Change the DM Administrator voting to all

White Warlock · Post by **White Warlock** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:49 pm

Hi Mayhem,

I do not disagree with your stroll through memory lane, but history serves more than one purpose. The decisions made then were based on recently transpired events, which resulted in the three D's: Dread, Distrust, and Disrespect.

Causal Dread
At the time, the community was still reeling from the great ALFAQuake, in which over half the contributors walked away in disgust. The remaining members dreaded ALFA's demise and the circumstances that lead to the Quake, so when it came to the Charter/Constitution, language and presentation focused around the idea of catering to all facets, be they players, dms, admins, or special interest groups.

The problem with this is that it created a monstrously overworked administration forced to run back and forth, putting out fires and shaking hands, rather than moving the project forward.

Causal Distrust
Also, because of the cloak & dagger associated with the Quake, as well as the irrational fear that 'powergamers' would overrun the community, everything was laid out along the lines of defending against these malcontents. What resulted was a chasm of distrust, with members looking about expecting the dagger to fall at any moment. DMs eventually were able to wrest some control away from the admins but, as a whole, the community, and its growth, is mired in the muck that has, over the years, built up within the chasm.

Causal Disrespect
Last, because of the events at that time, members became grossly disrespectful to each other and to other communities. ALFA is not elite, nor is it an elitist mentality that resides around the idea of roleplaying. It is merely a 'style' of play, in which a community bound by this credo, has maintained, within its framework and ambiance, a consistency irregardless of the occasional problem child. Unfortunately, disrespect drives people away, be it based on the perception of elitism, upon uncompromising dogmatism, internet anonymity, or failure of community leaders to adhere to, or enforce, the TOS.

There are simple answers really:

Addressing Dread
We must accept that not everyone will be happy with the community's decisions, and then be firm in clarifying that further debate on a decision is disruptive. We must ensure proper departmentalization, removing as much border ambiguity as possible. And finally, we must be 'willing' to listen to concerns and ideas, and allow for a means whereby 'ideas' are not lost within the database that is the forums. This is because dread is based on the unknown, which lingers around the idea you forgot something. Well, indeed you did. When people in this community stand up and bring an idea forward, and productive discussion ensues, with people showing interest in said idea, dissent builds as said idea scrolls into oblivion.

Addressing Distrust
We must simply stop fearing some non-existent renegade lesbian gang, armed with pink pistols, will join the ranks of ALFA and conspire to influence the votes, or change the ideals upheld by this community. It's simply not going to happen. There will always be problem makers, but as we have experienced over the many years, they are easily dealt with. However, what was initially created to deal with potential overthrow has now become a handicap to confident and decisive action.

No matter how many alarms, how many fences, gates, locks and traps you install, someone dedicated to harming this community will inevitably succeed in doing so. But, and i say this with utmost sincerity, if you open yourself up to trusting the community at large, even going so far as to removing server passwords, it will become so much 'easier' to distinguish between those who belong, and those who don't. Why? Because if you trust, and they betray your trust, it's obvious. But, if you do not trust, and don't allow opportunities for exposure, far more devious and concealing means will be implemented.

I ventured into 30+ NWN1/NWN2 communities and i can tell you that ALFA does not have the monopoly on roleplay, but also that it does not do itself a service by being so friggin' paranoid. In communities where the gates are open to anyone, occasionally a distracting player presents itself, but mostly the community's roleplay remains intact and vibrant. Even more important, numbers within a server provide the feeling of 'life.' I'm sure many of you, who have sat in empty ALFA servers, know exactly what i mean by that.

Addressing Disrespect
This one is hard to address because people within this community are entrenched in their beliefs about what should be allowed within the forums and chat. This is further flamed by the anonymity of the internet and exceedingly limited moderator autonomy. Ultimately, internal behaviors should be based upon the TOS; what is acceptable behavior and what is not, and then enforced rigidly and without exception. Granted, some 'might' leave, but most everyone will adjust and eventually 'learn' to demonstrate respect on a continuous basis.

What is presented within the forums and chat serves as a face to the world at large. When people jump into chat, or the forums, and see all these festering issues, the vitriolic debates, and the humorous, but otherwise insensitive, tomfoolery in the chatroom, they come to conclusions that undermine this community's chances for it to be anything other than 'somethingawful' forum discussions or 'Onion' articles (both of which already occurred a few times).

Simply stated, being nice isn't hard... except when you're surrounded by a bunch of people who are 'not' being nice. To encourage respect, you absolutely need to set behavioral guidelines and enforce said guidelines.

Summary
No matter how big a project ends up being, no matter how lofty its ideals, if its in a bad neighborhood, you're only going to succeed in attracting the desperate or the deviant.

In no uncertain terms, ALFA needs to clean up its act. I walked into the forums, read 30+ threads, and was amazed at how this community 'continues' to seem mean, nasty, and paranoid. There are plenty of people who don't speak out about it, and simply walk away after noting the drug-dealing, gangbanging, and graffiti.

Seriously, ALFA looks like a bad neighborhood. Create a neighborhood watch program and let's get it cleaned up.

[edited for ease of reading]

White Warlock · Post by **White Warlock** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:57 pm

MorbidKate wrote:Somebody, get the ball rolling so that all members in good standing can vote in all Admin elections. This must happen before the community gets even more pissed at what's going on.

Agreed. Already existing are the means to ensure not 'anyone' can be eligible to become an admin, so there's no need to limit the voting pool.

It may also be reasonable to consider an election for only the lead admin, with the other admin positions being appointed by the lead, with a community majority approval vote required for said appointees. Seriously, one of the things that has repeatedly undermined this version of ALFA has been the clashes of admins. Admins desperately need to be able to work together, and this piecemeal voting system not only pesters the players to vote virtually every other month for a new candidate, but leaves us with a bunch of strangers sitting together at the White House.

ThinkTank · Post by **ThinkTank** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:16 pm

TL;DR

White Warlock · Post by **White Warlock** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 12:22 am

TL;DR = Too Long, didn't read...

I broke it up into bite-size topics. Hope that helps TT.

Post by **paazin** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 12:30 am

White Warlock wrote:TL;DR = Too Long, didn't read...

I broke it up into bite-size topics. Hope that helps TT.

You'll be lucky if he reads even that comment, as it's longer than a single sentence

White Warlock · Post by **White Warlock** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 12:39 am

Hmm, maybe he should change his login name then.

JaydeMoon · Post by **JaydeMoon** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 1:03 am

You have to make your point via pictures.

Avaz · Post by **Avaz** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:08 am

JaydeMoon wrote:You have to make your point via pictures.

Particularly ones involving cats and accompanying humorous text.

ThinkTank · Post by **ThinkTank** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 11:49 am

I'll always read somthing someone took the time to edit for me.

Personaly I find the aura of paranoia and dread to be largly artifical. But that could be because I have a hard time believing that inteligent people wouldnt have the sense to figuer out: that what people type on the intertubes in public rarely reflects reality.

Case point, talk to somone using a chat program, then talk to them via phone or ventrilo, then meet them in person. 9/10 you'll have a diffrent opinion each time.

Mulu · Post by **Mulu** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 5:36 pm

We must accept that not everyone will be happy with the community's decisions, and then be firm in clarifying that further debate on a decision is disruptive.

Alright, we accept that you are not happy with the community's prior decision for our current form of governance, but you must now realize that further debate on that decision is disruptive, so stop. If you don't stop, you'll earn a strike towards being banned.

Gee, that works well, doesn't it?

ALFA changes over time, in membership and even in rules. Nothing is carved in stone here, not even the Pillars as they are so vague they are subject to interpretation. ALFA may be a chaotic community, but somehow it functions, and I would say it improves over time due to the ability to return to and debate issues and gaming approaches. It may take a while to self correct, but it happens eventually, just like in a real world democracy. I have my own laundry list of changes I would make to improve ALFA, some of which I think are critical, and I occasionally bring one or more of them up, but ALFA plods on with or without them, losing and gaining members along the way.

Which is a long-winded way of saying "go ahead and suggest change, but don't assume it will happen, or be permanent even if it does."

Oh, on topic, I actually do agree that the DMA vote should be open to all members. I think all admin posts should. The fears of a roving lesbian gang of PG'ers taking over the vote seems a bit silly.

White Warlock · Post by **White Warlock** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 12:39 am

Mulu wrote:
We must accept that not everyone will be happy with the community's decisions, and then be firm in clarifying that further debate on a decision is disruptive.
Alright, we accept that you are not happy with the community's prior decision for our current form of governance, but you must now realize that further debate on that decision is disruptive, so stop. If you don't stop, you'll earn a strike towards being banned.

Gee, that works well, doesn't it?

Actually, yes it does work well. If the community makes a decision on something and, shortly after it is voted in, those who voted against decide to harass those who voted in favor, this is unacceptable. If, at a later time, a previous decision presents problems, a 'recall vote' can be requested. Seriously Mulu, if the system is maintained, respect is repeatedly presented, and people behave with civility, things can be addressed appropriately, instead using the bully tactics that are so prevalent in ALFA.

Also, by your closing comments, it's rather clear you don't believe ALFA can change. If that is your belief, you're entitled to it, but i daresay being party to the process of resistance seems somewhat ironic, does it not?

Mulu · Post by **Mulu** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:19 am

White Warlock wrote:If, at a later time, a previous decision presents problems, a 'recall vote' can be requested.

Define "later." Is six weeks enough?
Define "presents problems." Is the fact that I and my anonymous friends don't like it enough?
Define "recall vote" in the context of a policy decision. If DMA claims to have authority to set a standard, can I and two of my buddies six weeks later request a recall vote of his decision? If it is then recalled by whatever undefined process results, who then gets to make the new decision, the same DMA? I bet I know what decision he'd make.... If someone else gets to make the decision, then who? After answering all of these and many more questions, will the end result really be less bureaucracy or a fairer system?

It's not change I'm against, it's vague promises of a better system where what is presented has more problems that the system it is trying to replace.

White Warlock wrote:Seriously Mulu, if the system is maintained, respect is repeatedly presented, and people behave with civility, things can be addressed appropriately, instead using the bully tactics that are so prevalent in ALFA.

Yes, if men were angels we would need no laws. That doesn't actually help you though since the same people will be implementing whatever new system comes in as are using the current system. Respect, civility, levity, fair-mindedness, these are not things you can regulate with a system, they are traits that people either express or do not express, regardless of the system. NWC has all of these things, but it isn't the system, it's the people. Well, it's also the fact that we all run our own games with our own rules and don't have to agree with each other on much of anything. Conflict in ALFA is caused primarily by conflicts in vision, combined with random asshattery, and no system will make that go away other than a dictatorship where one vision rules.

White Warlock wrote:Also, by your closing comments, it's rather clear you don't believe ALFA can change. If that is your belief, you're entitled to it, but i daresay being party to the process of resistance seems somewhat ironic, does it not?

I don't believe that many of the ideas you are presenting are superior to the status quo, and this is something I say to you about once every six months or so. That's not the same as being against change. As I said before, I have a laundry list of changes I would like to make here. I also think admin voting should be opened up to all members which is a sea change for this place. Can that kind of change happen? Sure. Will it happen? Only time will tell. Does it *have* to happen? No. Should all of your proposed changes be implemented? Absolutely not, in my opinion.

White Warlock · Post by **White Warlock** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:45 am

Mulu, this discussion is not about me or you. I didn't start this post, or any other post since i returned. What is being advocated here was presented by others. I merely provided additional talking points. Making it a you/me phallic competition is disruptive to these discussions, so i opt out. Besides, mine's bigger.

In answer to your above post:

a) There is a recall process already in place.

b) Nobody can change what happens inside you. They can only make an effort to change the structure of ALFA. It's your job to change yourself.

c) If you have a solution, present it.

ThinkTank · Post by **ThinkTank** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:47 am

Mulu wrote: Respect, civility, levity, fair-mindedness, these are not things you can regulate with a system, they are traits that people either express or do not express, regardless of the system.

Mulu · Post by **Mulu** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 2:19 pm