I don't have much to say as the other staffers have stated/explained a lot of things very well. There are a few things I'd like to clear up, however
There have been claims of wrongful bans being handed out, as well as in-game kicks, etc. and there was even plenty of pages of evidence to prove this, Tumblr/deviantArt being the most popular. Of course, these situations were denied & ignored.
Users have claimed to be banned for "no reason" from the start of the game. Staff always save screenshot evidence whenever a user is punished for breaking rules. We encourage users to contact us to clarify any questions they may have. However, many players never contact us and go straight to telling their friends or mention it on their dA, Tumblr, etc. These posts rarely include legitimate evidence. The reason why staff don't respond to them is due to our punishment policy: we do not share any information with anyone except privately with the affected player. We want to help our players, but it is not our responsibility to scour the internet for these claims and explain the reasoning to the user. Not only is it impossible to find every single one, but the player should have received their reasoning as they got booted from the game to begin with. If a player has questions, our inboxes are always open and we are happy to assist
These policies have been in effect since the beginning of the game and have been enforced until today, and will continue to be enforced
This is because there have been wrongful punishments handed out & this has been an ongoing issue for several years.
You state that your inboxes are open but again, I'd like to point out that a lot of Staff over the years have not made themselves sound approachable - while I'm certain they attempt to encourage communicative behaviour. Not all Staff come across this way but FH's audience is typically very young and they easily misunderstand the tone behind text and the sudden ban/kick messages that pop up... for some, it's quite scary (although I accept the fact that it's necessary).
It's not the policies being enforced that's the problem.
We're not saying wrongful bans haven't happened, we are not denying it by any means. There is a very probable chance that it has happened in the past, however as Kiki had already explained earlier, if the case is brought to us, we will all talk about it and look over the evidence to see if their ban was wrongfully placed or not. It is entirely up the the player to approach us about their issue, regardless of if they may feel intimidated or not. No matter what we do, no matter how nice we try to come across, there will still be players out there who will feel intimidated and not want to contact us. No this is not an excuse to not be friendly/approachable, it's simply just the nature of being a member of staff of any place.
I have my own personal recommendations on who I would love to see as an Admin, but sadly they have already declined.
I thought only [current] staff members are promoted to become Global Mods/Admins?
Can members vote on who can be our next Admin? Or at least, give names who can be the next Admin?
First I'mma quote a little snippet from out MOD FAQ + Information thread~
⁃ Staff promotion to positions with higher responsibility (such as admin & or global moderator) are most often progressive and granted upon the individual’s ability to manage the increased responsibilities expected within these positions. Regardless of seniority admin and or global moderator positions should not be expected as a given as they are roles assigned due to certain qualities not a reward.
Generally when it comes to an admin position, Raz will more than likely be the one to choose who will be placed into this position. Gaining an admin position, as stated above, comes from an individual's skills on managing the added responsibilities of said roles, be it through setting up annual community parties, events, contests, seasonal MOTS votings/nominations n all that lovely shtuffs, as well as being able to help lead their fellow moderators and assess situations that may come up within the team.
It would be very lovely to see the community play a part in picking a new admin, however this position needs to be considered carefully as it comes with great responsibility and power. A choice like this does take time and I really appreciate everyone's patience. It means a lot.
Perhaps we can all take the time to be more respectful of everyone and be more clear about what we are actually talking about. And not be so quick to lash out with personal attacks on people that we disagree with or misunderstand like what has happened in the past.
No personal attacks have been launched and doesn't seem to be any rudeness going on?
This thread is probably the most civilised as we can make it as the waters of the topic are wild due to the variation of opinions and views.
I've not seen anyone lash out. Only people being a little more elaborative is we can all understand where we're coming from when we make specific points.
Ye we're all just discussing things. Thank you Dylan for the reminder, though. It is always important to take a moment before responding in a way that could come off as rude or harsh- not saying that anyone here has.