Kolthoff

My opinion wasn't asked for, but oh well. I'll preface this with saying that I've been around for a few years, but am far from the most active player. I'll start off with the construction, and go from there. I'd love to see more creativity with it, more of it. Any time I've seen someone attempt it, their build is, to me, cool to watch. To see, both IC and OOC, how their mind rolls through it. But it always falls back to that same old problem before anything actually happens. Just eight-ish hours ago, I ran into it again. An off-duty CE was re-arranging desks in the spare office. The AI then locked the office, insisted that Sec give him a slap on the wrist, and didn't open it for the rest of the round. I fail to see the issue with this action. Or why it should particularly be against Regs. But I'll digress on that, being that I'm not a writer, and move on to the other issue. I think hostile action runs deep in how the entire server plays. Sec is a particularly bad about it, yes, but I won't say it's just them. The issue with Sec stems from two places, in my mind. The first, being ignorance of the game. The number of officers I run across that clearly display that they have no clue what they're doing is astonishing. But they get away with it because they follow the mantra of the others who trained them : "I'm angry and armed, so I don't answer to you." And so, what do they do when they come across potential threats? Bludgeon them to death and call it "doing their job." And the second issue relates to it. Because, somewhere along the line, and it's true to life I guess, Security stopped being protectors and started being enforcers. And it stops being a thing of "what can I do to keep people safe" and starts being a thing of "what can I do to get my power-fix." And I would guess, in it's own way, Command suffers from a similar issue. The only part I can definitively comment on is in regards to the HoS. At first I thought it was how people chose to play HoS, but I've realized that it's not. That other departments treat the HoS like a more powerful Captain, and so they end up having to act like one. I want to talk about antags too, though. Because they're still part of the problem. Some antags come up with some excellent gimmicks. I can name a few players in particular that, in my mind, are almost always spot on with it. But too often do those gimmicks fall by the wayside. Suddenly, it's just the same old "kill people" role. Honestly, it's been over a year since I've seen an antag that didn't just try to kill crew. (A Solid Snake-like ninja that's only purpose on the station was to wipe out a team of mercs. And as soon as he was finished doing so, single-handedly I might add, he bid me farewell and left.) But it's not just Sec, Command, and antags. How many "barfights" do we have that start off as "your mother is ugly" and end with someone trying to stomp in a skull? How many assistants have welders and wrenches in their bags for no good reason? How many people bitch like hell and leave because the round is Extended? You're right, Jackboot. It's a community problem. It's why our RP is so often shit now. Because we're in this shift away from HRP to validhunting. And it sucks, but I can't think of how to really fix that.

I'd say the argument could be made that you could have assisted, but I don't agree that it means you had to. I wouldn't say the situation was made more difficult by your actions. If the CE and Detective had been yelling for assistance from the HoP, and they had ignored the request, I could see this issue being valid. But they didn't. The situation was tense, things went wrong, but it was resolved. Now, in regards to the round's progression, I'll start off saying, obviously I didn't have a bird's-eye. I saw only my portion, and knew only what I read from others. But, personally, I rather enjoyed the way it played out. At the request of the AI, the fewest people possible were told. Security and the CE go in to handle the situation, situation gets bad, situation gets dire, and at that exact moment, a blob breaks out. And the people most suited to handle it are trapped in the core by borgs that are trying to kill them. To me, the sequence of events built great tension for the round. In reference to appointing a HoS, I'll say this. OOC yes, having the ability to access all of Security and have a Head would have made the round issues wrap up more neatly. ICly, no, it shouldn't have happened. If we look at the Security staff, we have two Officers (one 19, the other 22) who are FAR too immature to handle that responsibility, one Officer who, while likely mature enough, lacks the ability to manage his emotions well enough to handle that responsibility, a Warden who was too scatterbrained to know to hand out weaponry, and a Detective who, while essentially coordinating the department, could not handle and would not want the appointment. So, all that is to say, there was no viable candidate in that round for HoS. On top of all of that, if I understand the timeline correctly, leaving your location to do such would have been pointless, as the majority of Security was entirely unavailable. So, keeping the people with you safe, in my mind, was the most viable choice. In reference to your last question, I'll say yes and no. According to regulations, you could have stepped in and given orders. Perhaps it's my own personal bias, but as a Security-main, I rarely see this action as justified or realistic. Very few HoPs are played as having the experience to effectively command Security. And I find that many often tend to micro-manage that department specifically. To be honest, hearing a HoP yell things such as "Charge!" over Security channels has always made me cringe. If I'm wrong in this, anyone can feel free to correct me, but I've always felt the position is meant to advise departments when needed, not lead them. (After all, how many HoPs are seen partaking in Engine setup or surgical procedures.) And I'll emphasize again that (while I don't know your character well) I don't believe they have much knowledge on how to stop an AI that is actively being hacked, or how to properly handle a blob.

So, I feel like there's a lot more than just this going on, but I'll comment. I played Detective this round, serving as the catalyst for the malf situation. My character contacted the CE, upon realizing the situation, and then proceeded to attempt to organize Security's response to it. At no point did my Detective contact the HoP, and this was done very intentionally. He examined available staff, and chose the member he thought would be most likely to help him solve the situation, the CE. ICly and OOCly, I didn't believe that the HoP would have any exact knowledge on an AI's power supply, programming, or defenses. And yes, that wasn't exactly his call to make, but the situation called for quick action, so he reacted on instinct. As furrycactus said, once we got into the core, the situation quickly fell to chaos, even to the point of the two officers accompanying (Graves and Fitzgerald) being left behind to hold the borgs off while the CE and Detective pushed forward (at this point, the blob formed). But at no point during that did anyone really inform the HoP of the situation. Given the lack of communication, and the seeming lack of experience with issues such as these, I don't feel like attempting to keep the crew calm, contained, and safe is an instance of not performing one's duties. Especially for a HoP.

Likely my favourite Roboticist, Otsor's execution of the job shows, at least in all I've seen, complete knowledge of its mechanics. On top of that, he's one of the few Roboticists that feels like a real person to me. Laid back and humorous, but hard working and effective. I quite enjoyed the one round I've seen him antag (cult) in which he convincingly sold his actions as DnD and nosebleeds. Particularly fond of a personal trait Waff adds, in which, while work is slow, Otsor will lie on his operating table, stare up at the ceiling, and ponder. Will also note that Otsor's being mute is one of the few instances in which it feels like a legitimate trait of the character and not just a gimmick. Ascension, while I've only played with it during AI Malf, is one of the best in that round type. Always RP'd excellently, with a great progression of both malfunction and conflict. And, from what I've seen of these rounds, Waff will generally create a challenging (but still possible) way to stop Ascension, which I find rarely happens in these rounds. Kiahkaaatiyaaaa, which only seen the once, holds a special place in my heart. A round in which he and his assistant/pseudo-son/voluntary-slaveboy, Jet, offered up their own temporary conscription (as well as supply of firearms) to my Detective, to ensure the safe escape of the crew, was comical and fun, but still managed to fit so well with the flow of the round, so as to not be out of place. All in all, I'll say that OOCly, Waff is highly adaptable and shows extreme knowledge of the game mechanics. ICly, they are equally adaptable to the occurrences of the round and are excellent at both generating and extending RP. +1

You rambled on in a vague response with no real point, so I focused on the part that was somewhat relevant. Stand on your soap box, Amory. I really don't care what you have to preach about how right you think you are. An opinion was brought up, and I gave my viewpoint. I'm done with this exchange.

I'm glad you used that word. Because, in my opinion, it's the root of the problem with how you play all of your characters. Everything you do is justified by the words "authority" and "snapping." In regards to the abuse of authority you enact so often, it doesn't just apply to Carmichael. Your other officer character, who I feel is intentionally named in a confusing manner, is perhaps worse for this. This idea of "I have a badge, so I can do what I want." Re: "following orders," I'd argue that I've seen several rounds where you, mostly playing as Carmichael, receive an order you don't like and proceed to ignore it. Re: "Snapping." This is exactly what I meant when I said "unfitting of a Security Officer." If Carmichael can't help but "snap," can't contain his emotions, can't act in a professional manner...he would fail his evals. And wouldn't be cleared for duty. The excuse of "I have anger issues" combined with "I want to play Sec" isn't made acceptable just because you can vaguely admit to the former.

So, I'll comment. I have no Game IDs, because I'm not that active a player, but I'll note my experience as best I can. I recall several rounds in which I felt this to be an issue, but I cannot recall the specific details of those. A round took place (I would approximate: 09/07 1:00ishEST) in which CommanderXor, as well as two others, played a Merc team. AmoryBlaine and I (playing as Officer Daniel Carmichael and Detective Fabe Dante) composed the entirety of the Security team. I, being the first to take notice of the merc team, reported it over the radio. The round progressed. And the "situation" amounted to the AI (the player of which I am uncertain) informing us the "intruders" were by the library. Coming from two different directions Carmichael (accompanied by two combat borgs) and I surrounded them, at which point, without word, he opened fire. Realizing that the chance for interaction had been eliminated, I began to open fire on two of the merc team members, while the third (CommanderXor) fled into the maintenance tunnels. At this point, multiple explosions occurred (origin of which I am uncertain) resulting in the tunnels being vented, and my character (Dante) being incapacitated. Later found by an EMT, my character was revived, at which point I discovered Carmichael was bragging about massacring the merc team over common comms. An action which I would think borders on OOC in IC, but nonetheless, would be unfitting of a Security Officer. When my character prompted him to cease this conversation, Carmichael ignored the advice and continued his bragging. In reference to the round mentioned in the OP, which just previously occurred, I cannot much comment, as an issue still unknown to me occurred, resulting in little interaction with the antags. All that, I suppose, is to say that I agree that there seems to be a constant issue of "play-to-win" with this player.

Support the idea of buffing the E-pistol, not big on handing it to officers. Many would jump straight to lethal. Not a fan of the Warden lethal-lock as a fix either. Tend to find a lotta rounds where antags play warden (without a HoS) to nerf Sec. Lethal-lock would only extend that. Not opposed to standard issue e-pistol as a whole, just how it affects lethality.

BYOND Key: Kolthoff Total Ban Length: Permanent ( Security department only) Banning staff member's Key: sircatnip Reason of Ban: Repeat logging out of server via cryo with security equipment Reason for Appeal: My transgression was completely unintentional and an honest mistake. It occurred during a time at which I was trying to balance personal life while still maintaining a presence on the server and I was unsuccessful. I am aware I received a warning for this behavior, but unfortunately, due to the nature of my error, I failed to notice the warning until after the ban was enacted. I certainly did not intend to cause any issue and would certainly not repeat my mistake if given the chance.