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Take what I say with a grain of salt, since I only rejoined TF2 in early- to mid-December and my recent experience with Vaporeon is limited. However, from past experience with Vaporeon as a mod and an admin, I have to agree with Vector's earlier response. Vaporeon certainly has been around for a long time, knows the rules, and puts a lot of time into playing on our servers. However, that experience or longevity does not directly correlate with maturity or good judgment. To my recollection, during his time as a staff member, Vaporeon was consistently adamant about enforcing the letter of the law. While moderators (and other staff members) have a responsibility to punish rulebreakers, that is not the end goal. The goal is to ensure that the other players' experience is not negatively impacted by some asshole who is seeking to cause trouble. To put it simply, moderators should conduct themselves as both law enforcement and community representatives. When one aspect is neglected, it impacts the decision-making capability of the staff member in question. Conversely, I recall some moderators who were too lenient in administering punishments -- neglecting the law enforcement aspect -- which resulted in favoritism and failure to recognize and stop obvious rulebreaking. Also, a staff member needs to recognize that they are not above reproach. If they delivered a punishment that did not fit the violation, they need to recognize that and adjust the punishment accordingly. Staff should be accountable to the players they serve. If a player criticizes their behavior, that is not "staff disrespect" by default. (I make it a point not to use that term because it's usually an unfair characterization and just makes you look like an asshole.) With regard to his spray, I honestly don't think it is appropriate or befitting of a staff member. Irrespective of his sexual preferences, If we hold "regular" players accountable for fetish sprays and punish them accordingly, then we should hold staff members to the same standard. In my experience, Vaporeon was very defensive about his spray and his decisions as a staff member and often reacted to immediate criticism with swift punishment, which in turn resulted in some harsh criticisms of his general behavior (some of them unfair, but others certainly justified). Bottom line, if you feel that Vaporeon's behavior has improved in the past year and that the above points are now inapplicable, I have no problem giving him a +1. Until then, it's a -1 from me.

Thank you for your feedback; I'd much rather have a well-explained and backed-up -1 than a brief and unjustified +1. I agree with you that I was far too focused on the aspect of punishing rule-breakers in my time as mod, and my strictness led to alienation and frustration for many people, like Vector. At the time, I was frustrated with the large amount of staff that neglected their duty and viewed it as my responsibility to crack down on anyone and everyone. I realize now that that wasn't the correct course of action, and that there are other responsibilities as a mod, such as maintaining a positive atmosphere overall. I've been working hard on making myself a more pleasant person to be around.

Two areas of the map are related to gaming, a really small Minecraft part, and a Mario Kart area. I don't necessarily understand how this is a problem, there are plenty of maps with the spawns "right next to eachother" Abusing this room is already against the rules, as it allows normal users to exploit the map in a way that is not intended for them. @Aegean got specific permission from the MassCC owner to use the MassCC map, as long as it is an older version of the map and not their current version.

Thanks!

And I appreciate a calm, well-reasoned reply. I don't give -1's lightly and when I do, I try to give a clear reason for doing so. I do empathize with you that there were a lot of "buddy" moderators before, and though I'm not calling anyone out, I'm relieved that they have improved their behavior, resigned, or been removed. From my limited observations, you seem much more patient, friendly, and mature in your recent conduct on TGH and Poketrade than previously noted. Good luck on your application. :)

Except for the fact that like no one ever really uses them unless a staff member/uber donator purposefully goes through the effort of starting them up since only they can do it

Fair enough, I rescind that part. Thanks for linking the PSA, I must have missed that one.

We don't hold regular players accountable for sprays that don't go against this: xG-News - A New Year! January Update | Xeno Gamers and Vaporeon's spray does not go against these guidelines, it is allowed and his sprays should not distinguish whether he gets staff or not. Otherwise I don't have anything to say against your opinion

+1 ive seen him before and he is a super chill dude and always enforces rules. would be a good addition to the staff roster.

Him getting a bit antsy was about 2 years ago and even then I hardly ever even saw it myself despite being on TGH everyday. Also, reference to this: PSA: New rule regarding sprays, avatars and customizable items | Xeno Gamers Vore being on the server does not break the spray guideline, and on the forums @Vaporeon had this profile picture for years without any issue whatsoever. I still think it's entirely irrelevant for his kinks to be related to this thread whatsoever, but what Vector said is valid.

Have a serious reason if you are gonna +1 or -1, or it will get removed.

In fairness to vaporeon, i will give my experience when he was staff member. My experience with him as staff members was largly negative, there were times where i felt i was getting wrongfully targeted by vaporeon by the smallest shit that ranged from just cussing to throwing bantz toward my friends, even after i explained to him a number of times that they were my buddies and for some reason would always try to push me by doing silly shit like taunting after kills and other little things to get under my skin. Also, every damn time someone would talk about his vore sprays in disgust he would get incredibly defensive and usually cause some silly shit. Now is it entirely his fault? No. Some comments were really mean and vaporeon didn't deserve them. However, these people would be muted for causing a ruckus (i believe i was muted myself at one point and i had to talk to a higher up, however feel free to exclude this because i can't remember completely, i believe it was scootaloo who had to get involved). Some were deserved, some weren't but it begs the question if you have a controversial spray that you know will disgust people, perhaps you should change it? Because at that point in my honest opinion it feels like your baiting and just asking for shit to start. You can have a vore fetish and by all means, have fun getting off to that shit but in this environment where you are in control of people and wish for them to keep in an orderly fashion, it would be wise to just change it something else like a vaporeon skin. because it gets to the point where people are just gonna throw shit at you or just get very uncomfortable with it. I mean, his last mod tenure ended with him getting incredibly frustrated and stepping down after he kept trying to say his spray was a "political statement" or some silly shit like that. I feel it's very valid for people to bring up his vore sprays as an issue of concern, but meme responses are retarded and add nothing. I won't vouch because i don't think it's fair for me to +1 or -1 because i haven't seen him play recently (nor have i been on the servers) so i cannot comment if he actually has matured. Good luck vaporeon with your application. If you have improved on your attitude and take my advice to heart then i don't see how you can't be mod. Hopefully shit goes better this time if you are willing to put in the effort to compromise with people who have issues with your spray and or attitude.

going to stay neutral on this. I don't see you a whole lot on the servers, but I have seen you. I haven't seen you talk much even when you are on the servers. I Still know you can be a mod again and would love to have you back, but I would like to see a little more activity.

Stop doing the staff’s job @Tatost . Take your outrageous conduct for real. :3