The Administration addresses the Community

Hello again, Aeria.

The reason because this thread is in Help and Support is because we, the staff, would like your help in figuring out how we're doing.

In the past couple months since Aeria's return, the administration has faced the usual challenges that are unlikely to surprise anyone, and some new challenges stemming from recent changes in both our setting and our approach to roleplay. Even so, we continue to expand the limits of Aeria, both in the opportunities we offer for roleplay, the mediums of roleplay we cover, the lore behind our world, and most importantly, granting the community the ability to contribute more to that world beyond just acting in it. In pursuit of all that, our projects continue to grow, and there isn't a day that goes by when we aren't adding something to our to-do list. In addition to these things, we try to maintain order and balance and assist everyone in meeting their roleplaying needs without shirking or impairing the needs of others.

It has been, without a doubt, a difficult first two months, but we are pleased with the progress we've made. Now, the staff would like to know what you, the community, thinks of Aeria and its administration. How are we doing, what do you think we're doing right, what are we doing wrong, and how do you suppose we would improve on either of those, if at all?

no venom, you may not use your strange gif to reply

u guise r dumb go aweh.

Your job sucks and I don't envy you.

But from my narrow perspective you're doing good, so keep it up!

[Insert generic motivational poster.]

You're doing horrible and you should FEEL horrible.

Wait a second...

Pretty good considering you guys have lives and all.
We've got a new pool of people and things look lively.

One thing though,
I want is that everyone to learn to just fucking bite the bullet and not grind each other out.

Don't fucking be a dick to everyone oocly.
Respect and work things out properly and don't cause a fucking drama scene.
Everyone learns that, or else.

pat is a failure.
that is all.

Damn it Kain. That gif was made for this moment.

ask for srs

get pat jokes and image macros

lol

Kain wrote:

ask for srs

get pat jokes and image macros

lol

2cool4school

Two words.

No way. Everything is improv. Improv forever and ever. Schedules are for sissies like Vorn Tyrr.

I know the pressures of running a roleplaying community are great, and I must say, I think that the Administration team is doing well in handling the issues that the players come to them with, and holding the reigns of this community. However, I will do my best to give an honest, and thorough review, focusing mostly on administration, but also facets of roleplaying and other key issues.

I'll also try to keep track of my points.

1: Recent events and Attempt at Advantage Taken of my Person:

As I'm sure you all know, there was a spat that occurred roughly one week ago that saw the dismissal of three veteran roleplayers from Aeria, culminating various old, harsh feelings in ways that were perhaps less mature than they were effective. I do not blame the administration for their actions, however, I felt for at least one of these persons as someone whom I respected and could call a friend; having said that, I will not defend him (Krug, didn't really know the other two, cept Zaku's trolling), because what has happened has happened, and he intended to leave long before events came to their climax.

What I mean to discuss, is this: This must have festered for awhile, and having stemmed from something; the sort of animosity I saw does not brew entirely over nothing, at least not in someone I'd expect would be within a fantasy roleplay. I can't help but feel that something could've been done, but instead I saw the same claims being lashed at both sides, the word elitist being used in every other sentence, and little factual evidence to support any of these claims. Now, if I'm not here to defend those blamed, why am I bringing this up?

I bring it up because I was approached, various times, by various peoples, to take a stance on one side versus the other. Repeatedly I looked over what I had seen personally, and reflected over what information I was continually battered with; to the point ,I actually stopped going on Aeria for a period of days, because my Drama Meter had reached a week's worth of capacity. It wasn't just the side of those who left, but those who were trying to get them to leave; I can only go by what I know, because of the sheer quantity of claims and the lack of evidence thereof, that showed me what kind of person each person was.

In the whole elitism arguement, I stood at a middle ground; I felt for the persons whom I respected on either side, but being new, I had not witnessed any of the claims that these people had presented (save perhaps Zaku being a troll; I saw his post regarding Aeria admins where he assaulted the administration, and posted a rather lengthy and private account that someone had relayed to another, and I can't help but feel that was entirely uncalled for). I would like to say I'm placing my best foot forward, and going to look past the entire scenerio; I would only ask that perhaps that these things be handled with respect: perhaps this is a statement more so to the community, than the administration. Still, I felt that, to bring myself closure and to wash my hands of this entire spat, I needed to say this.



2: Regarding Crime and Justice, DetectiveRP and CriminalRP

As much as might not like footpads and ne'er-do-wells causin' a ruckus... its great for passive, and in truth, sometimes the bad guy does get away with the bad things that he does, which is why I want to bring this up. Criminals and ruffians should not be discouraged IC due to OoC reasoning; I feel it breaks the realism and the legitmacy of the roleplaying experience. Sure, Surna might experience a rise in criminal vagabonds from time to time; but proper IC actions should then be taken. Weighting good guys slightly because of overwhelming badguys is a last resort, but better than diverting the flow of roleplaying by trying to impose balance into nature and life; where balance is a shifting, ever changing thing.

I bring this up for two reasons. It was revealed to me that my character Seth Hasold was held in the pending process by one or two people due to his being a less-than-paragon soul; while I'm fine with him being denied and given a proper grave, I feel that viewing him with Negative Bias from the start of his approval SOLELY because of his evil alignment is perhaps disrespectful to the character, and breaks roleplay continuity. I can understand if it was how I played him, but those who played with Seth actually seemed to have positive regards for my combat; as well, I kept him within the realm of mortality, he would have been struck dead, were it not for a winning dice roll. I do not mean to dispute his Denial, because ultimately it came down to lore disagreement, and that's an entirely separate issue; I mean to state that criminal/evil characters should not be discouraged out of character, and should they be in high abundance in Aeria, then proper IC actions / events can be taken.

In addition to this, I would like to bring up the DetectiveRP I saw while on Seth Hasold. I have not been here long, but I hope it is not entirely the same as what I saw in Aeria that day. Five minutes after an attack made by Seth, which was thankfully interrupted by others at some point, because I really didn't want to PK anyone. One person stood out from the rest, this man was Solus; now, his intellectual capacity, nor his ability to perhaps be a sleuthing detective are no way in dispute here, but what I would dispute is how he played it. There was no thinking, no pausing, no juxtaposing facts to see if something fails to a test, no examining, he immediately said almost word for word exactly what happened, immediately recognized with slight murkyness Seth's background and abilities, and then his last actions were the icing on the cake. He, without weaving, summoned a spirit from the Earth, and bade it to "follow his exact path without fail"; I was a little shocked when I saw this, and who wouldn't, who would commit a crime if a specter will lead the authorities, without fail, all the way to the criminal no matter what they do; especially if this specter can be summoned, and used to track the figure minutes, or hours after the transgressor is gone?

I do not mean to blame Xeloras' integrity, nor his ability to roleplay, neither of those things are in dispute here; however, I do hope that DetectiveRP is NOT handled this way in Aeria, or crime is just... well... it wouldn't exist, and that's boring.




I have more points, but I can't remember them, I had to rewrite these two paragraphs entirely after losing them once. I'll edit this, or post more concerns, depending on how replies after this statement comes.

When drama hits, if you're not involved, it's best to stay that way.

Munroe wrote:

When drama hits, if you're not involved, it's best to stay that way.

Just how I handled it. = ) Took a couple days away to stay that way though.

Regarding your first point.

The administration handled the bans in accordance with the offenders' present and past misbehavior; the bans were not vengeful, but a reaction to the direct obstruction of rules and misconduct by the offenders. We do not claim that these three were good or bad people, or that they were of more or less value to the community than anyone else, but they have repeatedly shown disrespect for the staff, the rules and their fellow players. This can only be tolerated to a point, and second chances have their limits. Regardless of what anyone may say, we are never happy to lose a good roleplayer. With all that said, I expect this to be the last major player conflict for a long time, and again, I apologize that it wasn't handled better. Even after several years of being a part of this community, we, the staff, still have as much to learn about our jobs as anyone else about their own.

Regarding your second point.

Solus is another older character. Every character has their niche in some way: the monster hunters hold their title for obvious reasons. The Watch holds dominion over law and order, and they have the masses on their side to pass judgement. Players operating in the underworld of Surna obviously have their ties and prey on others, so they're usually one step ahead of the masses. Solus Weathers has ties to the dead, to ancestors, and to Surna's extensive past and history. He is not a physically or magically powerful man, but in his own way, he's very resourceful. The roleplayer behind him is brilliant, too, and I wouldn't take Xel as one to asspull.

The incident sounds more like a personal bout between Xeloras' actions and your interpretation. I think if you want to get that settled, you should speak with him over Steam. But, no, that's not typically how crime and detective rp is handled. There is no specific way and it would be beyond us to enforce one style of rp over another, really; it always varies.

Edit: I've just been informed that you have talked it over, so disregard my response.

Overseer wrote:

Regarding your first point.

The administration handled the bans in accordance with the offenders' present and past misbehavior; the bans were not vengeful, but a reaction to the direct obstruction of rules and misconduct by the offenders. We do not claim that these three were good or bad people, or that they were of more or less value to the community than anyone else, but they have repeatedly shown disrespect for the staff, the rules and their fellow players. This can only be tolerated to a point, and second chances have their limits. Regardless of what anyone may say, we are never happy to lose a good roleplayer. With all that said, I expect this to be the last major player conflict for a long time, and again, I apologize that it wasn't handled better. Even after several years of being a part of this community, we, the staff, still have as much to learn about our jobs as anyone else about their own.

I understand that they had their reasons for having to go, and I do not mean to insinuate that the administration did a poor job; you showed civility, and took their spite however it may have been channeled. What I did wish to express is that perhaps that, like almost always, there could be room for improvement in this regard. I think that the administration is doing a good job of learning, adapting, and doing their best to do what they can for everyone on this server; of that, I am sure, and I appreciate it.

Overseer wrote:

Edit: I've just been informed that you have talked it over, so disregard my response.

Yup, he was very kind and approached with exactly what happened, and exactly what I misunderstood. = ) I just brought it up because I wasn't sure if that was something specific to this server regarding DetectiveRP, but he has shown me, as I thought, that like all RP on Aeria: It made sense and came to validity.

I would also like to thank you personally for gauging my responses in detail.