Faye - Moderator Application

[Faye <3]

Server Moderator Application

Basic Information
Byond Account: PersephoneQ

Character Name(s): Yhara Atiyeh, Sanaa Al-Mansoor, Lady Verline Steerpike, Parting Glass, KAISERIN

AI Name(s): N/A

Discord username + tag: faye#4607

Age: 19

Timezone: EST 

When are you on Aurora? Usually day-time and evenings EST. I am a student presently, attending class in the sprint and winter and working during the summers. On a free day, I clock in two rounds or so. 

 

Experience
How long have you played SS13?: Since last October.

How long have you played on Aurora: Since last October - Aurora was the first server I played.

How much do you know about SS13 (Baystation build) game mechanics?: I know medical like the back of my hand, and I love teaching it. I know service pretty well, and I am dipping my toes into security at the moment. I think my weak areas would be engineering and science, though I'm sure that can be amended.

Do you have any experience moderating for an SS13 server?: Nope! 

Have you read through the criteria thread and believe that you mark off all the criteria?: Yeah.

Have you ever been banned, and if so, how long and why?: Never been banned, have been warned once. I may have a note? Not sure! 

 

Personality
Why do you play SS13?: I love writing, I enjoy roleplaying and I adore my characters. Sharing this love of writing with others and seeing their own love of character development and collaborative story-telling is a lot of fun to me.

Why do you play on Aurora?: Aurora was the first - and only - SS13 server I've played, and I do not have any desire to play anywhere else. I enjoy the quality of RP and the community greatly.

What do moderators do?: Moderators ensure the role-play experience on the Aurora and even outside of the game remains smooth and consistently of high quality. They mediate disputes, educate and inform players, and wind 'Darth Vader the Security Cadet' on occasion. 

What does it mean to be a moderator for our server?: I think the easy answer is that a moderator is a skilled writer, communicator, and is knowledgeable of gameplay mechanics. Additionally, you should be an active member of the community and up to date on the lore. I think what's most important, however, is that you have a passion for playing the game and sharing that passion with others. Problem-solving, attention to detail, initiative and other stereotypical interview answers are all good and important, but none of that matters if the passion isn't there. 

Why do you want to be a moderator?: A few reasons! I am a firm believer of action over spoken word, and I'd like to finally put my money where my mouth is.  I do sincerely care for this community, and I should want to see it be a safe, comfortable and welcoming space for everyone. Also, I get the feeling that moderation has quite the workload, and wouldn't mind another hand or two. 

What qualities do you possess that would make you a good moderator?: I like to think that I am patient and understanding. I am a nursing student IRL, and have spent many an hour working with assisted living residents or as an in-house caregiver. I enjoy seeing people learn, and to see another person learn and understand something they didn't know before is one of my favorite feelings ever. I think it's why I like teaching medical interns so much, haha. I think everyone has their heated moments or moments where their emotions get the better of them, but at the end of the day we're all someone behind the screen. Kindness and empathy can go a long way, and I think I might have enough of that to do pretty well on moderation. I also know command gameplay fairly well, and I think that's a boon for any moderator. 

How well do you handle stress, anger, or insults?: I'm pretty cool with insults, I think. Being someone with the identity I have, you learn to be pretty level-headed with insults and taunts. With stress, I know when I'm tilting and know when to step back, as well as having a support network of friends and activities to destress. However, I can have a bit of a temper. However, I think that this temper is one of my strengths. I am usually pretty good about turning that temper into passion, and passion is the life of all things. Take the recent squabble surrounding the Skrell Lore Deputy pick. I will not lie, I was not happy about that. But I was able to turn those negative feelings into passion, and control them. The paragraph I wrote was from a place of sincerely wanting to see the server made better, and wanting fair treatment for a player on the Aurora. I understand that as a moderator - if given the chance - I will need to re-approach how I handle that kind of thing. 

 

Edited September 12, 2021 by Faye <3
good thing they don't look for 'knower of bbcode' in mod apps

[Mofo1995]

I think Faye's really cool, and fun to talk to. Of their characters, I've only really interacted with Yhara, but they've been consistently an interesting and engaging character to roleplay with. OOCly, they're a reasonable and amicable person who are open to discussions. Their answers to many of the application questions inspire confidence, and I believe they have both a good vision for prudent moderation and the qualities necessary for it. 

[Omicega]

I think passion is a 'danger word' used by people who get angry easily to excuse flying off the handle at short notice. I've used it in that capacity myself in the past.  You go out of your way to highlight your passion/temper in your app, which is a good thing insofar as at least you're not either ignorant of it or trying to hide it. However, I have personal experience of your 'passion' being levelled at me both in the form of passive-aggressive OOC sniping in-game, and then again in the Relay discord to the point where you wound up being struck for it by Matt. I know you're conflict averse, to boot, and while I respect your right to dip out of bad or stressful rounds at a moment's notice when it comes to gameplay, I don't think it reflects well on your capacity to handle the same sorts of scenarios in an administrative capacity.

I would personally feel immensely uncomfortable at the idea of you handling any ticket I might be involved in. I don't feel comfortable interacting with you outside of a wholly IC capacity as it is, which I think you know already. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who feels like this and I'm not presuming to speak for anyone else here, but I wouldn't describe you as approachable or amicable when your viewpoints are challenged -- more so quick to lose your temper and slow to move past it, and I would question your ability to look past your temper in the heat of the moment when handling a flurry of tickets.

The one part of moderation duties I think you'd do well in is when handling newer players, because I think you're at the very least a capable mentor when it comes to new players. If Aurora had a mentor position, I'd say you were a shoe-in -- but to me, the positives I believe you'd show in that capacity don't outweigh your fiery and at times venomous attitude I see from you. 

[WickedCybs]

ICly you're solid of course. Not much to say on that front so I'll be sticking to what I think matters on the OOC front, but there is some interconnectedness with it.

Being a moderator means having a lot more areas you might be paying attention to. More areas that can cause a temper to flare, which like you said, you have a bit of. On top of IC interactions you could potentially be dealing with dead chat and its peanut gallery, LOOC and its peanut gallery, tickets, AOOC, discord, the forum and more. It stacks up. If that festers, nobody is in for a good time. This area is my main concern for this application because I believe things can really get to you personally in a way that shows on places like the relay OOC. So, it is hard for me to think it’d be right for you.

We are totally allowed to be frustrated and stuff as staff. Happens to me and I like to be public about stuff. Nonetheless, that’s the main sticking point I can think of here.

Edited September 14, 2021 by WickedCybs
this is like a days later edit, i forgot to add something to the starter

[Faye <3]

1 minute ago, WickedCybs said:

This area is my main concern for this application because I believe things can really get to you personally in a way that shows on places like the relay OOC

Oh, no, yeah, totally. I would have different community behavioral expectations if given a trial, and I fully believe I could meet those. Thank you for your reply ❤️ 

[Caelphon]

I have to echo majority of the points already brought up.  I have been on the receving end of your passive-aggresive nature, which started in the Relay Discord a few months ago after a conversation regarding synthetics. I am not sure what I've done, considering our interactions before this what happened on the Discord Relay was next to nothing, but it was where I first began taking note of how you conducted yourself around me. Lastly, the paragraph in Lore Discord came across as if you were throwing a tantrum because your friend wasn't selected for the position. Considerably so with the way you worded it. The decision made was not one taken lightly, and it offended me that you thought I was being careless, especially after having devoted so much time to the development of Skrell Lore.

I do not support this application. 

 

[niennab]

20 minutes ago, Caelphon said:

Lastly, the paragraph in Lore Discord came across as if you were throwing a tantrum because your friend wasn't selected for the position. Considerably so with the way you worded it. The decision made was not one taken lightly, and it offended me that you thought I was being careless, especially after having devoted so much time to the development of Skrell Lore.

I find this statement to be a gross misinterpretation of the series of events. Faye asked for clarification for why someone was chosen over another, stated why she thought Hugh was the better candidate and you took the question to be a personal attack with 0 justification and conducted yourself in a way that a lore deputy shouldn't. Throughout this exchange Faye also stressed that she meant no insult.

I think Faye is nonetheless deserving of a trial.

Edited September 12, 2021 by niennab

[ryder]

Following Cael and Niennab's posts, I have to second Niennab's thoughts. Faye's approach to the Skrell Dev reaction was not as personal or heated as I think some want to assume, and that Cael's reaction was maybe misrepresentative of staff conduct itself. I have to be frank and express that I feel that's a moot point.

That being said, in my seventy days of having a BYond account and being actively and consistently engaged with Aurora since, Faye is a name I see on the daily and who reached out to me early on to introduce me to the server. I firmly believe she's helpful, even if I had some initial mixed feelings about her. Passion into frustration into expressing anger was an obvious factor at first (unbefitting of staff behavior, yes), however, I think the past three or four weeks have been a massive turnaround for Faye - and I also think some of their own discussions on the server prove this is in earnest - in realizing, learning, and exacting how to express those emotions in an appropriate capacity. Evidently, she is self-aware and working to improve this. Faye holds an official presence as the role of CMO and while I think concerns about disengagement are valid, I think it's a bit of a misnomer to say that not every single person assuming a command role does not have some measure of stress in that respect. I've watched Faye stick to rounds and dedicate to being present even if said round is agonizing for most involved, She does so with a deliberate and level approach, and as of late has impressed me in overcoming some of the issues being brought up in this thread.

There is obvious proof that there is promise to work on that behavior and adjust as needed, and Faye seems to be plenty receptive to feedback and corrections. I think she deserves a trial period, and I also believe in the mod team to support her during her trial as well, while keeping an eye out for these issues cropping up again in the future. Being critical yet supporting of the position is a must for any community. After all, it's a probation period. +1

Edited September 12, 2021 by ryder
Typos fixed, points clarified, bogos binted.

[Cnaym]

Got to be real here, I don't think being a mod would be enjoyable for you, but you'll never know  without trying.

I pretty much observed you mature into a competent roleplayer and become a lot more chill with experience, which seems to be a frequent way of things for people who stick around the though parts of town. Imho a great sign for things to come.

Don't see anything in the way of you being a mod or on trial at all, just knowing that it may be a lot less fun and a lot more stress, which will be overwhelming at times.

Nonetheless you got my full support if this is what you want to take a swing at and I wish you good luck and a lot of fun / memes in your time!

+1

[Scheveningen]

I know I said I wouldn't reply on a friend's moderator application, but given some thought, I don't even know why I follow that rule when I'm just a regular White Name, so I am going to selectively decide it doesn't matter in this case. Full disclosure, I am personally endorsing your application, for reasons already mentioned above (your general behavioral ethic and methodology, at any rate, you're generally a nice person, you've improved much since you started playing here, you're an outstanding example as a roleplayer, etc).

That being said, I ought to warn you - not because I think you'll run into any problems, but it is something I think ought to be said for, and heard by, anyone who is considering a staff position. You'll run into some challenges as a staff member, and most of them will require you to be discrete and understand the importance of need-to-know information in order to limit the damage other members can deal to each other, if they are given the opportunity. You may end up having to ban someone someday for their conduct, and they may be a server regular who decides to take personal issue with your methods and may even try to create problems for you. You would be required to not use similar tactics against them, should something like that happen. You have to uphold decency, you have to resist pettiness, and most of all you have to show at the end of the day that you care, even if you are dealing with a particularly difficult amount of hate.

Being staff in general is often a thankless job with more criticism than praise. I said all the above up there because I was not able to overcome the majority of difficult and complex problems with grace at the tail end of my staff tenure a long time ago, and it pains me to see when other people fall into similar trap situations. If you do get onto the staff team, remember that you are not alone, you can always ask for help. Even a year or so down the line if you happen to become an admin, you can always tag someone in for you to handle a difficult situation, you don't have to always headbutt into every issue. The staff back in my day were awesome, and the staff in this day are even more awesome. Burnout is real and it can affect your judgement, though, so recognize when you have to take a break to get the heat off your mind.

Anyway, good luck. I'm hoping you have a really good chance at this. When things go right, it can feel really fulfilling to be able to be at the service of others and to more positively impact each other's experience, to the point that all the potential negatives are outweighed by those positives.

[Roaper]

I'd like to give Faye a +1 since as far as I've known them, they've been a cut above in an RP capacity and as a teacher of Medical. They assisted me IC carefully on all 3 of my medical characters and taught me as much in a week as I would have in a month. None of my characters I main who know their characters see eye to eye, but their ability to properly separate IC and OOC feelings (which I find to be a very important skill in the moderation of role playing servers) and treat me with respect as a player has been an invaluable boon to my interactions with them. Both of these in no small measure indicates to me without a shadow of a doubt that they would be a fantastic moderator and gateway to this community.

[Waff-AI]

I've known Faye for the better part of a year now, and it is without any doubt in my mind that I give her a +1 in this application.

She is, by far, the most earnestly committed applicant to this post to bettering the server in recent memory. Faye is kind, beyond words, but she is also honest and strong in her moral compass. Not only this, but she's eager to help others on an IC and OOC level; I can't name a single time she hasn't been happy to be of help when it comes to mechanics, character creation, or even just trying to think of something. I think this makes her all the more clear: not only is she committed to the values of the server and its rules, but she's also committed to the fun of the game and the roleplay we have in it.

It takes a certain will to do any sort of staff duty, and I firmly believe that Faye understands and possesses that exact force of character to excel at the position.

[Alberyk]

After talking with the applicant, we decided to deny this application this application for now. If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact me in the discord (Alberyk#7868).