ParadoxSpace's Skrell Deputy Application

[Snakebittenn]

Ckey/BYOND Username: ParadoxSpace
Discord Name: ParadoxSpace#6294
Position Being Applied For: Skrell Lore Developer 
Past Experiences/Knowledge: I have been Vaurca deputy for quite some time, and I was once IPC maintainer on Bay for quite some time.
Examples of Past Work: https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Venus I am particularly proud of this collaboration with @SamansaChan and a handful of lore-related PRs. 
Additional Comments: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X5emiQbIMr6ztNPlcybeQ3VyFRJP4R8rI3mG7oJCCOc/edit?usp=sharing Pls do not be afraid to ask questions.

[Butterrobber202]

Headtails uwu

 

Anyways, the main thing I was looking for in a Skrell Lore dude was the “make the federation’s weight felt” thing, it’s something I’ve wanted for awhile now. So big bonus points for me on that. My question is, roughly, how do you plan to make it felt. No need to answer this if it’s pike major spoilers or something.

 

do you plan to modify the IPC/Skrell relationship any?

 

When you say you a working to tweak the mechanics of the skrell, in what ways? I’m pretty excited to see them be more than blue humans, so I just curious.

[Faris]

I like your essay, there are certain aspects I tend to find difficult to write about in the same way you do, I do however have a few concerns.

1- I think if you say the word aesthetic one more time, I'm going to go nuts. While I don't think there's wrong with adopting an aesthetic, it is a problem when you hammer down on the aesthetic of something minor that doesn't fit with the rest of the setting. Small details can contrast with the large details.

2- You mentioned being a lore deputy for a long time for Vaurca, but your only posted past work is a human planet that is irrelevant to vaurca lore. What have you done in your position as a vaurca lore deputy for vaurca lore? Written lore, not pr's. I have a concern on your ability to focus on a concept to actually get through with it as stating your position of vaurca lore deputy as part of your application without putting any work done for that position is concerning. 

3- The nuclear option. In many of discussions on lore, I've gained the impression of your fondness for the nuclear option, while you have stated in your essay that you do not intend to do it, it is still a concern of mine that you may change your mind in the future.

4- Using your position to further downsize Nanotrasen. Skrell have a rather unique position when it comes to corporations and your hatred for Nanotrasen is quite vocal in that you mention it enough times that most of us have committed it to memory. Despite your feelings, our present setting is heavily reliant on a corporate research station that belongs to Nanotrasen. The NBT is going to happen someday where things may be different, but right now we are still in the Aurora.

[Snakebittenn]

On 19/07/2019 at 13:03, Butterrobber202 said:

Headtails uwu

 

Anyways, the main thing I was looking for in a Skrell Lore dude was the “make the federation’s weight felt” thing, it’s something I’ve wanted for awhile now. So big bonus points for me on that. My question is, roughly, how do you plan to make it felt. No need to answer this if it’s pike major spoilers or something.

 

do you plan to modify the IPC/Skrell relationship any?

 

When you say you a working to tweak the mechanics of the skrell, in what ways? I’m pretty excited to see them be more than blue humans, so I just curious.

It's implied, and even written a little, tha tthe Federation has a lot of froggy fingers in a lot of froggy pies, but this isn't exactly like.. Explored, outside of NanoTrasen/Zeng. So, where it makes sense, I will attempt to have the Federation's involvement (and of course how the Skrell there live) noted down and explored. Nothing spoileriffic thus far.

Yes and no; I believe Skrell and synthetics in general are okay right now, though it would be sort of neat to explore the interactions between Contact Era Skrell and machines, as well as perhaps explore Jargon's views on cyborgs.

I will be fleshing out telepathy in order to make it more actually useful. I have been working on implementing Nlom pings, and hopefully when I get in I can get around to making telepathy to other Skrell global (on the same station z's), and expand the range to non-Skrell a bit so that it isn't less useful than just going over and talking to them.

Thanks for the questions!

 

2 hours ago, Aboshedab said:

I like your essay, there are certain aspects I tend to find difficult to write about in the same way you do, I do however have a few concerns.

1- I think if you say the word aesthetic one more time, I'm going to go nuts. While I don't think there's wrong with adopting an aesthetic, it is a problem when you hammer down on the aesthetic of something minor that doesn't fit with the rest of the setting. Small details can contrast with the large details.

2- You mentioned being a lore deputy for a long time for Vaurca, but your only posted past work is a human planet that is irrelevant to vaurca lore. What have you done in your position as a vaurca lore deputy for vaurca lore? Written lore, not pr's. I have a concern on your ability to focus on a concept to actually get through with it as stating your position of vaurca lore deputy as part of your application without putting any work done for that position is concerning. 

3- The nuclear option. In many of discussions on lore, I've gained the impression of your fondness for the nuclear option, while you have stated in your essay that you do not intend to do it, it is still a concern of mine that you may change your mind in the future.

4- Using your position to further downsize Nanotrasen. Skrell have a rather unique position when it comes to corporations and your hatred for Nanotrasen is quite vocal in that you mention it enough times that most of us have committed it to memory. Despite your feelings, our present setting is heavily reliant on a corporate research station that belongs to Nanotrasen. The NBT is going to happen someday where things may be different, but right now we are still in the Aurora.

1) The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men
On a serious note, yes, sometimes I have been pretty stupid in attempting to establish the aesthetic of various things. Somewhy, it registers as something very important to my brain. This is a fair point, and small details contrasting with the big picture is not something I have thought of before.

2) I'll also admit here that early on in my tenure I had been exposed to the fact that I could help out other writers at will, and this has been a particularly nasty habit that I don't like to talk about. The amount of concrete writing (and not just brainstorming with Bygone/Jam) that I have done for Vaurca is quite sparse, though recently I have been planning a reasonably sized arc involving the Skrell (which I have had to put on hold for my own concerns over how this would fit in the Jargon economy.) I apologize for this, it is something I would definitely be reeling in except where it would make sense (the above thing with Margarineoutlaw202)

3) I fully and wholeheartedly respect the lore that has been added to the Skrell by VT and Sleepy previously, and I promise I have 0 interest in completely nuking anything that's there, unless the players really did want me to. I have never seriously worked to completely obliterate something the players enjoy (even if, to the bottom, I have used neglect instead.)

4) Ah, yes, NanoTrasen. I'll be frank. Yes, I do not enjoy NanoTrasen. I find it poorly-defined, not very well fleshed out, overly hinging on a McGuffin, and frankly I have been bored of it since I have been playing for 4 years and some change with it. However, the ties to NT that, say, the Zo'ra and Jargon have are very important, and while I don't really plan on making new connections to the megacorporation when I write except where it would truly be interesting, it's not in my plans to take away those ties, or marginalize the megacorporation through Skrell.

A special thank you to you, Abo, for calling me out on these things and not letting them fester. Also thank you for liking my essay.

[Faris]

My main issue is personally number 2. If I were to put aside your promises, when I look at the tenure and the actual evidence, it puts me in a predicament where I’m incredibly worried and to an extent uncomfortable with the possibilities of what would happen if you were accepted. 

This is not me saying you’re a bad candidate since I like your essay and you have the capability to write things that I find myself having difficulty writing, as I explained to you briefly on discord.  

 

It’s just I worry I’ll sit as a deputy, pushing through things about Skrell while your attention is focused on other things. Another case of Venus, which while is a nice piece of lore, is not something to do with Vaurca. I have my own plans of things I want to do for Skrell but I don’t consider them actual work that I can quote as a contribution as they aren’t implemented yet or even in the process of implementation.

 

To summarize, your app has a pros, I think despite your heated nature, that you can be worked with as evident by the fact you’re a moderator. You have the capacity to write and some of the things you’ve written I like. On the other side, you have cons, like your ability to focus on things and not always considering the larger picture. 

[Bygonehero]

Paradox helps people understand lore and I love them for it, but it has been frustrating having to carry virtually all of the lore writing burden concerning the Vaurca species.  Every event planned has been hosted by me. Every arc has been hosted by me, written by me. The wiki, edited mostly by me. This isn't me complaining about my workload, but it is hard to point to anything concerning lore that Paradox has actually done and I know they can write. It makes it even more frustrating that they can, but cannot bring themselves to put in the effort.  

[Snakebittenn]

Thank you for the reply (and validating Abo's post in the process), Bygone. I don't really have anything else to say from this point, as these things are true, as spoken about previously (and I am deeply apologetic about them, especially the stress on you). As many things as I could say about it, none of them really matter, aside from politely asking for a chance at this position, to do and be better than I was previously. I really do feel I could do it.

[furrycactus]

I decently enjoyed reading your essay, and the thing that I also like the most about it is the proposed idea of making the Federation actually felt more throughout the galaxy, as well as developing internal conflicts and political things. Many nations all have news networks for instance, but only a couple seem to make use of them. For me, a nation that develops both internally and with other galactic powers is something that I really enjoy and look for when I actually play a species, it makes them feel more alive and actually present in the universe, and for me, Skrell not having much interaction with other galactic powers is something that I always feel has been something that's been a bit of a detriment to the species. Being able to talk about the goings on about your nation with other people is nice, and sometimes fun, but Skrell are one of the nations that can't really do that.

As for your overall temperament, we don't actually interact much because we don't really have a reason to at all, so I can't say I've personally had many bad experiences with you, aside from a couple rare comments maybe like... once or twice? But I've seen you get kind of hotheaded or rude from time to time. But really, I've actually seen it far less since you became a moderator, as a few others have said.

Personally, I think you'd make an okay Skrell lore dev, based on what's here, but that's just the lowly opinion of myself.

Edited July 28, 2019 by furrycactus

[Conspiir]

I have concerns. It’s hard to put into words, because it’s only a collection of impressions and opinions over time. Frankly, I don't see you as the most trustworthy or hard-working. More of a come-and-go type. And I may be completely wrong. I don't see behind-the-scenes. But that's what I've mostly gathered over my time observing you.

 

Onto the actual essay stuff.

 

Your definition of asexual makes me tilt my head a little bit, as your essay says that “not asexual” Skrell are still… viewing sex as generally non-sexual, making them just as grey-sexual as the rest, which may just be something a little lost in translation. Your need to define the dating lives of Skrell makes me tilt my head a little more. How Skrell get dates isn’t really something I personally think the lore needs to expand on. I've now, for some reason, become a little concerned about Skrell dating becoming an actual main part of the lore. And for how long are you going to be interested in expanding the lore? We’ve gone through a couple devs recently, for different reasons. It’s been said you aren’t the most active lore deputy in the world.

 

Sometimes you latch onto a thought and hold onto it regardless of what others might say. This can be for some kind of mechanic or for some piece of lore. Sometimes things can sound like a really good idea to us, but when put before others, there are often holes found and disagreements. Part of being a good leader is to hear all the concerns and dissents and reasonings, understand the consequences better with the new information. Say half the populace likes this new thing, half does not. Is it better to act in favor of a new idea or conservatively? I’m still against Skrellekinesis, for one. And rewriting Skrell history can have… really big, really really big effects. Skrell, more than any other race, is in-tune with their history. Long lives and mental connections will do that. If you shift their history, you shift their present.

 

Skrell are a hard thing to understand. I’ve been doing it a while now, and my views and opinions have had to change and shift over the time between Loow and now. I still have my faults on interpretation. I only know that every change can have severe repercussions if we aren’t careful. I’m working through the fallout of a recent one even now. I ask for very very light treading.

[Faris]

A follow up question I asked the other applicant.

What's your stance and intentions regarding whitelists and their standards?

Personally, I've been fairly heavy handed and proactive in controlling standards. A few private warnings, announcements and some edits to the wiki. Are you more lax? Reactive? Easy get and hard to lose? and etc.

[Snakebittenn]

I don't think going full Loow again is particularly necessary, but it shouldn't be 'come collect your whitelist' either. I'm generally understanding of small messups, but I generally don't have a high tolerance for people clearly skipping over parts of the wiki. In all, it shouldn't be hard to gain, but shouldn't be too easy to lose. Also, I'm not a great big fan of reverting wiki information in response to singular players, only if it's an endemic issue.

[Mofo1995]

Hello! After having a long big think, I'm afraid I've decided to deny this application. Thank you for your interest!

EDIT: Move from archive to forum at request of applicant, who would like to leave it open as a skrell deputy application.

Edited August 30, 2019 by Mofo1995

[Snakebittenn]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rIYeATmGAP48HXia97WeHnY6Yl9Ym7V198mG132ryKU/edit?usp=sharing here is essay 3 to satisfy the new requirements.

[Resilynn]

Alright, this has stayed up for long enough.

I am going to accept this, because you've already put in a lot of effort to skrell lore, and the conversations we have about it have already impacted the lore I've been producing and editing.  Your conversational style of development, your 'what ifs' and 'hey how doeses', fits well with my own development style.

That being said, I understand the concerns brought up with this application.  You have not always been good at following up with the lore you're supposed to be working on (vaurca, most recently).  You have a history of being abrasive when you disagree with someone, including me.

I hope to fix this by establishing my expectations as thoroughly as I can, and maintaining those expectations over time.  You said the list of objectives I provided works for you, and that you'd appreciate having that kind of loose schedule.  I'll trust you on that, you know your work style better than anyone.  So, that's the first expectation.  The second expectation is that you will be absolutely, 1000% friendly in conversations about frog lore.  You've made big strides here since becoming a mod, so I believe you can do it.  I have a bad habit of getting abrasive when I disagree with something, too.  This friendliness should extend both to people asking questions, even the dumb ones, and people providing criticism.  I want to encourage players (and fellow lore writers) to provide feedback, and feedback is often 'hey this is dumb'.  I want players to feel comfortable telling us if they don't like something, and I want to open conversations about what can be improved.

If all that's agreeable enough to you, application accepted.