Naelynn applies for Moderation

[Naelynn]

Basic Information
Byond Account: Naelynn
Character Name(s):

Spoiler

New character:
Olosu Shusszi

Antagonists only:
TUP-13
Nomad
Stalker
Valor
Nightingale

AI Name(s): Don't play Ai.
Discord username + tag: Naelynn#1337
Age: 26
Timezone: Gmt +1 (Central Europe)
When are you on Aurora?: Depends on my schedule, but usually between 2pm to 4am my time. 

Experience
How long have you played SS13?: My account was created over two years ago specifically for the purpose of playing SS13. So.. two years.

How long have you played on Aurora: Two years. I have never really played on any other server. I have I think 1 round total on CM and on TG, but I don't enjoy how they play out. I really like Aurora though.
How much do you know about SS13 (Baystation build) game mechanics?: A lot. From code digging almost everything in the game to understand the game better, to being familiar with some quite obscure interaction. (Ex: You can throw people over holes while EVA without them falling into said holes, and then leg actuator over the hole in question, allowing one rigsuited person to escort multiple people safely.)
Do you have any experience moderating for an SS13 server?: No. 
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. I may have issues with being concise sometimes, but I believe I can fix that.
Have you ever been banned, and if so, how long and why?: Full banned? No. Antag banned? One week, due to an over-the-line example of power gaming behavior. Unintentionally banned? Yes, I have to play over a VPN due to my university internet connection blocking BYOND - this sometimes lands me in a permabanned IP and I have to bug an admin to unban my account as I change the IP.

Personality
Why do you play SS13?: It's an amazing game in multiple aspects. The absolutely bonkers-insane depth of the mechanics, the fact that everyone in the community CARES about the game and their server (Because if you suffered through the learning curve, there is no way you don't).. And to have fun with other people. This point specifically is a big driving point for me - that *EVERYONE* should have fun in this game. Not just me, or just few other people. 
Why do you play on Aurora?: Because I despise how hectic and honestly lol-so-random other servers are. Aurora has dignity that other servers don't. Why should we have animations and mechanics for farting?! It's really not necessary... Aurora also has the right pace for someone like me who really likes reading - unlike other servers where it's act-then-talk, Aurora strives for talk-then-act approach by actually encouraging role play!
What do moderators do?: Moderators, in my opinion, are people who are veteran at the game and have a vested interest in helping others. Their focus should be on easing other people into the game and making sure everyone CAN do the things they want to do. There also is the part about moderators existing to uphold the server's rules - and I mean that with both interpretations being valid: Moderators should make sure that the spirit of the server's rules is upheld by the population, AS WELL AS being a shining example of rule-abiding behavior. However, moderators also are only people, and to err is human. It is fine to make mistakes, but one has to learn and accept critique of others.
What does it mean to be a moderator for our server?: Moderator for Aurora specifically has to be able to distinguish between ic and ooc things - as we are a server uniquely focused on role play.  This then has HUUUUGE implications on how things are handled. Because issues on Aurora can get extremely complicated, Moderator for our server should be willing to just say 'I don't know' and ask someone who has more experience. Furthermore, activity. Being a moderator is a /privilege/. One you have to work to keep.
Why do you want to be a moderator?: I want to help people. I've had a lot of time to think about how I play the game lately, and... my own reputation. I figure that since I spend -a lot- of rounds ghosting anyway, I might as well be useful and helpful! It's a win-win for everyone! 
What qualities do you possess that would make you a good moderator?: I believe I am a very patient person, and strongly believe that I am open to opinions that contradict my personal views. On top of that, I think that my position as someone who spends many rounds ghosting anyway leaves me in a good place to be a moderator. Furthermore, I like to be very deliberate with my actions.
How well do you handle stress, anger, or insults?: I believe I do reasonably well, but at the same time I have some dignity - if someone will be genuinely pushing my buttons in an a-help intentionally, I might request for someone else to take it, or at least advice on what to do. I'm only human after all. We all are.

Anything Else You Want to Add:
I've been around the server for a while, and built up a reputation as someone who power games... but at the same time as someone who listens to feedback when given it. I have messaged many of the server's staff in the past asking for feedback, and I genuinely believe I integrated their recommendations into how I approach the game. 

Please do not hesitate to post your opinions. Thank you and have a wonderful day

Edited November 29, 2019 by Naelynn
Added new character

[ReadThisNamePlz]

We have noticed your application and will get back to you on a verdict for an interview, soon. Please gather feedback while you wait for our response.

[SatinsPristOTD]

I'm very hesitant on this. It didn't take long to search your name on the forums and see just how many complaints there are about your play style. You even admitted to "winging it" on antag play, and just taking everything in your path to screw over other players in the round, just so you have lead way for a gimmick you don't even have. Something you've been now told not to do.

 

It's not a quality I want to see a staff member. And I honestly would like to see change in this before a staff position is gave. 

[Naelynn]

1 hour ago, SatinsPristOTD said:

I'm very hesitant on this.

Alright, let's see why.

1 hour ago, SatinsPristOTD said:

complaints there are about your play style.

Play style doesn't have much to do with being a good moderator I feel. But, you elaborate more later. As for how many - three. In all of which I have been allowed to remain on server provided I adjusted how I behave or been found innocent.

1 hour ago, SatinsPristOTD said:

You even admitted to "winging it" on antag play

Correct. Improvisation is a critical tool in one's skillset. I wasn't doing a good job, people brought it up, I learned. I have been recieving a lot of positive feedback after adjusting my story-building with feedback from Garnascus on discord.

1 hour ago, SatinsPristOTD said:

and just taking everything in your path to screw over other players in the round

 

1 hour ago, SatinsPristOTD said:

just so you have lead way for a gimmick you don't even have.

By taking everything, I assume you are referencing the round where I took the voidsuits as wizard? A.k.a recent complaint by Geeves. You might notice, I have taken in the feedback provided and adjusted my style. This is not something you wish to see in a mod? The ability to listen to opinions of others and change for the better? 
 

1 hour ago, SatinsPristOTD said:

Something you've been now told not to do.

I've been told to not do many things in the past, and every single time I have adjusted my behavior accordingly. I have been told to not cryo on round start if I don't get antagonist - I do not do so anymore. I have been told to not wall in ERT's. Have never done so since.  I have been told to not 'murderbone' unless it is specifically in self defense or in furthers my gimmick in some way. I have never done so since being told so.

... 

 

1 hour ago, SatinsPristOTD said:

It's not a quality I want to see a staff member. And I honestly would like to see change in this before a staff position is gave. 

Your post feels odd to me. You are praising me for the things I have achieved, for improving from complaints, yet you claim it in negative light and wish to see me without this chance to prove myself.

Please, elaborate on your points in a consistent non-biased manner. Thank you.

Edited November 25, 2019 by Naelynn
Clarity

[MattAtlas]

-1.

Last time I had to PM you for something very simple you left the server for a few months, made a leaving post on a report on you and that post was less than great.

Quote

Call me dramatic or whatever.

I need a break from ss13

However this will end, it will end.
I'm not going to reply here anymore, muting any emails from forums and uninstalled the game and all relevant discord servers. 

I may be back in 6 months, but between some stuff irl that's giving me a lot of stress, and the fact that I'm appearently the target of hatred in dead chat almost every single round I do something even remotely non-perfect... Yeah no, I'm just tired.

I don't think you have the right temperament to be a moderator. If you do, you haven't shown it enough.

[Naelynn]

8 hours ago, MattAtlas said:

Last time I had to PM you for something very simple you left the server for a few months, made a leaving post on a report on you and that post was less than great.

I don't think you have the right temperament to be a moderator. If you do, you haven't shown it enough.

Thank you for your reply!

Yes. At the time I had a lot to deal with. Between having to travel to a different country, my sports interest taking me to madrid for a championship, real life emotional pressure from family and high amounts of stress on the side of SS13 due to aforementioned complaint, I have opted to take a break and accepted that I will not have input on how the case will be resolved anymore due to said break.

Could I have worded it better? Probably yes. 

But, let's think of this same situation differently, and see if it holds up from a 'moderator' point of view.

Your moderator is losing their mind due to all the stress they're going through and are not handling tickets well. They decide that they cannot do their work properly due to this stress and decide to leave, announcing it publicly and making sure that everyone for whom the information is immediately relevant knows.

Alternatively, this moderator may stay on board and try to bear with it, not delivering quality service via ahelps due to said stress - just losing it more and more until they either make some horrible stress-induced mistake that rest of the staff team has to clean up or get better?

Which of these two moderators is better suited for duty on this server? 

The one who admits they have limits and when they can't take it steps down, or, the one that pushes on through?

I believe there are merits to both.

Alternatively, the point of your post was to imply that I bail if things get too tough. If that was the case, I would have bailed during Mercer character complaint - that one was by far the most stressful for me on it's own, as it was my first.

Edited November 26, 2019 by Naelynn
Clarified the 2.nd example, corrected typo in point of view

[Cairath]

I've yet to encounter you outside of a brief chat as a ghost, but you asked for my opinion and here it is. You say that you're a patient person and that you want to help people, both of which are positive things but words mean little compared to actions. Dealing with people, their problems and their infractions can certainly take a toll even on the most patient of people, as more often than not someone is bound to be in the wrong and they won't take it lightly.

 

If you were faced with someone who escalated a situation way too much, how would you deal with it? Say MD X is bothered with how CMO Y has been running the show and does not want to have to listen to them. X goes to confront Y and ends up getting a bit too tense, going as far as to shove Y or punch them. X gets picked up by a Security Officer and serves his sentence. Now, imagine these two scenarios:

1. You receive an ahelp from Y telling you that X has cornered them and tried to murder them. You look into it and find out that X had crafted a makeshift weapon and attacked Y with it, leaving them in a critical but not dead state. X told everyone where to pick Y up and that he's done with Medical forever. When you contact him, X explains that his character had enough of Y's bullshit and that he had to do it, explaining the situation so far. If told he did something wrong, he would vehemently defend himself, saying it was all okay.

2. X starts to terrorize Medical, replacing medicine with toxin or other stuff, disrupting rescue missions, feeding wrong information, miss-diagnosing patients. He does not directly kill anyone, but because of his hindrance, several players end up spending far too much in Medical and one of them even starts a fight with an unrelated Nurse, thinking that she poisoned him intentionally. You get an ahelp regarding that fight, as the Nurse was beat down unfairly by this patient who thought she was trying to kill him. You dig around logs and such and find that X had labeled a bottle of toxin with the label Bicardine, which caused this. When confronted, X admits that he took it too far, apologizes and begs that he'll do better next time and keep from ever doing this again.

 

How do you deal with these two situations?

 

Sorry if this was a bit of a lengthy post or not my place to post it, but I was asked for an opinion and I gave it.

 

 

 

[Naelynn]

Thank you for the post @Cairath.
I'll do my best to take on the two cases you've presented.
I'm going to assume that in both cases there are no antagonists involved as then the case basically devolves into "He's an antag. He does bad things."  with some splice of 'hey, don't take people out of the round without a good reason'.

1) My first step would be to find out if this is an isolated thing or a repeat problem by checking the players notes. Second step would involve trying to figure out whether this is an IC or OOC issue. If this is purely IC issue, it should be passed over to CCIA by recommending to Y to make an IR. However, if there is a reasonable cause to believe this to be OOC issue [most hinted at by repeated similar behavior in notes or generally behavior that is not conductive to role play ((I am assuming here that Y was just wordlessly shanked more or less.))] then I would have a reason to involve myself further in this case. 

   - This would manifest as one of the following options for X
   - If he has few or no relevant notes, attempt to simply explain the situation to him and how it is not conductive to HRP environment. You mentioned he would not be receptive to critique so this method would likely not achieve the intended result. In this case I would probably end up issuing a verbal warning and adding a disciplinary note to his profile for further incidents. 
   - People who are not conductive to critique while simultaneously being prone to self-antagonistic behavior have a tendency to accrue notes and admin/moderator warnings at rapid rate. If he had a high amount of disciplinary notes before this case, I would double check whether or not his behavior warrants severe or lesser punishment with someone more experienced than myself. Lesser punishment would be: Verbal warning, Written Warning. Severe punishment would be: Temporary or even permanent ban.
   - Alternatively, if the person is a repeat offender with acknowledged written warnings about similar behavior that have yet to expire and a history of breaking whatever promises have been made, I would once again seek advice of someone more experienced than myself but recommend banning. The difference here from previous case is that I have an opinion of how this should end, but I'm not comfortable just banning someone without making sure it's correct first.

   - After issue is resolved inform all parties that the situation has been handled and close tickets to give people at least some closure.

2) Case two seems a little more complicated to me than case 1, as it involved third parties getting damaged as a result of X's actions. However, a lot of my process would remain the same. Gather information about the player's past behavior, determine whether or not it's an ic or ooc issue. If not sure, ask for advice from someone more experienced so that in the future I'll be able to make the calls on my own. As such, I will only note down parts of the process that would differ from (1).

   - Player X in this case seems to be more receptive to standard instructions so a verbal warning might do the trick on it's own. However, this would need to be double checked against the player's notes (and thus previous behavior).
   - With a player that is receptive to communication, I would be willing to spend a lot more time explaining why things that happened have overall negative impact on the round, even if it is 'in character' for them to have a mental episode that causes them to behave in disruptive manner. 
   - Assuming he doesn't have history of lying to staff and intentionally disruptive behavior, verbal warning + note on their profile would appear a reasonable solution to me. Additionally I would give him some things he should consider doing to mend the issues he has caused and minimize further disruption of the round. (For example: Intercept all miss-labeled bottles, apologize to the nurse etc.).
   - If he is a repeat offender when it comes to disrupting the round via self-antagging behavior I would seek to look into more severe punishment methods outlined in (1).


Notes:
The points outlined assume X to be player that actually knows what they're doing. If they don't and more or less bumbled into causing troubles by sheer ignorance of the game's mechanics that would change the situation significantly. I live by the creed - Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by ignorance. 

Hopefully those answers are to your liking - I've wanted to reply immediately and not mull over it for 3 hours before replying. These are my immediate thoughts as I was reading your post, and thus it is closest to what I'll do in game via just immediate reactions.

[Seeli]

Naelynn played a wizard recently and asked for a pet-familiar. She created a gimmick around their familiar being the Rat King, and were trying to coordinate with the Aurora crew to stop the impending Bluespace Anomaly by negotiating peace. To do this, they found two willing apprentices to share in Calcifer's powers. The gimmick ended with the Anomaly "on its way" because the end of round came, but it was a peaceful gimmick. But this was an amazing example of how much Naelynn changed her ways from the feedback she received not long before that round. Even when Calcifer was stomped on by an officer, her wizard's priority was getting the Rat King away and tending his wounds.

Naelynn is very well-versed in the game, shows willingness to accept and act upon feedback, and generally seems friendly towards other players in deadchat. I have noticed her OOC friendliness and willingness to teach others from my conversations and observations. Naelynn has made mistakes in the past, recent and further back, with her antag play specifically, but her behavior continues to improve. Due to their friendly attitude, knowledge of mechanics within the game, self-awareness and self-improvements, and their willing ability to teach others, I would like to give this application a +1 of support.

[Randy]

What characters do you play?

Also heres a scenario I want to throw at you out of curiosity but if you dont want to answer it for whatever reason or you think its silly I understand.

During a round of extended a scientist makes exploding lemons and his testing gets out of hand the research head calls in sec to handle it, the person however injured his bionic leg and keeps falling down but keeps moving away while an officer tries to cuff him so the officer beats him with a stun baton and arrests him.

Later the officer gets called in by the HoS and charged with using too much force but he blows it of and walks away, the HoS and warden run after him and aim there gun at him but they reflexively fire and a firefight ensues with the officer soon in cuffs and the other 2 mildly injured.

You (as a moderator) pm the officer asking him to explain the situation but he is clearly upset and complaining that the HoS and warden both are terrible players.

After getting the just of what happened from the HoS what do you do from here?

 

 

[Naelynn]

8 minutes ago, Randy said:

What characters do you play?

Hello! You can find it on the initial post at the very top. Click the Reveal Hidden Content button and it'll appear. I like to put characters into spoiler warnings like that because it tends to be rather long list.

 

10 minutes ago, Randy said:

After getting the just of what happened from the HoS what do you do from here?

Right, that's a scenario that looks like one large clusterfuck to me, but here's the important points I could gather reading your post:
   1) Extended round, everything is cannon
   2) Scientist was sciency and made exploding lemons, but didn't stop when asked to and attempted to escape security
   3) Officer arrested him after he ran away via application of The Stick.
   4) HoS wasn't happy with brutality and wanted to have a heart-to-heart
   5) Officer didn't like getting the talk, and decided to say fuck it and bolted
   6) HoS+Warden chase him down and use aim intent to get him to talk with them, but something happens and the intent triggers a fire fight resulting in 2 wounded and 1 cuffed.
   7) I bwoink the officer to figure out wtf is going on and assemble this timeline

Based of this information..
   ... The scientist - I need explanation from him why he didn't stop when he was asked to by his RD. Also why he ran from the cops. If it ain't good one, I'd give him a warning or something to chill him out a bit unless it's a repeat issue.
   ... The officer - I don't have an issue with him using a baton on a running suspect. They are resisting arrest and he used non-lethal means of dealing with the simulation. Assuming he didn't go out of his way to be cruel, I don't see issue with that part... That said, similar thing as with the scientist. Why did he outright defy his HoS and bolted? He's an adult professional, not a teenager with a gun. Refresher on the fact that this is a HRP server would seem appropriate, and also a scan of the notes on whether or not this is a common thing.
   ... The warden - I mean, he basically is a side character. Odds are there's not much reason to involve him unless he was the one who did the aim intent on officer. 
  ... The AimIntent/Shooter - Just a quick reminder on the mechanics of aim intent - you can enable aim intent and disable the triggering actions before aiming at a person, making sure the mishaps don't happen again.
  ... The HoS - This one is the most difficult to evaluate for me, as it depends too much on how far the officer went during the initial capture. Was it abuse? Or necessity? Was it pre-mediated? Is it because he knows the officer and this isn't the first time? I'm hesitant to declare any verdict on the HoS because of this without having waaay more info. All I can say is: As a command-whitelisted player I would be more inclined towards being critical rather than forgiving simply because they are in possession of a whitelist that they had to acknowledge is temporary and can be taken away if abused. A.k.a: Watch for abuse of said whitelist.

[Randy]

3 hours ago, Naelynn said:

Hello! You can find it on the initial post at the very top. Click the Reveal Hidden Content button and it'll appear. I like to put characters into spoiler warnings like that because it tends to be rather long list.

 

Right, that's a scenario that looks like one large clusterfuck to me, but here's the important points I could gather reading your post:
   1) Extended round, everything is cannon
   2) Scientist was sciency and made exploding lemons, but didn't stop when asked to and attempted to escape security
   3) Officer arrested him after he ran away via application of The Stick.
   4) HoS wasn't happy with brutality and wanted to have a heart-to-heart
   5) Officer didn't like getting the talk, and decided to say fuck it and bolted
   6) HoS+Warden chase him down and use aim intent to get him to talk with them, but something happens and the intent triggers a fire fight resulting in 2 wounded and 1 cuffed.
   7) I bwoink the officer to figure out wtf is going on and assemble this timeline

Based of this information..
   ... The scientist - I need explanation from him why he didn't stop when he was asked to by his RD. Also why he ran from the cops. If it ain't good one, I'd give him a warning or something to chill him out a bit unless it's a repeat issue.
   ... The officer - I don't have an issue with him using a baton on a running suspect. They are resisting arrest and he used non-lethal means of dealing with the simulation. Assuming he didn't go out of his way to be cruel, I don't see issue with that part... That said, similar thing as with the scientist. Why did he outright defy his HoS and bolted? He's an adult professional, not a teenager with a gun. Refresher on the fact that this is a HRP server would seem appropriate, and also a scan of the notes on whether or not this is a common thing.
   ... The warden - I mean, he basically is a side character. Odds are there's not much reason to involve him unless he was the one who did the aim intent on officer. 
  ... The AimIntent/Shooter - Just a quick reminder on the mechanics of aim intent - you can enable aim intent and disable the triggering actions before aiming at a person, making sure the mishaps don't happen again.
  ... The HoS - This one is the most difficult to evaluate for me, as it depends too much on how far the officer went during the initial capture. Was it abuse? Or necessity? Was it pre-mediated? Is it because he knows the officer and this isn't the first time? I'm hesitant to declare any verdict on the HoS because of this without having waaay more info. All I can say is: As a command-whitelisted player I would be more inclined towards being critical rather than forgiving simply because they are in possession of a whitelist that they had to acknowledge is temporary and can be taken away if abused. A.k.a: Watch for abuse of said whitelist.

Thanks.

I personally have a strong dislike for the guard dog tipe doctrine some people have in roles of power within a game moderator or admin role. Barking every which way handing out punishments/repremands to everyone who even looks of over stepping without understanding is just a cause for unessesary trouble.

Note that im not putting you in this category as it would be unfair considering your experience but its something to keep in mind.

What I mean is that the lobotomized enforcement of a set of rules will do nothing but harm yourself and others the important thing to remember is that the principals of the rules are as important as the rules themselves, resorting to punishments/repremands should be a last resort the first being to eliminate the underlying problem.

As you gain experience you'll learn to do so I suppose.

Another issue I want to talk about is your afformentioned "reputation". ss13 is both a niche and has extremely loyal followers which means the players are quite passionate about the game. That is why some of the threads about the game have dozens of replies full of copypastas of theories,opinions etc

The problem with this however is that this the same reason why members of staff sometimes get complaints about things most would consider banal because they who are the appointed "leaders" are scrutinized tirelessly.

You should be sure this is something you will be able to handle because with your so called "reputation" you will most likely be watched even more closely and if you lack the skills to handle this it will ruin the game for you.

Best of luck to you.

 

-1

[Naelynn]

3 minutes ago, Randy said:

you will most likely be watched even more closely and if you lack the skills to handle this it will ruin the game for you.

I'm expecting that. 

Thank you very much for getting back to me, I appreciate it.

[Cnaym]

Interview: https://pastebin.com/f1UHTVSG

A long read, but a good read. Worth the time ?

[ReadThisNamePlz]

Hello! We finally have an answer for your application.

We've decided to Deny you a trial. After a couple weeks of debate and discussion, we've decided to move with a denial. I'll be contacting you with more information over discord.

Edited December 9, 2019 by ReadThisNamePlz

[ReadThisNamePlz]

Locking and Archiving within the next 24 hours.