[Accepted] ShesTrying - Moderator Application

[ShesTrying]

Server Moderator Application

 

Basic Information

Byond Account: ShesTrying

Character Name(s): Thea Reeves, Valerie Aquila, Naia Willam, Lynn Songna, Aria Rose, Ceria Vaughn, Cera Rivers, Gwendolyn Miller, Allison Bell, Cleo Ora, Lillian Wallace, Nih-LA, Ka’Akaix’Voa C’thur, Ta’Akaix’Ivara Zo’ra, and about four others that are secret.

AI Name(s): Don’t play AI, pAI sometimes as Nih-LA, even rarer as Nih-LA borg.

Discord username + tag: Olivia#4393

Age: 19

Timezone: EST

When are you on Aurora?: Mornings and evenings on weekdays, almost all weekends.

 

Experience

How long have you played SS13?: I started playing on 25-12-2018.

 

How long have you played on Aurora:  Same amount of time! The first server I ever played was Aurora.

 

How much do you know about SS13 (Baystation build) game mechanics?: I like to think I’m quite knowledgeable about all the basics, but a huge part of the appeal of this game for me is the ability to constantly learn new things, and teach others what you’ve learned. As far as departments-wise I’d say I have the most knowledge in science/civilian.

 

Do you have any experience moderating for an SS13 server?: No, I don’t. Aurora is really the only server I play on, space-station wise. I was, however, an admin for a pretty large GTA RP server, before I left to focus on my schooling. I’ve since completed school, and my full-time schedule is much more manageable. Past that, I tend to play Thea sort of like a moderator, helping out new players in looc to set up records or correct job preferences. 

 

Have you read through the criteria thread; https://forums.aurorastation.org/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4198 - and believe that you mark off all the criteria?: Yes!

Have you ever been banned, and if so, how long and why?: Nope, and no warnings either.

 

Personality

Why do you play SS13?: I enjoy learning, first and foremost. A huge draw of the game, for me, was the complexity of the mechanics, and just how detailed it is to do something simple. I can remember the first time I ever played space (which was on Aurora) my friend handing me a pack of matches, and a cigarette case, and telling me to ‘figure it out.’ It was both infuriating and amazing spending the next ten minutes bludgeoning myself in the head with lighters, matches packs, and cigarette butts. 

Past the simple mechanical aspect, I’ve always enjoyed fantasy worlds where just about anything is possible. Roleplaying games like D&D, GTA rp, and even text-based roleplay have always been where I’ve found myself spending most of my time. The suspension of disbelief that you can feel, even if it’s just with 2D spessmen, is something that I don’t think I’ll ever stop enjoying. 

 

Why do you play on Aurora?: I play on Aurora because, while I enjoy the mechanics of the game, another huge part of the appeal is the roleplay. I *love* the immersion that I get when I can drop comfortably into one of my favourite characters’ personalities, or the excitement I get when I play a new person for the first time. The quality of interactions on the Aurora is amazing, and the players, the relationships, and the way that the server is run is something that appeals to me greatly. The community around me, the talent of the people I interact with, and the kindness of the staff struck me from when I first joined, and it’s kept me here through thick and thin.

 

What do moderators do?: Moderators, in short, make sure that everything we love about the server stays like that- things we love. They are the first line against random griefers, and they are the first hands that reach out to help new players light their first cigarette, to use my example from above. Moderators preserve the server’s amazing community and keep the roleplay something that people want to keep coming back to. They are not only a force for punishment and bans, however, they are also a force to help new players settle in, and to guide people in the right direction. 

 

What does it mean to be a moderator for our server?: Being a moderator for Aurora means keeping the roleplay high. It means making sure that people are enjoying themselves, and making sure that roleplay is happening. Past that, it means being an example for people to look to, and being willing to help anyone who may ask you for help ((be they new players in ahelps or antags asking mechanics in AooC)). When you are a moderator, you are a trusted member of the community, and of the staff team, and players will often come to you for help or guidance. It is up to you to provide that in a friendly manner.

 

Why do you want to be a moderator?: I have been a member of this community for some time now, and I’ve been looking for ways to participate more, and give back to the awesome group of people that have given me so much fun in the past. I want to join the team and help keep Aurora a place that everyone loves, and can continue to love. 

 

What qualities do you possess that would make you a good moderator?: I like to think that I’m a pretty fair person. I have a simple philosophy in life, and that is that you get what you give. Be kind to the people around you, and people will be kind in return. I don’t really see the point of insulting or belittling people, when a conversation gets you so much further. In the end, I strive to be kind, always. 

 

How well do you handle stress, anger, or insults?: Quite well! Stress and anger are part of life, and I have gotten quite good at digesting them, and keeping them in check. Insults are just as easy to roll off my back, and responding with kindness is the best way to return the favor, in my opinion.

 

Anything else to add: Nope! I've been thinking about ways to participate more heavily in the community for some time and this seems to be a great way to do so. ^0^

[Resilynn]

I think you have the same problem that makes me not a good candidate for mod: you have a lot of friends and I don’t see you managing to crack down on their behavior- in fact, as a vaurca, I’ve seen you directly participate in kind of memey behavior with your friends.

I also have grave concerns because your private discord, named ’metaclique’ has been used to metagame more than once- while on VC there I’ve heard you and your friends coordinate roles and gimmicks, which is explicitly against the rules. I recall you acknowledging it was against the rules, too, but laughing it off- which is fine, I *guess*, it was relatively harmless, uuuntil you’re applying for mod. 

Also, on this discord channel, I’ve witnessed behaviors that would absolutely be bannable on regular Aurora let slide by- including hate speech and an entire VC rant about how Jews aren’t people, sometimes genocide is warranted, and the holocaust never happened. I believe the rant came from the player of Malcom Reeves. While you’re not really held accountable for what you allow on your private discord, it does give me serious second thoughts about how you would manage your same friends as a mod. 

[ShesTrying]

I can completely understand the concern about me having too many friends. I like to think of myself as a friendly person, and I try to be as kind as I can to everyone I meet. I like to think that I can manage my biases quite well. In the event that there is ever a concern, however, I’m more than happy with asking for help or asking someone else to handle the ticket. I know my limits.

My discord- it was made as a meme, and has always been sort of a meme. Since it’s creation it’s been more used by my friends than I, and I just let it sit as it was where everyone seemed to gravitate to. I recall talking about a gimmick, once, when we wanted to coordinate to make a better story, but since then I’ve largely avoided voice chats when I’m playing. 

In the time that I was active in the discord, I was in college, and not in the right emotional state to be doing much of anything. I was overtired, underfed, and generally not okay. I’m sure the people who knew me that long ago know that I was a much different person back then. I was going through a rough time emotionally and I’d like to make it clear that I took no part in any of those conversations. I have never subscribed to any of those beliefs, but I am guilty for letting them happen in a server I was supposed to be owning. 

I honestly haven’t used it at all since I’ve come home, as I really do believe it was a mistake to make it in the first place.  I understand that my emotional state back then isn’t an excuse for what I let slip by, but I’ve since deleted the discord server, and I do want to assure you that with coming home my life and mental stability is definitely there, and I’ve changed quite a bit since college.

[Doxxmedearly]

Firstly, I have no trouble believing that your response is totally honest, and that you don't share any of those beliefs. That much is obvious from just interacting with you.

It's good to see that you're not making excuses, and instead owning up to what you recognize as mistakes. That's something everyone in a position of responsibility should be able to do. It's definitely not great to see that sort of thing being allowed in your server, but you clearly understand where the mistake happened and while we can't erase them, we can grow from them, and I think that's what you've done.

That said, you do have a lot of friends, and I am slightly worried about your ability to distance yourself from buddies when it comes to making judgement calls, because you are very kind and very well-respected by said friends. It's not necessarily favoritism from you that I fear, but frustration if your friends happen to butt heads with your fellow staff. It's good to be loyal to your friends, but sometimes this can lead to tension when you're in a staff position. But this is a mostly baseless worry; while you do spend an awful lot of time surrounded by your friends' characters in any given round, you're not exclusionary to any other players, and, as you say, friendly to everyone. 

I like you as an ooc member of the community- your conduct is overall excellent and kind, and I like your characters, barring one or two IC things I've seen over your time here. I remember seeing you while you were new, and since then you've continued to be one of my favorite people to see around, even if we aren't friends OOCly. I also remember supporting your command app despite you being a very new player. You did exceptionally well with it.

Overall, I think you would make a good mod, despite my concerns. I certainly support a trial. Good luck.

[Faris]

Being a former resident of that discord, I can attest that.

 

1- I haven’t really seen any major rule violations by Shestrying and that the discord is effectively dead by the time I left it.

 

2- I have not seen nor believe that Shestrying subscribed to any controversial beliefs listed above. While they may not have stopped any debates, they didn’t encourage any of it either. 

 

And my own piece here. Overall, I think Shestrying is just an overall friendly person, which is why they have a large list of people they’re on a friendly relation with and friends. Sure there’s a concern of being impartial and fair, but I don’t think we can really base any of that on the discord which was just supposed to be a group of people hanging out.

 

I think they deserve the chance for a trial. It’ll be a good experience to see what has merit and what doesn’t in terms of both the positive and negative things said.

[zyymurgy]

Since we're showing up and talking openly about the Metaclique, I can say that I was an active participant in the text and voice chat for a time. The question of metacomming aside (something I have contradictory opinions about and don't want to derail with) I do have something to comment on.

I will say that there were multiple incidents of PredatoryInstinct (Malcolm Reeves) and Texapingo saying some prettttttyyyy nasty stuff. There was a point where both of them ganged up in voice chat to shout me down. They were joking but it was aggressive alt-right "joking". I left, and I left the discord server, and I informed Thea that they had gone too far and that I was leaving specifically because of them, as I felt she as the owner had control.

I'm not sure what happened as a result since I had bounced, but I can say this: I felt safe coming to Thea about it even though I knew she and Pred were close, and RPing romance together and getting married and all that. I felt that she would be able to handle it. I just didn't want to hang out with those people any more, or make it a "me or them" situation for anybody, so I just removed the "me" part.

Closing the server was a good choice and owning up to not being there to manage it is pretty cool.

I think that the fact of PredatoryInstinct and Texapingo using the server to pretty much do whatever they wanted was a direct result of Shestrying not being there to control them, and due to personal reasons stated above, I don't blame her at all. This is her coming up and saying "let me try taking control now". I think it could be okay, since I'm morally certain that Pred and Tex were the major bad influences there, and everybody else was very, very uncomfortable when they started talking like that - because I was there, and I was uncomfortable, and when I asked my friends who were there too, they were also uncomfortable. Even if it was joking or "all in fun" on those users' part, it was still abusive behavior -- that doesn't reflect on Shestrying, because she just... wasn't there to stop it, and never once participated in it either.

I can verify she wasn't there and didn't join in, and I can believe the reasons stated above 100%. Shestrying is cool in my book and someone I would feel confident coming to again were she in a position to help me with server/RP trouble. And a side note, I've always enjoyed playing with her too.

Edited September 24, 2019 by zyymurgy
clarity

[SatinsPristOTD]

My biggest concern is how often you AFK during a round for IRL things. (which is fine, life happens.). I worry you'll do the same thing, but as a moderator. AFK on server. This could lead to people thinking we have an active mod, when reality is.. you aren't there.

Will you curb this if gave moderator status? It can be frustrating to Command with you when you fail to communicate during stressful situations that require Captain approval. This sort of.... "reliance" will only get worse when you become a mod.

[ShesTrying]

For sure! I definately plan on curbing the stepping away should I become a moderator-- I've been working on that in the past few weeks, and I am aware of the hiding-while-online feature that staff have. Worst comes to worst, I'll be able to use that in my absences. ^-^

[MattAtlas]

https://pastebin.com/CR0yFETk

Interview

[Cnaym]

On 23/09/2019 at 20:14, ShesTrying said:

Past that, it means being an example for people to look to, and being willing to help anyone who may ask you for help ((be they new players in ahelps or antags asking mechanics in AooC)). When you are a moderator, you are a trusted member of the community, and of the staff team, and players will often come to you for help or guidance. It is up to you to provide that in a friendly manner.

I was one of those that got picked up by Thea Reeves when I first started with SS13. Honest words, without Thea and Roadman I wouldn't have decided to stay around. I loved to learn ICly and still do. I got the feeling from both that they enjoyed teaching and it always gave me a big smile to see them on the manifest after a long day at work.

I get the complaint that you tend to go afk. I even kicked you for falling asleep as a visitor once or twice to cryo you. Now I am not going to say that this behavior will influence or stay when you get a trial. I feel confident in saying that your willingness to help in combination with the tickets and lovely bwoink sounds will keep your eyes wide open. ^__^

You got my full support with your app and I hope I'll see you in a trial. Be ready to get yelled at

[Flamingo]

Trial began as of October 6th, 2019. It will last for one month, until November 6th, 2019. 

[Flamingo]

Application accepted following a successful trial. Welcome to the team. 

 

Locking and Archiving.