally abusing others, then I believe that the best way to solve the issue is give a person a chance to be heard before taking any other action. That said, if they are so upset that they are attacking others in discord, then I would first stop them from doing that before I approach them directly. Maybe a short mute and a public "Please don't do this, let's move the conversation to something else." I would (probably very quickly, but it does depend on how aggressive they were) send them a message offering to hear them out. Of course, there may be other people involved in the scenario too, that may or may not be interested in being heard. I would likely shoot them a message too and ask them if they are alright too, but not push the topic unless they want to engage.
There is also the chance that the thing that they are upset about is ME, in which case I think it'd likely be best to recuse myself and let another staff member deal with it, as approaching them in this situation might be seen as more confrontational. (In this case I'm not talking about them being upset over a staff action, in which case I do think it's right to explain myself directly, but more of a general "this person doesn't like me"). - When interviewing several individuals, one is lying but you cannot tell who it is.
How I'd handle it:
Speaking to everyone involved and getting their sides of the story is the first step, making note of everything that each person is saying. When I say everyone, I mean more than just the few that I'm unsure are lying, as other people's accounts may also give me critical information. Once I've got solid stories from each person, I then need to compare this information to reality by checking the logs. Assuming this was all happening within one round, the logs should clarify who is telling the truth.
If it becomes blatantly clear which person is lying, I would explain to that person how I know that they are lying and explain that it's only made the situation worse for them by having tried to incriminate an innocent person (assuming the other persons involved are innocent, there may very well be partial blame elsewhere). If they then apologise for lying, I'd probably only take the action that I would have if they'd been caught outright anyway, the fact they've said sorry after that fact doesn't really change that. If they continue trying to lie even though it's blantantly clear to me, then I would probably give them a harsher punishment than I would have had they not lied, a bit of a multiplier in a way. Of course, if no action was going to be taken regardless, I would probably just give them a telling off for lying, express disappointment, make a note of it and drop it.
Sometimes it might not be entirely clear if they are lying from their logs alone, and I could also potentially attempt to catch them in a lie by asking them about the logs I'm reading. I would have to be very careful with this, and to do it fairly is a delicate approach, because people can often simply misremember events. In this case, I would probably approach another admin, if one is available, to ask for a second opinion on whether my question was fair. I don't think there is any harm in double checking with colleagues, and if in doubt, should be encouraged. - After interviewing several individuals, you have a pretty good idea of who is lying, but still lack concrete, infallible proof. Despite your best efforts, some details remain ambiguous. What now?
How I'd handle it:
In this case I would definitely approach my fellow staff if I can, because if I'm uncertain, a second opinion is very important. Recognising that I'm fallible and may have reached an incorrect conclusion is important. If this is a case where action definitely needs to be taken, I would likely present my evidence to the players with a little more certainty than I actually have and see how they respond to it. The is a good chance that if someone thinks they have been found out, they will admit their wrongdoing at this point or try to come up with new (more falsifiable) excuses, but it's far from guaranteed. Ultimately, if I (and the staff I ask for their opinion) can not reach a conclusion, it is better to just make an admin note of it and call it a loss, it would always be better than punishing the innocent party by mistake. I'd probably apologise to both and be honest, as the wronged party deserves that at least. After all, there are two outcomes afterwards: The guilty party eventually breaks a rule again and we have this on their record, finally taking action. OR they never break a rule again and are an upstanding member of the community, which is what we're wishing for anyway. - An individual is playing a character who has sparked several adminhelps regarding said individual, but they are not in any clear violation of the rules.
How I'd handle it:
If they're not breaking specific rules, they're almost definitely still butting against the "don't be a dick" rule. If no one has done so prior to this, I would be happy to be the person to approach them and ask about their behaviour directly. I would explain that a number of people are generally being upset by their behaviour and offer to work with them on a way that they can continue to play in a manner that simply doesn't upset other people without "ruining" their characters. I think that most people would be receptive to this and we might be able to curtail the behaviour at this point. More often than not, people want to be liked, so I would be quite gentle with my approach and try not to make it sound like they're hated. I would then report back to the rest of the staff and explain the outcome of the discussion and add a note to their account. There is of course, the possibility that the people reporting them are in the wrong and have misunderstood a rule. In this case, I likely wouldn't approach the person themselves, but explain to the people reporting them that this person is fine in doing what they're doing.
Now, if this doesn't work and they continue to disrupt the game for other players: I would like to start by saying clearly that this is not a "one admin" job. So, my first course of action would be to check through what they're actually being repeatedly reported for, probably making a list, and then posing this information to the staff as a whole and asking the question, "What are we as a team going to do about this person?" I think there would need to be a serious discussion amongst the staff about whether this person has gone too far in disrupting the game for other players and what action the team would take. Whether that be a final warning, or even a quality control style ban. - Multiple character deaths have occurred and you are attempting to investigate. One player exhibits poor role-playing skills combined with insulting all those involved, another rushed after trouble started and only used lethal force, and a third went on and attacked several other individuals after the first fight was finished.
How I'd handle it:
First thing's first, if player 3 is still attacking people, I put an immediate stop to this. It's important not to let it escalate any further, because before long, people will be rushing in to solve it themselves and make the situation much more complicated. I would probably ask them immediately for their account of events. Now, I'm going to assume that I'm the only admin free to deal with this, because if there are multiple, I would recommend splitting up the work.
Then, I would send a message to each of the players to say that I'm looking into the issue and to please stand by. I don't want to end up messaging someone 90 minutes after they did something wrong and have moved on without warning.
Next, I deal with player 3 properly. I run through the same method as I described earlier for if I'd recieved griefing ahelp. Check to see if they may have had some sort of reasonable in-game motivation, because this could need nothing more than a bit of a telling off and a note on their account. However, if it appears that they've taken advantage of a chaotic situation to go all gamer on the server, I think I would likely chat with them and (possibly) give them a temporary ban. In the event that I think they are just using it as an excuse to kill randomly and troll, and if they have a notable prior record, they may be getting a more severe punishment up to a long term or permanent ban.
Person 2, who rushed in with lethals, is next on my list. They're going to get a good few questions about their side of the story, including why they thought it was an appropriate response. My initial thoughts going into this discussion would be that they simply got carried away, went gamer mode and that they would be able to prove me right. If they can demonstrate to me that they just thought it was a reasonable response or got caught up in the moment, I would explain to them why it was not the way to handle the situation. I'd be hoping to get a pleasant discussion going to see that they understand that using lethals is almost never the right way to go. Depending on how they respond to the situation, and whether they have prior notes for similar things, they might get away with a "Please never ever do this again, I'm serious.", or they may get a temporary ban with a long explanation as to why.
Finally we get back to person 1, who was definitely the least dire of those involved, but still could need some serious action taken depending on their history. First of all, I'm checking their history to see if they have a habit of lashing out at people. If they don't, I'm likely just going to address this by firmly telling them that it's not appropriate and won't be tolerated here. If they do have a record for it, that's going to contribute to my decision for a ban. Next, where they the person that caused the whole thing, or another person who got whipped up in it all? If they started it, then that's going to also contribute to my decision. Finally, I need to speak to them to understand exactly why they acted the way that they did, and find out why they were roleplaying poorly. If they were caught up in the moment and just struggled to maintain the RP under pressure, I'm going to be reasonably forgiving. If they are new and struggle to RP well in general, I'm going to want to give them some tips on how to improve. If they were just mad at how things were going down and wanted to insult people, then I'm going to be a bit firmer. If they seem like they're just trolling and have no interest in RPing properly here, then that's going to be a major contributing factor to their inevitable ban. I think the best way to determine this is by talking with the person and finding the best course of action, especially if they want to work with you on it. I feel that this person is the one that could most likely run the entire gamut from innocent to griefer, and so needs to be approached delicately.
What prior admin/moderator/management experience do you possess, if any?:
I was an admin of the minecraft forums (second to the founder) back when the place had about 1 million members. I was used to dealing with angsty teenagers and I was quite happy with how well I did there, I had a reputation for reaching compromises with rule breakers that improved their behaviour. I only left to focus on my real life studies. I am not the sort of person to just hang out as a staff member when I don't intend to do the work, if I were to find myself unable to admin, I would retire.
I also manage and look after university students, mostly in a teaching type role. Possibly less relevant to this place, but still experience of managing people.
Finally, what unique aspects of yourself can you bring to the staff? What can you bring to the team that is, in your opinion, needed?:
I apologise that I'm not being very modest here, but I feel that I'm quite often a voice of reason when people are getting into disagreements. I do well at empathising with multiple points of view simultaneously and trying to understand where each person is coming from. I think that I manage to be consistently pleasant, even when others are being quite confrontational, and am very good at remaining calm. I don't generally get angry very often, but I won't say that I've never been upset by people here, I just do well not to take it out on others publicly. I am also very patient with other people, I consider it to be one of my best qualities. Finally, I do get a little disappointed that other people often treat new and inexperienced roleplayers as lesser than themselvers, they often forget what it is like to come here with no experience and mock these people.
I don't think all of these are unique, but I think I'm quite consistent in them at least. The staff team is very good and contains a number of people who have these qualities and it's why I actually like this place and want to join you in the first place.
As for what I can offer that is needed, I think my less abrasive nature and want to see things from other's points of view can be a bit lacking amongst the staff from time to time. There is often a feeling of being "fed up" from many of the admins that is visible to the players, and I totally get why that is. I would hope that I would be able to maintain this attitude in the long term, but won't know until I try, right?
A final note: I've chosen to apply for a trial-admin position rather than a GM position for a few reasons:
- Committing to long events can be difficult when my child does not sleep very well through the nights, but I am able to be available to actually do admin work most of the time otherwise, even lighter stuff whilst at work.
- Whilst I do have a few fun event ideas, it's not really what I'm passionate about. I'm more interested in doing admin work in general, helping resolve disputes and also putting myself forward when people are misbehaving in general. The main reason you likely haven't seen me step up to tell people off otherwise is simple, I don't feel it's my place to do so as non-staff.
