Author Topic: [Community] Player Feedback  (Read 12016 times)

Offline Insoholic

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[Community] Player Feedback
« on: April 11, 2021, 01:54:45 am »
Player Feedback



The purpose of this thread is for us, the players, to give feedback to our moderation team.
What are you dissatisfied with? Would you like to share some good experiences you've had with staff?
Is there anything they could be better at? Do you believe you have some good suggestions on how they could improve?
Then this is the thread for you!

However, for this to go as smoothly as possible, I have set some ground rules.
Please make sure that you follow all the rules before posting any feedback!



Thread Rules

- Make your feedback constructive.
Simply saying "mods are horrible" won't give them any idea on how they could improve. Try to be as descriptive as possible.

- This is not a ban appeal thread.
Please refer to the Staff FAQ if you believe you've been unfairly sanctioned.

- Do not address specific staff members.
The feedback posted in this thread should go to the moderation team as a whole, and not any named individual.
Please contact a staff member in private or message the server master if you have serious concerns about a specific member of staff.

- Please do not speak on behalf of the staff team.
While you're allowed to participate in a healthy discussion, please allow a member of staff to review all feedback.
Do not disregard other players posts; staff should have the final word in any suggestions made by players.

- Do not quote comments without adding any new feedback.
Do not quote other players without adding anything new to the post. This counts as spam and will be moderated.



Please remember that this thread is also subject to the Official Forum Rules & Guidelines.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2021, 03:09:11 pm by Moontwist »


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Re: [Community] Player Feedback
« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2021, 02:00:47 am »
Wouldn't it make sense if we used the surveys instead? https://feral-heart.com/smf/index.php?board=33.0

They are similar to your questions.

Offline Insoholic

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Re: [Community] Player Feedback
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2021, 02:04:36 am »
Wouldn't it make sense if we used the surveys instead? https://feral-heart.com/smf/index.php?board=33.0

They are similar to your questions.

It takes much longer to collect responses from surveys. Having a public feedback thread is key for communication.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2021, 03:10:10 pm by Moontwist »


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Offline Bloo.

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Re: [Community] Player Feedback
« Reply #3 on: April 11, 2021, 02:55:26 am »
I'm always open for feedback, no matter the source c:

Please, members, feel free to post here without fear of reprimand so long as your feedback adheres to the rules of the forums and the guidelines of this thread's original post!


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Offline Insoholic

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Re: [Community] Player Feedback
« Reply #4 on: April 11, 2021, 04:07:48 pm »
Thank you, Bloo! What's your opinion on having a designated place (or a thread) where player submitted fan art, game fan fiction, screenshots and maps would be highlighted?

While official FeralHeart newsletters do include community highlights, they do not serve as a community portal where the finest creations can be showcased and that's because of their seasonality. It'd be amazing having a large selection of great community contributions and fun content presented somewhere other than only in seasonal newsletters (livestreams, official FeralHeart social media, etc).

I'm aware that creating such designated place on the website for sharing player content is not something that may happen in the foreseeable future, so why not improvise with a whole new thread in the "News" section or even a whole new section/board (Player Submitted Work/Community Portal/Monthly Community Showcase) in the "News" section (because it's at the top of the forum)?

Thanks in advance!
« Last Edit: April 11, 2021, 10:14:25 pm by Moontwist »


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Offline G4RG0YLE

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Re: [Community] Player Feedback
« Reply #5 on: April 11, 2021, 04:41:46 pm »
I think the dissatisfaction I feel most wholeheartedly is the ordeal we've always had with, "it's going to be a surprise" regarding upcoming updates or what's planned for the future.
Although it really hyped everyone up some time ago, by now it's gotten past the point of being worth it, at least to me.

Now I'm not saying tell us what's to come, every time.
But at least compiling a thread where we get sneaky previews of what the Staff have been up to (forum & game based) would be nice, so that the constant accusations of Staff doing 'nothing to improve the game' can minimise.
Obviously, one of many obstacles is that... will the work actually be approved by Razmirz? At least, a few members of the community may be begging this question. Yet I do feel that if Raz approves the tasks being completed prior, a thread can be made in the Staff boards and worked on gradually until the thread is actually ready to publish.



Another issue I'd like to bring to the table is Training of Staff.
I don't doubt that Staff receive a very professional method of training. But I, for one, didn't during my time of appointment. The training itself was decent but, when I was working with other Staffers, it was clear that someone had been taught one thing and I'd been taught another, so decisions & actions were causing communicative issues & arguments to occur.

I'm sure this has been improved since and I've no doubt our current Staff Team are now all on the same boat but, I'd simply like to personally recommend that One specific person is assigned the role of Training new mods. A document should be made regarding topics to cover (i.e When to move threads (giving scenarios for MiTs to practice with, etc.), lock threads, when to warrant a warning via PM in-game or simply just kick/ban and how the context/use of profanity/or other things will equate to ban length) & this document should only be accessible to that person doing the Training, simply to avoid the spread of false information via other Admins/Global/Moderators. That way when things fall out of line, it is down to that Trainer to correct or relay the information back to this document and, you get the jist (hopefully).

If the Trainer later steps down from their position on the Staff team, then this document should be sent to the person taking their place. They should also receive a briefing as to what exactly to say, how to say it, etc.
Recording the training of each MiT could be worth the while, but I wouldn't suggest it be a requirement. More of like an optional recording, so that Administrators & the Server Master can confirm that individual was definitely trained. Just in case they take the wrong steps, yudda yudda.

Reason why the document should only be accessible to that specific Trainer is because I wouldn't want to see it edited by others and it becoming confusing, out of order or deleted by accident, or end up in the hands of the wrong people and then publicised.
Obviously, the Server Master needs to be the only ideal other one to have access to the document, just so Razmirz can overlook exactly what's being said & done, given the fact that he typically approves/disapproves of most if not everything and he also lacks the time to be able to train MiTs himself.
If there are going to be two Administrators again, maybe they can both play a part, but I don't see it being very fitting as they'll have different things to say. Sticking to one is kind of the go-to for now whilst the Team itself is very small.



I suggested quite some years back that the Staff Team need to be divided, as some Staffers are more active regarding the forums than the game and vice versa, while others specialise more with managing forum structure/coding etc. moreso than making textures & maps.
It looked something like this:


Server Master
🟨 His power, etc. stay the exact same and I've nothing to comment on this position.

Administrator(s)
🟨 The overseers of the performance of the rest of the Staff Team
🟨 Can moderate Forum & Game
🟨 Has specified Trainer(s) for handling the training of new Staff
🟨 Relay files that other Staff have made for the Game to the Server Master
🟨 Have conclusive say in content
🟨 Send a review of 'final products' to the Server Master
🟨 Can appoint Global Moderators & Forum/Game Mods
🟨 Overlook the actions & decisions of Global Moderators & Forum/Game Mods to ensure what they're doing is correct
🟨 Make content for the Game and Forum, specialise in both (with more power/access than Global Moderators)

Global Moderator(s)
🟨 Can moderate Forum & Game
🟨 Likely to be the next appointed Administrator if one steps down or is removed
🟨 Overlook the actions & decisions of Forum/Game Mods to ensure what they're doing is correct
🟨 Make content for the Game and Forum, specialise in both

Forum Moderator(s)
🟨 Moderate only the Forum(s)
🟨 Lock/move/delete/archive/make threads and general forum announcements
🟨 Report game hassle to Game Mods/Global Mods/Admins
🟨 Handle forum issues
🟨 Make forum content (involving the change of structure of the forum, design, etc)

Game Moderator(s)
🟨 Moderate only the Game
🟨 Warn/kick/ban in-game users
🟨 Report forum hassle to Forum Mods/Global Mods/Admins
🟨 Handle game issues
🟨 Specialise in making game content for future updates (textures, maps, models, interfaces, etc.)

This is only a brief idea of what the Staff Team can be structured as.

Why/How do I think this can work?
I believe it needs to be done because it's clear that some Staffers prefer one over the other or have more skill in certain aspects and are still learning the ropes of the game/forum. Global Moderators and normal Moderators literally have the same powers right now, so why they're even separate categories is genuinely beyond me but, I could also be wrong and I'm sure I'll also be corrected. Moderators shouldn't have as much power as the others but still equal authority but just in particular branches.
This way regarding updates, the 'Forum Team (Mods)' can entirely focus on improving the forum whereas the 'Game Team (Mods)' can entirely focus on improving the game. That way, equal work is being allocated and the Global Mods/Admins can overlook the tasks that need to be done and ensure it meets the standards/general requirements of the Server Master. Also gives hope to the community that more is going to be brought to the table & delivered in a sufficient manner.
Obviously, these updates can be done in smaller doses as well. There can be forum-specific updates and then game-specific updates or one BIG update.

I'll elaborate further on this once I've had time to think about it.

I'm about to edit this space regarding the Division of the Staff Team (i.e having Admins/Global Mods/Forum/Game Mods)...



I'll edit this post as I think of more things to suggest. But these two I feel are the priorities on my list in my eyes.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2021, 05:38:02 pm by G4RG0YLE »

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Offline Insoholic

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Re: [Community] Player Feedback
« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2021, 09:38:12 pm »
Replying to your edit, here's also my preposition for the reconstruction of FeralHeart Staff:



Server Master

|

Administrator(s)
- The head of the Staff team, they're responsible for developing FeralHeart,
in addition to related tasks such as advertising the game and running events.

- Among the administration positions, there's the Community Manager (CM),
the person who's in charge of communication between players and administrators,
hiring new members for other teams of the staff and managing content assigned to them.

|

Game Master(s)
- They have in-game powers that allow them to keep the community well-behaved and civil, as well as enforcing the rules of the game.
- Their duties include banning hackers, sanctioning rule-breaking chat, and to help players with any issues they may have in game.
- Game Masters do not have any power on the forums, unless also a Moderator.

Moderator(s)
- They have forum powers that allow them to keep the community well-behaved and civil, as well as enforcing forum rules.
- Their duties include locking rule-breaking threads, muting users for rule breaking posts and keeping general order on the forums.
- Moderators do not have in-game powers unless also a Game Master.

|

Arbitre(s)
- After being accepted as part of the FeralHeart Staff, you will have the secret position of Arbitre.
You will be asked to create an alternative account, of which nobody else must know.

- As an Arbitre, you will be asked to help out by moderating in whichever map you're playing in and/or moderating designated forum sections.
You're not required to take reports, and you don't need to actively seek out hackers or other misbehaving players.

- This position is purely for helping out with minor offenses in public maps and/or designated forum sections.
Arbs must remain anonymous so that they can effectively moderate in their rooms and/or designated forum sections without alerting players.



Please let me know your feedback regarding this reconstruction!
« Last Edit: April 11, 2021, 09:40:05 pm by Moontwist »


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Offline Bloo.

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Re: [Community] Player Feedback
« Reply #7 on: April 11, 2021, 09:42:22 pm »
I'm out and about right now, but real quick I'd just like to make a point!

The staff team will most likely never be split into game moderators and forum moderators. It simply doesn't help things with a community the size of FH. For example, you see staff online when some bad rule breaking is going on but they can't do anything about it immediately because they're only forum staff. Unfortunately, we've had experience with staff members not being able to do anything in-game, so they need to make their own reports to moderators who can. This can be a slow process and an ineffective way at dealing with the situation in a quick manner!

Not to mention, as of right now the staff population and community populations are both very, very small. Splitting up the team like that just wouldn't work~

I'll expand more on both of your responses later when I have a bit more time, but thank you so far for your feedback!


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Offline G4RG0YLE

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Re: [Community] Player Feedback
« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2021, 09:45:39 pm »
In terms of the current capacity of members & Staff - splitting the Team would be inappropriate in this moment of time. The community is small and the Team has 4 of you (5 if we include Raz).

If anything, the Team could still be split once everything starts to grow back in numbers.
But, you'd just have to give them all the ability to kick/ban in-game regardless if they're a Forum Mod and vice versa. But they'll be most known for their work being forum or game directed and specialising in solving problems in those branches (which can help new users understand who's best to approach about what).

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Offline Insoholic

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Re: [Community] Player Feedback
« Reply #9 on: April 11, 2021, 10:09:47 pm »
It was only a mere suggestion, I completely agree with you both.

Back in 2017, we had the same discussion and agreed that if these roles were to make a come back, it will only introduce the issue of limitation.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2021, 10:15:07 pm by Moontwist »


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