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.
