Paazin's platform / Q&A thread
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 10:45 pm
Hi, folks. I'm running for Lead Admin.
Many of you might not know me. I've not been as vocal as some with the various roles I had within ALFA. However, I've been around long enough to get to know the heart of this community; the people that make it the immersive, interactive world, rich in story and detail - which is what keeps us here, despite all the strife and drama.
First off, why am I running?
For a long time much of the old-guard had been at the fore of ALFA. Now that Wynna is no longer seeking re-election, it is a convenient time for someone new at the head of our community; someone with vision and dedication, someone who cares deeply about its members and about its future. But foremost, who is needed is someone who will be able to unify the community and not divide it, as we are at our best when we work together in the spirit of ALFA and not against one another. I am running because I believe the person best suited for that challenge is me.
What is broken within ALFA?
Many people say that ALFA is 'irreversibly broken.' I contest that view; there are problems, of course - every human enterprise comes across conflicts of all sorts - but the problems we face are nothing grave, that cannot be changed with the will of the community, as a whole.
People say that the players are not trusted. To a point, it is true - they aren't, completely. It's sad to say, but if there weren't so many gross and flagrant violations of the rules throughout the years, we wouldn't need the constant suspicion. Unfortunately time and time again, it's been shown that to trust players completely without any DM oversight creates problems; and understandably so - the names of past offenders are universally reviled. Still, the atmosphere can be made a good deal more 'player-friendly' as my belief is that the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction.
Something heard commonly now is that the incumbent DM Admin, Rusty, and his standards team 'ruined' or 'is ruining' ALFA. Though the complaints given are not groundless, to say that ALFA has only suffered through his tenure here is a gross exaggeration. A great deal of Rusty's work as been incomparable, one of the most solid and competent DMAs that there has been in a while. It was under his leadership that the first ALFA-wide standards were adopted, so now each DM has an easy reference as to how they should treat their respective players - to hopefully do away with the past problems that often cropped up where players were given favoritism or were 'twinked.' With the systems we have in place now, such occurrences will be far, far less commonplace.
With Rusty's administration there have been problems, of course - there is no denying that. One need not have a particularly long memory to remember the vitriol spewed across these boards only a few months ago during the last DMA election. It's clear the wounds are still fresh to many, yet we get nowhere with factionalism, having the community and administration divided; instead the lines of communication must be kept open. We must work together as a unit, forcing ourselves to find compromise where agreement is not obvious. This requires sacrifice from all sides, something which clearly is not always popular, but with that are the foundations of the community solidified.
What is the role of the Lead Admin within ALFA?
People claim the Lead Amin is a pointless figurehead, incapable of any real power. I contest it is untrue; he or she gives vision and direction to ALFA as a whole. The Admin listens to the concerns of the community and its members, both advising and directing, when the need arises. In terms of the structure she is in a unique position to alter the governance and systems within and has an obligation to do so if the need arises.
What the Administration, and all of us need to keep in mind, is this:
What makes this community are its members. Not the charter, nor the ruleset, nor the forums, nor its servers, nor anything else. We seem to often forget this. I hope to guide us back to that one tenant, the sense of community that is sorely lacking which we should all share.
What is my platform?
As can be imagined, my views of the current situation dictate a good deal of my platform. I'll outline my key positions:
Keep lines of communication open
There will always be 'drama' certainly. That does not mean that we need to succumb to the bile and vitriol that is often seen on the boards and in chat. We need, all of us, to keep an open mind and try to work together. We get nowhere with gross generalizations and shutting ourselves off from one another. Unity is what makes this community was it is and what keeps us together.
Make our systems and methods transparent
A good deal of complaint is given to the lack of transparency, especially with standards. In a way, it is related to my position above - keeping the community speaking to one another, preventing egos from taking hold. It is said 'sunlight is the best disinfectant' and that is a view I hold dear to my heart. People are naturally suspicious of that which they know nothing about - I wish to push for openness and transparency wherever possible.
Make the path to DMing easier
One key flaw in our system right now is that there are so few DMs. Another candidate has suggested we grant immediate entry to those who had been past DMs. It is good idea on the face of it, but it would need to be done carefully, and with the cooperation of the DMA. There have been a number of changes over the past months, and DMs have to be certain they are up to speed. No one likes paperwork and reading documentation, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Do not over-extend ourselves
This is key. For quite a while with NWN1 we had many too many servers for the player-base, meaning it was difficult for people to meet up with one another and just enjoy ALFA, which only fed into the effect of people becoming disenchanted with ALFA, as a whole. As much as it pains me to say it, we must not devote so many of our resources to creating new servers and regions - more has to be devoted to our existing servers and areas. In a way, our early 'Live' date was a victim of this, pushed out before it was truly ready.
Tech is vitally important
Many people, (most notable to me, those within the standards committee) ignore or simply don't always take into consideration the difficulty that those who deal with building and tech deal with to implement their edicts/recommendations/suggestions/etc. What matters, in the end, is our builders and our tech - and their resources are often are stretched quite thin. Communication is key here, and those who are not familiar with the issues taking an active interest in them, to make the lives easier of everyone involved.
Don't forget our NWN1 crowd
This is quite popular to do recently, with all the talk of NWN2 that is ever-present. We must never forget that a good many of our players and DMs still log on to the servers we have in NWN1 and make no plans to switch over to NWN2. These serves do require maintenance and DM presence, just like our current and upcoming NWN2 servers, so they cannot be abandoned or forgotten (as in the past it seems some would have it). It is my hope that that they will continue to be there for a good while.
A bit longer than I originally intended - if you managed to read through all of it, I congratulate you.
Apologies in advance if I'm unable to answer any questions given to me in a timely manner; I'm currently in the process of relocating from France lack to the US and (understandably) the move is taking up a good deal of my time at the moment.
Many of you might not know me. I've not been as vocal as some with the various roles I had within ALFA. However, I've been around long enough to get to know the heart of this community; the people that make it the immersive, interactive world, rich in story and detail - which is what keeps us here, despite all the strife and drama.
First off, why am I running?
For a long time much of the old-guard had been at the fore of ALFA. Now that Wynna is no longer seeking re-election, it is a convenient time for someone new at the head of our community; someone with vision and dedication, someone who cares deeply about its members and about its future. But foremost, who is needed is someone who will be able to unify the community and not divide it, as we are at our best when we work together in the spirit of ALFA and not against one another. I am running because I believe the person best suited for that challenge is me.
What is broken within ALFA?
Many people say that ALFA is 'irreversibly broken.' I contest that view; there are problems, of course - every human enterprise comes across conflicts of all sorts - but the problems we face are nothing grave, that cannot be changed with the will of the community, as a whole.
People say that the players are not trusted. To a point, it is true - they aren't, completely. It's sad to say, but if there weren't so many gross and flagrant violations of the rules throughout the years, we wouldn't need the constant suspicion. Unfortunately time and time again, it's been shown that to trust players completely without any DM oversight creates problems; and understandably so - the names of past offenders are universally reviled. Still, the atmosphere can be made a good deal more 'player-friendly' as my belief is that the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction.
Something heard commonly now is that the incumbent DM Admin, Rusty, and his standards team 'ruined' or 'is ruining' ALFA. Though the complaints given are not groundless, to say that ALFA has only suffered through his tenure here is a gross exaggeration. A great deal of Rusty's work as been incomparable, one of the most solid and competent DMAs that there has been in a while. It was under his leadership that the first ALFA-wide standards were adopted, so now each DM has an easy reference as to how they should treat their respective players - to hopefully do away with the past problems that often cropped up where players were given favoritism or were 'twinked.' With the systems we have in place now, such occurrences will be far, far less commonplace.
With Rusty's administration there have been problems, of course - there is no denying that. One need not have a particularly long memory to remember the vitriol spewed across these boards only a few months ago during the last DMA election. It's clear the wounds are still fresh to many, yet we get nowhere with factionalism, having the community and administration divided; instead the lines of communication must be kept open. We must work together as a unit, forcing ourselves to find compromise where agreement is not obvious. This requires sacrifice from all sides, something which clearly is not always popular, but with that are the foundations of the community solidified.
What is the role of the Lead Admin within ALFA?
People claim the Lead Amin is a pointless figurehead, incapable of any real power. I contest it is untrue; he or she gives vision and direction to ALFA as a whole. The Admin listens to the concerns of the community and its members, both advising and directing, when the need arises. In terms of the structure she is in a unique position to alter the governance and systems within and has an obligation to do so if the need arises.
What the Administration, and all of us need to keep in mind, is this:
What makes this community are its members. Not the charter, nor the ruleset, nor the forums, nor its servers, nor anything else. We seem to often forget this. I hope to guide us back to that one tenant, the sense of community that is sorely lacking which we should all share.
What is my platform?
As can be imagined, my views of the current situation dictate a good deal of my platform. I'll outline my key positions:
Keep lines of communication open
There will always be 'drama' certainly. That does not mean that we need to succumb to the bile and vitriol that is often seen on the boards and in chat. We need, all of us, to keep an open mind and try to work together. We get nowhere with gross generalizations and shutting ourselves off from one another. Unity is what makes this community was it is and what keeps us together.
Make our systems and methods transparent
A good deal of complaint is given to the lack of transparency, especially with standards. In a way, it is related to my position above - keeping the community speaking to one another, preventing egos from taking hold. It is said 'sunlight is the best disinfectant' and that is a view I hold dear to my heart. People are naturally suspicious of that which they know nothing about - I wish to push for openness and transparency wherever possible.
Make the path to DMing easier
One key flaw in our system right now is that there are so few DMs. Another candidate has suggested we grant immediate entry to those who had been past DMs. It is good idea on the face of it, but it would need to be done carefully, and with the cooperation of the DMA. There have been a number of changes over the past months, and DMs have to be certain they are up to speed. No one likes paperwork and reading documentation, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Do not over-extend ourselves
This is key. For quite a while with NWN1 we had many too many servers for the player-base, meaning it was difficult for people to meet up with one another and just enjoy ALFA, which only fed into the effect of people becoming disenchanted with ALFA, as a whole. As much as it pains me to say it, we must not devote so many of our resources to creating new servers and regions - more has to be devoted to our existing servers and areas. In a way, our early 'Live' date was a victim of this, pushed out before it was truly ready.
Tech is vitally important
Many people, (most notable to me, those within the standards committee) ignore or simply don't always take into consideration the difficulty that those who deal with building and tech deal with to implement their edicts/recommendations/suggestions/etc. What matters, in the end, is our builders and our tech - and their resources are often are stretched quite thin. Communication is key here, and those who are not familiar with the issues taking an active interest in them, to make the lives easier of everyone involved.
Don't forget our NWN1 crowd
This is quite popular to do recently, with all the talk of NWN2 that is ever-present. We must never forget that a good many of our players and DMs still log on to the servers we have in NWN1 and make no plans to switch over to NWN2. These serves do require maintenance and DM presence, just like our current and upcoming NWN2 servers, so they cannot be abandoned or forgotten (as in the past it seems some would have it). It is my hope that that they will continue to be there for a good while.
A bit longer than I originally intended - if you managed to read through all of it, I congratulate you.
Apologies in advance if I'm unable to answer any questions given to me in a timely manner; I'm currently in the process of relocating from France lack to the US and (understandably) the move is taking up a good deal of my time at the moment.