It has come to the that people have seen Raz on more than some others
Yes this is because he is still working on updating the site and doing a lot of cleaning. A task that's taking quite a while due to the many avenues that need attention but also formation of new issues that he must deal with. We're probably going to see a lot more of him during this time.
There's not a lot of staff in-game so much, I only see Nynx and Kiki making an effort in that area, and a lot of other users I'm sure can agree or confirm this.
Kiki and Nynx do an amazing job at all that they do. Both ladies go above and beyond and I'm thrilled to see that the community recognizes their efforts... however just because you do not see certain other staff as readily this does not mean that they aren't making an effort to in game more often but rather that they are working on other aspects of the game, example some of our staff are extremely active on the other FH media sources like the DA group & Tumblr etc. The job of a FH staff isn't solely moderating in game...
I can honestly admit that my efforts have been focused more on the site than in the game. Keep in mind that while moderators, global moderators, and admin share similar duties we also have some duties exclusive to our title... example as an admin Allegra & I focus more of our time and efforts to dealing with back end things with the game. If we are constantly out moderating the in game maps we wouldn't get any where with patch planning and making. This is why a staff team is made to be versatile, so that we can all pitch in in what ways we can while still making a difference for the community.
As the team gets smaller the more demand there is for work else where than just in game moderating. I'm sorry but you guys can't always expect us to be in game. We can't neglect everything else.
(Not directing this at you Edo but more so to anyone here)
Calling out specific staff simply because you think some are more active than others is hurtful. Do not assume things guys when you're only seeing half of the story.
Certain Staff like Ally and Shallow are gone at months at a time, and don't give notice to anyone?
They both informed the staff team that they were going to be unavailable. They left notices on their profiles about it. I discussed it with Raz and he went as far as removing the easy message option (from the staff page) to reduce if not eliminate inbox traffic.
You can see this on Shally in this image:
I understand completely that FH is low on staff, and there are many people who meet the requirements needed of a Mod (as Nynx states in this thread). I also know nothing can be done about it at current time, as Ally is the only one 'trained' to train Mods out of you and her, and you still need to be trained on how to train mods. As a former Staff member myself, I am aware of this, and how Moderators can only answer questions related to the topic of what a MiT is learning. Admins are the only ones who can truly train new recruits. Red trained Allegra, and Allegra was treated like an intern (as in, she always had help with things hands on if you know what I mean?). But now it's your turn, and nothing will improve unless something is done about Staff activity/Staff recruitments.
Not true.
I can train new potential mods just as Allegra can. We are both administrators after all.
While it is true that the admin do the bulk of the MIT training global moderators and moderators are encouraged to give supplementary guidance and advice along their peer's way. The team is a team after all and therefore trains like a team should.
Also there are not many people who qualify as potential MITs... if there were we'd have more mods by now. One of the biggest factors is age. To some it may seem like there are numerous members who are staffy worthy but to staff who know what's expected the pool is limited. We don't put the requirements as a means of hindering things... but we must be careful whose hands we put the community in.
As for pushing the Preset contes back, I personally don't think the Staff should? Sure, maybe make it less regular if you feel it's getting too unsuccessful, but maybe you don't need to at the same time. I think Staff should improve prizes, as they're what people are truly after, they should improve how the preset contest works. The new feature of asking what people want to see/do is great, it's wonderful that the community is being invited/included in this kinda stuff. With Prizes, maybe it would grab more attention if more prizes were involved. For example, a preset for a preset, maybe if someone wants to win the chanse of winning their character a preset from a good preset maker, then maybe people will join in more. 45 DA points, I think is what they offer, it's not much at all for probably hours worth of effort. As well as art. I'm not trying to sound lame about this, but people want art from good and talented artists.
Nothing has been finalized amongst the staff in regards to the Preset Contest, its future, and prize system. Staff has discussed the prize system numerous times and even gone as far as suggesting new prizes as you mentioned... none of this is new. You were around when we were discussing this stuff so I'm pretty sure you're aware of the staff's concern and desire to improve it for users.
You also know that the staff team is made up of people with various talents. Not everyone on the staff team is an artist and even those that are aren't always willing to lend themselves over for the task for various reasons. Some artists also don't work by command but rather by free will and inspiration. As the staff team shifts it's understandable that we will not always be able to offer certain prizes. What do we do in the case that there is only one artist? Do we expect a single person to keep up with prizes? No and we shouldn't. This is why I shut down the preset contest a few years back... because while we want to be able to offer users fantastic prizes we have to be good and kind to our staff.
Our staff are not slaves. As an artist yourself you know you do not like lending your immense time, efforts, and talent for free. Luckily we've had some wonderfully generous and kind staff who have tried to keep up faithfully to the demand...
And so that brings me to that bit about people wanting art from "good talented artists"
Exactly how does one gauge art as being better or worse than others? Are you insinuating that our staff artists have subpar skills? Because it seems that way, and I would advice you not to go anyway further with such notions.
As for points I discussed myself (given my experience with DA art pricing) how small the point prizes seem. But again what are DA points? They are things that you either spent real money buying or real time effort and sweat gaining through commissions etc. Is it kind of us to put that expense on any one member(s) of the staff?
So when you say:
Replacing activities is just rather lazy?
No. It's not lazy nor are we being lazy. It's called caring about your peers and realizing what you can handle without putting immense stress on an already tiny and broken team. While we staff do what we do because we love the community and want to see their happiness we do not do so at the expense of the staff. This is not a slave shop. There's nothing wrong with trying new things and putting some old things to rest temporarily.
Instead of a repetitive Seasonal Preset Contest, how about a different event for every season? Plan these things while current events are going on. Maybe plan these events so people aren't expecting them? Like Bam, Preset contest, Bam, Caracter creation screen contest?, Bam, another contest.
If we could keep up with it a different contest a season would be wonderful.
Also you state a lot of things as though you are aware that we don't do them. We do plan things ahead of time while other events are going on. You were a part of the staff team and you know full well how we did things so idk why you're suggesting things that you know we already have considered or already do as though it's something new and innovative.
I appreciate all the feedback but do keep in mind that we aren't without our own ideas too. We still have the community's best interests at heart and always will.
The very backbone of this game is the staff team.
But the very life blood of FH is the community and that community is made up of the staff and users. A co existence. FH staff can only do so much to please you guys...
It's up to the users to decide if that co existence will be a symbiosis or antibiosis.
At the end of the day we are all just trying to make the best with FH, and that shouldn't cost either side their happiness.
