Staff Team Professionalism

[.Pluto.]

5 minutes ago, lambchops said:

I would also much rather see a slightly humorous reason than see no humor whatsoever, we are all human here after all.

True. Some of kicks/ajails/bans made me laugh more than anything. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that. 

[Timzii]

4 minutes ago, lambchops said:

 

 

Your first point is the fact you think the reason behind an administrative action should just be the rule broken. I have to heavily disagree with you on this one: The reason behind these serves in part for us to keep record of why a player was actually punished so we can come back to it when such information is relevant for us to know. I am aware a counter argument for this would be to write such a reason down elsewhere, but I am quite frankly an unpaid volunteer for this community and not willing to keep a personal bureaucracy just to keep track of why I have banned or admin jailed someone. I would also much rather see a slightly humorous reason than see no humor whatsoever, we are all human here after all.

 

Then why not write keywords for the banning reason instead of 3 full lines where half the reasoning is rather irrelevant to begin with? Tell me why it's needed to say player got banned for 'Need for speed driving' instead of unrealistic driving that isn't tolerated on the server? If you can't remember what you ban people for you should have a backup folder with evidence to help you remember. Nothing is wrong with adding some humor into the ban reasoning but sadly that line has been crossed quite a while ago and plenty of people don't find it amusing anymore. 

[Law]

4 minutes ago, lambchops said:

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If you really feel mistreated by how a staff member acted, file a staff report.

Well said but from experience, the staff report option is a little iffy since it’s deemed petty even by the owner when someone has clearly crossed the line.

 

The team will always face criticism, they’re trying their best though, that’s all we need to appreciate.

[Keane]

Being detailed in admin jails and bans serves two purposes. The primary purpose is so if an admin deals with that specific player again, either as a regular admin or as a senior admin looking into a staff report, they can see exactly why that particular player was admin jailed or banned. It's much easier to understand what's going on if someone has "Powergaming - failed to RP injuries after jumping off the 5th floor of a building" vs just reading "Powergaming" in someone's admin record. So if someone fails to RP injuries again, they can be spoken to in more detail.

 

The second purpose is notifying players that something specific is against the rules and that someone they may have interacted with got punished. After an ajail or ban, we often get PMs and reports asking if players can obtain refunds or have situations voided as a result of ajails or bans. It saves us a lot of time having players come to us rather than looking for each individual that may have suffered from another player breaking the rules.

 

I can understand that some admin jail and ban reasons can look silly. The only thing I have to say about that is it's on the players to not do anything silly in the first place. The majority of the time, the admin is just writing exactly what happened. Some descriptions can be a bit over the top but I wouldn't call them unprofessional. An individual admin can handle anything between 15 to 40 reports a day depending on how busy it is. Admins probably do the same amount, if not more answers to /helpme requests at the same time too. Adding a hint of humor to keep themselves sane isn't a major issue. If it's taken too far, it can be handled on a case by case basis by Staff Management. That's how it was before and when I was Head of Admins, and I haven't been notified of any policy change after someone else took that role. 

 

When it comes to admins giving attitude, it depends on the context. While admins are expected to remain courteous when dealing with players, a lot of the time that approach doesn't work. If admins just let players insult them and walk all over them, it wouldn't be the admin team running the server. It would be the players. If an admin is being blunt about something, it's likely as a result of the player doing something very wrong and not willing to own up to their mistake, or they don't understand what they have done wrong despite it being explained. If a player doesn't understand the rules, they have to be removed from the server. Being blunt and trying to explain the rule to someone and why what they did provided a negative experience to other players is usually an attempt to ensure they understand the issue before we have to issue an admin punishment. 

 

When it comes to staff members responding to anyone that makes a /helpme, I agree that in a lot of cases professionalism is key. However, the system is reserved for players that require help for things that are not easy to find. Someone asking for the robbery limit for example clearly didn't read the rule. In those situations they should be sent to the forums because there's a lot more to robbing rule than the limit. Making them go to the rule makes it a lot more likely that they'll read over the rest. This helps the player avoid breaking rules later on.

 

Just to restate what has been said already, you're free to send in a staff report on any admins or member of the support team that you feel haven't performed up to standard. Each report is investigated thoroughly so you can be sure that action will be taken if a staff member did anything wrong. In these particular situations, I don't think anything was wrong personally but that's coming from someone who has been an admin for over two years so I have a better understanding of how things work. This post should hopefully clarify things.

[Paenymion]

Personally I like the descriptive reasons on why somebody is banned.  If I see that somebody was just banned for driving like an idiot and crashing into barriers, it makes me (and I would assume others) kind of sit up and double check that we're driving properly.   Think of a new player who hasn't yet grasped what might and might not be acceptable.  If the thing just said "Bob was banned", it won't give them examples of whats acceptable.  A description of exactly what got that person banned can help them realise "oh yeah, that kind of action isn't accepted here, I won't do it".

 

It's also reassuring to see that admins are actually doing something about rule breakers.  We all tut when we see somebody being an idiot, so I think it's nice to publicly see somebody being punished for it.  Generally, It's a reminder that the rules are being enforced which I think is a healthy thing for the server.

 

Finally, I don't think there should be any "mystery" around why somebody, perhaps your friend, was banned or kicked.  This kind of thing should be out in the open for everybody to see and scrutinize.

Edited December 1, 2020 by Paenymion

[lambchops]

3 minutes ago, Timzii said:

Nothing is wrong with adding some humor into the ban reasoning but sadly that line has been crossed quite a while ago and plenty of people don't find it amusing anymore. 

I am afraid your and my lines do not quite align then, Keane's post just above mine here explains our reasoning for it spot on though.

[.Pluto.]

4 minutes ago, Law said:

Well said but from experience, the staff report option is a little iffy since it’s deemed petty even by the owner when someone has clearly crossed the line.

It's all happening in their staff section, admin can't be simply removed because of one mistake. They're probably getting criticism from the Management, small staff punishments. That can also affect their promotion (support - admin, or admin level up). I think every staff report is being deeply investigated before the verdict on the same report is made. People often just can't stand the chance they got ajail/ban in game even if they're wrong in the most of the cases. But there are plenty admins that were removed for small things, I can name few of them, so I don't think you're right here. Just my opinion.

[lux]

I thought it was fairly obvious that they describe the event so that when dealing with the unban report they can remember the incident easier? Just look at the report section and scroll through some of the shit they have to deal with - most of it being DM - incidents can become /very/ blurred. But reading the unban reason as, "Dressed as a monkey and threw shit everywhere. Trolling." is more descriptive than, "Trolling."

 

At the same time, you're asking unpaid volunteers who are human to act on corporate level. These people were trusted players who volunteered to help the community - key word being 'volunteered'. You can't expect them to act as PR specialists, they're players like you and me.

 

I agree that sometimes decisions are made that leave me scratching my head - but it's not my place to question or judge. Everyone views things differently, they just have the power to make a final decision on things, that's life and that's not an issue at all.

Be the change you want to see, put your application in and volunteer - I think it's very eye-opening just how much these guys do and that's not in an ass-kissing way, that's just how it is. It's a fun, stressful, unpaid responsibility. You can't criticise them for having a bit of fun IMO.

 

 

Edited December 1, 2020 by lux

[Benavides]

I think there's no need for staff reports and/or a robotic system. I believe what Thomas means in his original post is more professionalism in terms of reasoning behind punishments. After all, I believe that staff members can have their own discretion in terms of reasons and so on, but a bit of professionalism in something the entire server can see wouldn't necessary hurt.

 

As you can see below, this admin-jail reason is massive and covers up the entire screen, as well as the explanation of the entire situation. I personally believe it would be more beneficial in terms of professionalism and aesthetics if the reason below was amended, I'll provide an example below that.

 

 

Suggested reason: Unrealistic driving & role-play, failure to role-play injuries.

 

If said player wants further clarification (if it isn't blatantly obvious), the staff member can explain it in a quick manner. 

 

I believe that staff reports and anything else that has been mentioned has strayed further away from what Thomas originally suggested, that being a quicker, professional reason that points out to the rule that has been broken. I do not necessarily believe the example I have provided is robotic, though.

 

At the end of the day, I certainly believe that it is up to staff members & management to decide how they want to run their staff, however, some constructive criticism doesn't hurt as long as everyone keeps it respectful.

 

My two cents.

 

 

Edited December 1, 2020 by harry

[Polle]

2 minutes ago, harry said:

I think there's no need for staff reports and/or a robotic system. I believe what Thomas means in his original post is more professionalism in terms of reasoning behind punishments. After all, I believe that staff members can have their own discretion in terms of reasons and so on, but a bit of professionalism in something the entire server can see wouldn't necessary hurt.

 

As you can see below, this admin-jail reason is massive and covers up the entire screen, as well as the explanation of the entire situation. I personally believe it would be more beneficial in terms of professionalism and aesthetics if the reason below as amended, I'll provide an example below that.

 

 

Suggested reason: Unrealistic driving & role-play, failure to role-play injuries.

 

If said player wants further clarification (if it isn't blatantly obvious), the staff member can explain it in a quick manner. 

 

I believe that staff reports and anything else that has been mentioned has strayed further away from what Thomas originally suggested, that being a quicker, professional reason that points out to the rule that has been broken. I do not necessarily believe the exam I have provided is robotic, though.

 

At the end of the day, I certainly believe that it is up to staff members & management to decide how they want to run their staff, however, some constructive criticism doesn't hurt as long as everyone keeps it respectful.

 

My two cents.

 

 

This.