Lead Admin Self Nomination - shad0wfax

[shad0wfax]

While your rp, recent DMing, (haven't tried but am sure it's great), tech work and general abilities are not in question (not by me at least) and you're certainly qualified in all these fields,
How do you feel about your people skills?
From my short lived experience you're argumentative, sometimes extreme in your responses, and got an "I'm smart and right and you're stupid and wrong." attitude that shines even when slight disagreements arise. And I seem to recall you had some similar issues on other servers as well, bans or whatever.

This is not aimed as a personal attack as many would likely say the same about me (at least the second part), however I'm not running for position.
So is my assumption/descrption just completely wrong?
Do you think it has no relevance to the LA position?
Or perhaps you've matured and even if this was true once apon a time it no longer is?
I don't know, not trying to troll the troll here, but seems to me like an important question.

Thank you for confidence in my RP, DMing, Tech work, and general abilities.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to highlight my interpersonal skills and allow me the chance to alleviate your concerns. To inquire about my interpersonal skills and ability to resolve conflict are absolutely appropriate and relevant to the LA position.

I will do my best to be diplomatic and respectful in all situations, but I recognize that there is always the possibility for a personality conflict between any two people. Should such a situation arise, where I am a part of the conflict, and should diplomacy fail, I would delegate a representative who understands my goals and opinions to act on my behalf. With a position of leadership, where there is some inherent authority, comes a great deal of responsibility.

As a DM, I have a responsibility to the players to provide an interesting experience for them to help them to develop their characters in a proactive manner. I also have a responsibility to ensure that the game world, and all of its NPCs, are being faithfully portrayed to the players. Sometimes that places me in a position where my own actions must be divided; on one hand I wish to see the player characters succeed and overcome the challenges set before them, but on the other hand, if the player characters make a mistake (knowingly or not), I have a duty to the game world to adjudicate that fairly, even if it means that a character's story ends.

Taking on the position of LA is similar. On one hand, I wish to see all of ALFA grow and improve. As I have stated previously in this thread, I have a platform that defines my goals and I have a framework in place to implement these goals. Not everyone will agree with all that I wish to do, should I be elected, and perhaps even some of the Admin will disagree. Should I be elected, I have a duty to the players of ALFA to operate with a clear vision for improving our game world, but I also have a duty to remain faithful to the pillars, charter, and rules that we have in place, even if that duty is at odds with my own personal desires.

As you mentioned, your experience with me was relatively brief and we had no interaction where I was in any position of authority or leadership. I do not feel that the interaction that we had was representative of my leadership skills.

The only server status that matters to the LA position on ALFA is here on ALFA, where I meet the criteria to hold an administrative position.

I will leave it to you and the other readers to determine if I have the necessary diplomatic skills, maturity, and impartiality necessary to hold the LA position.

[oldgrayrogue]

You seem really motivated Shad0wfax, and have done a lot in a short time to make improvements to BG. Kudos for that and for running.

What is your position on the following issues:

1. Reducing the number of live servers to improve player density. I love your ideas to bring more players to ALFA, but if it doesn't work would you consider reducing the number of live servers?

2. Recent debates regarding starting level and level progression in ALFA. Are you for a level 1 start or higher? Do you think we need to speed up level progression or slow it down?

3. PW style play versus campaign style play. Which do you see as our future in your vision for ALFA? Which would you prefer personally?

4. The 2 PC rule. For or against and why?

5. DM where you play. For or against and why?

6. Do you believe we need more static content in ALFA? Do the servers seem "empty" or "lifeless" to you when no DM is on? Other than bringing in more players, what would you like to see happen to change this and how do you think it can change?

7. Removing password from all servers. For or against and why?

8. What is your preferred style of RP? Adventure based roleplay or a more Sims type "tavern RP" style?

9. And finally, what do you believe to be the number one thing LA can do to improve the ALFA experience.

While I understand that LA does not decide many of these issues alone, I think it is important for the community to know where all Admin, especially the LA, personally stand on these issues. Please don't say you will promote the collective "will of ALFA" and that your personal opinions do not matter. I am interested to know where you stand on these issues personally. Thanks in advance for your anticipated reply and thanks again for volunteering your time to ALFA.

[shad0wfax]

You seem really motivated Shad0wfax, and have done a lot in a short time to make improvements to BG. Kudos for that and for running.

What is your position on the following issues:

1. Reducing the number of live servers to improve player density. I love your ideas to bring more players to ALFA, but if it doesn't work would you consider reducing the number of live servers?

2. Recent debates regarding starting level and level progression in ALFA. Are you for a level 1 start or higher? Do you think we need to speed up level progression or slow it down?

3. PW style play versus campaign style play. Which do you see as our future in your vision for ALFA? Which would you prefer personally?

4. The 2 PC rule. For or against and why?

5. DM where you play. For or against and why?

6. Do you believe we need more static content in ALFA? Do the servers seem "empty" or "lifeless" to you when no DM is on? Other than bringing in more players, what would you like to see happen to change this and how do you think it can change?

7. Removing password from all servers. For or against and why?

8. What is your preferred style of RP? Adventure based roleplay or a more Sims type "tavern RP" style?

9. And finally, what do you believe to be the number one thing LA can do to improve the ALFA experience.

While I understand that LA does not decide many of these issues alone, I think it is important for the community to know where all Admin, especially the LA, personally stand on these issues. Please don't say you will promote the collective "will of ALFA" and that your personal opinions do not matter. I am interested to know where you stand on these issues personally. Thanks in advance for your anticipated reply and thanks again for volunteering your time to ALFA.

Thank you for your kind words. To be thanked for work is always appreciated, and you are welcome.

• I would support reducing the number of live servers to improve player density if I felt that a live server was not being used by DMs and players alike. At the moment, the only server I would consider on that block is Western Heartlands because of Teric's absence and it going unused. However, I also am aware that there is at least one DM planning a campaign there, so I think that it would be wise to wait a bit and transfer HDM status to a new HDM if Teric does not return.
  
  Part of the brilliance of ALFA's design is the multiple server portal system, and the ability for players to move from one server to another. There have been times where TSM has been empty for months on end, only to have twelve players on it regularly months later. Thus, shutting down a server should not be done lightly, especially in the case of a largely functional server like BG, MS, or TSM. The reason I named WHL as a potential candidate for removal is that it is largely devoid of creatures when a DM is not active.
• I support a level 1 start and am against a level 2 or higher start. I also feel that character advancement is too slow from level 1 to 3. I feel that a level 1 start with a more rapid advancement, still moderated by the DMA, can be achieved.
  
  I oppose a level 2+ start because ALFA servers do have static content and that static content is geared toward a level 1 start. To open up a level 2, or level 3 start would cause builders to have to re-build the module, update the quests, update spawns, and change spawns to reflect a higher level start. This creates an undue burden on builders and developers, who we could always use more of, and also leaves us with higher CR encounters close to town or a vast wasteland of boring terrain of "trash" to slog through, with low CR monsters that no one cares about, before the players get to the "good stuff." Neither option is preferable in my opinion. The former is unreasonable; why would monsters be so close to town? The latter is boring; why would we want to walk for hours just to get somewhere? Some compression in terrain distance is a good thing.
  
  Furthermore, allowing a higher level start and then having builders respond to this by gearing static content toward a higher level start simply increases the lethality of the statics and begins a vicious circle of escalation between starting level and difficulty in terms of CR. I feel that the far more appropriate way to stymie the CR power creep is to keep a level 1 start and encourage active DMing, or in the absence of active DMing, provide suitable static content to maintain interest and drive character progression.
  
  That said, I am also a firm believer that players should enjoy their characters and have a sense of development. HEEGZ has had a house rule on BG that allows for Bonus XP for level 1 and level 2 characters, and encourages a faster XP progression from level 1 to 3, with DM time. I believe that having DM time for players at the lower levels is important, and I would encourage each HDM to offer guidance to their DM team for a moderated, but faster XP progression in the first two levels on all live servers. This is how I would encourage growth and alleviate the level one doldrums.
• I do not believe that PW and Campaign play are mutually exclusive. I believe that actions within a campaign have an effect on the game world, and that ALFA, being the persistent world that it is (or is supposed to be, by our pillars), can reflect the actions of characters in a "campaign" in the world in a persistent manner. So I believe both apply, unless I am misunderstanding your question. If the two are mutually exclusive in your mind, please clarify how, and I can answer in more detail.
• Given that we have four live servers, I think that the 2 PC limit is a good limit. I was for the change when it was proposed for several reasons. First, so long as the two characters never meet or interact with one another, this allows more flexibility for players to enjoy ALFA with their friends in a wider variety of settings. It also allows more flexibility with play times for people playing across time zones. Second, the old temp-retirement system was a fair bit of work administratively, and the two PC limit removes that burden from the staff. I would not be opposed to a 3 or even 4 PC limit if we had more servers to choose from, but with 4 live servers, I think that the 2 PC limit is ideal. I also believe that history has shown the 2 PC limit to be widely popular among players and not a burden for the DM or Admin team. I am not aware of any significant discipline issues resulting from the 2 PC limit, so I think that the evidence suggests that it has been a positive change.
• I am against the idea of DMing where you play. Although I am aware that a HDM may, at their discretion, allow an exception for this, I personally feel that the avoidance of meta-gaming is difficult. I would never play where I DM, and if I were HDM, I would never allow a DM on my team to play where they DM.
• With the new diminishing returns system in the ACR, I believe that BG and TSM have enough static content available to players (at least newer characters) if a DM is not online, to spark interest and group play, as well as offer some solo play. I feel that WHL is largely lifeless without a DM. Moonshaes is large and spread out, and has a very different feel than BG or TSM, but I do not feel that it is entirely lifeless; it's just more decentralized. With the relaxation of the "farming" rules, I feel that players do have the freedom to explore the statics without fear, and I feel that what is present on TSM and BG is adequate. I am also working to place more content in BG, as I am building and DMing there, and I think that speaks for itself on my opinion about static content on the servers; adequacy is fine, but there can always be more for players to do and we can always improve, if we have a motivated build team. I have the ability to change BG for what I think is the better, but I do not have that same direct ability with TSM, MS, or WHL. As LA, I could only hope to encourage and motivate HDMs and builders to continually improve their servers. I believe that the first priority there should be WHL, as that is our least fleshed out server.
• I think that having a single open server, with the rest of the servers password protected is a good strategy for us. Doing this would allow us to put our most active server (players and DMs), with the most static content, and the most polished areas forward into the public eye, and act as a hook to get people interested in ALFA that may have been unwilling to put the effort into applying to a closed server before. I am a bit biased in this, but I would say that BG is our best server at the moment for that, and I don't think that MS is the right choice to be open, at the moment, although it is right now.
• I prefer adventure to "The Sims". However, I prefer long-term intrigue to both. I enjoy working with various factions, and providing a more sandbox feel to the game world for players, where they have full control over their own actions and can try to do just about anything within the game rules, and then the world can react to those actions. I love giving players full creative freedom over their destinies while also ensuring that their actions have the appropriate consequences, and I love playing in a game world where I feel that I have total control over my character.
• To me, the most important thing that the LA can do for ALFA is to oversee the Admin team with impartiality and objectivity. Although appropriate vetoes, conflict resolution, PR, elections, and charter amendment proposals are all important, I believe that keeping the Admin team functioning smoothly and cohesively is by far the most important ting the LA can do.

[Veilan]

Who is your favorite ex-LA, and why?

My favorite former LA is Veilan

Aww...

,simply because he was the LA who was active when I was most active as a player.

Oh. Never mind then .

[shad0wfax]

Who is your favorite ex-LA, and why?

My favorite former LA is Veilan

Aww...

,simply because he was the LA who was active when I was most active as a player.

Oh. Never mind then .

Pfft

I had to be honest. Full disclosure and all. Don't worry, you still have the best character ever on TSM!

[oldgrayrogue]

Thanks for the detailed response. As to campaign vs PW style of play, my question was aimed at the notion that many see ALFA as heading inevitably to a "campaign only" platform due to the age of the game, lack of players etc. From your answer it sounds like you prefer a PW with campaigns going on in it and impacting the gameworld, which is what our platform is now.

[shad0wfax]

Ah, thank you for the clarification on campaign vs PW. Yes, I prefer a PW where campaigns impact the world. I feel that it's worth the extra effort to ensure that players actions are noticed and have consequences in the game world as a whole.

[trentfrompunchy83]

My questions relate directly to your ability to communicate with others and your ethics – all qualities I feel are important in a leader.

As you mentioned, your experience with me was relatively brief and we had no interaction where I was in any position of authority or leadership. I do not feel that the interaction that we had was representative of my leadership skills.

I, however, have had extensive experience with you and find that answers to kids concerns are lacking. My first question relates to your ability to communicate effectively, contribute to productive relations and resolve conflict:

1. From my talks with you in the past, you were the source of OOC drama involving yourself and various other players (muse for starters) that resulted in OOC warnings and “stay away from player X” orders being issued on both sides (please elaborate if this summary is not correct).

In this instance why was there a source of drama? Why did it escalate? What communication techniques did you employ to try and resolve the issue/s and why did they fail? Why could you not just agree to disagree and stay away from each other without intervention?

2. During this period you often mentioned continuing your OOC grievance via IC means, specifically, soliciting me to utilise my higher lvl PC to gank muse’s PC Thai’s (meta gaming in this manner was reported to the BG DM team at the time by myself and serves as the only proof that this occurred).

Do you feel this is appropriate behaviour for an ALFA player? Do you feel that someone that stoops to this level should be given a position of authority in this community?

 For the time I no longer play in this community but felt the need to post due to taking exception to how you’re ‘going after’ Boom (through quickly deleted, trollish posts) and Cloud (via manipulation of her words) which are all contrary to the expert political spin you are creating around yourself.

[shad0wfax]

Spoiler:

My questions relate directly to your ability to communicate with others and your ethics – all qualities I feel are important in a leader.

As you mentioned, your experience with me was relatively brief and we had no interaction where I was in any position of authority or leadership. I do not feel that the interaction that we had was representative of my leadership skills.

I, however, have had extensive experience with you and find that answers to kids concerns are lacking. My first question relates to your ability to communicate effectively, contribute to productive relations and resolve conflict:

1. From my talks with you in the past, you were the source of OOC drama involving yourself and various other players (muse for starters) that resulted in OOC warnings and “stay away from player X” orders being issued on both sides (please elaborate if this summary is not correct).

In this instance why was there a source of drama? Why did it escalate? What communication techniques did you employ to try and resolve the issue/s and why did they fail? Why could you not just agree to disagree and stay away from each other without intervention?

2. During this period you often mentioned continuing your OOC grievance via IC means, specifically, soliciting me to utilise my higher lvl PC to gank muse’s PC Thai’s (meta gaming in this manner was reported to the BG DM team at the time by myself and serves as the only proof that this occurred).

Do you feel this is appropriate behaviour for an ALFA player? Do you feel that someone that stoops to this level should be given a position of authority in this community?

 For the time I no longer play in this community but felt the need to post due to taking exception to how you’re ‘going after’ Boom (through quickly deleted, trollish posts) and Cloud (via manipulation of her words) which are all contrary to the expert political spin you are creating around yourself.

I am not at liberty to discuss anything involving Muse's player or character. All such information is to remain between Muse and I, or in the case of a conflict, resting in the hands of a PA who intervenes between players that may have a conflict.

I am not going to discuss details of any admin decisions or details of any PMs or private conversations in this thread either. The admin have already weighed in on Boom's thread for similar behavior.

Regarding metagaming, I have never received any formal censure or strike for metagaming. At no point has an admin issued such against me. Thus it is safe to say that where I am involved, I am innocent of metagaming accusations. If you feel that I have wronged you as a player (not someone else, but you), then I encourage you to take it up with the PA.

There is a proper way to handle things, and I do not at all believe that this post warrants a clarification of my platform or my ability to engage in civil discourse and resolve conflict.

[trentfrompunchy83]

There is a proper way to handle things, and I do not at all believe that this post warrants a clarification of my platform or my ability to engage in civil discourse and resolve conflict.

On the contrary – previous dealings with players is quite relevant to your ability to work with others, resolve disputes, and, generally get along with a level head. However I think the careful way in which you worded your stonewall, coupled with how you engage your perceived rivals speaks volumes of concerns that were raised by kid.

Note that neither Cloud nor Boom (after he nominated himself) made a post in your thread – contrary to your own actions to freely wade in to theirs in an attempt to discredit them. Very telling of how you deal with people, isn’t it?

As far as you challenging me (another instance of how you deal with people?) – no thanks. I make no attempt to hide my distain for your type of ALFA player, nor my motivations for posting this – that doesn’t make it any less valid.

Thanks for answering my questions better than any spin could have.

[Dorn]

Ok that's enough now please.

The moderation team would like to see a universal improvement in the standard if debate around this election.

This is not a place for personal attacks. Questions of character and capability can and should be made in a mature manner. Without spite. And this does not apply solely to Trent.

We gave had to intervene twice now. Which is two times too many times.

This is a computer game people. For gods sakes chill out.

[Heero]

This is a computer game people. For gods sakes chill out.

This is life or death and I will fight you on this matter until my dying breath.

[danielmn]

Had the current PA at the time been brought metagaming accusations by the BG team, believe me, I think there would have been formal charges. Just because you got away with it, doesn't mean you're innocent.

Dorn, feel free to give me an infra strike if you believe the above goes counter to your last posting. I certainly don't mean to disrespect your position at all.

[shad0wfax]

Had the current PA at the time been brought metagaming accusations by the BG team, believe me, I think there would have been formal charges. Just because you got away with it, doesn't mean you're innocent.

Formal charges do not a strike make. Accusations are easy to make, but they don't imply guilt. I won't be baited into discussing or debating matters that have no business in the public domain and amount to unsubstantiated personal attacks. I will, however speak in general, as the appeal of an admin decision is within the LA domain.

If an HDM is given evidence of meta gaming and/or griefing, there should be formal charges filed. If, after investigation, the evidence is found to be substantiated, then those charges should result in discipline. The same holds true if the issue is raised with the PA, which is more consistent with ALFA's charter. The details of any such investigation are held in confidence, as recently affirmed in another thread, and only the results of the investigation are publicized; this is as much to protect the accused and the accuser as it is to protect the investigators hashing out the details of an incident through the course of their investigation.

If such charges were investigated at the HDM/EADM level and it was dropped, or charges were brought to a PA and it was dropped, then what is important is that the issue was dropped. The proper response to the issue being dropped is to either accept that decision as just, and that the accusation did not have merit, or to appeal such an admin decision to the LA, if there was an improper decision made.

If there was wrongdoing at the HDM or admin level, this sort of accusation should go to the DMA if the DM team was involved, or to the LA if the PA was involved.

That is how conflict resolution in ALFA is structured, and that is the structure I am committed to if I am elected. What I will not do is inject personal bias into an issue or sling mud on the forums.

[danielmn]

The issue was made known to the PA via a BG DM. However, since the PA was unwilling to grant amnesty to the player reporting for any wrongdoing the reporting player may have committed, the issue was dropped without any specifics being made known to the PA. Without knowing anything other than who the "problem child" was, without any specifics, the PA could not proceed with anything.

This is not mud slinging, merely factual information. No charges were filed, you got lucky. Period.
And since there were no charges filed, and no investigation, I can speak of it openly.

and THAT's how conflict resolution is handled unfortunately. Since the PA was unwilling to make assurances that the reporter would not also suffer recrimination for any act they committed....well....no charges filed. You want to sit here and act like you did nothing wrong, that's on you. And it certainly does go to your responsibility, credibility, and how you treat others in the community, all relevant aspects when you are running for admin.

You'd have been better off coming clean, saying, "yep, I did that, but it was a mistake and I've learned from it." Too late now. Never run for Senator!

However, I will say thank you for stepping up as both DM and HDM. It's good to see your drive and initiative.