Frances

I'm going to go against the general flow of comments here. I don't want you to leave. I don't want anybody to leave. What I want is for everybody to get along and have fun while playing a game about 2d space men. But the truth is, different people think about things and act on things in many different ways. Sometimes these ways meet, sometimes they don't. Not everybody will get along, and I've often felt like your own way of thinking and expectations were vastly different from the ones of the community as a whole (or as much of a whole as it can be - at least the general opinion). Sometimes going against the flow is good. Sometimes it's not. Shrug. But when it prevents you from being able to enjoy the game, it's a sad thing, no matter the cause. I don't think this makes you a bad person, far from it. And nobody said that (and hey, if they did, it's the internet; come back once you've got a couple of murders under your belt and then we'll talk). But I actually do encourage you fully to take a break, if you feel that's best. There's a lot of other stuff to do and see, and there's really no use butting your head against a wall if you sense it won't do anything. What you need the most to get along with people here better is a perspective change, and I actually think you can acquire that with some new scenery and a bit of time. I'm hoping to see you come back at some point and that we can all have fun when it happens. Until then, all the best.

Archiving this as it's been three months and I should probably clean things up. Send me a PM if you want to have it unlocked.

There's no official policy as how to close an admin complaint, other than by the OP considering the complaint closed, or action being taken against the staffmember. In situations where neither of those apply (several people posted here, and I think the general consensus was either justification or modification of Nasir's behavior), I'll try to leave the complaint up until either everyone seems satisfied or it falls into inactivity. Judgement tells me dialogue has been established and concluded here - if anyone has any further issues with Nightmare pertaining to the topic of Nasir, send me a PM and I'll reopen the thread. (For other issues, make a new thread.)

Events. Which is why I'm not adding more to it, it's fairly complete as it is and won't see much use except as a backdrop for special rounds.

Prisons do get gamerooms - it wouldn't be hard to think they could have some really crappy videogames, especially in the future (I mean, it's not like the arcade machine is actually /fun/ to play on, tbh). It also serves as a source of toys for people to keep, as their belongings. And toy swords and guns can also be used to induce confusion (and be confiscated by guards).

Difficult to implement - there's not any code for it.

The prison event we ran earlier gave me an idea: we could really do with some additional Z-levels for the sake of roleplay. Repurposing CentCom for every event works most of the time, but having a bit more variety in our extra Z-levels could allow us to go a long way as far as the places we can emulate. Without further ado, I decided to officialize our prison level. I might use this thread to post other Z-levels I work on (well, technically they're all on Centcom's Z-level, so let's call them maps. But I have a few more ideas in mind, namely a spaceship level we can use for all of those raiders and military events.

The line above the green screen lights up and flashes red during a fire alarm - the big green changes color and displays information based on alert level (green, blue, red, delta). They haven't been sprited yet, they're just proofs of concept for now.

Just a small suggestion. Our current fire alarm is (imo) one of the ugliest and most mismatched sprites we have, so I tried to push out a few designs to make it a lot sleeker and in-line with our other current sprites. Preview here: http://imgur.com/a/mk8Ud#0 Do we want one of these?

You're grasping at straws now. Whatever convoluted actions were actually going on do not matter. If you get on top of each other naked to have a casual conversation about chemistry, that's your problem. But if it looks like sex, you can be sure as hell we're going to break it up. Keep the fucking off-station. Steamy makeouts are fine. Steamy /naked/ makeouts are not. The reason for this is simple; few people that come to play this game have any interest in seeing anybody fucking with their 2D spessmen avatars. This includes stumbling upon such situations. This includes ghosts having to witness such situations. Don't have sex at work. Is that clear?

Your ban appeal was denied as the reason for the ban was found to be justified. Additionally, I extended your ban to give you some time to reflect upon your continued aggressive behavior. Please, go and do that. I am now going to politely ask that you refrain from making another of these threads.

Alright. Let's look at the facts. You were in an advanced state of undress (jumpsuit rolled down), on a table, on top of a lady who was fully naked, after you put each other on said table. In a secluded area of maintenance. I am not exactly sure how you want to spin that, as I can't think of many reasons why people get on top of each other naked. But if you're going to try to convince me that these events had a purpose that was anything other than overly sexual, I'm gonna say that there's a bit of denial going on. As well as this very incriminating log from your partner in LOOC: [14:52:21]OOC: (LOCAL) Droaksa Rawibushir/Davidchan : There was no rated r [14:52:27]OOC: (LOCAL) Rebecca Salaks/BeccaSalaks : We were doing it in skype So I'm gonna explain it in the clearest way possible: There was bangin'. Here's the thing. We don't particularly care where said banging is being done, because as soon as any part of it is carried on station, it becomes an issue. If you go into the dorms, or a room, or whatever, and fade to black, move it to skype, whatever, that's all fine. But if you actually get naked and on top of each other, in-game, it actually constitutes banging in-game, even if you emote it on another platform. This is the official stance on this. Now as for the rest of this complaint, I'm going to ask you to grow up. I recognize one fault here, which is that the rules are misleading; we've never taken kindly to people having tasteful sex on the station, and as such, the rules should actually read that nothing sexual above PG-13 is allowed, not R. (And I'm actually gonna look to change that.) Apologies about that. But if you're actually going to get mad because a clown exploded next to you after you were done having pixelated sex with your 2D characters, I'm actually going to suggest that you might have anger and entitlement issues.

Whoops. Completely missed that one and now it has two pages. Anyway. Let's see. Appeal for a dayban. Hm. Alright. There's two reasons why somebody would usually post an appeal. The first is you fucked up, and you acknowledge you fucked up. That's sorta easy. You come on, say, "sorry, I fucked up", and we usually unban you if you're civil enough (and haven't fucked up too much). Second reason is you believe somebody else fucked up, and you shouldn't have been banned. In which case you come on, explain politely why you think the ban was unfair, and wait. Politely. Hm. Okay. That's quite a lot of angry text - but surely we can calm down, and take a moment to discuss this, until we can meet on- Oh. Okay. You might not actually be in the right place for this. So let me lay it down for you: You're an idiot. You were always an idiot. Notes are here to represent how much of an idiot you are, and they are not biased, because you acted like an idiot and were given notes that represent it, so that next time you act like an idiot, our staff actually knows to punish you appropriately rather than giving you another slap on the wrist (that you will clearly disregard or argue against). We actually generally try to take the nicer approach at first - but the more notes an user gets, the less likely we are to show leniency. A conversation with the admins should be a pretty good sign that you've fucked up, and that you should maybe take the proper steps to not fuck up again. We don't have to inform you about every single rule you've broken - you break one, ignorance isn't a defense because you're supposed to read all the rules before joining, but we can be lenient and overlook that. You keep breaking rules? Nope. You probably should've read them the first time you were asked to. And yelling in OOC, yelling in adminhelps, and coming onto here to yell about it isn't going to help you. Now, let's look at the very first rule of the server. The first thing you're going to stumble upon when you give our rulepage a read. Oh. So here's the facts. You go around stirring up trouble, yelling a ton, making angry posts. You somehow expect us to listen to you, despite that. But there is a harsh truth you will have to face: not only was every single punishment carried out against you entirely justified, but nobody likes you. And you have not been dealt with "unfairly" by the staff (you fucked up, you got the boot), though at this point, you should probably ask yourself why you feel like everybody is holding a grudge against you. And the answer why is simple: You're being a dick. So, I'm not actually going to play the hand-holding game. The one where we patiently explain to you how every single sentence you ever got was justified as you fabricate asinine arguments while trying to belittle us as much as you can. Instead, I'm just going to extend your ban to a week-long one, for making such a god-awful appeal, and to give you some time to think about what you've done and maybe consider changing your attitude. Here's my advice: Don't think about bitching about this one. Don't even think about posting anything. Take some time off, reevaluate your life decisions, and come back to us when you're ready not to be such an asshole anymore. Appeal denied.

Vittorio has been a very controversial CMO. My personal stance on this (again, personal, not the server's) is that such behavior (in-character, conductive to roleplay) can stand until disciplinary action is taken ICly. Bosses are assholes IRL too, and people slip under the radar, get into positions of power, and say absolutely crazy shit from time to time. What would be immersion-breaking would be for such misconduct to be left running rampant. If Vittorio gets reprimanded enough as a CMO, it is his player's job to either rectify his conduct, or demote him as appropriate.

Since you took the trouble of making an appeal, I think this is deserving of an unban. Yes, we do hear of people missing the announcement quite a bit, but it does happen. As far as I'm concerned, it's already a lesson learned here - no point in keeping the ban up any longer. Will wait for Scopes' response.

I'm glad to see a lot of different opinions on this thread - it makes me hope that this isn't a one-way road, and some people have been able to embrace modly duties while still having fun with the game. It can still be an alienating experience, and I'm painfully aware of that. Skull has been at it for longer than me and seems to be doing fine - though I'm wondering how much of his success is due to being active during deadhour, and thus not having to deal with the brunt of the evening community. But I suppose we're all working with the same people. It's not a job. It's still volunteering. Something fun, I guess. I like doing a good bit of problem-solving. And art, being able to dev for the map, things like that, have honestly been a solace - moderating itself isn't very encouraging, because no matter how many bad players you ban or discipline, you feel like you end up accomplishing nothing - others will always rise up to take their place, and older, more respected members will always leave. It's a constant struggle to even keep things the way they are now. So I suppose that's why I'm so proactive, always pushing for change and improvement - because otherwise I'd have given up a long time ago. I don't like things to remain stationary. But I think I always expected something more? I've tried making friends, never really succeeded. Even dated someone on here - we didn't get along, for other reasons - but I wouldn't do it again. It feels a bit odd to have the highest postcount on here, a postcount that's twice as high as basically anyone else's, yet never really interact with the community, because all I do is applications and complaints and requests, along with the occasional critique. I know I'm free to go and hang out with you guys, after all that's done. But I don't really have the time to do that, afterwards. It takes up all my time. Takes up all my energy.

A few facts about me: - I'm a very private person

Right. I had somehow assumed Skull had unbanned you, but this wasn't the case. Your ban has been lifted.

Alright, this was all pretty amusing, but time to move on. Denied.

Good. Now that we've got the overdramatic, attention-grabby title out of the way, onto the actual issue. Being a mod is hard. I say mod, because there's really no difference between mods and admins in the most essential aspect - we're all here for the same reason. And I'm certain some of you can share the sentiment - if you've ever modded for a SS13 server, after some time, it gets really easy to forget about the game. You start to care less and less for who you're playing, because between all the ahelps about conflicts, disputes, bugs and griefers, there's work to be done. Modding is a hobby. Obviously, people who do it do so because they like it - we're not getting paid, after all. And some of it is rewarding. You get to kick back, relax with other mods, while looking over the server and helping people with their issues. And there tends to be a lot more angry people than grateful ones (But don't worry, they're just the most vocal ones!), though you get the satisfaction of making the angry ones disappear with a button - when they're fuckups, anyway. It's sort of a different game - one with a lot less roleplaying and a lot more drama - kinda like working in a call center or a complaints desk, but with a lot more interesting and wacky situations. At least, the angry customers here shout about Hitler and Jihads, not about their toaster that's not working; and you can always swat them away when you've had enough (actually, that's even what you're here for.) It is a neat experience, but it takes over the game. And sure, you can turn off the voices for a bit, but even when you deadmin yourself, you're left with the nagging thought that you're letting all your buddies down, and while you know all they want is for you to go out and enjoy yourself through some roleplay, you start to worry that maybe you'd really be better off helping them, that what if they don't have enough staff to cover all the players, that maybe it's your duty to go and be a mod rather than play. And don't think of enjoying yourself ever again - you already know who the antagonists are, because you need to look over them. You don't immerse yourself in RP anymore, because you start looking at others' characters instead of your own, wondering if they're being proper, wondering what could be breaking the rule and what's showing a future risk for it. And all your plans of being surprised or meeting something unexpected (along with the anticipation that comes from dealing with the unknown) get slowly crushed as you become more and more aware of the inner workings of not only the game, but the community behind it (which once seemed so organic and limitless). End of the line is, I've been wanting to play a new character for over a month, but have never made it as far as even meeting anyone else in the game. Every time I play, I see an issue, or run into a problem myself, that I find I want to solve more than I want to play. Because I tell myself if I don't solve it, nobody will. And maybe it's a personal problem - between staff and external conflicts, staff overhauls, whitelists, a complete map rework and trying to consult and help on the lore where I can, I've been spreading my efforts so thin and wide that I don't even have enough time to moderate the actual server. Which isn't good. But I don't think I'm alone. It's a constant I've observed; players who join the staff tend to play less and less. There used to be a time that I'd sign on when I woke up, and play round after round for a solid 8, 10 consecutive hours as the same character before I had to go anywhere (summer will do that). Now, I'm running from meeting to meeting instead, with server obligations slowly piling up behind me. And playing the game itself isn't fun anymore; I feel like a mother looking after her children, and thus unable to lose herself in playtime anymore. It's a bit like growing up. Finding out that Christmas isn't fun anymore. And part of you wishes you could go back, but part of you doesn't, because you find yourself looking at the new interests you've found, the new hobbies you have, and wonder: "Was it really better before? Or am I better off now?" I decided I'd try to bring some of this to light, because I know it's a sentiment shared among many of us, but it doesn't really get talked about, as a whole. And it's one of the few discussions I think are really worth having as a community. I feel like I've done my job - but sometimes I feel upset that I can't do more. What about you?

While I quite like the concept of a battle reporter as a whole, we must keep in mind that ICly, Aurora is a high-security research station, but not a warzone. I do not think that a corporation would see much of a benefit in spending resources in equipping a journalist with protective equipment for the very theoretical situation in which an armed conflict would occur (and under which case, given that we are corporate, NT likely /wouldn't/ want any press coverage).

First, sorry for the late reply. We've been restructuring our staff and applications have sort of been in limbo for a while due to it. Giving your application a look, it seems fairly solid. CEs aren't generally the most troublesome kind of head, but you've demonstrated you have a good grasp of what head roles should be about (yes, setting example and ensuring everybody's fun first and foremost). The backstory is also solid, with a very believable and balanced character to make a CE. I haven't seen you in-game, so I'll try to keep an eye out if I can, but if not, one thing I'd ask is that you try to ask a few people you know to come here and provide feedback on your app. If you can get a positive endorsement or two, I'll have no qualms with approving this.

Alright, here's what we're going to do. There's not much speaking for you yet, and checking your notes, I can see that you've still gotten into incidents as a warden recently (you have a note from just yesterday about going SSD as warden repeatedly after several warnings). This does not prove to me that you are ready to take on head responsibilities. However, there is improvement, which I will acknowledge. I'm going to close this app, because it's a bit outdated at this point - however, I'm giving you a blank slate. Basically, wait a couple weeks, and submit a new app. If you can get people to speak for you positively, and I see no objections from staff, then we can grant you a whitelist then. I will be expecting a much sharper application, though, given that you've already been provided feedback. This includes more elaborate answers than "a head is a coordinator that can also fight if needed".

Application accepted. My greatest apologies for the delay.

Application denied due to the applicant's failure to address the highlighted concerns in a timely manner. Should you wish to apply again, feel free to submit a new application, taking into account the issues raised here.