CampinKiller - Human Lore Deputization

[CampinKiller]

Ckey/BYOND Username: CampinKiller
Position Being Applied For: (Wiki Maintainer, Lore Developer, Deputy Lore developer): Human Lore Deputy
Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page? Yes
Past Experiences/Knowledge: No relevant past experience, but I would consider myself knowledgeable of human lore given I've been around for nearly 10 years, and actively playing consistently for the last 2-3.
Examples of Past Work: None

Why are you applying for this position and why do you believe you would make a good Human Lore Deputy?

I am applying for this position because I want to be involved in the lore development. While I recognize I have no past contributions, I have been following the lore for years (albeit off and on in the earlier part of my tenure on Aurora, but consistently since a bit before KOTW), and I feel that I am well-versed enough to be able to contribute as a lore deputy despite that. Additionally, I am good about getting things done when asked and have no problem working with other team(s) and on other people's ideas.

What is your favourite part of Human Lore and why? What is your least favourite? 

My favorite part of human lore is Sol and how the warlords (and now reconstruction) has played out over the last year. It was a breath of fresh air to see the potential for the wildlands realized, and I think there's still possibilities for arcs in the aftermath, what with the elections, and now with the Alliance once again united and active on the Spur's geopolitical stage.

My least favorite part of human lore is probably off-worlders. I've never really been too terribly interested in them, mainly because there isn't a ton of lore outside of the Scarabs. The recent rework of the Scarab Fleets was really good, but I still think off-worlders are at the bottom of the list for me.

What are three projects (medium to large sized additions, reworks, or arcs) you would like to do or help organize if made Human Lore deputy? (NEW PLANETS OR FACTIONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM ADDITION AT THIS PRESENT TIME. DO NOT INCLUDE THEM IN YOUR ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.)

There is still unresolved tension between the Alliance and Coalition regarding the changes in territory post-collapse, Gadpathur supplying the league, and Konyang. Gadpathur remains cut off from the warp gates in the Coalition as a result of this. While there was a brief arc where the (now reformed) Alliance was seen back on the diplomatic stage with the Hegemony, I think these issues would be the perfect set for a major diplomatic arc between the Alliance and Coalition. Though first the elections would need to be resolved, as the Alliance's goals/response would likely differ slightly depending on who wins.

One that's a combination rework/addition that I would like to do is in regards to the Coalition and its military (or lack thereof). While I like the way it currently is, with member-states contributing to the military as required (as seen in Amor Patriae), there's not really much of a sense of how the Coalition works when that happens. Is it a true interplanetary force, with appointed/voted on overall commanders, or does everyone kind of do their own thing with a committee or group of some sort determining overall strategy? It's a bit of a hole in the Coalition's lore, I think, and I'd like to rework it to where there's a least some idea of how the interconnected militaries of the CoC come together when called upon.

I'd like to add more worldbuilding lore to the human factions as well. One avenue that I think would be interesting from that side of things would be national (or international) sporting leagues and events. It would make sense for a lot of the bigger (current) sports to have continued, and while some planets have mentions of sports, there's not really any sense that they exist outside of the various planets. Ideally each nation would have a league or two of some sort, be it regional or national, and having some sort of multinational competition would be a nice aspect as well. 

What do you believe are the current strengths and weaknesses of human lore? Why? What would you do to improve upon the weaknesses?

The current and unrivalled strength of human lore is the diversity and size of the lore. There is a large number of backgrounds to choose from, leading to a wide range of characters, conflicts, and possibilities. While some of the lore has been reworked over the years, human lore benefits from a literal decade of development and additions and is a creative treasure trove.

The biggest weakness of human lore currently is that there's quite a few conflicts between factions that are ongoing, that we don't really hear much about. Some of it is understandable, you can't have an arc for every conflict, but it feels like some of the conflicts like Elyra-Dominia, Coalition-Dominia, interplanetary beefs in the Coalition, etc. we haven't really ever heard a ton about, even if it were just a quick couple of articles about a new development or the status quo.

What are your thoughts on the past arcs that have been organised by the human lore team?

I think they have been excellently done. Amor Patriae was probably the best arc I have seen during my time on the server, even over KOTW. Even just being an article based arc, without any sort of server events, it was some of the most well-executed development I've seen. It definitely had the most investment from the player base of an arc that I've seen in a long time.

What is an idea for a future arc that you would like to have a part in writing and organising in the future? (Note: If you provided an arc or arcs as part of your answer for question 3, you may expand on the ideas for that arc or arcs here, or you may provide another idea.)

To expand on the idea I presented earlier, a Coalition/Sol diplomatic showdown, I'll summarize what I think would be good plot points:

• The Alliance election concludes and the winner wants to address the issue of their renewed neighbors in the Coalition - specifically, Konyang's status and Gadpathur's funding of the League.
  • Depending on WHO wins the election would likely set the tone for how bold/demanding the Alliance is here. Obviously someone like Strom would be more demanding, for example.
• Gadpathur has remained cutoff from the Coalition warp gates for some time and would like that to end, though they still believe they did nothing wrong.
• Alliance demands that Konyang's secession be recognized as illegal and the planet rightfully returned to the Alliance. They also want reparations or further sanctions on Gadpathur.
• Xanu and others laugh, but do not want war, and counter.
• Some sort of summit takes place, and a referendum happens on Konyang.
• Based on the outcome of the referendum, some more negotiating happens and everyone walks away with a deal they can live with.
  • Probably some favorable trade deals, special status.
  • Gadpathur reconnected but potentially has some sort of sanction still.

Have you ever been subject to any strikes or bans of any kind from Aurora's moderators or admins? If so, how long ago were these actions and what were they for?

I had my command WL stripped in 2018 for avoiding CCIA punishments.

[La Villa Strangiato]

1. How would you approach writing something in humanlore you didn't personally like or weren't interested in?

2. Building off that, what's a few ideas you would have for offworlder humans, your self-proclaimed least favourite thing in humanlore?

[CampinKiller]

13 hours ago, La Villa Strangiato said:

1. How would you approach writing something in humanlore you didn't personally like or weren't interested in?

I don't think there's anything that I personally dislike, but I think I would approach it with more care than I would for something I am heavily interested/invested in. That is not to say that I think I wouldn't have care in my own ideas or things I am more interested in, but rather that I would recognize I'm not as interested, still work hard on it, and be more proactive with having it looked over by others, and ensuring it lines up with the overall goal/vision for whatever it may be.

13 hours ago, La Villa Strangiato said:

2. Building off that, what's a few ideas you would have for offworlder humans, your self-proclaimed least favourite thing in humanlore?

I think offworlders could do with more than just a short blurb in regards to their biology. These are humans that have descended from generations of living in low/zero-gravity, yet there is not much of an idea of what sort of differences there are from a biological standpoint, outside of muscle atrophy and lankiness. I think expanding on this, getting a better idea of the typical lifespan of offworlders, and exploring some of the more unique medical challenges they face (outside of the need for RMT) due to these biological changes would be a good start.

Adding some notable smaller communities of offworlders would be another avenue of improvement as well. Right now offworlders really just have the Scarabs as a significant point of origin, and I think that working in some other, more concrete potential origins would help offworlders have more of a presence in the lore, because currently it's hard to get an idea of exactly where some have ended up, outside of Valkyrie and Burszia having brief mentions of them (which could probably be expanded on).

Additionally, I don't ever recall offworlders having even a shorter, minor arc or articles written on developments within the Scarab Fleet, for example. A quick search shows that the last mention of them in any news story at all was during KOTW. Even a quick arc - maybe a new Fleet Director election, or the Fleet facing a spat of challenges - would breathe a little more life into the offworlder lore.

[Shimmer]

Heyoooooo! A ton of luck on your app!!

Since the Alliance got mentioned, and is quite a biiig part of human lore, I'll ask you the same questions I asked botanist if a little modified.

 

What direction do you wish the Alliance would take, in terms of government, treatment of outsiders and outside powers (Primarily, Coalition, Elyra, Biesel), especially as it pertains to to the CRZ and the secession of Konyang? What do you believe the reaction of the Alliance should be? Furthermore, assuming elections do occur, which direction would you like to see the Alliance pulled ideologically?

You've mentioned that the Alliance would like to see some form of referendum / favorable deal when it comes to Konyang, however, what would be it's aims and goals towards other Coalition member states? Would it continue to seek out reapprochement with Xanu? Continue it's special relationship with Galatea?

 

One thing I'd be really interested to see is an expansion on Mars post violent dawn and post re-conquest by the Provisional government. Do you feel like Mars should get any attention in regards to its newfound situation, say, an expansion on whether or not the Alliance attempts some form of reconstruction effort, similar to the one done to Earth through contracts with Zeng-Hu? And expansion on what life is like post dawn?

 

A bunch more luck to you!!

[CampinKiller]

1 hour ago, Shimmer said:

What direction do you wish the Alliance would take, in terms of government, treatment of outsiders and outside powers (Primarily, Coalition, Elyra, Biesel), especially as it pertains to to the CRZ and the secession of Konyang? What do you believe the reaction of the Alliance should be? Furthermore, assuming elections do occur, which direction would you like to see the Alliance pulled ideologically?

I think with the reconstruction mandates and the recent defeat of the warlords states in the north, the Alliance itself is in a more nationalistic period, and is likely to elect parties and people that represent that in some manner. Namely, I think the two major candidates the Alliance will see are Strom and Trang - both are at the head of nationalistic, anti-corporate parties, and are fresh off of reuniting the Alliance from the warlords and violence it had found itself engulfed with. It's also clear they do not want to return to the status quo of a pseudo-democratic authoritarian government from before the collapse, so I think overall the Alliance would pull towards a democratic, more populist or socialist ideology. I don't see the anti-corporate sentiment taking a backseat, either, especially with the CRZ. Whereas Biesel was historically more of a thorn in the side of the Alliance since secession, now it is a legitimate threat and has taken vast swaths of territory the Alliance still sees as its own, all while backed up by some of the same corporations that they view as having a hand in the chaos. With that in mind, I think while/after they resolve the question of Konyang, you would see the Alliance turning its focus towards the CRZ and Biesel, and may even find themselves unlikely friends in Elyra, given the current tension between them and Biesel.

1 hour ago, Shimmer said:

You've mentioned that the Alliance would like to see some form of referendum / favorable deal when it comes to Konyang, however, what would be it's aims and goals towards other Coalition member states? Would it continue to seek out reapprochement with Xanu? Continue it's special relationship with Galatea?

Depending on how Konyang works out, I think the Alliance would seek rapprochement with Xanu and other member states of the Coalition that are of a more sympathetic view towards it. Obviously Gadpathur would pound the table and proclaim there's nothing that can be trusted out of the Alliance, but as I mentioned above, the Alliance is going to want to turn its attention towards Biesel and the CRZ, especially when you've got a place like Mictlan that's clearly not outright accepting of being part of the Republic, among other things. Xanu and other Coalition members would, I believe, be happier to see the Alliance focusing on resolving things in the CRZ as opposed to staring down the barrel of another war. The Alliance would, of course, like to not have to be worrying about that side of things while they refocus.

1 hour ago, Shimmer said:

One thing I'd be really interested to see is an expansion on Mars post violent dawn and post re-conquest by the Provisional government. Do you feel like Mars should get any attention in regards to its newfound situation, say, an expansion on whether or not the Alliance attempts some form of reconstruction effort, similar to the one done to Earth through contracts with Zeng-Hu? And expansion on what life is like post dawn?

Yeah, I think an expansion of the lore on reconstruction and post-Violent Dawn life would be good additions to Mars, maybe even a small series about the goings-on there over the time since it was reunified. I do think anything with Mars' actual recovery will be a long-term prospect, given the scale of what happened there, but it wouldn't hurt at all to see some effort being made by the Alliance to rebuild it, and showcasing the (likely) continued conflict from the Martian people.

[Kintsugi]

I’m a big fan of Campin’s app and of Campin as an applicant (and community member, for that matter), and I’m going to just say that he’s getting my +1 straight off the rip. I may drop back in with some questions later, but here’s one for now:

What are some of your favorite planets and least favorite planets in human lore? Why, and what would you do to improve the ones you dislike?

Edited October 28, 2023 by DanseMacabre

[GeneralCamo]

Here's my question to you:

What are your thoughts on human language lore, and how would you rework it, if at all?

[canon35]

1. What is your current thoughts on parts of the setting where human and non-human lore cross over? Do you think there should be more? Less? What are the strenghs and weaknesses, in your eyes, of these crossovers?

2. What are your plans to advance the setting for the nations besides Sol? It obviously has gotten the most attention with active lore developments like with the article arc for San Colette, I am curious to know what you think other nations should be doing.

3. What is your thoughts on Off-worlders? Do you think they should be expanded, cut down, or removed?

[Jasorn]

+1 campin is very kind and level headed, i hope he has good ideas for the lore team, i wish you luck on your app!

[CampinKiller]

On 28/10/2023 at 10:33, DanseMacabre said:

What are some of your favorite planets and least favorite planets in human lore? Why, and what would you do to improve the ones you dislike?

If I had to pick favorites:

Silversun - It's probably not a surprise to see that the planet my most played character is from is on this list, but I think Silversun's one of the better planets in human lore. It is well-developed, with two differing "cultures" on it, which creates an interesting dynamic for backstories and conflict, and there's enough written on it that gives you a good idea of what life, and the planet, is like. My only point of improvement there would be that I'd like to see something done with the "high tensions" of the Original-Expatriate conflict, which have gotten worse since the collapse, but haven't had any real mention.

Konyang - Konyang is another planet that I think has been extremely well development and is very easy to "see" how life is there, and what the planet itself is like. Before it seceded from the Alliance, I liked that it was a very unique planet when compared to other planets within Sol, especially with IPC rights, and since it left for the Coalition, I think it provides the Coalition with another "powerhouse" so to speak.

Xanu - Xanu is another planet that I enjoy, and a lot of that comes from its massive rework and expansion. It is a planet that is very easy to imagine, and has a wide variety of backgrounds for characters that come from it. As probably the most important planet of the Coalition, it is really good to see that it's been developed so well.

Least favorites:

Novi Jadran - Novi Jadran's a fairly important colony in Dominia, but doesn't really give you much to work with, being relegated to a few paragraphs on the Dominia page about it. There is a good amount of information in those paragraphs that I think would be nice to expand on if it actually had its own page, which I think would be the biggest point of improvement for the planet. 

Gadpathur - Gadpathur is a planet which has things I really like, and things I really dislike. I like the concept of the planet, the history, and how the culture is very unique and razor-focused on ensuring that they don't have their planet fall again. What I do not like, however, is also related to the culture, and that is how completely monolithic it is. While it makes sense to an extent, given the culture and authoritarian government of the planet, I think it really stifles potential characters and kind of places them into a limited box of opinions and behaviors. I'm not suggesting there should be a Gadpathur subculture of loving Sol or something, but I think 150 years after reunification, with Sol not having come after them, you'd see some question why the planet is still being ruled with an iron fist

Bursa - Similar to Novi Jadran, Bursa is the only Elyran planet without a page, and it was the site of the Lii'dra invasion of Elyra. I'd like to see it expanded out like other pages, with Bursan culture, what life is like there, how the planet has been coping since the invasion, etc. Right now there's none of that.

On 28/10/2023 at 11:43, GeneralCamo said:

What are your thoughts on human language lore, and how would you rework it, if at all?

I think it's presently something that's largely a holdover from the before times, and in need of some attention. I was a fan of danse's proposed rework when it was first made, and kind of lost track of it after awhile, but I would like to see something similar to that implemented, and would be willing to help out on the development side of it as well, if needed.

On 28/10/2023 at 21:11, canon35 said:

1. What is your current thoughts on parts of the setting where human and non-human lore cross over? Do you think there should be more? Less? What are the strenghs and weaknesses, in your eyes, of these crossovers?

2. What are your plans to advance the setting for the nations besides Sol? It obviously has gotten the most attention with active lore developments like with the article arc for San Colette, I am curious to know what you think other nations should be doing.

3. What is your thoughts on Off-worlders? Do you think they should be expanded, cut down, or removed?

1. I think there's room for improvement on the cross-over, but it's been done well in the past, and I'd like to see more of it. Generally speaking, I think that having more crossover is a great way for the setting to feel more alive and, of course, allow for unique relations and advancements. I liked the Hegemony-Sol mini-arc about an infamous pirate being caught, negotiations happening, and the Hegemony getting to exact justice, and even just shorter arcs like that would be nice to see, because it would allow for the cooperation between some nations/species (or tension) to be better shown as actively ongoing/changing, and just better development overall. To that end, I think the weakest point of those crossovers currently is the lack of them, though I think that could be fairly easily remediated by having a few more.

2. Outside of Sol, I think there's a lot of potential for the other nations in terms of arcs and where they could go currently. I think I mentioned there's been a lot of "conflicts" that we see mentioned in lore, but don't really actually see represented even by smaller article arcs. I think it would also be nice to see some of the rivalries within the Coalition rear their heads, if it's appropriate (similar to how they did during the San Colette arc). One thing that seems to have been forgotten from the Dreary Futures arcs is the unrest in Elyra that was (allegedly) caused by Dominia, that resulted in the two nations severing diplomatic relations. This is something that should be picked up and moved forward I think, and as much as I don't want to have a theme of the Spur always being 2 seconds from another war, I think these two should have some sort of showdown that eventually leads to re-established (if tense) relations, and provides a showcase of two nations not named the CoC or Sol.

As for the CoC, I went on a lot about a potential summit arc with Sol in relation to Gadpathur and Konyang, but then I think they need to figure out what they are going to do as a whole. While some individual planets may want to seek rapprochement with a (hopefully) changed Alliance, others (ie. Gadpathur, Himeo) are likely to be quite wary of that. In my mind the CoC is going to need to figure out where they want to go, especially with Biesel having turned itself into a major power since the collapse, and the ever-present Dominian pirate raids and Elyran encroachment.

3. Like I've said earlier on, I think there's a few different ways that they should be expanded, because currently they are not really well-represented in lore, I think, especially in active development (though the recent Scarab rework was great). I'd like to implement those two additions/reworks I discussed earlier (more on their biology and more notable communities of offworlders) at a minimum to really show them as being different to your regular human, outside of the few things that are currently present that showcase this. I would like to see a minor arc with the Scarab Fleet as well, just to give them a bit of attention in actual happenings.

[ReadThisNamePlz]

I like this application a lot. I think Campin is an excellent candidate and will do great things if he's selected. He has a great hold on the current lore, and has always been pretty consistent. I have no worries about him burning out, I have no worries about him getting annoyed with anyone or attempting to write anything controversial - he's just a good dude. 

I do want to ask, are there any pieces of the lore that you think deserve more attention? You mention a couple of places that are lacking in lore, but is there a specific portion that you want to see expanded upon?

 

[Triogenix]

Hello! I'm glad to see you applied, as though we've never worked together, I've enjoyed simply speaking with you in the staffcord or elsewhere on Aurora. With that said, onto some questions.

1) What would you say is your biggest flaw in terms of potentially writing for the lore team?

2) As a human deputy, you will need to comprise alot, not only with Lain, but with other teams or the LTA to get things you want added. What do you think is the best attribute that would help you reach these compromises?

3) Human lore is one of the most oft-criticized sections of our lore and has a large player base as it is the only unwhitelisted species. Given this, do you think there are some topics you'd be nervous to approach due to how player feedback may be massively negative? If so, how would you go about approaching such topics? If not, why?

4) What are your thoughts on the current size of human lore? Is it too much? Is it not enough? With reasoning.

5) Lastly, what are your thoughts on article arcs vs in-game events? Is one better than the other? Which stories should be told using which?

Good luck with your application!

[CampinKiller]

18 hours ago, ReadThisNamePlz said:

I do want to ask, are there any pieces of the lore that you think deserve more attention? You mention a couple of places that are lacking in lore, but is there a specific portion that you want to see expanded upon?

There's several areas that could use more attention (and I've talked about some of those areas already, so I don't want to force anyone to read more of the same), such as off-worlders, some planets being expanded, getting an idea of how the CoC as a whole works militarily, etc. More worldbuilding, specifically, is in need of expansion, and while I think the sports lore I mentioned in the OP is a good idea, there's some other areas that would be good to expand worldbuilding lore in. I like your ideas regarding more lore about crime and underground criminal organizations within human space, and I like botanist's idea regarding medical advancements/biology of modern humans. All of these, I think, would be great additions to the lore.

51 minutes ago, Triogenix said:

1) What would you say is your biggest flaw in terms of potentially writing for the lore team?

2) As a human deputy, you will need to comprise alot, not only with Lain, but with other teams or the LTA to get things you want added. What do you think is the best attribute that would help you reach these compromises?

3) Human lore is one of the most oft-criticized sections of our lore and has a large player base as it is the only unwhitelisted species. Given this, do you think there are some topics you'd be nervous to approach due to how player feedback may be massively negative? If so, how would you go about approaching such topics? If not, why?

4) What are your thoughts on the current size of human lore? Is it too much? Is it not enough? With reasoning.

5) Lastly, what are your thoughts on article arcs vs in-game events? Is one better than the other? Which stories should be told using which?

1. My biggest flaw when it comes to (potentially) lore writing is that I lack confidence in my actual writing abilities. Obviously I don't think it's terrible, since I'm applying to be a lore deputy, but I do feel that I have several areas of writing that I lack in. For example, I'm not very good with descriptive writing, I sometimes ramble/use the same words over and over, and I tend to write in bursts rather than just sit down and hammer something out in one go. Possibly ironic that I'm applying for a position that involves a lot of writing and listing writing as my biggest flaw, but I do feel like it's my biggest weakness in terms of a lore team position.

2. I'd say my best attribute in regards to compromising is that I am very considerate and open-minded of other people's feedback and opinions on something. I'm not particularly hard-headed or stuck in on doing something just the way I want to do it, no matter what. I'm definitely open to compromise and working out the best way to take whatever idea I may have from just an idea into a full-fledged arc, wiki article/rework, or addition. I will not ever say that I think this is EXACTLY how something should go, and that's just how it's going to be, because I know that's just not how to put out the best work.

3. I don't think there's anything that I would be nervous to write about, per se, so much as I'd just be aware of it. While I certainly think there is room for community feedback or input with lore, arcs, and events, I don't think that writers should be dissuaded from writing about certain topics because of potential negative feedback, backlash, etc. I don't see myself being worried about negative feedback on what I write, just because I tend to not let things like that bother me. If it's constructive feedback, I would be receptive to it, but if it's something that's just a "I think this sucks," I wouldn't really pay it any mind.

4. I think it's in a healthy middle ground. There's certainly not too little, given the size of human lore, but I don't think it's oversized or bloated either. By virtue of being the only unwhitelisted species, most of the characters are human, most players at some point play humans, and I would wager a majority of active characters are humans. This necessitates a large amount of lore for humanity, as otherwise you would have a limited selection of backgrounds, origins, and backstories for a large amount of the playerbase. I'd even say it would be nice to see more lore, as I've discussed on some of the potential expansions/reworks that I think human lore could do with.

5. I don't think one is better than the other, but rather that they each have their own place for storytelling. Article arcs should be used in a few different scenarios. First, when the arc is very long and will span a significant amount of time, (ie. months), where having a series of in-game events wouldn't be feasible. Second, when it's a relatively short arc that's intended to set something up, quickly show some development for a faction, or some other news where an in-game event wouldn't really make sense. Lastly, when the playerbase and their decisions within an in-game event won't have any bearing on the arc itself (ie. unrest in Dominia while the Horizon is orbiting Xanu). And in-game event, in my view, is something that should be run when the choices the Horizon and its crew makes will have some sort of tangible effect on the outcome of the arc, and the arc should be written in such a way as there's a general storyline, but the outcome of each particular event/storyline/plot point is not necessarily always pre-determined. Even just a mini-arc of an event or two should have the player involvement have some bearing on what goes on.

[goolie]

Campin is a great member of the community and is friendly, funny, and understands the lore to a T! I think he'd only improve the lore if he were to become deputy, and I have total confidence in his ability to delegate said lore too and not to overwork himself!

[Gem]

campin is an active community member with a good grasp of the lore that regularly plays a command role (and does so well).
definitely has my support, since i believe they will do cool things with the position!

+1

Edited November 10, 2023 by Gem

[The7thLain]

Hi, pardon the delay on these questions. I've had some personal events delay these for you and all other applicants. I will ask you four questions, the first I will ask to all applicants and the latter three will be tailored to your application specifically. Consider these questions as being from both myself and my deputy.

1. On balance, how do you see the Human Lore of the server being different with you than without you; what is something that only you bring to the table as a deputy?

2. A lot of your application is somewhat Sol-heavy. While we do not solely judge applicants on their ideas for what they might write as a deputy, we also take into account their ability to work with a team and implement ideas, we are curious to know about what plans or ideas you might have for future developments or additions that do not involve Sol whatsoever?

3. A large part of being a human lore deputy is being able to write and write not an insubstantial amount. While you will not be swamped with work a lot starting out, we have some concerns about your lack of experience and little-to-no body of prior work. As a deputy, you must not just be a resource on human lore, but a participant in the creation of it. What strengths do you think you might bring to the human lore team that may make up for this lack of experience in the creative writing process or may strengthen your writing?

4. You are an admin, and naturally this position comes with a substantial amount of influence and information in server affairs. It has not played any part in our considerations about you for the position, however there are some in the community who want to see "new blood" in the staff team, as in someone being hired to staff who is not already in a staff position. Do you have anything to say which may address this concern, should you get the position?

[CampinKiller]

On 22/11/2023 at 23:45, TheBurninSherman said:

1. On balance, how do you see the Human Lore of the server being different with you than without you; what is something that only you bring to the table as a deputy?

I think that my breadth of skills and ideas is what I'd bring to the table as deputy. I work very well within a team, as I think can be seen in my tenure as moderation staff so far, and am very open to compromise, feedback, etc. While I do not have experience in lore writing, I still have a strong writing foundation with which to build off of and learn. Additionally, I have experience coding and mapping for the server, and would be able to assist in preparing maps for events or even just adding more human lore representation in game, such as flags, cultural items, etc.

On 22/11/2023 at 23:45, TheBurninSherman said:

2. A lot of your application is somewhat Sol-heavy. While we do not solely judge applicants on their ideas for what they might write as a deputy, we also take into account their ability to work with a team and implement ideas, we are curious to know about what plans or ideas you might have for future developments or additions that do not involve Sol whatsoever?

I've got several ideas that do not involve Sol. For starters, I would like to expand the lore regarding off-worlders, giving a better idea of what their biology is like, more unique medical challenges they have, etc. from living in space for generations. Additionally, adding more notable off-worlder communities, or expanding on current ones is something that I'd be interested in doing. I think the Scarab Fleet could use a smaller arc as well, as I don't believe they've ever been involved in an arc.

I think there's some expansion that can be done in several other areas of human lore as well. The three planets I listed in response to Danse - Gadpathur, Novi Jadran, and Bursa - all could use a rework (in the case of Gadpathur) or expansion in the cases of Novi Jadran and Bursa, since neither have pages despite being significant planets. Regarding the latter two, my ideas would mainly be focused on expanding the short blurbs on them that exist currently, adding more about culture, life on those planets, notable settlements, etc. Gadpathur is something that I'd like to see become less monolithic. I don't want to completely rewrite the planet or anything, but I think it is a bit odd that there's essentially no minority that's like, "hey, why are we still being ruled with an iron fist 150 years later?"

On the geopolitical side of things, I'd like to see some of the differences and conflicts between other nations shown. Elyra and Dominia, for example, haven't had diplomatic relations since the Dreary Futures arc. I'd like to see these two nations get an arc that eventually results in their restoration of relations, albeit potentially after a standoff or tensions of some variety. I'd also like to see the lack of cohesion in the CoC showcased, with planets on different sides of issues having some minor spats, which I think could be a possibility with the recent expansion of Biesel.

Speaking of the Coalition, I know I mentioned it in my application, but it bears mentioning again that I would like to see some concrete lore on the function of the Coalition military as a whole when it's called upon. I would think it would probably work similar to how NATO works, and it's a relatively minor thing, but something that would be nice to add.

Finally, (though this would include Sol I suppose), I'd like to add human sports lore, with national/interstellar events, leagues, etc., as part of worldbuilding in human lore. Perhaps a continuation of the Olympics, or just something more futuristic as well, but I think it'd be an interesting thing to add.

On 22/11/2023 at 23:45, TheBurninSherman said:

3. A large part of being a human lore deputy is being able to write and write not an insubstantial amount. While you will not be swamped with work a lot starting out, we have some concerns about your lack of experience and little-to-no body of prior work. As a deputy, you must not just be a resource on human lore, but a participant in the creation of it. What strengths do you think you might bring to the human lore team that may make up for this lack of experience in the creative writing process or may strengthen your writing?

While I don't have much experience with creative writing, I have done a lot of writing over the years, and I feel that would help as I become more experienced with the creative writing process. I have done some creative writing in the past, and while not at the scale or depth of writing lore, I think this past experience would be beneficial in getting me up to speed quickly. Another strength of mine is that I have good grammar, so I will be improving my creative writing skills from a solid foundation. I also put a lot of consideration into what I am going to write before I actually start writing it, which gives me an opportunity to explore different directions that I could go in writing something before actually doing so, which helps me avoid needing to do massive re-writes. I'm also very good about proofreading my own writing, which also helps to keep me from having to spend a lot of time fixing mistakes.

On 22/11/2023 at 23:45, TheBurninSherman said:

4. You are an admin, and naturally this position comes with a substantial amount of influence and information in server affairs. It has not played any part in our considerations about you for the position, however there are some in the community who want to see "new blood" in the staff team, as in someone being hired to staff who is not already in a staff position. Do you have anything to say which may address this concern, should you get the position?

I can understand the concern, and it is a valid concern to have. That said, while I am an admin, it is completely separate from lore. In fact, as an administrator I can see all the lore channels and participate in them, so the only difference would be that I would be able to write lore officially. Alb and Matt have both been in this position and I do not recall there being any issues with Matt's former tenure in all 3 staff areas (maintainer/lore/admin) or Alb's ongoing tenure in the same areas.

[The7thLain]

Hello. Upon serious deliberation within the human lore team and between the human lore team and LTM, we have decided to offer you the position of Human Lore Deputy Writer. Congratulations!