Staff overhaul

[deleted312321]

Starting strong with saying the current staff team is a mess, majority contribute nothing to the server besides pop a message in the discord every couple days. There is no suggestions made to keep the game fresh or QOL suggestions made by any staff in #community-suggestions at all, and barely any moderating done besides a select few such as: @ Tim_The_Warlord @ Richard Thick @ lux  @ Wheezer   . That's only 4/16 that do anything honestly (besides @ Menace  @ MrPickles  @ Nekota who which I'm sure does alot behide the scenes).

The staff apps also need to become stricter and harder to apply and taken more seriously, people apply, get accepted and then barely play. There needs to be some way of combating this, an example could be if inactive for X amount of days then warnings are to be made then eventual demote (again just an example). 

This is all probably easier said than done, but a overhaul definitely needs to be done with the current staff and staff apps.

Edited May 28, 2022 by lexx the perc gremlin

[Lush]

I agree with this, Pickles does alot involving maps and a few others do stuff behind the scenes but as a player that only joined like 7 months ago I hadn't even ehard some of the staff list before.

[Golden]

Agreed, multiple factors need to be taken into account when choosing new staff. i know you guys aren't fond of taking players feedback and making changes but it would be amazing!

 

 

[FARTCH13]

Valid Reason for an Overhaul, I Completely agree on this topic.

[lux]

I'm don't disagree that things need to be re-evaluated in terms of how things are structured and managed. There are definitely issues that are visable to both community and staff.

One thing I will just throw in there, is that all of us volunteer our time to moderate the server. There isn't a reward or a wage for staffing.

While yes I believe you should be active and work to earn your position in staff, it's hard to set high expectations when recruiting and managing staff, because staff are making the choice to help, all while managing their work and personal lives. Managing volunteers requires a very fine balance.

Again, not disagreeing with you, just adding my 2 cents.
 

[Trey]

I agree completely that Staff applications could use an overhaul. However following Lux's reply, life comes first and that's where the fine balance comes between volunteering to moderate and to tend to real life needs. Whilst some staff are inactive (myself included over the past few weeks) everyone on staff cares for the community and does have input/contributions. Whether that be behind the scenes or in the community openly. 

And to quote Lux: 

"Again, not disagreeing with you, just adding my 2 cents."

[Kat]

Ok to start off you're not wrong we do need to be stricter on activity, the original reason we started accepting more apps was because we wanted to give more people the opportunity to be trial and learn that way because we felt it would the best way to see if someone was ready, then start demoting people who we felt didn't make the cut, now the problem that has been occurring is that once people make it past trial I do notice inactivity.
All in all I do hear you an I will take this into account so that the staff are happy and so is the community, I have been thinking on this for awhile and lux and trey are both right but if you can't put in the time to staff maybe its best if you aren't staff, because that's the whole reason people apply is to help the server.
I have been absent recently as well but I'm back.

[Doma]

yeah, im thinking im back

[deleted312321]

10 minutes ago, BlipBlop said:

ever since I started, staffing and activity have been shit, it's always been a handful of staff that are actually active, the others fall off, and then the active ones get burnt out and eventually phase out, whilst new staff get accepted in and rinse and repeat.

saying "we have a life outside of flux - that comes first" isn't that good of an excuse...you made the commitment when you applied. do you not realize this before you apply? are you scared to tell the higher-ups that you cant put in the hours that you once did in fear of a demotion? - life changes, sometimes new things happen in life that prevent you from continuing to be a gmod staff. that is life, i think higher ups would prefer you to respectfully resign instead of holding a position of power in an unknown of "maybe they'll play more soon??"

you aren't being asked to put in hours every day (you are free workers after all), but being active is important whether on the server or in the discord. - if you were volunteering at a workplace, and you were getting burned out you would send an email or phone call saying blah blah blah I am feeling burned out, going to take a break for a few weeks. - you don't just stop showing up and only coming in when you want to, you will get kicked out and replaced.

Fantastic way of putting it, totally agree

[Limbo]

I dont really know what staff responsibilities are outside of moderating the game and discord - what causes the burnout?

Coz if thats an issue, could maybe introduce some kind of "in-between" rank between trusted and mod, or slightly raise trusted privileges, where more active/senior players can do some limited moderation tasks to reduce this burnout

Or maybe delegate the staff who are not playing as much to deal more with the discord and vice versa. 

Edited May 29, 2022 by Limbo

[lux]

8 hours ago, Limbo said:

I dont really know what staff responsibilities are outside of moderating the game and discord - what causes the burnout?

Coz if thats an issue, could maybe introduce some kind of "in-between" rank between trusted and mod, or slightly raise trusted privileges, where more active/senior players can do some limited moderation tasks to reduce this burnout

Or maybe delegate the staff who are not playing as much to deal more with the discord and vice versa. 

Speaking from my own experience here.
 

There’s a lot of discussion that goes on behind the scenes in regards to player punishments; even if they’re clear cut. As well as gathering and processing evidence to support bans/punishments. This can get tiring at times.

It can also be tiring when dealing with a swarm of reports or contentious reports where you’re bound to get backlash no matter what decision you make. Your main responsibility is to staff the server, but it can get tiring when you can hardly get a round in of actually playing the game.

All these things are magnified when the server is understaffed as well.

 

I enjoy being staff, but I thought I’d add my perspective regarding staff burnout.

[Wookie]

Now, to be clear, much of this statement refers to a minority of players, most people on the server are awesome to play with and be around. I'm gonna be completely transparent with people outside of the loop here, as this crap's getting way too out of hand.

Garry's Mod players are phenomenal and taking others for granted. A large percentage of the player base, in all game modes not just TTT, gets enjoyment out of berating and harassing users and staff, bullying behaviour basically, and in many cases far more severe than anything you would experience in the workplace, schools, or most other online platforms. Garry's Mod is by far one of the most toxic, debilitating and disengaging communities out there, which is unfortunate because there's some absolute legends in the community as well, and it's for many of these that people stick around. This does not, however, discount the enjoyment that many will get from helping try to maintain the peace within the community.

What many rule breakers don't understand is the sheer amount of lenience granted in Flux compared to other communities. Previously, we've known plenty of servers who ban for the slightest of infractions, in Flux we don't want to poison our community by trimming our numbers so harshly and coming off as power trippers and rule Nazis. Unfortunately, in cases when the rules do need to be strictly enforced, people scream abuse or start slandering the staff, and in typical Garry's Mod fashion, causes many players to jump on the same bandwagon and start the same behaviour to get a reaction from the staff member. There are only so many times a staff member can resist outright bullying for doing their job before it begins to wear them down and take a toll. If the staff members gives a reaction in any way, that is taken and abused by the bullies, which only makes the situation worse. It's the same behaviour demonstrated in the schoolyard, which is incredibly disappointing when it comes from many who no longer attend school - I would assume that they find comfort in this as they are still yet to find any purpose in the world.

This is but one factor that can affect a staff's activity, however it is a huge one that leads to many others. If a player who is behind this bullying behaviour has friends and enemies within the staff team, it can cause rifts and divides, and the feeling that one may be alone in the fight against this unacceptable behaviour. On top of this, there have been instances where staff have severely broken rules and gotten away seemingly scot free, which only further divides the team, hence the unfortunate reason that many rules have had to be more strictly enforced as of late. That is also incredibly disappointing to see from a team who are supposed enforce rules effectively and need to have each other's backs, and is another cause of why staff go absent for seemingly no reason.

Unfortunately there are no real threats to going inactive, staff tend to leave after months and months of inactivity rather than get demoted, which if anything discourages activity more than anything. With that said, the key thing to remember with staffing Flux is that this is a volunteer position, and whilst it isn't a valid excuse for lengthy durations of disappearances (months on months), life does get in the way of things. Nearly all staff members have jobs or schooling of some form to attend to, and life will always take precedent over Garry's Mod server.

 

To reiterate, much of this is directed at those who are problematic, and not the everyday TTT player. Most of you guys are awesome, there are select individuals in Flux who are a major factor in staff not wanting to be around, and until these players either pull their heads out, leave Flux, or are removed by force (which may yet happen to some), there will continue to be staff who have no incentive to play yet still wish to retain their role in the hope that one day they may feel up to it again. Of course, there are also mods who just don't want to play anymore because the game got boring after time, so we'll see how it all goes, eh?

Thank you for listening to my TED Talk.

[Golden]

17 hours ago, Wookie said:

Now, to be clear, much of this statement refers to a minority of players, most people on the server are awesome to play with and be around. I'm gonna be completely transparent with people outside of the loop here, as this crap's getting way too out of hand.

Garry's Mod players are phenomenal and taking others for granted. A large percentage of the player base, in all game modes not just TTT, gets enjoyment out of berating and harassing users and staff, bullying behaviour basically, and in many cases far more severe than anything you would experience in the workplace, schools, or most other online platforms. Garry's Mod is by far one of the most toxic, debilitating and disengaging communities out there, which is unfortunate because there's some absolute legends in the community as well, and it's for many of these that people stick around. This does not, however, discount the enjoyment that many will get from helping try to maintain the peace within the community.

What many rule breakers don't understand is the sheer amount of lenience granted in Flux compared to other communities. Previously, we've known plenty of servers who ban for the slightest of infractions, in Flux we don't want to poison our community by trimming our numbers so harshly and coming off as power trippers and rule Nazis. Unfortunately, in cases when the rules do need to be strictly enforced, people scream abuse or start slandering the staff, and in typical Garry's Mod fashion, causes many players to jump on the same bandwagon and start the same behaviour to get a reaction from the staff member. There are only so many times a staff member can resist outright bullying for doing their job before it begins to wear them down and take a toll. If the staff members gives a reaction in any way, that is taken and abused by the bullies, which only makes the situation worse. It's the same behaviour demonstrated in the schoolyard, which is incredibly disappointing when it comes from many who no longer attend school - I would assume that they find comfort in this as they are still yet to find any purpose in the world.

This is but one factor that can affect a staff's activity, however it is a huge one that leads to many others. If a player who is behind this bullying behaviour has friends and enemies within the staff team, it can cause rifts and divides, and the feeling that one may be alone in the fight against this unacceptable behaviour. On top of this, there have been instances where staff have severely broken rules and gotten away seemingly scot free, which only further divides the team, hence the unfortunate reason that many rules have had to be more strictly enforced as of late. That is also incredibly disappointing to see from a team who are supposed enforce rules effectively and need to have each other's backs, and is another cause of why staff go absent for seemingly no reason.

Unfortunately there are no real threats to going inactive, staff tend to leave after months and months of inactivity rather than get demoted, which if anything discourages activity more than anything. With that said, the key thing to remember with staffing Flux is that this is a volunteer position, and whilst it isn't a valid excuse for lengthy durations of disappearances (months on months), life does get in the way of things. Nearly all staff members have jobs or schooling of some form to attend to, and life will always take precedent over Garry's Mod server.

 

To reiterate, much of this is directed at those who are problematic, and not the everyday TTT player. Most of you guys are awesome, there are select individuals in Flux who are a major factor in staff not wanting to be around, and until these players either pull their heads out, leave Flux, or are removed by force (which may yet happen to some), there will continue to be staff who have no incentive to play yet still wish to retain their role in the hope that one day they may feel up to it again. Of course, there are also mods who just don't want to play anymore because the game got boring after time, so we'll see how it all goes, eh?

Thank you for listening to my TED Talk.

i just want the staff recruitment process to be abit more harsh just like how you guys want to staff the server. More mature people would benefit flux. idk do some sorta discord call with the applicant and go through it with more thought. you accept people over the fact they are "Nice" which soon as one gets such power of moderator he/she becomes less of "Nice". fuck i got denied my first app because i wasn't in discord as often..... yall let some dude who is "Nice" into staff who chats once every 2 MONTHS. wtf yall doin.  If yall changed up the recruitment process yall gotta backspace that shit. thats my fucking ted talk. 

[Lush]

1 hour ago, Golden said:

i just want the staff recruitment process to be abit more harsh just like how you guys want to staff the server. More mature people would benefit flux. idk do some sorta discord call with the applicant and go through it with more thought. you accept people over the fact they are "Nice" which soon as one gets such power of moderator he/she becomes less of "Nice". fuck i got denied my first app because i wasn't in discord as often..... yall let some dude who is "Nice" into staff who chats once every 2 MONTHS. wtf yall doin.  If yall changed up the recruitment process yall gotta backspace that shit. thats my fucking ted talk. 

yall yall

[deleted312321]

4 hours ago, Golden said:

i just want the staff recruitment process to be abit more harsh just like how you guys want to staff the server. More mature people would benefit flux. idk do some sorta discord call with the applicant and go through it with more thought. you accept people over the fact they are "Nice" which soon as one gets such power of moderator he/she becomes less of "Nice". fuck i got denied my first app because i wasn't in discord as often..... yall let some dude who is "Nice" into staff who chats once every 2 MONTHS. wtf yall doin.  If yall changed up the recruitment process yall gotta backspace that shit. thats my fucking ted talk. 

Real ^^

[Sleepy]

im fucking dyslexic

[Wookie]

21 hours ago, Golden said:

i just want the staff recruitment process to be abit more harsh just like how you guys want to staff the server. More mature people would benefit flux. idk do some sorta discord call with the applicant and go through it with more thought. you accept people over the fact they are "Nice" which soon as one gets such power of moderator he/she becomes less of "Nice". fuck i got denied my first app because i wasn't in discord as often..... yall let some dude who is "Nice" into staff who chats once every 2 MONTHS. wtf yall doin.  If yall changed up the recruitment process yall gotta backspace that shit. thats my fucking ted talk. 

This is in fact, incorrect. The staff apps are voted on based on multiple factors, how well an applicant gets along with the community is generally one, however it also includes activity/playtime, history with rule breakages if any, amongst other things. However I do agree that the way staff are chosen is not ideal, it hasn't been for a long time, and this needs to change or things cannot improve. In fact there needs to be many changes for things to improve, and although some may beg to differ, the fact is that there's no simple band aid fix for the way things have become.