Mofo1995

That's a link to some steamy nachos, you deserve it. Eat up friendo. Now about Paradox's application. It's short, and that's fine. Applications don't have to be very long, but at least when it comes to my catbois apps, I push for some fat content for me to dig into. So let's talk about the character design, a morally dubious skrell born in a violent and oppressive society who was conditioned to be that way as a means to survive that society. This skrell who faced those struggles was ultimately pushed out of her enthnostate and traveled afar to human space to seek out a new future. I think the concept is really interesting and exciting, but I don't think this application is a good execution of the idea. It's just too.... Glorsh-heavy. Now, I can't call it unrealistic. The character concept of a highly intelligent yet morally dubious merchant who escaped a historical oppressive regime and seeks fortune in a new world has been done millions of times before. But it's a -really- boring idea when it tries to stand on its own. As it stands, our girl Kres-Weeblo Scouts doesn't really have any personality at all. Ironically for her story being about surviving in a government of the machine, she may as well be a machine. All of her decisions are straight-forward about immediate self-interest. Has she connected with Wilbur Mercer recently? Where's her Skrellmanity? Would she even pass the Voight-Kampff test? What I want to see in this application are the small things that make for a stronger character. Quality control on Skrell has been kind of lax, and I think you have the potential as a player to make a strong addition to the skrell community and reverse this trend as an active example for other players. What did Kresp'Yeeblo think the first time she heard music? How does she feel about humans and the sensation of living in human space? When she wasn't helping her family do their "business" in her youth and young adulthood, what did she do in her free time? Did she have any friends? Did her parents come with her to the Republic of Biesel? Are they alive? Does she sometimes wish she could have hatchlings? When she came into human space, did she immerse herself in literature on human economic thought to step up her game? What's her favorite food? I know these kinds of things are often considered minor to the greater story, but I think it's important to remember that we're looking for a character built based on lore instead of just a lore story with no real character to be found. For now I don't support this application, but if a few of the questions posed above or even a few ideas of your own are tossed in to fill our the character, that could easily be changed. Also, one last thing. Edit: I see you said she likes comic books and adventerous things not including novels. That's a nice start, give us some more! Preferably edited into your application so that it's easier for newcoming readers and whatnot to get the full picture.

In PMs I told you I would be getting to this tonight, but it turned out that I wound up not having enough time. I'll be getting to this tomorrow instead. Thank you for your patience!

I got in over my head, so I'll be getting to this tomorrow instead since I really have to get to bed. Thank you for your patience!

I'll be responding to this application tonight, it actually flew under my radar. Good bump.

The New Sidearm of the Imperial Army 09.04.2460 The first prototype Grrmhrvar Industries "Lawbringer Mk.I" Grrmhrvar Industries today revealed a new prototype for infantry weapons in a surprise announcement. Named the the "Lawbringer MK.1," this new sidearm provides a revolution in smart handgun technology. Features include varying rates of fire, a nonlethal setting, and various types of ammunition which include explosive, incendiary, and armor piercing rounds. The new smart handgun also boasts a DNA lock which prevents anyone other than its owner from using it, an aspect of the new prototype which excited many military officials concerned about battlefield requisition from enemy forces. The Kaltir-based arms manufacturer announced that their factory for naval anti-air weapons would be retooled within the month for the new firearm. The Imperial Adhomian Military was quick to sign an 8,000,000cr production contract with Grrmhrvar Industries with an initial order for 1,000 Lawbringers by July. The First Imperial Dragoon Alam'ard is planned to be the first unit to field test the new weapons on the front-line. A spokesperson for the Imperial Army voiced optimism about the recent contract, praising the potential anti-vehicle capabilities which infantrymen armed with the new guns would have. Veterans of the Royal Grenadiers, famous for their use of incendiary weapons, have also praised the production contract by citing the utility of longer range fire-based attacks. All is not perfect for Grrmhrvar Industries, as rival arms manufacturer, Royal Firearms, challenged the patent in the Crown Patent Office. Royal Firearms, which is renown for its production of revolvers and recently automatics, stated that there was no way the company known for anti-air arms and munitions could have suddenly developed this revolutionary weapon. The competitor even went as far as to state that the unveiling of the new prototype may be linked to the recent return of Baron Grrmhrvar's son, Vahral Grrmhrvar, from his travels abroad recruiting for the First Volunteer Alam'ard. A spokesman for Grrmhrvar Industries has denied these allegations, though the the Crown Patent Office has yet to comment on the status of the patent. If Royal Firearms is able to prove the firearm design is not authentic, then the design patent application will be denied and any arms company will be free to reproduce the Lawbringer without violating NKA law. Parliament has passed legislation banning the civilian and law enforcement ownership of the Lawbringer and "Lawbringer-like weaponry." Lawmakers were quick to cite the dangers of high explosive weapons, particularly in the wake of last year's high profile suicide bombing attack.

Spicy

I think it's a strong improvement! The form of the writing isn't the very best, but it communicates everything clearly and properly demonstrates the important themes of Tajara which I look for. Tnthusiasm to roleplay as the race is also clearly present. I think this is good enough for a whitelist. Application accepted.

Sorry for the wait! I got carried up with the pre-Easter and Easter rushes at work. I'm off tomorrow and will be giving my final review then.

I wanna preface my post by saying I like ERP. I wanna follow that by saying I don't think we should allow ERP on station. I'm fine with the inclusion of more adult themes and even the laxening of OOC (but not IC) rules against affection in public. But I think it will polarize the community and alienate a large number of our players. I can already see complaints of witnessing Tajara ERP rolling into my PMs. I think that by allowing more mature themes to that level on server, it will backfire and result in a more immature playerbase focused on simulations of romance rather than engaging character interactions. Pretty much everytime I play on ERP servers, I'm quickly discouraged by the clique-ness as everyone shuts themselves off from new interactions to instead isolate themselves with their partners. The result for me is that, ad an irregular and new player, I'm excluded from all character interaction beyond "fuck off" We could try the moderate approach and apply limits to how much people can go fuck off, but I really think it would provr ineffective and too grey. Now, some time ago, there eas talk of apartment server. Supposing it could be reasonably developed, I think that would be the perfect outlrt for ot. But im not the kind to make demands of the dev team since they do so much for us. I love the idea of a community manager in the vague sense, in the sense that I think Tribunes of the Plebs are a cool idea. An elected mouthpiece for the community is a cool idea, but we have a really diverse community. And their duties could use a good definition to really pin down what they would do exactly and by what mrchanisms they would effrct the srver. The nonstaff idea is genius, since as a member of staff for 2 years now, I often grt the feeling that theres a disconnect. A gap everyone wants to see closed, but which is still there all the same. As far as popularity contests go, I think this is the one position that reallt fits just right as a popularity co,test and should be.

I will keep these things in mind and will address them later today once I get home, would you rather I edit the original or copy past a new one and post it as a comment? Is there anything you would like me to address with this section aside from the loyalty part or is this ok? As for the ALA opinion I will touch that up to add more hatred for them, and will tone down the power tools to merely maintaining them instead of building them so as you said; not revolutionizing his town and then making a deal with NT, but merely getting a scholarship/admission to college. Ah, just go ahead and edit your current application. There's no reason to make a brand new one.

Sorry for being a day late. Checking playtime, you're no slouch. You're definitely active on the server, so that's good. Onto the application itself. This had me going to the wiki and hitting control+f. It's not copy-pasted, but most of the sentences in here read very wiki-like. What I mean to say is that it isn't a very insightful section, but the only issue I might take here is "Tajara are very loyal to one another." It's really not an accurate statement, not even among those who follow S'rand'marr, considering how over 100 million Tajara have been killed in the past century- all Tajara on Tajara conflicts. I guess I can concede though that, on the average Joe Tajara level, the average Tajara would be more likely to grant clemency and band together with a rando Tajara rather than an alien which most feel exploits their race. So if that's what we're getting at here, I can shiggy diggy it. Better the dumb Zhan miner down the street than the weird anime watching bald-bodies. The impression I get here is that Nikit has bought into the PRA propaganda, which makes sense if he grew up in a more or less NT controlled town. Considering the PRA soldiers would be defending the town from what he saw as attackers, I can understand why. It's not really explained why he thinks that the fact that the ALA wants to remove humanity from Adhomai foolish though, I would love for this to be expanded on. My only other piece to add is that it's not very clear which soldiers he finds terrible people. The ALA's or PRA's? The only soldiers previously mentioned were the PRA soldiers, is he saying ALA leaders are gang bosses and scum and their soldiers are terrible people, or is it saying he hates the PRA and ALA? Normally I would assume the former, but a lot of applicants opt to push for centrism. I dunno how I feel about a teenager designing power tools and robotics to replace pickaxes. I really feel like, in the context of this story, NT could've easily have just done that themselves if they really wanted it and cut out the middle-man. I feel like a better rewriting of this section would be something more along the lines of he took an interest to maintaining the rarer power tools , and the experience and knowledge he gained there helped him land a scholarship with NT- rather than a scenario where a kid revolutionizes his town and makes a personal deal with the biggest corporation in the galaxy. The section just needs more grounding, since the way it currently is places it kind of up in the clouds. Anyways, from there getting an formal education in robotic engineering and then going off to work on Aurora at reduced pay to fend off his Student debt is A-okay. I'm interested to hear your response.

For those who still plan on applying, or who think they may be interested in applying in the future, applications are remaining open.

After reviewing the applications and considering the two current applicants, I will be accepting both [mention]Alberyk[/mention] and [mention]Coalf[/mention] as Tajara lore deputies. Of the two essays, I think Alberyk's showcased a more refined prose and stronger writing, and the figures being in-game screenshots added a lot of flavor. Coalf's drawings added a lot of power to his essay, and allowed for a solid visualization of the lore he provided, which helped since it was all about fashion.

Great success! I'm glad people are chiming in! This was fresh advice to me since it's easy for me to get my head up in the clouds. My tendency to prioritize (attempted) deep lore for maximum immersion sometimes leads me to not consider the immediate and pragmatic on-station effects that players can instantly gratify themselves with. I think that Tajaran clothes could easily be implemented though, since only some jobs have strict dress codes and its not like Tajara are known for bikinis. The food lore is particularly exciting since we could get some Tajara specific meals-- something that developers had asked me for some time ago, but I unfortunately let slip. As far as Jackboot being loremaster, I want to make very clear that I have put no restrictions on who can apply for Tajara deputy. While he ultimately did it as a proof of concept, I would consider him like any other applicant if he genuinely applied. If administration or Jackboot want to step in and add restrictions, they're free to do so. Thank you for your input! As Xander said later in the thread, two Tajara lore devs ago clothing actually was touched up on.. There's even an (unused) drawing still around on the wiki from concept art she drew to convey their fashion sense. Sometime in the HiveFleet Era, one lore dev ago, it was removed for quality control reasons, and I think the associated lore was contained within the pictures caption and so also got removed. At any rate, it certainly wasn't as detailed as the current proposition. I'll also take into consideration your concerns about Alberyk's workload. Don't be shy! I've read through several history books about primarily Russian history in general, but also some with focuses on the Soviet Union. I'm sure we could get along. Don't let fear of nepotism scare you off, so long as an essay is strong enough and an applicant isn't in "right about to be banned" standing, I'm open and welcoming to the idea. If you can't scrape one together now, applications aren't closing until I feel overloaded by deputies, so don't be discouraged if you see me take some people on and get an idea to apply with later. Apps will still be open. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback! Clear pictures on whom I want are pretty well formed by now. I plan on making my decisions on the current two applicants tomorrow since i have the day off, so anyone else with feedback is strongly encouraged to drop in and speak up.

I'll be reviewing this tomorrow.

Jackboot's essay, a discussion on power politics on Adhomai and an argument for the greatest defining event of Tajaran history, as well as elaboration of on going social and political issues.

Coalf's application, new lore about Tajaran fashion both historically and in modernity, as well as an explanation of different faction styles.

Alberyk's Submission, an original series on culinary arts in the New Kingdom and expansion of historical food culture on Adhomai, primarily in the northern Harr'masir region.

I was looking for literally anyone to say they wanted them posted (applicants not included) and Xander certainly isn't no one. In a few hours the application essays will be posted in here, just need to get the pictures from the essays onto imgur or something so that they can be found in here.

Doing a post-essay thread after majority of people have submitted theres isn't really what I"m looking to do either, since I don't plan on closing applications. It would just leave future applicants with an example to copy off of. I mean, sure I'll post all the applications if people speak up and say they want to peer review him. But if no one is going to peer review them, I would really prefer to keep them out of the open to encourage creativity. Going once... going twice... speak up lads

I am at a juncture now where I've been reviewing applications and coming to decisions. But before I go farther and start taking on deputies, I want to ask: Does anyone want to take part in the peer review process and have my post these applications for all to see? It was an oversight on my part to make it a private process, but before we go on I would like to highlight a major advantage. By being private, none of the applicants can see each others essays. This prevents a meta or format from emerging since everyone has to find their own way, heavily promoting creativity. In contrast what would be given up is, more or less, the ability for people to drop -1's and +1's for me to completely ignore, since the whitelist application process yields good feedback maybe once in 50 posts or so. I'm leaving it up to the community though, if yinz want me to post the essays in this thread for everyone to review, speak up.

Hi there, Mofo here. There's a lot to unpack here. Let me start from the bottom and work my way to the top. Diamond Dogs. The non-transparent nature of my proposed application process didn't even occur to me, actually. I'm not exactly of a democratic mind, so I really didn't even consider this. If everyone wants, I can change this so that all essays are posted to the forums too. My concern and why I wanted it from a word processor was for formatting's sake, since I know from personal experience how much of a clustered mess formatting via forum post can be. Now, I would still want a word processed document sent to me, but I would be willing to post them along with the submission's name if everyone wanted to come in and criticize it. Not literally. It would have to be a deliberate mess or absolutely effortless and unoriginal essay to get denied though. The fact is, if someone is willing to put that much effort into making an essay, it will probably be good enough if they also know the lore well enough to take a lore position. By its very nature, it requires the necessary skills for the position to draft and post in the first place. Obviously, if I should ever part from this community, I would endorse and encourage one of my deputies to take over with high hopes that they would take over. Of course I would want my vision to continue. But, I can't force the community to also want to follow my vision after I'm gone. When I'm gone it's out of my hands. But I understand that a deputy would very likely be the person selected and supported by the community based on qualification, and so I obviously don't want to take on someone who actively writes lore I don't like and put them in a position where I know its very likely they're going to be the next lore dev. I'm not always going to be on Aurora. I want to be, but if I ever get promoted at my job, I'll be lucky to have one day off a week. With my dwindling play time, fears of one day getting forcibly retired are strong. While I try to push back, the fact is I've only been averaging about 2 rounds a week. And that's active for a lore developer. I understand that I'm at the beginning of a long unfortunate process of being phased out of Aurora, and while I think it may take a year to a year and a half to be seen through, I want to cling on as long as I can, but also to prepare. The reason I wanted to take on a lore dev is to help put out more lore to satisfy the community while also giving a select group of qualified players on-hand experience with the lore development and peer review process so that when the transition has to happen, there are some strong options who may also share my plans to carry the torch without that awkward transition phase. Should the community decide to select a maverick and wild card it away, that's up to them. Obviously I would disagree, but don't I have the right to have an opinion? I put out about one article a month and roll out wiki updates in roughly the same span of time. Not all the wiki updates are spectacular, since translating from my scratch notes on my writing pad to the wiki is often a laborious process. One I intend to get better at. But realistically speaking, it doesn't take all that long to come up with that much content in lore. When I first got my position, I shat out the Tajaran Military Structures page very quickly, and that page is huge. I had to cut myself off from adding more to it, because it really just got too big. There's more to Tajara than just killing and combat, and so I had to break away and start writing other things. This was also reflected in news articles as I tried to give better insight to the slice of life for Tajara, instead of just nonstop war reports. It may come off as filler, but at the time I was responding to community demand to lighten the mood and give people more facets to life than just a controversial 3-way clusterbomb of a messy gritty civil war, a metaphorical struggle between allies, axis, and Comintern with a few flavor differences. There's also pacing to be concerned about, since pretty much majority of the next year and a half of Tajaran news articles are going to be war related, and I wanted to give everyone some fresh air to breathe before they had to crawl back into the foxholes. Most extreme lore fans. I want a most extreme lore fan. Also the prompt is freeform. So long as it is in the domain of Tajara lore, it does not have to be new lore. Heck, it could be a critical essay about Tajara. It could be an essay about anything already in the lore. However, the hardest essay to write, an essay which provides new lore, is obviously going to be the strongest on the merit of how it forces the writer to flex their creativity and writing skills at the same time. Endurance is a factor being tested here, friends. I want to encourage them to write entire lore pages or mini-arcs to flesh out other aspects of Tajaran life between major events and remind everyone the war isn't everything. I don't want to just hand someone the position after a popularity contest. I want them to go through the effort to put a whole foot in the door, and buy in with serious investment so that I can trust they won't just wonder off and wane away. Really, a three page essay in the minimum requirement for what I want to totally vet someone before taking them on. My deputies are going to be the fellow lore staff of mine that I associate with the VERY most. They're going to be the ones I'm talking to often daily. I wanna make 300% sure the people I pick are going to be people I can associate with this much without wanting to repopulate a courtyard with bread. And people who put out poopy content and lore ideas are going to fall into that category, or people who always post about nebulous lore ideas without actually posting it or writing it down anywhere. Really, I would've been more comfortable with higher requirements, and ideally if I knew for a fact that I'd be here always, I wouldn't pick up anyone in the first place. But this is the minimum test of skill, commitment, and knowledge that I'm comfortable with issuing to the community to pick my closest coworkers. I don't advocate this test for all lore development positions, but honestly I would support it if the bar was raised. I wouldn't pressure anyone or encourage them to adopt it, but I definitely would give it my endorsement if it happened. I only brought it in for the listed reasons above, and because of my intense passion for our server's Tajara lore, a passion which doesn't extend to every single other section of our lore, but still some large areas. Thank you for following the development of Tajar-ere simulator.

These are addressed in the OP, and in my recent post. I'll accept as many people as I feel wrote a good essay. The position has anywhere between 0 and X openings where X is I feel I have too many people to manage. If I think multiple people wrote good essays, they'll all get deputy positions unless I feel like there's too many people for me to effectively manage, since I intend to be the gatekeeper that fully reviews everyone's work before they post anything. Supposing I had a deputies and then lost them, I still intend on keeping the process the same since I think it's a strong quality control measure. Edit: Supposing I had X deputies and I get X+1 applications, and the extra application is a good lore addition idea, but I don't feel I can fit them in, I would ask their permission to canonize it and give them credit.