[Declined] Lord Fowl Skrell Dev App

[LordFowl]

Ckey/BYOND Username: LordFowl

Position Being Applied For (Species Maintainer, Wiki Maintainer, Lore Developer, Deputy Lore developer): Skrell Lore Developer

Past Experiences/Knowledge:

I contributed a little bit to Vaurca lore, and like to think myself as well-versed in every species' lore, and more than willing to offer my consultancy on it to anyone that asks. I've done work both graphically and literally, IC and OoC, drafting things such as star maps, newspaper posts, and wiki articles.

Link to Essay:

I ultimately wrote two essays because I was unsure of the specific criteria that Mofo expected. One essay deals with historical events, and the other outlines culture/society. These are two of the three pillars of lorewriting in my mind (The third being action - what a species is actively doing and contributing to the moving galaxy). I'm sorry if this seems like over-achieving - I originally wrote the historical essay, but after re-reading the essay prompt wondered if a cultural essay was more appropriate.

Historical essay;

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yo3h9i_Tvu1brIslzjZo-Dcm7fVvuX3dRUomBpZGyo4/edit?usp=sharing

Cultural essay;

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1darKls3EtLKewDtU3mGLDjXFQ_8KoN2EtGhZe1AfYgI/edit?usp=sharing

Article on Federation navy;

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cuMpbIphIJtKYOrFYhaxUQ-18InU4Bcbe6S6sq6HKmE/edit?usp=sharing

Examples of Past Work:

Check the Vaurca wiki. I wrote a lot of it (Although Bygone has done an excellent job writing the rest of it, along with all the numerous supplementary wiki pages, and altogether finishing what I started.) Beyond that, I wrote a number of articles for the Mendell City Bugle which I'm a little too lazy to link directly right now, but roughly from page 6-12 was my timeframe, if I recall correctly. Generally my works have been regarded pretty well.

I also wrote an in-depth bio for both my Tajara and Unathi whitelist applications, which I personally am rather proud of.

Additional Comments:

This may seem a little strange, considering just yesterday I created a PR that sought to delete. I originally did not want to apply for the Skrell loredev because I believed that my previous experiences with the lore team would inhibit my ability to work, but I was convinced otherwise by certain individuals. I want it to be understood that this isn't a meme or a joke (Oh! His first act as Skrell loredev is just going to be removing Skrell!). I do like Skrell lore, and I do think it has a lot of potential. Which is why I think they should be removed if they don't have a loredev - I don't want to see all that potential rot away. I hope I'm not seen as a hypocrite.

Regarding my previous experiences with the lore team, I served about a year as the primary lore developer for the Vaurca (Back in my day we didn't have lore deputies!). I did a lot of work, and yet had a lot of work to do. I had some issues with how things were handled, and this caused a little jading and probably some immature behavior. But I always worked hard (at least I think so) to try and change the things I saw that were wrong, instead of just complaining about them. Ironically (Or maybe not, depending on the current definition of irony), my biggest problem with the lore team back then was the inactivity of the Skrell lore, due to certain hooks I wanted to combine with the Vaurca lore. Funny how things end up, isn't it?

Finally, before I move on to the whole "What shall I do should you grant me this honor"-bit, is that I understand that there is currently a Skrell lore deputy. I don't want to change that, nor uproot their responsibilities. I have my weaknesses, and lore deputies have the potential to round out my weaknesses with their strength. I'd like to think that my lore deputy would enjoy relative autonomy in plying their strengths, and am hopeful that we can reach a co-operative work relationship without much if any struggle.

Now, onto the "what are your intentions with my daughter" skit. What do I intend to do with Skrell? Well, as far as I am concerned, Skrell are a pretty robust species. For all of his problems, Loow did a damn good job with them. They're not done yet, though. I want to build and refine with what I've been given, resolving some contradictions, enhancing some elements, loudening some subtleties and quieting down some obvious bits.

I want to put a greater focus on historical events, both involving the Glorsh Rebellion and events that came before/after. History repeats itself after all, and how can we say what the Skrell will do now when we don't really know what they've ever done? I want to make Skrell history more personal and more detailed.

I want to outline some of the more esoteric concepts that plague Skrell culturally/societally. I want to add more nuance to their society, and I want to tighten up their culture. Things like naming schemes, religion, government, and daily life need expanding on. The building blocks are here already. I just need to set down the paver.

I want to involve Skrell with the lore. This is, in my mind, one of the greatest failings of Skrell lore. They don't do much. Skrell have a lot of potential to involve themselves. We dabble here and there, with the Elyran arc and the Second Antag Contest, but we never go the full mile. I want to bring them the full mile.

In terms of specifics, I am also interested in fleshing out the Glorsh Rebellion and Glorsh-Omega itself. Glorsh-Omega is arguably the most important figure in Skrell lore, and the current lore currently treats them more like mecha-hitler than anything else. I want to add some ambiguity - while Glorsh certainly committed atrocities, it had an ultimate purpose, and was not killing people randomly. Glorsh's objective was not wiping out the Skrell, and it had an ultimate design for them. I'd like to explore this angle, while naturally not just up and giving out an answer. I am considering plot arcs involving the Skrell and Dominia, plot arcs involving the border between the Skrellian Frontier and the Human Frontier, continued arcs involving the C'thur, and more. I want to outline the Skrell as a nation experiencing a sort of insidious decay. The reduction in their numbers has forced them to shrink down their once rapidly expanding space empire. Their lives have been corrupted by an unarguably dark time, and they are now a more cautious and wiser species due to it. I want to describe daily life both within the Jargon Federation and without it. I want the Skrell to have an impact, instead of just sitting in the corner, spectators to their own ball game.

Naturally, as an actual coder (I like to think), I am also going to give Skrell more mechanical clout. I did much the same for the Vaurca, and will do it again.

Edited October 29, 2018 by Guest

[Snakebittenn]

As someone who has been in proximity of Lord Fowl, and within even closer range of his lore, I have full confidence in him to undertake the daunting task of Skrell loremaster. His essays blend in seamlessly (as well as being reads that make me want to know a /lot/ more).

A few questions for the sake of people that don't into Discord.

What are your plans for Skrell mechanical clout?

Will you be adjusting their species biology, and if so, what would you do?

Will you be adjusting the relationship between the Skrell and our Tau Ceti? How?

Will you be changing your somewhat tsundere behavior? I myself am aware that you are quite pleasant in moments of levity, but some take issue with your attitude.

[LordFowl]

What are your plans for Skrell mechanical clout?

I will admit that adjusting the Skrell mechanically is not my top priority, and I at this point only have some nebulous ideas. It's a tough cookie, because some of their most obvious mechanical hooks (empathy, telepathy) are a real bitch to implement in-game. Altogether I want to give them a similar in-depth treatment I gave Vaurca, avoiding such traps as just changing their resistance values, or their speed.

 

Will you be adjusting their species biology, and if so, what would you do?

It's quite likely. There's nothing I like more than adding organs. For example, if I did ultimately settle on an implementation of Skrellepathy, you can bet your ass I'd be tying it to an organ. Beyond this, I might implement some of the genetic/cybernetic modifications that the lore talks about on a subdued level.

 

Will you be adjusting the relationship between the Skrell and our Tau Ceti? How?

I will look into deepening the growing antipathy between the two nations. To the Skrell, Tau Ceti is a threat, a bastion of unrestricted synthetic development spearheaded by negligent capitalism. Unlike the Sol Alliance, the Skrell economy is strong enough that they can really consider taking NT up to bat.

 

Will you be changing your somewhat tsundere behavior? I myself am aware that you are quite pleasant in moments of levity, but some take issue with your attitude.

I probably won't stop shitposting in general chat, but I strive always to behave professionally in professional environments. I hope that the dev team can testify for me here when I say that this "tsundere" behavior as you say is not particularly prevalent in the dev channels. When we have a mission to accomplish, my first priority is that mission.

[Itanimulli]

I for one welcome our new Fowl overlord.

Also, Fowl's one of the few people I'd unironically trust not to accidentally fugg everything up by touching it, and he's aparently gonna be touching something that hasn't been touched in a long time. So, get to touching.

+1.

[MattAtlas]

Fowl's probably the most capable person for the job. I trust him to write good lore.

He has my support and +1. Go get em chief.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

This will be addressed more in depth at a later day.

The current major roadblock to this application is something you granted as an admission. You've worked in the lore staff before and it still seems that when you decide that you do not respect someone, you can be a bit of a butt towards them. When I see you in the general discord there are also moments that you can be a bit abrasive or off-putting.

This behavior is the primary concern I have because I have these past experiences and the present observations of some problematic attitudes from you.

I always try to assume good faith on behalf of applicants and I am no stranger to hiring feisty lore developers, but in this case there is the precedent that these behaviors can affect relationships between you, me, and other lore staff.

There is no doubt you are capable, but what would you say to me for me to trust you in this position?

[LordFowl]

This day the off-putting this you I staff there position?

 

As I stated in my application, and as you highlighted, I recognize that a certain abrasive nature created difficulties in the past, but I think you've misdiagnosed it as a result of a lack of respect. I don't really think there's anyone on this server that I actively or even passively think to myself "I don't respect this person" (Except for Burger, of course). I think most incidents nowadays are just a result of a certain scientific casualness. It's less a matter of respect vs lack of respect, and more a matter of professional environment, which is to say that general chat is shitpost central.

As I mentioned in the application, I think my experience as an active developer illustrates a development in this regard - I take my duties professionally, and act professionally in official dev channels, and when I act as a bearer of official dev news or try to convey the dev teams opinion - you've seen a bit of this recently in regards to the NBT project, but I can understand if you have a little doubt in that regard since naturally the bulk of this behavior takes place behind closed doors. I would also say that I definitely put in a fair bit of effort in trying to improve the system, instead of letting things pass.

And this last bit I think is most important contextually. When I was loredev things were a lot different, and over the time that I was preparing to leave and now, things have changed a lot. I'll be honest and say that I really can't remember the context for most of my abrasions, but I do remember that it was less that I did not respect any individual loredev, and more that the system abraded me, and I was unwilling to try and speak up about my faults with it, or try and change it. A lot of loredevs were inactive back then, it was harder to communicate ideas, and there was a certain feeling of "possessiveness" that each loredev felt regarding their spheres of infliuence. The Discord was not very old at all and wasn't used nearly as much, and things altogether were rather disorganized. A lot of that has changed, but even in the cases where the situation hasn't changed, my perspective on how best to handle the situation has. Hoping everything sorts itself out just leads to bitterness, which leads to argument, which leads to anger, which leads to hate, which ultimately leads to suffering.

And I hope this isn't seen as me trying to butter you up for a toasty banquet, but I hope that you do not think I don't respect you, Jackboot. While I won't lie and say that there aren't moments that I doubt specific actions you take, and we're certainly not star-crossed lovers, I simply am obliged to respect you for the consistent effort you've put into this project over such a long period of time. As someone who's been developmental staff for multiple departments, and even then not in a significant position of leadership, this is to me a most impressive feat. Plus, I do quite like (most) of your work.

[Mofo1995]

Two very well written essays!

One thing I would like clarified is the establishment of the second federation in this new lore. The nationalist movement which was the strongest of them forms the cornerstone of the second Federation, but how did they ultimately convince the other movements to integrate? Are there any political parties in this proposed version of the federation, possibly even by the same names of the resistance movements which presumably came together to form it?

Through your writing, I get the strong feeling that you might have caught onto the intentions behind the arcane designs of Glorsh-Omega, and while I'm on that subject, the fact that you referred to it as "it" rather than "he" or whatever is a strong bonus.

At least in my minds eye, this leads to a three party system of Skrell- the ethno-nationalists, the democrats, and the anti-globalists. Those three points alone leave us with much to explore in terms of internal politics, a subject which has hitherto been byzantine by the nature of how state media covers events. I can already see the Nral'Balak sympathizing with the system states which still haven't reintegrated into the Federation, and the Old Glory ambitiously trying to add them to their empire. I'm also interested in the idea of the Shores of Liberty and the Old Glory being at odds over the future of Skrell government.

Regarding your behavior, I got along with you swimmingly while you were a Vaurca lore developer, though I see where everyone's coming from. At the very least, the most vocal complaints about your behavior have told me they have been assuaged over the course of the application process.

This application shows promise.

[Butterrobber202]

Send a Tup Commando after me Fowl, DO IT

anyways from what interactions I’ve had with Fowl I don’t see a reason why he shouldn’t be the loredev.

+1

[LordFowl]

One thing I would like clarified is the establishment of the second federation in this new lore. The nationalist movement which was the strongest of them forms the cornerstone of the second Federation, but how did they ultimately convince the other movements to integrate? Are there any political parties in this proposed version of the federation, possibly even by the same names of the resistance movements which presumably came together to form it?

At least in my minds eye, this leads to a three party system of Skrell- the ethno-nationalists, the democrats, and the anti-globalists. Those three points alone leave us with much to explore in terms of internal politics, a subject which has hitherto been byzantine by the nature of how state media covers events. I can already see the Nral'Balak sympathizing with the system states which still haven't reintegrated into the Federation, and the Old Glory ambitiously trying to add them to their empire. I'm also interested in the idea of the Shores of Liberty and the Old Glory being at odds over the future of Skrell government.

 

In regards to the first point, my first essay covers only the period of the Glorsh Rebellion with a focus on the various resistance movements. I was largely inspired by the French Resistance during WWII, who experienced something very similar (total domination by a foreign power, infighting along political boundaries through various resistance groups who wanted to ensure that their ideology assumed power following the war, and the formation of various movements (which in the French case was precipitated due to outside oversight, largely the British)). The point is that for the scope of the essay, these are just Resistance movements. The ideologies they support become legitimized nations following the Tri-Qyu incident, and for roughly 170-200 years (according to current lore), Jargon IV is divided among disparate states. My essay was originally going to cover this period also, and detail how the Second Federation rose to its current power, but I decided for the sake of the graders I would keep it short.

As to how did they integrate? In short, my belief is that the Second Federation spent this timeframe trying to avoid open conflict and restore the peace of the First Federation and the Tup ideologies. They achieved ultimate power however through a space race - I believe that the first Jargon nation to re-activate the space potential of the Skrell would quickly subjugated the remaining nations of Jargon IV. There are of course a number of other factors, but I believe space dominance was the pivotal moment that led to the formation of the Jargon Federation as a stellar power.

In regards to the second and some of the first, while these political ideals would probably be present in the hearts of various councillors, the nature of the Jargon Federation is definitely one of an overbearing one party state. While publicly identifying with one of the older movements probably isn't a crime (As my picture of the Jargon Federation is while it is a collectivist state, it does so more with soft measures than hard measures, it prefers to incentivize before it punishes.), it would likely garner you more than a little suspicion. These movements are by now hundreds of years old, but then again Skrell can live a long time. I'm sure some people are still hanging on, but the majority of conflict between these ideologies already took place during the last days of Glorsh and the first days of the second federation.

[Snakebittenn]

What experience do you have interacting with the skrell playerbase in recent months? If it were to expand, what would be your plan to communicate effectively with them?

[LordFowl]

What experience do you have interacting with the skrell playerbase in recent months? If it were to expand, what would be your plan to communicate effectively with them?

 

The Skrell do not have a particularly active playerbase, from my perspective - it exists, but it is not particularly not outspoken nor consistent. When I play my Skrell xenobiologist (Dr. Waelin Qoul-Nuul'put), I find that any Skrell I meet tend to be here today, gone tomorrow. Why is that? Well, playercount is certainly one reason, but Vaurca are played less than Skrell yet they emjoy a rather feisty if diminutive community. I think it’s because there just isn’t much for Skrell players to care about. They need things to care about - living lore, significant history, mechanics, and comprehensive ideals.

Edited October 18, 2018 by Guest

[Snakebittenn]

I suppose this is the last thing I have. How will Skrell influence Tau Ceti and NT, since you said they view TC as a threat.

also, what're you doing with the meme tup because. c'mon.

[LordFowl]

Skrell have the most potential to influence NT (And by extension Tau Ceti) because they are not economically dependent on them, unlike the Sol Alliance. I see it as an economic war - NT is trying their hardest to push into the Skrell market, and the Jargon Federation is trying their hardest to curtail the dangers that NT so brazenly makes. Much of what they do is subversive, such as when they influence the SA into performing the blockade. The Skrell are not a direct species.

Tup Commandos will likely stay, although I'll inevitably modify them. They are at this point an iconic piece of Skrell lore, and indeed they did save Elyra.

[Scheveningen]

I was gonna say "I never thought I'd say this" as an tongue-in-cheek opener, but it's not really a case where Fowl as a candidate for Skrell Lore Developer is a bad idea in any timeline.

To easily run it down in terms of his qualifications, they've already been listed but I'll repeat them anyway; He single-handedly revived the Vaurcae from an undue development death and also fixed their lore to be more appropriate to the setting of Aurora. There was initial BLEH to them existing merely because there was not a lot of initial interest in them from the start, but the past doesn't matter as much as the current state of the Vaurcae. Which is outstanding so far. If Bygone is responsible for the current era Vaurcae, Fowl was responsible for creating the basis that Vaurcae, as a concept actually survived the drawing board limbo and became Aurora's own unique quirk for once. Yeah, sure, some other server surely has bugmen, but they are not at all like the distinctness of the Vaurcae.

He's also been, while a controversial and shitpostyy developer, a qualified developer nonetheless. Remember that he also headed the Auroroid map project, as numap is hardly applicable anymore. He's certainly a valued member of the development team in my opinion and Fowl is not without his capability to write an interesting narrative on any account.

He also 'overachieved', his words, not mine, and wrote two essays which, in my mind, blew my own writing material out of the water. That's definitely twice as much dedication right there.

There is no question in my mind. Despite that you drafted the "remov Krell" PR in the first place, if you are presently motivated to be what the Skrell race needs to be relevant in the current state of the lore and regular gameplay right now, then I believe you are more than qualified for the job.

No, really, I'm not just shining your shoes here, I mean exactly what I've written. +1, definitely has my endorsement, though I can only really speak for myself here.

[Coalf]

Here is a question.

So I've noticed Loow was, in his early days, very enthusiastic about playery provided lore. Namely I remember him contacting me about the homeworld of my skrell when I happenned to mention it in my application and prod for info to add to the wiki later on. I quite liked that at first.

but

Later on Loow did something I disagreed with fernently and that was to not grant a whitelist application because not enough players were asking the whitelistee questions in his thread and were instead giving endorsements. (most of the players didn't HAVE a skrell whitelist so how can they ask "Skrelly questions" you know?)

Anyways how do you see yourself doing whitelist applications?

[LordFowl]

Here is a question.

So I've noticed Loow was, in his early days, very enthusiastic about playery provided lore. Namely I remember him contacting me about the homeworld of my skrell when I happenned to mention it in my application and prod for info to add to the wiki later on. I quite liked that at first.

but

Later on Loow did something I disagreed with fernently and that was to not grant a whitelist application because not enough players were asking the whitelistee questions in his thread and were instead giving endorsements. (most of the players didn't HAVE a skrell whitelist so how can they ask "Skrelly questions" you know?)

Anyways how do you see yourself doing whitelist applications?

When it comes to whitelists, I believe that on a basic level people should be able to play what characters they want to play (in accordance to the rules and the lore, naturally). My role as a whitelister is not to keep the pool closed, to guard the lore like a dragon and his loot - it is to recognize the capable players, and to help along the ones that need help. When I oversaw Vaurca whitelists, I tended to only deny whitelistees that did not want to be helped - typically when they did not update their applications, or otherwise respond to problems in their application. Denying someone on the basis that their application did not receive enough feedback is ridiculous - for one it penalizes players that aren’t a part of a clique, and for two providing comprehensive feedback is my job as the subject matter expert. The input of other players is welcome, but they tend to be more useful in identifying whether an applicant is a shitter or not (in which case an endorsement is actually good feedback for me).

In short, if everyone could have a Skrell whitelist, I’d be happy. But that of course can’t happen. My job as whitelister is to try and make that happen by guiding applicants into being capable of playing Skrell capably, not gating it to the happy few with natural talent.

[BurgerBB]

+1 Because I strongly believe that all lore developers should have some amount of actual coding experience. The Skrell lack a lot of actually interesting mechanics, and what I've seen from WIP PRs is that LordFowl is interested enough in the race to actually code in a large framework for skrell despite not being asked to or being paid for it. LordFowl not only has the coding experience but they're also staff.

[Coalf]

Alright I'm torn on this.

On one hand you've answered all questions properly and regarding lore I have zero issues with that, issue is behaviour.

Yes yes I know others have approached it but I think they have approached it from a wrong angle, they approached it from a communicative angle. Sure you can be a proper cunt but you can also raise fair points quite often and have actual good objective insight, when you try which you often don't but that's besides the point.

The issue is approachability, while JB approached this issue as "talking to other loredevs" my concern is for new players.

As a lore developer a person doesn't have to be a perfect example of humanity, but you come off as intimidating, very intimidating and that is something that can seriously make someone turn away from making a whitelist or even considering a species. Maybe it's the whole banter culture we facilliate, I should probably re-invent myself too but that's besides the point.

But yes this is the only issue I have with this application. The answers were top-notch, you seem to know what in general the skrell need, you've answered my Whitelist question pretty much perfectly and I've got no other issues besides approachability.

It's not a ringing endorsement but I would be a blind fucking idiot to say that you haven't answered questions well.

[Faris]

I need to echo the concerns raised by Coalf and others, not about the quality of the content but your interactions with the community, not in its entirety as I do get the added benefit of seeing you on staff discord. A portion of the community, a number of whom contacted me when you made this application about their dislike to your general attitude, bordering into the topic of how approachable you are, and I feel this heavily weighs against your application. I've asked those that contacted me to post their feedback here, even if it's repeating a singular issue.

Additionally I'm slightly puzzled by the fact that you created the PR to "delete Skrell" due to a lack of a dedicated Skrell lore developer and then proceed to apply for the position. Why not just apply from the get go? I understand the purpose of the PR alone, but this follow confuses me.

Lastly, your activity on the server is fairly low, in that I feel it's practically none existent. The last round I've been able to find on the WI is this. And even then I saw no proper pattern of activity when playing. I'd post the exact figure of numbers joined for the past few months, but I don't have them yet.

 

bVs-cL82 2018-07-21 19:03:24 Cargo Technician

 

It's important to me, specifically as a Head Administrator to have a lore team that does join the server and play, which for the most part everyone does play as often as they can with consideration to their life obligations. The issue with previous lore developers which aren't around anymore for obvious reasons was that their inactivity made them detached from the community, world building for themselves and just handling whitelists.

[LordFowl]

I need to echo the concerns raised by Coalf and others, not about the quality of the content but your interactions with the community, not in its entirety as I do get the added benefit of seeing you on staff discord. A portion of the community, a number of whom contacted me when you made this application about their dislike to your general attitude, bordering into the topic of how approachable you are, and I feel this heavily weighs against your application. I've asked those that contacted me to post their feedback here, even if it's repeating a singular issue.

I can't really respond to their feedback until they post it, and while I am dubious as to the size of this community portion that feels so strongly about me, I am nevertheless saddened to hear of individuals who think that way. I think however that I am not really all that unapproachable - I answer questions, oftentimes passionately and in-depthly especially in regards to lore. I always seek to conduct myself professionally in professional matters. Am I perfect in this regards? Well, perhaps not by some metrics I guess, but I make a dedicated effort at it at all times. I campaign strongly in the dev circles for better community outreach, and am always listening to feedback and trying to incorporate it.

 

Additionally I'm slightly puzzled by the fact that you created the PR to delete Skrell due to a lack of a dedicated Skrell lore developer and then proceed to apply for the position. Why not just apply from the get go? I understand the purpose of the PR alone, but this follow confuses me.

As I explained in the app itself, I did not originally have any intention to apply for the skrell lore-dev position, and just wanted to stir the lore-team to at long last make a decision regarding Skrell, instead of contenting themselves to let it slide into obscurity. I was later persuaded after creating the PR to apply myself. I go into my reasons why more in-detail in the application itself.

 

It's important to me, specifically as a Head Administrator to have a lore team that does join the server and play, which for the most part everyone does play as often as they can with consideration to their life obligations. The issue with previous lore developers which aren't around anymore for obvious reasons was that their inactivity made them detached from the community, world building for themselves and just handling whitelists.

 

My playtime is sporadic, but it is certainly not non-existent. A pattern exists, and it tends to be clumps of rounds played followed by droughts of rounds not fully played, rounds observed, and nothing. I play as much as I am able to, but the truth is that I find difficulty fitting in multiple 2-3 hour long rounds into my daily life, do not like joining rounds midway through, and prefer only very specific jobs, and so more often than not observe or sit in the lobby, when I do log on.

But there is a distinction between "he doesn't play" (Which I contend to be false anyways. I think the accusations that I actively do not play tend to be overblown, although of course the data available to you will paint a clearer picture.) and "he's inactive". I am a highly active member of the community, and am constantly looking to make sure I keep in touch with them. Fears that I might become detached from the community are thus, I contend, groundless. In this regards, I think that I play as often as some loredevs, more often than past loredevs, and am as active in the community as even the most active loredevs.

[Doxxmedearly]

I must also echo my concerns about your interactions. Coalf put it well, but I would do a disservice to you, as well as the server, to not raise these points. To be blunt, your attitude is the opposite of approachable. Whenever I see your name in discord (Be it the lore channel or relay OOC), or very rarely in in-game OOC, it seems every message is put as insulting or harsh as possible. You seem to hold extremely low opinions for types of players/portions of the community. I am not the only one who stops posting when they see you speaking, due to being intimidated by your borderline hostile way of discussing things. If a prospective whitelistee saw this, I think their desire to post an application would plummet. It wouldn't stop all people, but it wouldn't do any favors for getting people to play Skrell.

While I do not expect perfection of anyone, and there are lore team members which I still think could benefit from toning back their feisty attitudes, I think you have a very long way to go to be seen as approachable by at least some parts of the community. Your answers are very good. You have lore and coding experience. No doubt you can put skrell in a better place than they are currently. But that is only one part of making a species active. The other part is getting players interested and excited to look into the lore and apply for whitelists, as good players and characters are probably what goes the furthest in keeping interest in a species flourishing. At this time, I have serious doubts about your ability to fulfill the latter. I feel like if I asked questions about skrell or lore clarifications, I would be made to feel like an idiot. I'd be extremely hesitant to consider posting a whitelist app.

I'm sure you can take your duties seriously and work with a lore team, but I have a hard time seeing you interacting and communicating patiently with the non-staff community. I'm not trying to make assumptions about your character, but rather post how I currently view the personality you put forth in the public eye.

[LordFowl]

Regarding the idea that my apparent unapproachable nature would diminish returns on whitelistees, I think this particular claim can be pretty easily dismissed by the fact that I already have previous experience in this field. I don't think my demeanor with the community has changed much in the roughly ~1-2 years since I started as Vaurca loredev (Well, I actually think its improved), yet when I was a Vaurca loredev I saw only an increase in the number of applications that were processed compared to my predecessor, and I have not seen that the rate of application has hugely increased with the actions of my successors, instead plateauing at a reasonable level. So no, I don't think my behavior negatively impacts my responsibilities as a subject matter expert. We still had a discord back then. I was still active in it, shitposting and professionalism along. There was still server drama, and there were still cliques, so it was not so different compared to now. Yet back then I kept people interested in Vaurca, kept Vaurca relevant, answered honestly and thoughtfully questions regarding Vaurca, and kept a steady rate of Vaurca whitelists, and I have zero doubts that I can do the same for Skrell today. And considering that even as a non lore-dev I rather frequently hang around in the lore channel and answer questions, I also don't think that as a whole my ability to answer honest questions regarding the lore is an endangerment (Although I am sure there are some specific incidents otherwise, I speak on average).

I also don't really hold low opinions on anyone (except IPC mains and weebs). I don't believe in grudges, and I don't involve myself in interpersonal politics.

[Bauser]

On the advice of a third party, I was moved to comment on your abrasive and potentially counterproductive tendencies in response to an argument we had on Discord today. As far as I know, I've never really interacted with you previously, so it was doubly shocking to me that you came out swinging. I had claimed that Dionae were negative influences on the lore and gameplay, and after discussing it with Kyres and Cobalt, you joined in immediately calling my objections "bullshit that I was pulling out of my ass" and then doubling-down on my every protest and making fun of me every step of the way.

Dismissing other people's opinions out-of-hand and being snide when called out for it are poor qualities for a lore developer.

[LordFowl]

Anyone interested is free to form their own opinions on that particular little incident, but your intake on it is a little flawed. You claimed that Dionaea were unbalanced despite admittedly never having actually interacted with one mechanically, and I said that complaining about balance despite never actually interacting with the feature in question is a bit ill-founded. You then rephrased my comment as an attack on you, saying something to the effect that I believe you aren't allowed to complain about something unless it personally effects you. Then (And not immediately, as you claim), did I say that you were pulling your theoretical balance out of your ass, and then the conversation escalated from there.

Notably, I did not "make fun of you every step of the way" (In fact you're the one who started calling me an idiot, not that I really mind.), nor did I "dismiss your opinion of hand" (In context, there was not much to dismiss. You claimed that Dionaea were OP but never really went into why), and the "argument" soon devolved into a game of "spot the fallacy" before it quickly burnt out.

This conversation was hardly clean for either of us, but do not frame yourself as an innocent angel when you're the one who escalated it to it's zenith. I do admit that I must claim some responsibility - I should've stepped out far sooner than I ultimately did in the end, probably around the time we stopped actually talking about Dionaea. Regardless, I think this incident is something of an aberration, and not the rule.

Finally, I have no interest in continuing the discussion here, even to the point of defending myself from further accusations on the specific incident. I just wanted to issue my side of the story as soon as possible, because over my long time on this server I find that mountains arise out of molehills like this far too often, and I wanted to address any possible difficulties before they festered.