Duck One wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 3:13 pm
What have you done to reach out? How do you proactively support the DM's? What do you do to inspire them? Ever held a meeting to discuss topics? Ever solicit ideas? Ever delegate to someone else and empower them? Simply sitting and waiting for people coming to you then issuing a decree from on high is not genuine leadership. Far better than putting out fires is anticipating them and preventing them before they arise.
I reached out to a HDM on your behalf and resolved your conflict to mutual satisfaction. That's what I did to reach out and proactively support players and DMs alike.
My philosophy is to oversee the HDMs and servers per the charter and the rulebook, not to shape HDM policy. I view HDM autonomy as consistent with the Charter, and more ideal than trying to impose my opinion on HDMs.
The HDMs and DMs talk frequently in discord, and none have asked for a meeting. I'm not opposed to a meeting, but I sit through enough meetings at work not to want to make a meeting if there's not a clear agenda with open action items to discuss, and personnel assigned to resolve those action items and report on their success at the next meeting.
There are no fires to put out.
Duck One wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 3:13 pm
That is separation of powers, not sharing of leadership. Sharing is taking turns, delegation, trusting that everyone on the team has something to contribute. I wrote
this 5 years ago during a different ALFA election, and the responses in the thread are telling. I stepped down as the first ALFA DM Admin because having been a part of writing the charter and serving in the first admin, I had done my part and recognized that others needed a chance to contribute. Being part of a team means trusting that others on the team can also be effective. To be a good leader you also need to be able to be a good follower. You have had this role for an extremely long time, don't you think it is time to see what someone else could bring?
The election process will determine if the seat changes hands. "Sharing" is ingrained in our charter. It's not up to me to determine if someone else will bring something to the table, it's up to the voters.
Duck One wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 3:13 pm
Your "accomplishments" you cite are things that happened while you were sitting in the seat. You managed to be present when events occurred. You didn't list any initiatives you launched or things you have done to improve. Could it be that you never had to discipline a DM because so little DMing was going on? Is that really something to trumpet?
Absolutely, not needing to discipline a DM is something to trumpet. If a DMA has to take an active role in ALFA decisions, it means that a HDM or a DM has done something out of hand and contrary to Pillars, Charter, Standards, or Rulebook. I take pride in not needing to step in and moderate DMs.
I do not view the DMA role as an advocacy position nor a public relations position; the Charter does not support that philosophy either.
It's HDMs who make us shine. It's HDMs who put in the hours and draw attention to players, and advocate for new DMs. When a DM returned to DM, I actively recruited her to HDM, and she graciously agreed to do so. She is very active.
I take that as an accomplishment.
Our other HDM has been incredibly active for the other two servers, and I did not recruit her to HDM, but I did appoint her to HDM while I was taking a leave of absence from HDMing. She was gracious enough to accept being HDM of two servers, instead of one.
Both of these HDMS rightly deserve the credit for their successes; I only empower them to continue doing what they do on their own by keeping out of their business while ensuring that they are working within ALFA guidelines, and they are doing so.
Duck One wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 3:13 pm
How often are you DMing? Are you planning on staying?
As I stated above, I'm not DMing actively right now. I plan to remain active in ALFA.
Duck One wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 3:13 pm
You may not want the "blame", but the responsibility was yours to manage. I don't see any cross-server campaigns you orchestrated. I don't see any marketing materials. I don't see any outreach to DM's to see what they need. You didn't bring me in, nor I doubt Wynna. I showed up and you said "okay", but it was not in response to anything you've done. I'm here in spite of you, not because of you. You had years to do something.
You are assigning blame for something that is not in my control. The DMA is not the HDM overloard. The HDMs didn't ask for cross-server campagins. ALFA has had very few cross-server campaigns, and the few that it did have were at the HDM request with the DMA overseeing it.
You are wrong about Wynna. She was an inactive DM who returned to DMing. I specifically approached her and asked her if she would be willing to take on the HDM role, and she graciously accepted.
You're a DM because of me. Your behavior with one of the HDMs as a player created a situation that I had to resolve. I accepted your application to DM in spite of my negative interaction with you and that HDM, because I did not want to allow my personal distaste for your attitude and communication skills to prevent the players who do enjoy being DMed by you from having that opportunity.
So yes, you are a DM in spite of your poor attitude and behavior, because of me, not in spite of me.
I strongly dislike you, and yet, here you are, a DM in good standing, and I'm glad for that.
I'm glad that there are players who have the opportunity to enjoy your DMing.
Duck One wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 3:13 pm
Even if it is a lifetime appointment, at some point that person will die, and the responsibility will transition to someone else. The very first thing any good leader who cares about the responsibility they assume is make a plan on how they will hand off that responsibility to the next person. I take it by your response that you have nothing to transition. You have no ongoing plots to manage, no dialogues with DM's to sustain, no open issues to transition, no ongoing initiatives which will need follow-through. You are saying that you are such a passive admin that all you do is wait for the phone to ring, answer it curtly, and are done, and nothing about your administration should be pending what-so-ever when you leave office. It doesn't sound like it's that complicated for anyone to manage, so are you really adding that much value?
You failed to answer the question, by the way. If the people speak, and their voice is to go with someone else, will you support the will of the people? Will you do your best to help the incoming admin be ready to assume the responsibility? In other words, do you care about the project enough to help it even when you're not in charge?
Again, you seem to have a grand vision for the DMA role that is not defined in the charter or the rulebook.
It's almost like this is your campaign thread.
We have a fundamental disagreement on the purpose of the DMA role. We have a fundamental disagreement on DM style as well.
I'm not here to win your vote. But if you want to be petty, spiteful, vindictive, passive-aggressive, and melodramatic, I'll throw popcorn at that troll.