Best Posts in Thread: Moderator Application from metr0n0me

Member Name metr0n0me

Additional In Game Names: X7J

How old are you? 15

Location: Portland, OR, USA

How many hours per day do you play MeepCraft? (weekdays) 4-6

How many hours per day do you play MeepCraft? (weekends) 1-3

Introduction: Hello! You might know me my Michael, Mike, Metr0n0me, Metr0nub (thanks xtJunior) or “that weird helper guy.” In my spare time, I enjoy reading about geography (I’m fascinated with other peoples and cultures), shooting hoops, hanging out with friends, and studying.

I joined MeepCraft in January 2014, although I’d been playing MCHalo long before that. Towards the beginning of my MeepCraft career, several notable staff members inspired me to give back to the community, as opposed to merely taking from it. I started helping players out in shout, holding drop parties, and building relationships with other players. Soon, I was encouraged to apply for helper, and indeed got the position.

Two of the main factors I think about before I take any action, both in game or in real life, are: “How does this affect the community?” and “How can use my talents to give back to others?” Outside MeepCraft, I’ve played the piano for a retirement facility, played the organ for my church while the organist had surgery, held numerous geography competitions, and taught an SAT math class for children who otherwise couldn’t afford tutoring. Within Meepcraft, I’d say I’ve given back to the community I’ve been a part of in many ways as well—holding trivia contests, PVP contests, helping out newer players, etc.

Why you should be Mod? When I interviewed for helper, I stated that I would be content with helper, and “didn’t have too many further ambitions.” Therefore, you might ask why I’m here.

1) Both inside of MeepCraft and outside it, I’ve always been on the front lines, so to speak. I’m always the one helping out—teaching children, answering questions, doing modreqs, and so on. In other words, I’ve been directly helping out those in need of assistance. However, I feel a need to slowly crawl out of my comfort zone and accept a new role within this community. Being a moderator, yes, entails some legislative duty. I’ll handle ban appeals, do more PR work, and have a more active say in the day-to-day operation of the server—all skills I’m eager to learn. However, at the same time, I’ll still be doing modreqs, and the added power will strengthen my ability to help the community in diverse ways—oftentimes I’m the only staff on and have no permissions to help players who only need a simple fix, which breaks my heart.

2) I possess a strong work ethic and a desire to improve myself. Once I pick something up, I won’t put it down until it’s finished. This applies with everything I do—I’ve played the piano for 12 years, and in the process learned many valuable lessons. For example, when I play a song and get to a part where I just can’t seem to get it right, I’ll go over the measure slowly, play it over and over until I get it consistently correct, and integrate it with the rest of the song—even to the point where my teacher says I’m obsessive. Similarly, I’ve spent hours rebuilding my shot mechanics in basketball—just for the sake of a one or two percent improvement in my shot accuracy. Likewise, on MeepCraft, I’ve spent the last couple weeks poring over Prism tutorials and striving to be the truly proficient at Prism.

3) I stand up to authority and maintain my values. This one can be a double-edged sword, as sometimes I can be too blunt. However, I’m never one to “suck up” to higher authority just to obtain power, glory, money, or prestige. I’ll always say what I believe needs to be said based on my values, which are difficult to change. If I ever feel anyone—even a superior—is doing something detrimental to the community or the server, I won’t hesitate to call them out.

4) I can relate to the community. During my early days of MeepCraft, many staff members, such as Shadowblizzard, 1minecraftlord1, Sirrr_Pig, and bluecarneal, didn’t consider themselves staff members across a canyon from “ordinary people,” a division that I feel is currently widening. During the last six months or so, the rift between the non-staff playerbase (oh no, I’m doing it too!) and the staff team successively widened each passing week, with each side becoming increasingly unreasonable and unwilling to compromise. As a staff team, we need to close this rift before the damage is irreparable—staff members need to be seen and held accountable like every other member of the community. Even now, I take a very interactive role within the playerbase, visiting townspeople, buying from shops, talking with players, etc. For the most part, I listen to the grievances of the community and I do what little I can to fix them, one thing that sets me apart from most other staff members.

What are your weaknesses? While I went over my strengths, I’ll try to be as honest as I can while addressing my weaknesses.

1) I can be too blunt in my criticism. Sometimes, I criticize the policies that my superiors make, leading to heated disagreements. While I can definitely say that I’ll do my best to calm down the disagreements, it’s in my character to say what I feel needs to be said—so I’ll still be pointing out what I perceive to be flaws in the policies.

2) TeamSpeak usage: My parents don’t allow TS, but I try to use it anyway. However, this means that I can’t take an active role in too many conversations unless home alone.

3) I sometimes don’t file reported bans correctly—this was a major issue when I was newer to helper. Thanks to DianaB72, I’ve now learned to file reported bans correctly, and this issue is mostly resolved. However, on occasion I can forget to file the reported ban, although the evidence is always on my computer.

4) Inconsistent hours—The amount of time, as well as where I spend it, varies dramatically from 2 to 6 hours per day. I’m a regular on about every time zone, one reason why I’ve been able to build relationships with many people. However, as I’ve been criticized before for my “inactivity,” I’ll state here that sometimes I’ll be on at 10am, and the next day at midnight.

5) I'm really poor. I'm currently the poorest staff member, and if I get moderator, acquiring money for my town upkeep will be a challenge to juggle with the other responsibilities of being a staff member. However, this should not become a problem.

Please give any other information you might think is useful for us to know: I wrote this in 15 minutes at midnight, so if anything is incoherent please let me know!

I also share X7J with xtJunior.

 

Accepted

 

I was actually quite hesitant on your introduction into the staff, but after I saw what you can do, I believe you are one of the strongest people on the team right now.


No reason to deny this in my opinion.