09-05-2021, 12:10 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-05-2021, 02:43 PM by chelllman. Edited 1 time in total.)
@"The Triangle", thanks for the reply.
With this statement, I feel you already have some idea's or changes in mind. Why haven't you built a thread about them as to get community input on things? (I do see that you talk about sending DM's to staff about ideas)
There are a couple of reasons why I haven't made a dedicated thread for ideas I have:
1. Some of the ideas I have would require some knowledge of the backend for the server. I'd rather not make a community thread when the answer is as simple as "Not feasible, sorry". This is the reason why DMs can be more useful. If promoted to staff, I could just ask them offhand in the staff discord. However, I'll mention a few of them when I address your third question below.
2. Some of the concerns have been voiced in past threads. I've read quite a few of the past forum drama threads (because who doesn't enjoy a little drama reading while drinking their morning coffee?), and some concerns I've had were voiced by other former (ie: resigned) staff members in the past. I don't believe this community benefits from another "broken record" on the forums. Certain concerns can be brought up to staff personally.
3. Private DMs have worked out well for smaller things. For example, I've talked with staff about my concerns for the (past and present) racism and ghosting guidelines. We've seen positive changes to the PH guidelines because several people have privately voiced concerns to staff (ie: it's quicker to get banned for racism now, ghosting is now a temp ban instead of forceswap).
As a Staff member you are the final say on things in server. Just typing things can create more chaos due to people that don't read chat. It's best to do a combo of text and voice. Being able to type fast is irrelevant really, as the ability to bind keys is fairly common knowledge.
I fully plan on making key binds and using the VC for staffing. If I remember correctly, Nuru posted a great thread about suggested key binds.
I was merely mentioning why (in the past) I avoided using the VC and typed my responses instead. Sometimes the VC was so chaotic that typing made it easier for me to talk to some of the others.
What kind of changes are you wanting to make or adjust? I'm curious of your vision/perspective.
I'll mention a few of the ideas I have here (and hopefully not derail this thread by accident).
Since the recent and severe decline of the GFL server (idk what's up with that, the server used to be packed), there has been an uptick in the number of ghosters and hackers joining the Dinks server.
1. A couple of servers I've visited in the past with far fewer staff than Dinks dealt with new player ghosting by restricting the ability to spectate props to those with 6-8+ hours of play time on the server. The majority of ghosters I've made ban requests for in the past have under 6 hours of play time. Implementing a system like this might reduce the headache for both staff and players on the server. The con to this is that it can be detrimental to new players (seeing where regulars hide when you spectate props is informative!). The pro to this is that ghosting should (in theory) become less common.
2. We have ranks (that sometimes do/do not work). It's clear that our time played is stored in the backend database. Having hidden ranks designed to restrict prior ghosters is also a solution (assuming the backend would support such an idea). You get caught ghosting, then you're restricted from spectating props for a month. While this may be a nice idea, I have no idea if it's practical because I don't know anything about the backend for the server.
3. Racism in the VC is a near constant when staff/proactive donors are not online. One thing I've noticed is that if someone is overtly racist in the VC and gagged, then many times they will start spamming the chat. It might be helpful for dealing with racism and targeted harassment to lump the VC and chat together. If you are racist in the VC, then you are both gagged and muted at the same time. Of course, this would not apply to normal mic spam.
Of course, there are other ideas that have been talked about before (map changes, prop changes, etc.), so I will avoid talking about those here. Most importantly, if I have concerns over a staff members conduct, then that will be voiced privately. I don't like public mudslinging.
One last thing: I've been vocal about being even more strict than the guidelines currently are for racism/toxicity/harassment in the past. Just because I have a differing viewpoint does not mean that I will apply my own version of the rules. I will follow the guidelines as they are written.
Thanks again for your reply, please feel free to express any followup questions/comments.
[EDIT: fixed minor grammar, needed coffee]
With this statement, I feel you already have some idea's or changes in mind. Why haven't you built a thread about them as to get community input on things? (I do see that you talk about sending DM's to staff about ideas)
There are a couple of reasons why I haven't made a dedicated thread for ideas I have:
1. Some of the ideas I have would require some knowledge of the backend for the server. I'd rather not make a community thread when the answer is as simple as "Not feasible, sorry". This is the reason why DMs can be more useful. If promoted to staff, I could just ask them offhand in the staff discord. However, I'll mention a few of them when I address your third question below.
2. Some of the concerns have been voiced in past threads. I've read quite a few of the past forum drama threads (because who doesn't enjoy a little drama reading while drinking their morning coffee?), and some concerns I've had were voiced by other former (ie: resigned) staff members in the past. I don't believe this community benefits from another "broken record" on the forums. Certain concerns can be brought up to staff personally.
3. Private DMs have worked out well for smaller things. For example, I've talked with staff about my concerns for the (past and present) racism and ghosting guidelines. We've seen positive changes to the PH guidelines because several people have privately voiced concerns to staff (ie: it's quicker to get banned for racism now, ghosting is now a temp ban instead of forceswap).
As a Staff member you are the final say on things in server. Just typing things can create more chaos due to people that don't read chat. It's best to do a combo of text and voice. Being able to type fast is irrelevant really, as the ability to bind keys is fairly common knowledge.
I fully plan on making key binds and using the VC for staffing. If I remember correctly, Nuru posted a great thread about suggested key binds.
I was merely mentioning why (in the past) I avoided using the VC and typed my responses instead. Sometimes the VC was so chaotic that typing made it easier for me to talk to some of the others.
What kind of changes are you wanting to make or adjust? I'm curious of your vision/perspective.
I'll mention a few of the ideas I have here (and hopefully not derail this thread by accident).
Since the recent and severe decline of the GFL server (idk what's up with that, the server used to be packed), there has been an uptick in the number of ghosters and hackers joining the Dinks server.
1. A couple of servers I've visited in the past with far fewer staff than Dinks dealt with new player ghosting by restricting the ability to spectate props to those with 6-8+ hours of play time on the server. The majority of ghosters I've made ban requests for in the past have under 6 hours of play time. Implementing a system like this might reduce the headache for both staff and players on the server. The con to this is that it can be detrimental to new players (seeing where regulars hide when you spectate props is informative!). The pro to this is that ghosting should (in theory) become less common.
2. We have ranks (that sometimes do/do not work). It's clear that our time played is stored in the backend database. Having hidden ranks designed to restrict prior ghosters is also a solution (assuming the backend would support such an idea). You get caught ghosting, then you're restricted from spectating props for a month. While this may be a nice idea, I have no idea if it's practical because I don't know anything about the backend for the server.
3. Racism in the VC is a near constant when staff/proactive donors are not online. One thing I've noticed is that if someone is overtly racist in the VC and gagged, then many times they will start spamming the chat. It might be helpful for dealing with racism and targeted harassment to lump the VC and chat together. If you are racist in the VC, then you are both gagged and muted at the same time. Of course, this would not apply to normal mic spam.
Of course, there are other ideas that have been talked about before (map changes, prop changes, etc.), so I will avoid talking about those here. Most importantly, if I have concerns over a staff members conduct, then that will be voiced privately. I don't like public mudslinging.
One last thing: I've been vocal about being even more strict than the guidelines currently are for racism/toxicity/harassment in the past. Just because I have a differing viewpoint does not mean that I will apply my own version of the rules. I will follow the guidelines as they are written.
Thanks again for your reply, please feel free to express any followup questions/comments.
[EDIT: fixed minor grammar, needed coffee]
