[Declined] Serveris6's Tajaran Lore Overseer Application

[Serveris]

Ckey/BYOND Username: Serveris6

Position Being Applied For (coder, mapper, spriter): Tajaran Lore Overseer

Past Experiences/Knowledge:

Experienced in html, css, and javascript. Relatively familiar with wikispaces and writing/editting wiki pages, and working around the user interface of our forums and wiki.

Examples of Past Work:

None; no experience persae in lore writing, hoping to add to the resume. Best I can provide is a lore canonization application which the previous lore overseer for tajara, Hivefleetchicken, approved.

Preferred Mode of Communication (Skype, Steam, etc.): Discord or Steam. I am already in the lore_writers staff channel due to being an administrator.

Additional Comments: Not entirely sure what criteria is being sought out here, and I'm not wanting to spew information here and ramble on about things that may not be relevant. Any specific concerns/questions information can be requested, and I'll simply state it as needed. Feedback of any sort is appreciated.

[Serveris]

In expansion to the above, because looking at it, it seems pretty short, even if I'm not sure 100% of concerns concerning the position, so I thought I'd going on to discuss policies that, hypothetically speaking this is approved, I'd want to focus on.

At some point, or rather, as soon as possible, I'm wanting to put out some sort of survey for a few days to assess public opinion of tajaran lore in the current state. Get a feel for what people, tajaran whitelisted players and the community as a whole, think about the currently established lore. See what factions the people have interest in, see if anyone has an interest in seeing any tajaran lore events on-server, and maybe get some ideas for what direction to take those in, but also receive criticism as a whole on the framework, negative and positive. After speaking with people for several months, I've come to an rough understanding of what most people think of the PRA, the NKA, the ALA, the war on Ahdomai, and how all of these things are really reflected against a research station in the middle of deep space. I'm wanting a more structured, fresh perspective on the community's outlooks on these things, because the things that people have an interest in that can be improved, changed, or built on, are the things that I want to work on.

Several years back, I recall people showing a big interest in what was commonly referred to as, 'living breathing lore.' This being, lore that adapts and changes over time. Recently, I feel that tajaran lore has started to stagnate just a bit. This may be in part to the previous overseer having difficulty the past couple months, which really can't be helped; same thing happened with both previous tajaran lore overseers, and I spoke and consulted with both concerning their lore, and even tossed suggestions to both that ended up being used. Following the aforementioned survey, I'm hoping to launch lore events on the server much more often than they were presently, and actively engage crew from all three tajaran factions, and depending how the surveys turn out (and I'm hopeful this will be an item people express interest in), perhaps even creating new factions on Ahdomai. News articles are nice and have proven entertaining to read, however, it seems most people I've spoken with on the matter prefer such things to play out on-server, where they can actually see it happen, which in my mindset, is true. It'd be much more fun to actually let people be involved in the development of the lore, and be able to shape it through playing, much in the way that the synth contest is for synthetic players right now. All coming down to public opinion, I'm planning for tajara events, and station encounters with the powers that be on Ahdomai to be a much more common occurrence.

Regarding whitelist management themselves, as I addressed with some of my fellow administrators earlier today while discussing the prospect of applying for this position, I intend to do away with the previous mentality of, "easy give, easy take," regarding issuing and stripping whitelists. I'm planning on placing a much bigger emphasis on the review process regarding tajaran whitelist applications and the role that community review has on the matter.

In turn, I feel that a more intensive vetting process will reduce strain on tajara ICly. Some of you may recall, around a month ago, the big issue about several players possibly losing their whitelists over various issues that I won't go into detail here aside from this; a lot of it ended up being warranted, however, the planning and execution that went into the solution was not ideal. Regarding moderating tajara from an IC perspective, I plan on opting out of using the PSIS or the "kitty KGB" as it has been affectionately referred to since then, and instead reserving it for some of those lore events I discussed, and perhaps other prospects, rather than using it as a moderation system. I would prefer seeing tajara that get into trouble ICly managed by CCIA, perhaps with some PRA political pressure, as most IC issues on this server are. Since my promotion to administrator, and from my days within the CCIA/Duty Officer department, I feel that the current team there, as well as their policies, will be more effective in delegating these disputes in a more fair, structured way, given that proper channels and opening dialogue with all parties involved is one of their foremost operating procedures. Obviously, I would be working closely with them on investigations into tajara, however, I would prefer not using whitelist strips unless the issue itself was truly within the OOC realm. I feel that punishment and negative repercussions as a result of the choices that characters make should be handled ICly, on a case-by-case basis, with an arbitrary mindset and a steady hand.

Similar to the previous lore overseer for tajara, Hive, I too would like to expand further on the civil war, including the military for both main sides, but would also like to incorporate the NKA onto the grand stage, and hopefully build them up more than what they are now. As it stands, it seems that the concept was never really finished. They are mentioned, however neither them or the ALA, for that matter, have as much established, written out lore readily available on the wiki page as the PRA, and I feel that the lore will be much more dynamic and intriguing were this not the case.

New policies may be subject to change depending how said survey goes, and even afterwards, I'm planning on discussing the results at length with the rest of the lore staff to gather their opinions to see what will be viable for change and what won't. If any lore staff or what-not have any questions concerning any questions in this platform, feel free to ask away.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Hello,

Your original application was very underwhelming, I'm glad you've fleshed it out, your second post is much more enlightening.

On specifics,

 

"easy give, easy take," regarding issuing and stripping whitelists. I'm planning on placing a much bigger emphasis on the review process regarding tajaran whitelist applications and the role that community review has on the matter.

Regardless of who takes up the reigns I would very much like to see the Tajara Backstory Acceptability rule enforced. How do you feel about the rule, and if you don't, what about it would you change? This rule by itself has managed to address the problem with the majority of Tajara whitelist applications in a admittedly heavy handed way.

Creating more primary factions has the very real possibility of undermining any growing sense of comradeship between Tajara on the station. Currently they are from the big three, the NKA, PRA, and ALA, but the PRA claims authority over all Tajara in the infinite universe. Like China the PRA is projecting soft power into Tau Ceti and can snatch you up if you embarrass the PRA by getting too vocal about your love of cuddles/violent overthrow of the government. The three factions also roughly encompass the entire political spectrum worth representing in the conflict. What strengths would more factions serve for Tajara on the station and why does it better serve the Tajara aesthetic and playstyle? Currently only the Unathi and humanity have more than 2 'big' factions, with non-Hegemon Unathi able to just make up stuff for their little plot of sand on Moghes and Frontier humans having literally a free brushstroke.

 

but would also like to incorporate the NKA onto the grand stage, and hopefully build them up more than what they are now.

 

Moderate, "easy" choices should remain the underdog. The NKA is meant to be the most ideal in terms of ideology (it's my personal favorite OOC despite my one Tajara thinking its trash) so in contrast it's in a dire situation to make it harder for Tajara to walk around as open supporters. What benefits would increasing its image bring in comparison to keeping it the hard, difficult choice for only the Tajara committed firmly and strongly to the ideals? It's a stronger sign of commitment to stick with the losing side, after all.

Finally, being a member of administration (a primary admin) makes me wary. Loow, our skrell overseer, was promoted to admin after becoming loredev when we already developed a working relationship comprised of angry yelling and sexual tension. I think some of us remember when I was subject to a lot of conspiracy theories and angry yelling when I had the audacity to be a Duty Officer when I was the loreboss of the then-DO boss. A primary admin being a subordinate member of my staff would probably create similar unrest, and I personally am uneasy with a blend of departments like this, because one of my primary jobs is saying 'no' or 'no, but'. Professional on top of personal stances mean this is the main sticker. However I am also always happy to bend my positions, but this one could prove very difficult to overcome.

[Serveris]

Regardless of who takes up the reigns I would very much like to see the Tajara Backstory Acceptability rule enforced. How do you feel about the rule, and if you don't, what about it would you change? This rule by itself has managed to address the problem with the majority of Tajara whitelist applications in a admittedly heavy handed way.

 

Good rule of thumb for characters on applications; having a tajaran that's deeply rooted into potential M'sai, Zhan-Khazan, Njarir, or really into any ethnicity, or life on Ahdomai as a whole, regardless of what faction they're aligned to, gives anyone handling or reviewing the whitelist an opportunity to gauge the applicant's understanding of the lore. It's incredibly easy to say, "Yeah, my tajaran grew up in New York," so that you can make them a complete snowflake, and get away with disregarding 90% of the enforced lore. At that point, the character is a human in a fursuit, and every single, literally every single tajaran character I've seen end up like that is a massive snowflake. Not going to point fingers here, though.

I completely understand why Hive set this rule into place, and if accepted, will likely maintain the same policy.

What I more had in mind, was to approach whitelist applications the same way that I do moderator applications. I see that the person is interested, and if I do not know them, I proceed to observe them closely for several days, see how they act ICly, how they carry themselves in the community and what not.

Regarding whitelists, however, I would make a point of seeing how they play the characters they have now, and use that as an indication to their roleplay abilities and creativity.

 

Creating more primary factions has the very real possibility of undermining any growing sense of comradeship between Tajara on the station. Currently they are from the big three, the NKA, PRA, and ALA, but the PRA claims authority over all Tajara in the infinite universe. Like China the PRA is projecting soft power into Tau Ceti and can snatch you up if you embarrass the PRA by getting too vocal about your love of cuddles/violent overthrow of the government. The three factions also roughly encompass the entire political spectrum worth representing in the conflict. What strengths would more factions serve for Tajara on the station and why does it better serve the Tajara aesthetic and playstyle? Currently only the Unathi and humanity have more than 2 'big' factions, with non-Hegemon Unathi able to just make up stuff for their little plot of sand on Moghes and Frontier humans having literally a free brushstroke.

 

Not planning on any major factions - probably just splinter groups within tajaran culture - similar to those within human culture (Such as UNITY, the SLF, and numerous other organizations, not necessarily built around synthetic rights). It's a concept I'm wanting to explore, and admittedly, am going to wait until I see what all I have to work with before I put any serious planning into it.

 

Moderate, "easy" choices should remain the underdog. The NKA is meant to be the most ideal in terms of ideology (it's my personal favorite OOC despite my one Tajara thinking its trash) so in contrast it's in a dire situation to make it harder for Tajara to walk around as open supporters. What benefits would increasing its image bring in comparison to keeping it the hard, difficult choice for only the Tajara committed firmly and strongly to the ideals? It's a stronger sign of commitment to stick with the losing side, after all.

 

Maybe what I wrote came off the wrong way; my 'center stage,' I wasn't intending on forcing them closer to the station dynamic, but I would definitely like to see lore for them fleshed out more than it already is. Both previous lore overseers have dedicated much more time to illustrating the PRA and ALA, but the NKA still seems neglected compared to the lore available on the other two.

 

Finally, being a member of administration (a primary admin) makes me wary. Loow, our skrell overseer, was promoted to admin after becoming loredev when we already developed a working relationship comprised of angry yelling and sexual tension. I think some of us remember when I was subject to a lot of conspiracy theories and angry yelling when I had the audacity to be a Duty Officer when I was the loreboss of the then-DO boss. A primary admin being a subordinate member of my staff would probably create similar unrest, and I personally am uneasy with a blend of departments like this, because one of my primary jobs is saying 'no' or 'no, but'. Professional on top of personal stances mean this is the main sticker. However I am also always happy to bend my positions, but this one could prove very difficult to overcome.

 

And I'm totally, 100% cool with that. I am ready to go into this in a subordinate position, and am totally fine with deferring issues of lore. I have nothing wrong with being told no, although I do prefer to hear why such a decision is made, with a bit of explanation behind it. I understand your concern, and can see how this would be unsettling. In your position, it would probably be a heavy factor as well, but I'm willing to work with you if you give me a shot. I've always taken a lot of pride in working in team dynamics, and make a policy out of not intentionally antagonizing supervisors. More emphasis on not doing so intentionally, but it's entirely possible disagreements may arise, but I'm more than willing to work through them respectfully. I don't like toeing the line and directly challenging authority, so I'd rather not butt heads with you. So please, if you feel I'm out of line, or stepping on your toes, or "being an admin," give me a solid, "Fuck off, Serv, I'm in charge," and I'll back down. I occasionally just need that call out to know I'm pushing too hard, because as someone that's used to the hardline tempo and atmosphere of being in the administration team, it's easy to lose sight of how other teams operate. Really, if there's an issue, just say so and we can work towards a solution together.

[Loow]

I feel as if your rank puts you at a disadvantage. I have more memories of you operating as an administrator than I do of you taking personal interest in the lore. That's an unfortunate circumstance as this is a lore related position. What I do remember was not unpleasant. For example, over the course of a day or so, you asked good questions and put up with enough of my ranting and raving about Skrell to last a few months.

But that's all I have to go off of, in a way. Call it an inconvenience.

Foreword:

Loow, our skrell overseer, was promoted to admin after becoming loredev when we already developed a working relationship comprised of angry yelling and sexual tension.

 

. I've always taken a lot of pride in working in team dynamics, and make a policy out of not intentionally antagonizing supervisors.

I object to the latter half of this statement on the grounds that I disagree with the premise. Shit talking our superiors to their face is as healthy for team dynamics as the padding one puts on the floor before engaging in a trust fall. This is of course provided that it's to their face and very clearly stated. On that same note, should Serv be allowed on the loreteam, I would have to quickly establish my dominance by telling him his ideas are stupid to ensure that he knows that I won't offer half-assed feedback or let him roll over the other groups with his shitty self insert species. Get ready to "Man Up and Deal With It" if you get accepted into this meme hell where everyone's an idiot but you.

Now that I have your attention, we can briefly address that issue of your rank and move on to more jagged fences for you to jump. You're technically my boss on the staff team, but that probably wouldn't stop me from having some sort of talk if you started pushing for anything too outrageous. There. We're done with it.

Fact is, I don't have enough experience with you in a context of specifically lore to trust you implicitly with one of our core species. I'm not exactly the emperor of all things lore, but if you want to win the affections of me, or anyone else who sees the points I do, it's going to be a walk uphill.

Let's stop for a moment and call your first post in this thread like it is. Regrettable.

There wasn't a race to post first after the moment Hive stepped down. You didn't have to crank out an application. Nobody else had done so at that point.

Jumping at opportunity is something to be admired, but jumping too fast with too little makes it come across as a sight less considered. I understand that a good first draft helps us get our foot in the door, but you posted next to nothing. There's not even a link to the Lore Canonization Application it mentions. Maybe you were busy, at work, on your phone, in a box, with a fox, but that just makes me think "all the more reason to wait." You could have really won some hearts and minds with a solid first post, or who knows? Maybe it's a kangaroo court?! Maybe this is part of the insidious lore agenda to keep badminz out and establish a canon monopoly.

The hasty nature of the original post. It's a minor detail that means nothing. That's why it's so significant. Patience can be nice now and then.

 

I'm wanting to put out some sort of survey for a few days to assess public opinion of tajaran lore in the current state. Get a feel for what people, tajaran whitelisted players and the community as a whole, think about the currently established lore.

I would suggest hitting the pavement to ask around or keeping an eye on how the on-station Tajara operate. Feedback threads can be well and good to a certain extent. Votes though. Those get thrown around like candy. Any time I see a good vote, I stop and consider how much time and effort people put into justifying their opinions. And then I think about how much a checkbox tells us. I think we've had our fill of candy.

 

...the war on Ahdomai...

...creating new factions on Ahdomai.

... the powers that be on Ahdomai...

...life on Ahdomai as a whole

The planet is called Adhomai.

You couldn't have picked a worse time to get that wrong.

It's a silly little mistake that means nothing.

With all of that in mind, you've got tons of good intentions, a can do attitude, and the ability to fire me if it comes right down to it.

Do you think you are capable of:

1. Putting up with Next-Level heckling and bait?

2. Withstanding a torrent of negative feedback on an irregular basis?

3. Writing good lore?

4. Winning over the masses to the extent that they want to read your work for fun?

5. Cooperating with the current loreteam members?

[SierraKomodo]

After reading over Loow's post, I think something that might help give people an idea of what your capabilities as a lore dev are would be to write up a pesudo-lore post about something to do with Tajara/Adhomai. Maybe a city, a specific important person, an event, something that you could or would add to canon Tajaran lore.

There's also this you forgot to use as a reference point for your lore writing: https://forums.aurorastation.org/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=6779

[Guest]

He also overhauled the detective page to be more readable in addition to the forensic tech page.

[Roderick Grey]

He also overhauled the detective page to be more readable in addition to the forensic tech page.

 

When was this done?

I'm asking as I had some problems a while ago pertaining to Detectives and when they can/cannot perform an arrest, while discussing it with an admin out of curiosity they told me the page was incorrect/out of date, I later talked to Jackboot about it who made a clarification on the page, this was about a month ago.

EDIT: Reread the wiki page seems immensely better than it did a month ago which I'm assuming is Severis' work.

[Guest]

Check "recent changes" on the sidebar as well.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

While I appreciate your application and put great thought into it, all the considerations have lead me to decline this application. You are always welcomed and encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions to me/the lorestaff, regardless!