Best Posts in Thread: Moderator Application: Deinen0

IGN: Deinen0
Forum: Antiacus
Skype: Yes
Teamspeak Username: Deinen0
Mic Use: Yes
Age: 30
Timezone: EST (GMT -5)
Hours Online per Weekday: Varies, I’m on a lot
Hours Online per Weekend: Varies, I’m on a lot
Position Change: Helper to Moderator

Introduction​

Well to be honest, I’ve written an introduction quite a few times and I’m running out of ways to repeat the same information. In the interest of expressing who I am, I’m choosing to re-use essentially the last introduction, with some differences, because out of all my applications, I feel that those words express who I am much better than if I were attempt to give you the same information today.My name is Matt Sawyer,I have four children, three girls and a boy, and I’ve been lucky to be married for over a decade.

I began using computers at the age of 6, with the help of my father. He introduced me to something called "BBS" which was quite literally formed most of my life, childhood and adult. A BBS was something that primarily existed before the World Wide Web, using a text based platform to offer services such as text rpg games, text games, chat rooms, ftp service, and more. I spent a great deal of my childhood on BBS, until I found MUD. A Mud is another text based (Generally RPG) game that came into occurrence during the early days of the web. This offered a greater player base (400-1000) and a different play on classic games. The reason why I included this to make a valuable point, I believe; I have spent many years playing different games, all with great communities, and gameplays.

However MeepCraft is something that I've discovered that is entirely different. This community ends up turning into a pseudo-family, where most communities I've left I've never retained friends from. MeepCraft I've met many players that I truly consider my friend, and I hold a special place in my heart for them. MeepCraft, and it's community is special. Recently this reason became more real to me, as a good friend of mine, is less than two weeks away from shipping off to Basic Training, and I had done something else I had not done before, I gave him my address to write to me. Never before in any online community have I ever released that kind of information to another person. I honestly never expected to in this community, certainly, but it just goes to further show that this community is at the very least rare.

Why I should be mod​

Being a helper for these two short weeks, I have learned and relearned many things. There is a vital importance to not only answering a player’s question, but teaching them the things that are around the question. I found I still really enjoy interacting with the player base on an individual level, as before I got sucked into the negativity of the group interaction of shout. I have relearned the satisfaction you get when helping to take something a player is confused about, and turn it into something they get into, and begin to enjoy. Additionally, as a helper I have shown myself that I am capable of the things that I have preached, and shown myself that good customer service is the great quality a staff member should have, because of it’s vital importance in every interaction you have as a staff and representative of MeepCraft. That includes not walking away from an issue or forgetting a player mid conversation;treat them how you would a real customer, because in a lot of ways they are. Most importantly, I’ve learned that you must always apologize to the player for a mistake you’ve made, because it shows them you care about their situation, and their opinion in the least, and that you’re always looking to improve.

I believe I am prepared for the moderator position because in addition to being able to bring the good customer service skills I’ve honed as a helper to new areas of responsibility; I will still be able to be there to fulfill the roles a helper does. I understand that the moderator role has more responsibility over a much greater area of the server; which some I am more suited for than others. I believe the biggest role a moderator has in that of mentor, more specifically to the helper. Moderators should certainly be assisting in the proper flow of modreq/forum report completion, but additionally they should be the first line of teaching, and standards, that a helper receives.

As a moderator you are given more tools to accomplish additional tasks, such as finding x-rayers. I have a significant amount of experience in this area, being able to quickly identify and track any signs of x-ray that appear across the game. In addition, due to MN, I have vast experience identifying any signs that can indicate improper gameplay, or to identify things that have such a potential; I also can work calmly and quickly in any situations where a glitch or hack is exploited in a mass scale suddenly, as has happened before.

But I do not believe banning is the only part moderating, I believe it is a last resort. I understand the need to issue bans in the context of massive, or otherwise heinous actions, but in many minor cases I always try to work toward a resolution that does not result in a removal of a player. In many public instances of moderation, a wise man taught me it is often much better to send a message to a player in private when you’re looking for cooperation in ceasing action, and I pride myself on taking the opportunity to resolve a problem with communication instead of a ban. It’s hard for me to explain everything I can do or think when regarding what a moderator does, but it is essentially that the key in moderator is moderation. I want to bring moderation into moderating as well as working as a mentor to new helpers, and the community in general about MeepCraft, and staffing.

Another reason I feel I should be moderator is because I will have a greater influence on the direction of MeepCraft. I’m sure to the annoyance of some of my counterparts, I get pretty spammy when it comes to suggesting things. I believe in this because I think the minute we stop looking to improve, then we’ll begin degrading. I always look at the systems and ask, What can we do better, more efficiently? Efficiency let’s staff spend their time doing other productive things, or even giving them a chance to take a much needed break. Additionally it helps the players get quick results on issues, requests, or other things they are looking to achieve. This means I am open to review anything, be it something the server, or I do; to hear complaints, and counter arguments to something in a constructive manner, because even if I disagree, I don’t dismiss their words

Weaknesses​

Teamspeak: I lack activity in this, and it is something that I do need to improve. It’s not necessarily I have any complaints about using it, I just often am much more comfortable communicating via a text format, as it’s easier to control and retain the information given. Due to the hectic house as well, I’m limited to nights, and by that time comes, I get involved in something else. But I will be improving this activity henceforth.

PvP: I admit my last great stints as staff, PVP was not a major part of the server, and not knowing the intricacies wasn’t that big of a deal. However things have changed and I have found myself at a disadvantage of being able to not moderate it as effectively as I could be. To resolve this I have been learning the nuances of pvp, and to the aid of moderation, signs of hacking, etc to better help me in doing my job in these areas.

Blunt & Critical: I can be critical, and not just other people, as I am often just as critical of myself. However, often times it comes out much more acute than I intend, and it often sends the wrong message. To counter this I have been trying to over explain my position, about why I think something is wrong how I came to think that way. This is still often a work in progress, but I realize the significance of this as a staff member. Alongside critical, in general my words can come across much more bluntly than I intended, but I equally understand the importance of this, and I continuously work to mind this particular shortcoming.

Conclusion​

In conclusion, I have learned and relearned many things and I expect to learn many more. I feel that I could accomplish more tasks with the title, clout, and tools of a moderator. I understand what the job is and I intend to do it with 100% just as I have done the job of a helper. I appreciate the time you’ve taken to read this, and thank you for your consideration.

 

Accepted for interview!

 

Let me rip this post apart. He clearly was not raging, and there is a fine line between raging and trying to do his job as well as possible by breaking up a fight. I agree, Deinen is cute. When you said "deinen, you are an absolute horrible staff member, not to mention how horrible you would be mod." I think I puked in my mouth. You have NO room to call him a terrible staff member unless you know what work he does behind the scenes. There is a lot more to being staff than what you see. I also would like to let you in on something. Applications are made so if it's denied the respective staff member gets constructive criticism. If you feel that almost harassing someone on their applications is right, then I'd hate to be applying. If you have something to say, make it nice and sweet as that will help them improve rather than someone saying "You suck at staff and you shouldn't be mod".

 

Good questions, I'll attempt to cover them one at a time. I did spawn in quite a lot of gold, and I was subsequently banned for that action. While not going into multi-paragraph answers about it, as I'm sure they can be easily found on the forums, I can say that this was a terrible mistake, one that I have surely learned from, and will not repeat it, nor will I over-step my bounds or abuse the trust again. Pretty much, I totally screwed up, and then I moved on.

When I applied for helper, I had no immediate plans to apply, nor was it outlined to be applying 2 weeks after. However, once I truly realized that the limitations of helper are binding, I decided to speed that process up quite a bit. As many know, Helpers are mostly the front line worker, they handle the questions and complains, but all in all have very little say in policy, recruitment, and many other areas. It's not that helpers are worse than any other rank, the role is just different. However this is where my strength really shines, as a moderator, I will be able to more easily influence the direction of the ship as helper.

To explain what I mean I'll use an example, when I first joined as helper, I immediately began flooding the staff with suggestions on things to change, while I may not always be right, I always try to take the time to explain why I think a certain change is beneficial, or a hindrance. One particular advancement I've had is suggesting a way to reformat the suggestions thread. With a simple addition of a sub-category, and the change of another, we are now more easily able to convey our progress to the greater player base. Before we had a couple folders where it essentially became a purgatory, good suggestions would sit there for long periods of time with no update on progress. What we have now is a series of steps a suggestion can take, from going into Under Consideration (Good suggestion, but most likely cannot/will not be done), to Accepted (These are great suggestions that probably can be done, but there is no ETA on completion), and then finally Pending (These are suggestions we are currently working on with some reasonable, perhaps not accurate, ETA on completion).

This is certainly not me trying to brag, but to point out this is the area where I really excel. I always try to analyze processes, try to drive out inefficiencies, and add in standardization, for the most part. Another thing I'd love to do as a moderator is set up a true mentoring program for new helpers coming into the fold. This is where an experienced helper, or a moderator takes helpers under their wing and monitor them more closely to try to reduce the gap in interpretations of rules, and subsequent ban times. An additional benefit to this is that with a standardized program to show new helpers the ropes, we'll be seen as a much more unified, and solid force in the eyes of the players. This is also not to say that this staff is bad in any way, shape, or form, but there are ways to decrease inefficiencies, or instances where staff are sending two different messages, more or less, we should be in lock & step with each other.

Another reason I wasn't planning on applying for moderator right away is because I wanted to re-confirm with myself that I was capable of still doing the role of helper first. To this end, I have satisfactorily shown myself that I still excel in the areas I feel are most important to the job, which are customer service. It is not enough I can do a massive amount of modreqs, but that I also give each individual one my utmost attention, this includes not just answering the question they originally asked, but to make sure they have a firm grasp on the answer, and that there is no other information they are confused on. The goal for me was to put a smile on each person who modreq's face, I wanted them happy they filed a modreq and got a quick answer, in addition to a friendly face, and someone who genuinely wants to help them out to their 100% satisfaction. Sometimes that even includes a friendly little chat with players who just needed to know we see them in the wider Meep world, and they aren't in the background. These are the qualities I want to bring with me to the next step up, making sure all our helpers provide the same 110% service (and they do) that I've tried to provide with the players myself. Not only that, but as a moderator I will have a greater role in who we recruit, policy in general, and many other things that I can use to try to bring as many suggestions I feel will benefit things to the table. Again, all my suggestions aren't the answer, and some are quite bad, but I think the minute we stop suggesting is the minute we degrade.

Hell, let's be honest, because of my past, I do not expect to go above Moderator, and that is fine for me. When I said as a helper, I wasn't concerned about the next step, it was the truth, at that time I wasn't. It was only until I saw the limitations and they came into conflict with how involved I want to be in direction of the server, at that time I had decided the next step will allow me to better accomplish what I want to accomplish. The same applies now, I'm not going to worry about the next step until I have cause to worry about it, and at this time I simply have none. And as I said before, even if I wanted too, I have no real expectations of actually being able to do that, and that is fine because it was my own doing.

I hope I've answered at least some of your questions to your satisfaction, if not, or if there is anything else you'd want me to clarify, do not hesitate to ask here or in a PM.

 

Hey Deinen, I will say the same as I did on Bob's application. I am new on this server and I do not know much about the community yet, however you took more than half of my modreqs during the short time and I can not say how PLEASED I was with you.

As you said in your APP, you did not only solve the problem or give advice on the matter, you explained every bib and bob there is to it so there was nothing else for me to say except a huge thanks You are very experienced in every aspect of SkyBlock (which is the only world I was on so far) and are a well mannered, versatile and dear Helper.

I say (for what it is worth), change that Helper to Mod.

 

Neither was Reggles. Look where he is. +1

 

Deinen, it has been a short 2 weeks. I have to agree with others on that. But, regardless on how long it has been or not you still get a +24 from me. That is because of how active you are and you take serious the time to look at any problem. Even if its only a minor thing
And to make it easier to read all POSITIVE comments: here,

My gad that took long to do XD
Oh and sorry for spamming some inboxes

 

Let me adjust then.

1. Abused admin powers to spawn in gold blocks for personal gain
2. Verbally abused players in game and on forums when not a part of the staff team

-1. These are two serious indiscretions I can't move past and I'm surprised so many people are willing to gloss over. These are not the qualities I want in a staff member, I'm sorry.

 

1. Abused gold twice as an Admin - both with pigmen spawners and by spawning in gold blocks
2. Verbally abused players in game and on forums when not a part of the staff team

-1. These are two serious indiscretions I can't move past and I'm surprised so many people are willing to gloss over. These are not the qualities I want in a staff member, I'm sorry.

 

What's your end goal here? In your helper application you made it sound like you were only applying to help out while the staff numbers were low.

I don't know the details about you spawning in gold blocks, only what you yourself said...

Personally, I'm surprised you weren't banned for it, but I obviously wasn't there or know the full story.

I wouldn't trust you with a staff position with any real power. You had your chance to be a leader, to set an example for both other staff members and the community but you choose to abuse your power. You're knowledgeable and are both generally liked and respected but I think that would give reason to be more cautious, not less.

You obviously have a head on your shoulders, are mature and want to prove yourself trustworthy again. I just don't think two weeks is enough time to prove anything.

Honestly, if the staff is willing/does trust you already, they should just go ahead and promote you to whatever position you are planning on ending up at. You were admin before, if memory serves me right, and you can fill whatever roll they might need you for with minimal training.

GL, either way.

 

No,
-1 you should be admin, not mod.

get outta here.