New IAA: Revenge of the Nerds

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

IAA before this update:

 

IAA after this update:

 

After another one of my lengthy conversations about the merits of lawyers and the current irrelevance of IAA, I have been swayed by the wisdom of Sue and Forgotten_Travellor. Rather than add an additional job title, we can fix Internal Affairs.

However, IAA agents have baggage. Their name has expectations placed on them, and we've gone years with them being played a certain way. No one cries "I want my Internal Affairs Agent!" when brought to the brig, but they can easily scream "I want my Representative!"

Thus:

Regulatory Representative.

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I'll list their duties how they'd be listed on the wiki, for the game guide I have up as a proposal, and which will either remain if this is changed, or be removed if we settle on how things are.

 

• Consult on Corporate Regulations. Be present when people are imprisoned, so you can ensure they are given the correct time. You should keep Corporate Regulations up in your browser for this, and be sure to explain the sentence for each crime and the total time. In some cases you may argue for reduced sentence times based on mitigating factors (e.g. good behavior, insanity), but don't push the issue too hard. If you feel a prisoner has been mistreated or wrongly imprisoned, contact the Captain and present your case. If this fails, contact Central Command explaining the issue, and a Duty Officer may be summoned to overview your case if it's particularly damaging to Nanotrasen's reputation. Be sure to have all your notes and evidence in order!
  
• Represent your client. When a suspect is brought in and you are called, participate in the processing. Take a brief moment to speak privately with your client and get his story, and offer him advice on confessing or convincing security of his innocence. You may be able to convince security that they either have the wrong person or that the suspect committed a lesser crime. When possible, cooperate with the detective or CSI to see the physical evidence. But remember: if you fail to convince them and the suspect is brigged, don't interfere! Take any grievances to your superior, and work up the chain of command. Regardless of circumstances you must accept the ruling of Central Command, if they become involved.
  
• Get medical care for inmates. Arresting officers need to get back to their patrols; they'll appreciate it if you keep medbay informed of any injured prisoners. If the officers happen to be the ones injuring the inmate, take pictures! Then immediately present them to the Head of Personnel.
  
• Clean up the brig. You're going to spend most of your time here, so keep it clean. The Warden needs the help. The brig is one of the messiest places on the station.
  
• Let released inmates out of the brig. When their time is up, bring them their belongings (sometimes they are kept in the evidence room), let them out of the brig, and set their security record to "Released".
  
• Litigation. Health, safety, and human rights are things you can be overseeing while on the station, but be warned that actually getting anything done about it will test your law skills. You should always have permission from a department's employee before entering it to examine for any violations. Try to stay out of their way during these; you're not a Duty Officer. If you witness a violation, take a picture, write it down, and present your case to your superior!

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Also they're not loyalty implanted. Please.

Also they won't suddenly make trials a thing.

This is a new name and an actual game guide for them. That's all that's being proposed. Names are very important, because they place expectations on whatever is operating under that name.

[Owen]

I am not too sure if this is the way I want IAAs to go. It seems too hands on and almost like a security member. Right now thanks to Xander I have been giving any IAA on the station a piece of paperwork that allows them access to command channel and more freedom when investigating things. This is sort of the route I was hoping for them to go for, almost like an overseeing corporate representative who was more commands staff instead of Security. I don't know what anyone else wants but that is just my thoughts on this.

[Zundy]

I agree there. I was hoping they'd be more of a corporate overseer making sure everyone is doing their jobs (including security), this is sort of turning them into lawyers.

[Guest]

Yeah no. Internal Affairs is starting to actually be effective now that Captains such as myself and YouJustGotOwened are empowering them. We don't need another employee crowding the brig, the Warden can handle cleaning. And if the Regulatory Rep is always in the Brig, who is going to watch over the crew and handle their issues? Sure the HoP is able to function as Internal Affairs, but they're often busy wiping the Captain's ass or doing ID alterations, or watching over their various staff.

[LordFowl]

I think this is actually an improvement. The role of IAA being the station's corporate overseer was always miscarried because that's also technically the role of the Captain and pretty much every Head of Staff. And if we give the IAA full access to the command channel and bridge, then they just become 'another employee crowding the bridge'. The HoP is perfectly capable of handling complaints, and technically are still kinda obliged to (You'd be surprised the number of crew who come to the HoP with complaints even when there is an IAA aboard.) On the other hand, there is no one in security who is obliged maintain corporate loyalty within imprisoned employees. Repurposing the IAA to this role would be an improvement and would solve the pressing need for employee representation in security, and would also tone done the elitism that is prevalent in security towards the imprisoned.

[Owen]

I just really don't think that this is the way for IAAs to go, I am strongly against doing this as they are finally starting to get the respect that they deservenboth from Security and Command. If anything we could make Regulatory Representative another job title for Internal Affairs, that wouldn't be my preferred choice but at least we both get what we want.

 

Also they're not loyalty implanted. Please.

 

About this, wouldn't it make sense to have a representative of corporate regulations to be loyalty implanted? Or are we completely removing the old duties of the IAAs?

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Yeah no. Internal Affairs is starting to actually be effective now that Captains such as myself and YouJustGotOwened are empowering them. We don't need another employee crowding the brig, the Warden can handle cleaning. And if the Regulatory Rep is always in the Brig, who is going to watch over the crew and handle their issues? Sure the HoP is able to function as Internal Affairs, but they're often busy wiping the Captain's ass or doing ID alterations, or watching over their various staff.

 

 

It's cool that you're making IAA do stuff, but be aware that you account for probably less than 5% of all situations. Turning IAA into super-hop without the job oversight duties is cool and all, but it doesn't address the foundation of my suggestion. (Also that being the HoP job is neither here nor there until I get the job guide done)

IAA are civilians, and there is the very weird stonewalling from security where everybody assumes they're exceeding official powers when they ask "hey why are you beating that guy fam haha". Because there's no expectation that IAA would be allowed to advocate for prisoners. We have the entire Western legal thought and our own 3 year history to back up this claim.

Even the Warden can't do this. People who think "this is the Warden's job." will shut down the argument have an extremely ignorant view of the security machine. At the very basic level, the Warden has no expectation to be on your side when you're brigged. His superior is the HoS; if he argues in your favor, the HoS can shitcan him. The foundation of my goal is to have someone outside of security be on the side of the brigged. This eliminates most of the immediate bias or pressure that would otherwise be placed on them.

I've spent a long time arguing on reworking IAA. Yesterday I spent awhile arguing that Public Defender should be an alternate job title for the IAA slot. They would be given the blue suit, briefcase, and the guidelines that I listed in my OP. But apparently this was so unreasonable and inconsistent with our setting, so this is an alternative suggestion to actually give IAA both a coherent duty, while also expanding them into where they would best fit game balance and fairness.

I mean at the least we could have this as an alternate job slot.

And I mean fine since they're from NT they can be loyalty implanted. I just want a legal character without the implant. It's more consistent to be someone that is 'watching over' the station to not answer to.... Another mind-controlled bureaucrat.

[Zundy]

Yeah no. Internal Affairs is starting to actually be effective now that Captains such as myself and YouJustGotOwened are empowering them. We don't need another employee crowding the brig, the Warden can handle cleaning. And if the Regulatory Rep is always in the Brig, who is going to watch over the crew and handle their issues? Sure the HoP is able to function as Internal Affairs, but they're often busy wiping the Captain's ass or doing ID alterations, or watching over their various staff.

 

 

It's cool that you're making IAA do stuff, but be aware that you account for probably less than 5% of all situations. Turning IAA into super-hop without the job oversight duties is cool and all, but it doesn't address the foundation of my suggestion. (Also that being the HoP job is neither here nor there until I get the job guide done)

IAA are civilians, and there is the very weird stonewalling from security where everybody assumes they're exceeding official powers when they ask "hey why are you beating that guy fam haha". Because there's no expectation that IAA would be allowed to advocate for prisoners. We have the entire Western legal thought and our own 3 year history to back up this claim.

Even the Warden can't do this. People who think "this is the Warden's job." will shut down the argument have an extremely ignorant view of the security machine. At the very basic level, the Warden has no expectation to be on your side when you're brigged. His superior is the HoS; if he argues in your favor, the HoS can shitcan him. The foundation of my goal is to have someone outside of security be on the side of the brigged. This eliminates most of the immediate bias or pressure that would otherwise be placed on them.

I've spent a long time arguing on reworking IAA. Yesterday I spent awhile arguing that Public Defender should be an alternate job title for the IAA slot. They would be given the blue suit, briefcase, and the guidelines that I listed in my OP. But apparently this was so unreasonable and inconsistent with our setting, so this is an alternative suggestion to actually give IAA both a coherent duty, while also expanding them into where they would best fit game balance and fairness.

I mean at the least we could have this as an alternate job slot.

And I mean fine since they're from NT they can be loyalty implanted. I just want a legal character without the implant. It's more consistent to be someone that is 'watching over' the station to not answer to.... Another mind-controlled bureaucrat.

 

I'm very ok with this being an alternate title with the normal IAA's being more of a 'corporate watchdog' (making sure the station is running and making the credits) and this title being a more lawyer like role.

[Garnascus]

I cant help but echo what jacboot said, two captains out of...a hundred is a drop of water in the ocean. I think these outlines for the IAA more clearly define the role they play. you kinda have to make work for yourself as an agent now. Which isnt necessarily a bad thing but having some guidelines and protocols like these can only be a benefit.

[LordFowl]

If its an alternate title we might as well go the full mile and make it a new occupation entirely. . .which brings us to the first issue raised.

[Guest]

And I mean fine since they're from NT they can be loyalty implanted. I just want a legal character without the implant. It's more consistent to be someone that is 'watching over' the station to not answer to.... Another mind-controlled bureaucrat.

 

buff IAA, then? This smells like a whole 'nother suggestion than what actually constitutes as internal affairs.

the iaa are supposed to be representative of the interests of central command, but the issue is that IA never bothers to communicate with central to figure out what home base wants one of their subsidary bases to even do. This also seems to occur vice versa, but either of these parties need to initiate, cooperate, and communicate.

IAA is only useful as it makes itself. The issue is that if you're IAA and you let yourself get trampled upon by security, then um. Well that's not an issue with the job, now is it? IAA needs to assert itself, within reason, but it also needs to earn the respect of the heads of staff, otherwise they're gonna get nowhere with anything.

[LordFowl]

Heads of Staff should be communicating with Central Command anyways. In fact, Heads of Staff frequently communicate with Central Command, ignoring the Internal Affairs Representative.

The IAA to me does nothing that a good head of staff doesn't do already.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

A proactive Head of Personnel renders IAA in their current form completely redundant.

[Frances]

A proactive Head of Personnel renders IAA in their current form completely redundant.

But a proactive CMO renders all of medical redundant, a proactive QM renders all of cargo redundant (which actually often happens), a proactive RD... well, all of science is useless, anyway.

Maybe it's a matter of the amount of work there is to do. There's a lot of patients for medical to treat, but there's a lot less workplace incidents to report on.

I don't think lack of power is the IAAs' problem. They have all the power they need to make sure SOP is respected, and if they get ignored, they can write DO reports and get offenders disciplined/removed right quick. The problem is that nobody wants to play IAA because there's just way too much "dead time" to the job.