Removing the command whitelists of players that haven't played for a year or more.

[MattAtlas]

Hello everyone.

I'm seeking your feedback on an idea that I had today and wanted to share with the rest of the Command Whitelist team. Essentially, with the NBT testing weekends on the horizon, my concern has shifted to the fact that many inactive players will probably return, and some may have command whitelists. Now, as we all know, standards weren't always the same, and people that take long breaks tend to forget about the server completely and not stay updated on rules, character standards, mechanics, and so on. In light of this, I'd like to strip the command whitelists of players that haven't played for a year or more, thus making sure that everyone is up to our current standards.

What do you all think?

[BoryaTheSlayer]

im ok with this if you let me keep mine

[Haydizzle]

Is this for people who haven't played in a year in general, or people who haven't played command in a year? Otherwise, I'm all for this.

[KingOfThePing]

I think this is reasonable. Expectations shfit, lore shifts, everything is in motion. People who haven't played a year or more maybe do not live up to the standards that are expected from command nowadays. I think it's reasonable.

[MattAtlas]

Just now, Haydizzle said:

Is this for people who haven't played in a year in general, or people who haven't played command in a year? Otherwise, I'm all for this.

Former.

[Wigglesworth Jones]

I don't mind this.

[DatSamTho]

This isn't a New Year's "You haven't played Command since LAST year!" joke, is it?

I think it's a good change. Especially since I can imagine a LOT changing with the NBT, and it may not be the best idea to let people that haven't played on the server, not mentioning the NBT for over a year.

[Happy_Fox]

I like this idea.

[Valkrae]

As one of the people who frequently is inactive, I don't agree with this. On the basis that I'm not always in an SS13 mood. Why am I being punished for that, by having my whitelist stripped?

It doesn't incentivize older players to return at all. 

Now, if inactive players were on a stricter guideline for Command whitelists? That'd be more ideal, since you're just being put on watch while you're not as familiar with the current status of things!

[NerdyVampire]

Seems logical, even without NBT honestly.

[NewOriginalSchwann]

This is a good idea, and I have no problems with it.

[Triogenix]

I think I'd be okay with this, but I'm confused on how it would be done. Like what if someone went and played a single event last fall? Would their whitelist be stripped or would it be considered that they "played" by whatever you're using to determine? Or is there a way for you and the Command WL team to check the amount of rounds played in the last year.

[DatSamTho]

Just now, Valkrae said:

As one of the people who frequently is inactive, I don't agree with this. On the basis that I'm not always in an SS13 mood. Why am I being punished for that, by having my whitelist stripped?

It doesn't incentivize older players to return at all. 

Now, if inactive players were on a stricter guideline for Command whitelists? That'd be more ideal, since you're just being put on watch while you're not as familiar with the current status of things!

I feel like that's a pretty weak reason, tbh. Not being in a mood to play spess game, is one thing, and being inactive for a whole year another.

[MrKicker]

I think that command whitelist should be more to prevent newbies who dont know what their doing use command roles. I understand that a vet who hasnt played is a while would have difficulty in command, but I think that if somebody played long enough to get a command whitelist before, they're probably responsible enough to re-educate themselves on whats changed since.

Perhaps instead, when a vet tries to play a command role they get a one time popup that says rules and expectations have changed and they should re-read parts of the wiki.

[MattAtlas]

1 minute ago, Triogenix said:

I think I'd be okay with this, but I'm confused on how it would be done. Like what if someone went and played a single event last fall? Would their whitelist be stripped or would it be considered that they "played" by whatever you're using to determine? Or is there a way for you and the Command WL team to check the amount of rounds played in the last year.

We can check the rounds played by each player to avoid situations like someone playing 1 round in April 2021 and avoiding the purge. I haven't finalized the criteria yet, however.

[Ickysoup]

Alot has changed in a year. I'm okay with this.

[Owen]

My impulse reaction to seeing this was a definitive no at first, given that until the past month or so I would've fallen into this category of having my command whitelist stripped. But thinking about it for a bit longer than that, I think that this would honestly be a beneficial thing to consider. I know that coming back and playing as Captain right off the bat again back at the beginning of December I was a bit out of my depth, and this was still taking place on a relatively normal setting for us. This will be a case for a lot people coming back for the first time in a long time, who seek to reclaim their command roles due to the allure of the NBT, with no real idea of what has changed or how the community expectations have evolved over time.

I also feel that as long as there were no problems with these players prior to their extended absence, it would and should be relatively easy for these players to reclaim their whitelist after being back for a little while. 

My only concern is that we tend to see a lack of command staff in general, and I would hate to see this stagnation continue even as new players return to the game with the launch of the NBT. Outside of that, I think that this may be helpful. 

[4000daniel1]

Not whitelisted myself, but I feel like it'd make more sense to just remove the whitelists of the people who do return without taking time to catch up as command and cause issues. Since I'm sure a lot of the inactive command players would take some time to ease themselves in, punishing them just to deal with the ones who wont doesn't feel entirely fair.

[Vinni.Dragon]

1 minute ago, tomkiel said:

I feel like that's a pretty weak reason, tbh. Not being in a mood to play spess game, is one thing, and being inactive for a whole year another.

Yeah, on top of the fact that what they're describing is basically already just the same thing as re-doing their whitelist altogether? I think it's reasonable to expect people who have not played for over a year to have to prove they're still playing up to scratch, when there are others who have been playing more consistently and recently who also want to play command.

[Valkrae]

Just now, tomkiel said:

I feel like that's a pretty weak reason, tbh. Not being in a mood to play spess game, is one thing, and being inactive for a whole year another.

I don't agree that it's a weak reason at all. People can easily burn out of spess, if they hyperfixate on it for too long. But, eventually, I'll want to play it again. I'll want to play Command, but if I have to re-apply for Command, that's not going to incentivize me to return to Aurora. 

Some people may have outstanding circumstances that prevent them from being able to play Aurora for a year. Others, may just not have the interest to play at the current point in time. 

I know that my stance is an unpopular one, and I'm okay with that. I simply think that outright stripping whitelists is a bad move.

[DekserBecauseILostMyAccoun]

I entirely agree with this, as a member of command I find a lot of my spare moments being taken by browsing forum news threads, reading wiki pages I've missed or generally just keeping myself up to date lore-wise. I've also seen quite a few Heads of Staff joining these past 2-3 weeks, most having less knowledge and investment to the server, some getting even the most known details confused. I could see this change being lowered to 6 months of total inactivity and still agree.

Edited January 18, 2022 by DekserBecauseILostMyAccoun

[stev]

I agree with the goal overall, but I feel that a single year is a little short? Two years is definitely a long enough timespan, though.

[Pedantic]

I'm okay with it- hell, I started a little over a year back, and things are DRAMATICALLY different now. Couldn't imagine trying to do a Command role now if I'd spent the last year absent. Literally every department got at least one major change, if not several.

Edited January 18, 2022 by Pedantic

[Garnascus]

Command whitelists arent a lore check. They exist only as a commitment check. If you're the type of person who passed it once and stopped playing here for a few years there is no reason to remove it from you. Changing mechanics and standards dont matter that much. 

[DriedMilk]

I agree.

 

I agree even more that you did this just a couple of days before NBT. Twist that blade!!!!