So, this idea that I've had for a good while now, just never really thought about suggesting it until now.. I believe this sort of thing might give a general idea on a current Staffer's situation IRL / In-Game, etc..
Of course, before I go into detail about this particular idea, this is no way trying to butt into a Staffer's Personal Business for it's up to the Staff themselves on how much they wish to share when it comes to the situation at hand ... but for a general idea as to why a particular staff member isn't available at such and such a time and isn't able to be as active as they wish.
So with that being said, let's jump into this.
So, what exactly is a Staffer Update?
In general, this would be a thread / a pin / a board, whatever have you, to give the community a general idea of a staffer's availabilty.
Of course, a staffer isn't always going to be on and there will be times where they're MIA but the thing is, unless the Staffer themselves that informed the others told them about the situation, the community is left in the dark, rumors are started and the particular staff in question is targeted and attacked. I say 'attacked' because there will be cases when members of the community would start to question their leadership roles or their roles altogether because they weren't updated on such a matter and the other staff kept quiet.
Again, let me make this clear, yes, It's up to that particular staffer to inform the others of their whereabouts and unless they wish for it to be private, then there's not much we can do... However I do feel like it'll be fair as a whole if there was that sliver of light for us so we know the situation together and not wait until someone brings it up.
So... How will this run?
This is a version I talked it out with, with a friend. I'll go into much detail..
"......Like, the activity meter can be ranged from lowest to highest ( there would be an in-game activity meter and a forum activity meter ) ranging from 1 - 1O or Low / Moderate / High.
Not everyone would see a Staff's signature and know about their current situations... but if it was pinned somewhere or on a board.. then it might be beneficial for the players that only check the forums long enough to do so and then jumping in-game.. or for the players that do spend their times on the forums to inform others that don't do such things to be in the 'know' and there won't be any confusion.
Again, this isn't something that needs to be personal. It's more or less of a general update and it can lessen the pressure on MODs that feel like, they're not doing much or they just want to focus on a task at hand and just aren't able to get on as much.. and the community will see and hopefully be more understanding.
Nej doubt they inform other staffers but, it's nice to see updates like that out to the public ( again, doesn't have to be personal ) so everyone can be up to date on a certain staff members situation."
So basically it's an update thread. It'll be branched off into 2 sections under the Staffers Name ( or however they wish to go about decorating this ), where there'll be:
> In-Game Activity ( Ranging from Low - High )
> Forum Activity ( Ranging from Low - High ).
Examples: Let's Use The Current Staff. ( Remember, this isn't true.. these are what it possibly might look like ).
Administrators
Raz ( Razmirz ) ( Is sick, has the flu ).
In-Game Activity: Low
Forum Activity: Low
Sugarmuffin ( Lordsuragaha ) ( Got a promotion. Wants to focus on job a bit more ).
In-Game Activity: Low
Forum Activity: Low - Moderate
Global Moderators
Nynx ( Warriorstrike ) ( Computer Broke / Using A Friend's Whenever They're Able ).
In-Game Activity: Low
Forum Activity: Moderate
Moderators
KynsView (Kynvuu ) ( School Starting Up ).
In-Game Activity: Moderate
Forum Activity: Moderate
Kiwi ( Kikiorylandia ) ( Out Of Town ).
In-Game Activity: Low
Forum Activity: Moderate - High
Moggy ( Morgra ) ( On Vacation, Living It Up ).
In-Game Activity: High
Forum Activity: High
Mods In Training
( This Is Optional in case they do want to have the MITs in here as well ).
Along with this, there will be a timezone as well. Not every staffer is running on the same time ( at least that's not always the case )
so being aware of their timezones can give other members an idea on what time they're normally on and how different timezones is a huge thing in Feral - Heart. Just because some of users don't generally see them at a particular time, doesn't always mean they're never on.
But knowing a Staffers timezone can be pretty problematic at times because it lead to members getting on and misbehaving... despite reports going in or just for some havoc to rise.
Of course, from the looks of things, this can be easily an issue and some not so good players might use this sort of thing to their advantage ( which is usually the cases on some sessions because they're timing it well ), but, it doesn't have to be.
Of course, the staff is currently understaff ( at least IMO ) and they can only do but so much as well as balancing with real life problems and life already. This of course is a game and sometimes certain tasks takes a higher priority over a game. With that being said, it can give the Staff a general idea on how they would go about picking future and active staffers.
Some are living on there sides of the world like Europe, Asia, Australia and can cover the ones that are living in the USA.. Because again Timezones.
Or,
There could be some players out there that just have a bunch of time on their hands and can be playing a session for hours on end without many breaks. Doesn't mean that they don't generally have a life or anything, it just means that they have the time to give without any problems.
So the whole point of this thread ( and sorry for sounding redundant ) is basically giving the community an idea on how active or able a particular staffer is able to be in-game, on the forums, or both overall. It's to hopefully lessen that sort of pressure on the staff because they know that the community is in the know a bit more and they don't have to worry about returning to a bunch of accusations, threats ( and yes, that can be a thing if it goes to the extremes and despite it not happening as often now, can never be sorry ) but as an overall give the rest of us an idea that they're doing their best but something suddenly came up, they're to work though it, etc.
Bottom line in general, it's still up to the Staff themselves how much they wish to share. If they don't wish to, it's their choice.. we can't force someone to do something they're not comfortable sharing or doing. That's the truth of the matter in the end. Sure, it's not fair,
but is it really fair for us to push them to the point we're forcing them to spill the details. Who knows, they might've wanted to share but the timing isn't right.
But, to keep this on topic, Staff are humans / floofs / creatures like you and me and they do have lives. Having a status update every now and then instead of always posting on the leaving boards or writing in their signature ( because again, some don't usually click / find a staff just to see their signature on a status update ) might give them a bit of breather. I guess a problem that can come from this might seem like extra work and all, but if they're willing to put in this sort of effort to update this every now and then, might not be so bad.
But yeah, this is just a suggestion and I'm probably missing something else..
