[Accepted] Lancer's CCIA Application

[The lancer]

CCIA Staff Application

 

Basic Information

Byond key: The lancer

Character names: James Norton, James Hilthington, Stavros Nannos, Daniel Lord are the most active currently.

Age: 17. 18 in one month.

Timezone: GMT +2, EET

What times are you most available?: 12:00 - 20:00

Experience

How long have you played SS13?: ~ 4 years

How long have you played on Aurora?: ~ 3 years

How active on the forums, discord and/or server are you? I check in on everything each day. In regards to posting, I tend not to.

Have you ever been banned, and if so, how long and why?: I have never received any admin action.

Have you ever volunteered as moderation staff for any other servers, SS13 or otherwise?: Not on SS13. But I have been an administrator for various roleplay servers on M&B Warband, if that counts.

Do you have any other experience that you believe would be relevant to a position in the CCIA?: Not really, but I believe I am somewhat proficient in the use of English. That is, I can write in a more official tone.

Personality

Why do you want to join the CCIA?: I would like to join the CCIA on the grounds of obtaining a new experience. This would be the first staff position I apply for in the Aurora community, as well as SS13. Furthermore, I always liked having an IC impact, and having a system of an IC centralised way to solve cases and complaints that have a lasting impact in future rounds, I find a very appealing concept. Also, doing something for the community would also be a plus, and due to the recent need for CCIA, I've decided to apply, seeing that I also play on deahour, when it often lacks any agents' presence. All in all, I want to join to try out something I've always been curious about, and to also try stepping into the shoes of the highest IC authority, to add to the round, and to regulate it when such a need arises.

What do you think are the most important qualities for a CCIA Agent to possess?: Starting off, since it is an off station agency, impartiality would be a fine attribute for someone to possess. Not engaging yourself emotionally, OOCly, or act based on knowing a player included in a report is "good" or "bad", are also very important when handling an investigation. When it comes to deciding or shaping IC policies, it's great to have a good understanding of what's behind the rules, their meaning, and the goals that IC regulations strive to achieve. To do this, one needs experience in a HRP environment, and a broad knowledge of existing procedures and policies. Lastly, aside from common sense and extreme patience, an agent should most importantly have the will to do his duty. Working as an CCIA can be a very tedious job, as you need to organise, book and carry out interviews of many personnel, a task that can take hours or days. It is crucial that one finds a driving force to keep up, a driving force that comes from enjoying the job.

What do you think the purpose of a CCIA Agent is in an ongoing round?: CCIA should let the round play out, with minimal to no intervention. This is due to the power they have, through response teams and ultimate authority. However, when station staff reach to them, CCIA should try and keep the game balance, advising station command, or perhaps give goals to the crew to accomplish (e.g. CCIA require additional confirmation/details before sending an ERT, so the crew need to find a way to contact them), while always trying to keep the round fun for as many people as possible.

What do you think the purpose of a CCIA Agent is outside of the server?: As staff, CCIA play a sizable role in defining the face of the Aurora community, and should thus try and conduct themselves with an increased level of decency. Agents should behave appropriately when addressed at, being welcoming and giving out a sense of professionalism and courtesy. it is also important for the CCIA to be seen as a guiding force towards proper play and behaviour, rather than a faceless punisher.

How do you handle stress?: I believe that I fare pretty well, not really breaking down, but opting to take a break off, and come back with a clear mind. Since I started playing Command, I view stress as a temporary barrier, that's not really there to bog you down, but an opportunity to stop and rethink.

How well do you work autonomously?: Although I feel safer with a team surrounding me, I can work on my own, and bring satisfying results. All in all, I can work well on my own, as long as I have some experience and know what to do.

Additional Notes: The biggest boundary in my applications has been the fact that not many people know who I am, or interact with me OOCly. This can be attributed to the fact that I have not taken any meaningful steps in getting myself known, and that I mostly play on deadhour. I am not sure if this affects the overall application, but I hope I can change it.

[Faris]

This player, is a player I'd call as a role model and a pleasure to have as part of this community. He's been around for years, 1057 days old specifically as the time of the post, yes there have been breaks of activity, but he's always a common fixture that I see when he's around, not to mention he is a pleasure to play with in my experiences. Lancer only has 2 notes, which cannot be viewed as malicious incidents, but more as simple mistakes, confirmed by the fact he learned and don't have any repetition entries.

He has my endorsement as a Head Administrators and find no grounds to be against this application.

[Synnono]

Interview with the applicant:

[11:05 AM] Synnono: Let's get into these then. Feel free to ask questions about any of them, but for questions that are scenario based you probably aren't getting more information than what has already been provided to you.

[11:05 AM] Synnono: To start, what is your idea of an ideal conflict for a given antagonist round?

[11:11 AM] Lancer: An ideal conflict should follow some basics. First of all, it needs to be fun for those involved, and to try and include as many players as possible. In order for such a thing to be fun, the antagonist should mind his escalation of the conflict, and try to build a story, or forward an interesting background that he may have built beforehand, to immerse the crew. Immersion and fun are keys for a successful antagonist.

[11:13 AM] Synnono: How do you feel CCIA staff members should be perceived by the playerbase? Does this differ significantly from how you feel CCIA characters should be perceived in the world of our setting?

[11:25 AM] Lancer: As staff, CCIA should be perceived by the ooc community as experienced and valued players, that work to better Aurorastation as a whole. They should be seen as promoters of HRP, through preserving this aura via canon IC actions that have consequences on characters through the rounds. The playerbase should also feel any questions/notes/feedback they have towards the CCIA are valued. CCIA should be approachable and welcoming in OOC. When it comes to IC though, CCIA are the strict body of staff that are there to keep order and appropriate company standards. ICly, CCIA should feel like the unapproachable bureaucrats noone wants to get the bad side of. That is to say, that however strict and faceless they may be, the CCIA should still be a beacon of stability, a place where "justice" is served, an agency that can help problematic staff and that will never leave the smallest of complaints unanswered. All in all, the IC CCIA should not be the type of people that make buddies with the crew, but noone should be afraid to report incidents.

[11:26 AM] Synnono: You sort of touched on this in your application, but a fresh answer here would be good too: in your opinion, how much of a role should Central Command play in the affairs of the station? When is it appropriate for them to directly intervene, and how much should they attempt to shape the round when they do?

[11:38 AM] Lancer: Central Command should really be cautious with their intervention in ongoing rounds. When in comes to antagonists and the station fighting them, CCIA should have a lot of restraint. Only after a good amount of information/proper faxes/details have been relayed to CC, and after a delay, should only CC take into consideration an intervention. When it comes to administrative business, such as answering IAA calls or Head of Staff concerns about other staff, CCIA should go on and advise them/reply in a timely fashion. As for shaping the round, CC should be trying to strike a balance, to give the opposing sides a challenge, and not outright shut down gimmicks and antagonists. That is in order to keep the round fun and entertaining.

[11:40 AM] Synnono: Alright, these are all fairly complete answers, thanks for taking your time with them. A handful of scenarios now:

[11:41 AM] Synnono: Early in a round, command staff faxes you about a Central Command Update that you did not send. The fax asks you to explain why the station is being leased to another company. How do you respond and why?

[11:47 AM] Lancer: I would reply, stating that the CCIA have not been informed of any such change. I would tell the station that we will be checking our higher ups and other NT bureaus to find out if such a thing is happening. I would tell them to wait for our reply, and I would let the round continue, until a certain time mark, such as until 20 minutes have passed. I would then fax the station that such a lease has not been really planned, and to keep an eye out for possible hackers/suspicious behaviour. The plan is to not shut down the antagonist immediately, but to really give time for the situation to develop, without taking sides.

[11:48 AM] Synnono: When we are supporting the Revolution game mode, CCIA can choose to take a more antagonistic approach to its interaction with the crew.

The Head Loyalist of the round creates a Central Command announcement that states all Tajara employees are to be 'heavily scrutinized' due to reports of widespread terrorist acts across Tau Ceti. You receive a fax from a concerned Head of Staff asking for details about the specifics of these instructions. How do you respond and why?

[11:54 AM] Lancer: I wouldn't really give any specific instructions. I would tell them that station command is to keep close control of any Tajaran employees, as they see fit, for the protection of the station. I would "remind" them about the terrorist acts being reported, and I would try to shape the fax to have a somewhat biased tone against Tajarans. Again, I would not directly intervene in the round, but I would try and inspire people's creativity to find out their own gimmicks.

[11:55 AM] Synnono: Okay, thanks for those. Here are some questions about off-server stuff, which tends to take up most of our time.

[11:55 AM] Synnono: What do you believe is the purpose of the Incident Report system?

[12:01 PM] Lancer: It is a means of maintaining an immersive and fun HRP environment, by having lasting consequences for problematic characters. Disgruntled players have a channel of reporting problematic IC behaviour, maintaining a dynamic corporate environment. It also serves as a primary reason to split IC from OOC when it comes to punitive action, giving players who have misunderstood the appropriate conduct required on the station a chance to learn from IC action, and not have them go through Administrators, like every other server. This, I believe, is also one of our server trademarks, indicative that we are hosts of a different style of SS13.

[12:02 PM] Synnono: After claiming an Incident Report to work on and sending out notices to the people involved, you realize that the players you are trying to meet with can't accommodate your timezone and schedule, and it is unlikely you will be able to meet with all of them for several weeks or longer. What would you do, if anything, to address this issue?

[12:03 PM] Lancer: is there an official policy for time limits on IRs? Do I have the ability to pass it to another agent?

[12:04 PM] Synnono: We have a guideline on time limit, but due to the above reason, it is often a target we miss.

[12:04 PM] Synnono: And if that is something you'd see as a solution here, it's on the table for you, sure.

[12:10 PM] Lancer: Well, I wouldn't like the IR to sit there forever. If the problem is on me, and the main players concerned are active, but on a different timezone that it is not possible for me to seek them in, I would opt to ask for backup, and ask a different agent to take my IR. If it is just one or two people I need to contact but are unavailable in my timezone, in an IR with multiple involved, I would ask an other agent to take his statement, with a set of questions I would provide.

[12:11 PM] Synnono: After completing your investigation of an Incident Report, you find that an officer escalated to a forceful arrest when a crewmember resisted detainment. While the original reason for the arrest is determined to be invalid, the officer argues that in resisting arrest, the crewman legitimized the detainment. How do you interpret this event?

[12:16 PM] Lancer: I would say that both are in the wrong. Obviously, the crewmember resisted an arrest, which is a regulation of itself. Even if the reason was invalid, you still are to cooperate with security. For the false reason, I find the one who ordered the arrest to be of a different case, which should be investigated separately, as they are in the wrong too.

[12:17 PM] Synnono: Alright! Honestly, this is the part where I would follow up on things in your application, but I don't see much that needs it. You're correct that you're a bit unknown to many of us, but that's definitely a function of the times you play.

[12:18 PM] Synnono: What's the population of your average round like?

[12:19 PM] Lancer: Well... 25 up to 38 if I'm lucky.

[12:19 PM] Lancer: But the manifest is a different story

[12:19 PM] Synnono: Oh. Not as dead as I would have expected. I'm used to 2016 when it could be literally two people.

[12:19 PM] Synnono: I suppose there is one thing - do you still do your M&B roleplay stuff in a staff capacity?

[12:20 PM] Lancer: Oh no, I've left that behind for a year or two now

[12:20 PM] Lancer: Servers died

[12:20 PM] Synnono: Alright. In that case, thanks for your time. I think I've got what I need. Do you have questions for me about anything, or this process?

[Synnono]

Trial started as of 7/23.

[Synnono]

Trial on hold until 8/31 due to the player being on vacation.

Edit: resumed, pending completion of current IR.

[Synnono]

Application accepted. Welcome to the team!