Admin Feedback Thread (Archived)

[jammi]

First, if you aren't willing to accept criticism, don't ask for feedback. Criticism is not an inherently negative term unless you perceive it that way.

Second, and more importantly, when you tell people that you, as the management, find them a burden and that they are pointless, don't be surprised when that attitude causes upset and discord in various forms.

In this case, context is very important. I'm not suggesting they shouldn't listen to or accept criticism; far from it - I think this thread is a good idea and could potentially serve its purpose well. What I was talking about was a bit of a silly proposal asking for further elaboration on the nitty gritty of individual sanctions. All that leads to is an exacerbation of the discomfort the recipient of the notice feels, seeing as they're being further publicly shamed.

As I said before, anyone who's received a notice who actually wants to engage with the admin team to get a better understanding of what they did wrong will receive that explanation via PM 100% of the time. Ask and ye shall receive. Also the reason said recipient is allowed to request the evidence that was used to make a decision on the case.

As was also earlier raised in this thread, an anonymised clarification thread where examples of ambiguously bad behaviour could be given would be far better. I simply don't think people should be called out in front of the entire forum so the majority of folks can get their rocks off snickering from the sidelines. Pointless refers to that specific idea, not you as a person, my good sir/ma'am.

The players are not an interruption of the admins' work, they are sole purpose of that work. Distancing the player base from the mod, be that the Admins, the Devs or the Official Factions only presents an Us and Them appearance. If people do not feel that the Admin team are sufficiently trustworthy, you will not retain them as players. That perception, whether it is correct or not, will encourage people to look for other venues.

Funnily enough, I've never made that point, explicitly or implicitly. I get that it's more fun to address the arguments you wish someone had made than the ones they actually did, but it's slightly disingenuous to do so while you're quoting their post. Admins are there to serve the community, I fully agree. What I disagree with is the idea that the community is best served by admins being hamstrung by having to write a short novel in relation to every sanction notice. Transparency can go too far, and that's when efficiency is choked by bureaucracy.

Maintaining the community's trust in the admin team is very important though, I do very much agree. As you've said, if people feel the admins are tyrannical doo-doo faces, then they will leave. Having a public place to raise concerns and suggest feedback is a good way maintaining - or at least gauging - that trust (almost like this thread), as is ensuring there is a code of conduct and standard of behaviour that must be met (which does exist). Having a robust appeals procedure is also extremely beneficial, where decisions can be scrutinised (like player requests and sanction/ban appeals).

I'm also puzzled as to how players are being distanced from either of the three groups you mentioned (although I'd be leery of grouping factions in the same venn diagram as devs or admins - the latter two need some form of merit to be involved, while any old muppet can lead a faction through some combination of enthusiasm, lack of candidates or luck. I mean, I once ended up with Bowex so it can't be that hard!).

The devs maintain blogs to keep people abreast of their work and occasionally run public consultations on ideas. The current iteration of the admin team is by far the least autocratic one I've seen yet, and has been more willing to take on feedback than any of its predecessors. If they implemented a few of the suggestions here, I'd be pretty damn happy on the whole. As for the factions, there are now indy IDs for all(?) of the previously exclusive groups. Despite any griping from their side, elitism has been dealt a fairly nasty blow. Compared to ages past, if players were any closer to the mod, they'd have their foreheads lodged in its colon.

I'm just saiyan'.