Mneme - Moderator Application

[Mneme]

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

• Samir Naifeh, Chief Medical Officer
• Nariah Sewell, Head of Security
• Haji Antoun, Security Officer
• Hesso Kouri, Station Engineer
• Flora Baillieu, Idris Liasion (Retired)
• Chronicler of Cosmic Discovery, Research Director (Retired)

AI Name(s): None
Discord username + tag: Mneme#6593
Age: 21
Timezone: EST
When are you on Aurora?: Whenever I get off work in the week and all weekend.

Experience
How long have you played SS13?: Way way way too long. I've played SS13 for about six years now.
How long have you played on Aurora: Nearly two years now, if I remember right I joined Aurora for the first time around August of 2020 and made my forum account September 21st 2020. 
 

How much do you know about SS13 (Baystation build) game mechanics?: I am familiar with the ins and outs of nearly all of the mechanics in SS13, excluding some Engineering stuff which I am currently learning through my character Hesso Kouri. During my time on the Aurora I've taken a mentorship role and since teaching others is the best way to learn I can basically run through the mechanics of medical and research with my eyes closed.
 

Do you have any experience moderating for an SS13 server?: I do. Prior to joining the Aurora I was a moderator for a couple of now dead servers, they were mostly small roleplaying communities. Aurora would be the biggest server I have moderated for, though I believe I'll be able to handle it.
 

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?: I believe so, I like to think I've fulfilled those criteria both ICly and OOCly. I always try to exercise good judgement, and identify bias in my actions and I think my communication skills and how I communicate with said skills are courteous. While I may joke around sometimes in OOC, at the end of the day we're all here to have fun on a video game so I try and look past the screen and act as though I am talking to a person on the other side, rather than an OOC chatbox. One of the things that could ding me is forum activity, though it's not that I don't read about things on the forums, just that I don't post on the forums that often as I like to reserve my posts for things I'm passionate about. 

Have you ever been banned, and if so, how long and why?: No

Personality
Why do you play SS13?:  Because it offers a sense of escapism into a futuristic environment. I also like the story-building aspect, as most people who interact regularly with my characters know, I spend a large proportion of my time creating environments for other people to experiment and play into whatever roleplay they might want to do. Whether it be hiring an assistant to walk around with me and chat with me, to holding an NSS Aurora Unionization meeting as part of a deal to convince a broken AI with no laws to return to serving the crew until the Odin could fix them, it worked by the way. To surmise this point, it'd be because I want to have fun, I want people to have fun, and I just like playing the game.

Why do you play on Aurora?: I play on Aurora primarily because it is one of the few SS13 communities that has managed to foster a respectful environment for people to roleplay in. No matter if you're fresh to SS13 and you want to try it out for the first time, or an experienced "old" person like myself, you can still have a great time on Aurora. Additionally I feel like the staff team is also phenomenal, and I'm not saying this just because I'm applying. I can't even count the times on both of my hands that staff have helped me out and helped others out, whether it be as simple of a thing as spawning a medical armband so your antag voidsuit can be complete, or as large as preventing WGW from being spammed over common and banning the annoying chef who throws his shoes at people, over, and over, and over again. 

What do moderators do?: I would say, fundamentally, moderators are here to ensure that the game environment is preserved so that people can enjoy their time on the server. This preservation may take the form of administratively intervening when a situation calls for it, or providing guidance when someone has a question or needs help figuring out a mechanic. Moderators are here to serve as a resource, just like how I feel command is in a sense. Moderators are not here to ruin your time, or stop fun from happening like big doodoo heads, rather, they're here to ensure everyone is having a good time.

What does it mean to be a moderator for our server?: To be a moderator for Aurora means you have to be certifiably, clinically, insane. It's definitely a labor of love as you basically sacrifice your own experiences to make sure that other people's experiences remain positive. You have to be able to multi-task, handling situations that require moderation in one ticket, while simultaneously explaining game mechanics to a newer player in another. You have to be a good written communicator, responsive to questions, and have the ability to view a situation from multiple viewpoints and exhibit empathetic understanding when someone is upset about something that has just happened to them, and you have to do all of this while remaining courteous, polite, and respectful, while being mindful of your biases and your boundaries. It's a challenging, time consuming position, yet one whose members have helped foster Aurora into what Aurora is today 

Why do you want to be a moderator?: Because I am certifiably, clinically, insane. Jokes aside I want to be a moderator because I feel invested in the success of this community, and want to do everything in my power to help maintain that success. I want to be that person who will sit with you for thirty minutes on a ticket explaining to you how the cryotubes in medical work, and at the same time, I want to be that person who helps ensure that people's rounds aren't ruined because someone decided to run up on them, decapitate them, and throw them into space. I want to serve as a resource, a guide, and someone that people can come to if they have issues so that I can do my best to solve them. And above all else I want to make sure Aurora is accessible for the next group of people who might find us on the hub, get addicted, and carry on our collective curse. Aurora is a community first and foremost, and it's a community I'd like to protect.

What qualities do you possess that would make you a good moderator?: My fundamental desire to want people to enjoy themselves. I like to feel I am an empathetic and understanding teacher with a boatload of patience and am more than happy to help anyone, no matter my personal opinion of them, with anything they might have questions about. I also view moderation through a service-based mindset, whereas the players on Aurora have put their trust in the institution of the staff team as a whole, and so doing my best to maintain the reputation of that institution, and ensure everyone can still rely on said institution, would be a priority for me. I also believe I have the ability to look at situations from multiple different viewpoints, and can extrapolate information from said viewpoints to come to a reasonable conclusion, At the end of the day, I'm also a player who enjoys spending time on Aurora and participating in the game environment that it creates. While I am firm sometimes, especially so if someone is intentionally disrupting, damaging the game environment or generally just being an asshole, I feel like I'm reasonable and willing to talk it out with someone and explain a situation until they understand it and in the end, that passion for Aurora is what will help guide my decisions, so everyone else who has the same passion for this server, can continue to play on it comfortably.

How well do you handle stress, anger, or insults?: With stress and anger if I get the feeling that I am starting to become stressed out to the point that it is no longer tenable for me to continue engaging in the situation that stressed me out I disengage from that situation. Luckily I've got thick skin and can manage my stress really well. I've thankfully never been stressed out to the point of disengaging from a situation on Aurora, and I don't think I've ever been mad, it's a game after all why would I ruin someone's environment by getting angry with them? Now in regards to insults, I think they're funny and they certainly do not bother me. Just because I am not bothered or perturbed by them does not mean I won't take action if said insults encroach onto the realm of violating the rules, just that I personally think they're funny. It's a way for people to try and take power over your emotions from you, and at the end of the day they're just silly little words. 

Anything Else You Want to Add:
As I say every time I play command, my door is always open as is my discord. If anyone has any questions please post them below and I'll try and answer them to the best of my ability. Even if I am not selected for the position of moderator, I'll still look forward to playing on the server with you all and will definitely be around should anyone want to chat, have any questions, or generally just chill.

[Owen]

In my time back on the server, I have interacted with every single one of Mneme's characters, along with being able to interact with them fairly frequently in both OOC and the Discord. Based off my interactions with their characters alone, I can say with some confidence that Mneme is a fantastic addition to the Aurora community. Their characters are, at least to me, the most recognizable people on the manifest a lot of the time. They conduct themselves with a fairly level-headed attitude, and have shown themselves to be helpful to newer players, while still ensuring that rounds are fun and progress smoothly when they play in command.

On the OOC aspect of their character, I believe that Mneme has a good attitude when it comes to SS13. I don't believe I have ever seen them get heated over things not going their way, and have also displayed a pretty good understanding of the rules and expectations of the server. Along with this, I believe that they have been extremely welcoming and helpful to newer players on the server, and usually very good at directing them to the correct places. I have also noticed this aspect of Mneme when playing as a Head of Security, and interacting with their department. They seem to be a genuinely decent person with a desire to give back to the community that they've been able to derive so much entertainment from.

Simply put, I think that they would be a wonderful addition to the moderator team, and I hope to see that their time on the staff treats them well. A definite +1 from me. 

EDIT: I just wanted to add, that I find Mneme's approach to trying to make rounds as enjoyable as possible when playing as command staff with limited resources to be very similar to my own. I think this is a good mindset to have when dealing with the game, and tends to make the best of whatever circumstances they are thrown into. In general, their presence is a good help in keeping rounds interesting in their own right. Because of this, I believe that they have a good understanding of expectations of our community, and it would be interested to see them on the staff side of things. 

Edited February 6, 2022 by YouJustGotOwened
Realized I had more to say right after posting oops

[WickedCybs]

I can only really comment on their IC conduct, which I'd say is excellent. Their characters are fun to interact with and their command ones do well in the position of head staff when it comes to driving a round forward. Pretty solid.

 

[ShesTrying]

Interview: https://pastebin.com/6DZq1YfS

[BoryaTheSlayer]

cool person +1

on a more serious note, reading over the interview I don't see how you wouldn't do well; and in our brief interactions I've had no issues whatsoever, while also showing qualities that are fitting for staff. So yeah this is a pretty simple one.

[Ramke]

I have never interacted with Mneme on an OOC basis so I cannot comment on that, but they have incredible in-depth characters that have the capacity to create traction and drive rounds easily. It shows experience and understanding from multiple perspectives and how it affects the flow of the round, which is something I'd think is necessary to be a successful moderator.

+1

[Pedantic]

Good god, I've put off this +1 for too long.

Love having them on Command staff, keeps a cool head during most situations on top of knowing their departments in and out. Fun to RP with, and I trust them to handle things both ICly and OOCly.

[Diggey]

Absolutely flawless RP, always cordial OOC, not seen them do anything questionable, always fun.

+1

[Sheeplets]

I had to jump through hoops to find my forum login information just so I could post on this.

Mneme is an incredibly thorough, meticulous roleplayer with a knack for crafting incredibly engaging characters with levels of depth I haven't seen elsewhere on Aurora for months - If not years. He's polite, cordial, and levelheaded. He possesses all of the qualities that make a good staff member, and I think he would make an excellent addition to the team.

+1

[Alberyk]

Trial started today and it will last for a month.

[Alberyk]

Accepted.