Tatost

I got a tattoo but I’m to black for you to be able to see it.

@Caleb956 It seems strange that you got reported for abusing admin powers you weren't supposed to have just a little while ago but you apparently have the decency to explain to us what a community is supposed to be about.
The servers and this community specifically is based on the key idea that we want people to make friends and have fun while dedicated members willingly give up their FREE time to help moderate our servers. Server populations for custom servers on valve games are at an all-time low, and everyone is constantly growing and changing the games they play. 

Instead of forcing people to have resentment towards us and trying to force members to keep servers populated in games that they don't want to play, we would rather work with higher ups and either figure out solutions i.e. trying out a game that people want to play, or letting people do their own thing on our discord and trying to get people to have fun. Recently, we had a 15 person Rust group about 3 weeks ago, and we are constantly playing golf-it or other party games that people join. There are plans for Gmod in the works for months now because we want it to be good, and we also are ALWAYS open to suggestions. 
The idea that our servers that is paid for from Silence are not populated thus we are not a community anymore is absurd. 
On your second point of having communication is also baseless as one thing you are taught as a communications major is people get annoyed if you tell them things just for the sake of telling them. If there is nothing to update, what do you want us to post about? 
Your last point also ties into your second and that is communication is a two-way street. Listening is in fact even more important than talking, especially for higher-ups, and @virr and myself are on discord religiously. There is never a time that we can't be reached about any situation, doesn't matter if you are a non-member all the way to staff. If anyone feels you "shouldn't" reach us, please don't feel like that and we are always happy to help or listen in any way we can.
I'll leave this thread open for any further comments as I am genuinely curious as to what people have to say.

it is just like caleb said in his thread omg........ it all makes sense now...... grape killed tf2. yup.

it is just like caleb said in his thread omg........ it all makes sense now...... grape killed tf2. yup.

it is just like caleb said in his thread omg........ it all makes sense now...... grape killed tf2. yup.

it is just like caleb said in his thread omg........ it all makes sense now...... grape killed tf2. yup.

I decided to stew on this post for a bit before responding, and am glad that I did. I was not exactly sure how I would articulate my point that smaller, more tight knit communities (of which xG is not the only one) should not be compared to the larger ones that essentially run a(n) business/advanced daycare. As someone who was around in 2011/2012, to be honest I like the direction things have gone community wise. There is less drama, everyone, including the higherups, are more chill. Yeah, the servers are not popping 24/7 (at least for CS) like they were back in the day, but a large part of that is the diverse interest in games our community plays together. 

That being said, if we are speaking in terms of pure server population, then yeah a good chunk of what you said is true. There is definitely a lot of truth in the statement that higherups should try to run more pop events and communicate a bit better. But just to go over something important:
The vast majority of higherups now-a-days are 21+, have full time/part time jobs/are in college (or a combination), and just in general have to juggle adult life with online responsibilities. I will be the first to admit that I have not gotten on the servers as much as I should. But to paint with such a broad brush, that 'if you have an active adult life you should not be in a position of power' is a bit nonsensical. Maybe that was not your point and you did not word your argument very well, but that is essentially how it read to me.
 
This point is kind of muddied just solely on the point that discord is where most discussion takes place now. Back when we used teamspeak, and any really meaningful discussion pretty much had to occur on the forums, than this would be a good point. But now there are so many avenues for communication, that I would hardly call the forums the place communities get together.
 
My understanding is that there is no reason to post promo demos unless there is actually something happening in that regard. So instead of just forcing it out, it is better to wait for some actual substance before posting it. 
 
So yeah. Despite what I wrote above, there is definitely some truth and rather reasonable criticism to your post. There is definitely more that we could be doing to help the servers.

That was where I was going to leave it, till I realized I never addressed your last paragraph, which is a bit... much.
 
I honestly have no idea what this is even referencing. If you have examples of us willingly and intentionally ignoring stuff, than that would have been nice to reference.
 
No response to the meaningless excuse-making in the first half of this, but just to reiterate something. xG, as a community, is not dying. If you want to make the statement the servers are dead/dying, that is perfectly reasonable, but as the community currently stands the servers are more an extension of the community, not the core of it.
 
This is where it gets weirder. Under what pretext would you assume that you would be banned for making this? To me, this seems like a desperate attempt to seem like your 'sticking it to the man regardless of the consequences' which is pretty weird considering none of the higherups would ban you for posting criticism. Whatever your intention was with this remark, it was severely out of place.
 
I don't really care about the 'harsh' language, as if you feel that is how you want to get your point across, then go for it. But at any rate, your entire post, which absolutely did have some helpful and meaningful criticism got completely derailed by this final paragraph, which reads like a shitpost. I don't even see a point in its inclusion, but I digress.

I have no personal issue with you, and wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. If you ever do decide to return, you will be welcome.
 
tl;dr xG is a community that has evolved with its playerbase. It is not dying, though we could be doing more to help server pop.

this post reads like a ben shapiro tweet
ok serious face now
In keeping with this thread's apparent theme of confusion, I'll respond to it in no particular order (which is, to say, I will do the exact opposite of that and respond to it in order (which is not a confusing action, just stupid)). 
Let me start by saying that for a long time now, xG has been a very non-commercial, non-mainstream, mostly player-dictated community that really resembles a big friend group more than anything else. To apply a scale befitting large-scale servers to a locally oriented entity like xG is already hardly appropriate. Let me include the shoehorned food analogy by saying that it would be like comparing McDonalds to a ma and pa diner-- one is name-brand, oriented entirely on attracting new customers because it has competition, while the other knows everyone's face and who they are. xG has no competition, as it maintains its position as a uniquely tight-knit community with no particular focus, which hasn't been in massive demand in general these days, instead just doing whatever people want. This leads into my second bit.
Again, it's not appropriate to judge xG now with the same standards you could have judged it with 3 or 4 years ago; communities change, for better or for worse. We don't advertise largely because we believe it would be falling on deaf ears. We have a specific niche community and we stick to it, and in addition to this, the larger servers of our community are often games that would result in very little backing if we advertised for them. As for population, it wanes on and off as time goes on, but largely, xG TF2 is self sufficient. It requires very little from the people who manage and play it other than the necessary presence of staff to keep things chill, and higherups to maintain it, but generally it's in the hands of the players. It's a simple and straightforwards rationale.
This is a valid assumption. I do not speak for other higherups, but I've been absent for several weeks now, initially due to a bad case of the flu, and later due to an increased focus on life. As for the rest, see what I said above. 
yikes bro
In my role as a higherup of xG, I try to interpret and act on the current state of my division to the best of my ability. This also involves speaking on behalf of the community as a mouthpiece of sorts. I have not claimed, nor do I believe that the presence of school starting back up is solely, or even partly, responsible for the waning population of TF2, or any division in xG. We instead acknowledge that, and again, it is based largely on the interests of the players, and so it is best to give the players as much of a hand in this as possible. As proof of this, in accordance with the changing interests of TF2, the TF2 populate role was created for that very reason, to let players more easily control the population in a more "organic" fashion rather, than trying to force population at a time when it would garner little interest, which became the main issue in population events. It was not under my management that other servers died, and what I do now I do in the pursuit of maintaining the population and playerbase that is left. To claim that we care little for the servers is contradictory to your actions of exploiting the trust xG placed in you by abusing what powers you had left that had accidentally not been removed.
(the discord is almost entirely what xG's communication is based off of now lol, the forums are pretty heavy handed, for want of a better platform, when lots of things can just be posted in announcements there instead)

I can't really speak for how you performed as a staff member in the TF2 division since I wasn't exactly playing TF2 while you were staff, but I can say that what I've seen over Discord has been more or less positive. That being said, I have seen certain situations where you might have a little trouble keeping your cool- something you've already acknowledged, which at least demonstrates a level of maturity. It's not unusual to have a staff member show poor judgement, but I feel like if you're just a little more careful than most with keeping your cool it would do the Discord some justice to have you keeping an eye on the server since you pretty much read it all day.
As a previous Discord moderator, I can assure you that the bot will suck major dick and learning how to use it will be a pain in the ass (pretty sure none of the staff members actually know how to use this one anyway, so try and be the first). If you're up to actually learn how to use the bot and you can handle upping the maturity when you're dealing with people, then +1. Just make sure not to join in on arguments, take care of them if they get out of hand. Not all arguments are bad, some are healthy and it's really up to the discord staff to discern whether or not they should step in. Generally this role is ridiculed much more than others, at least from what I've seen and personally experienced so growing some thick skin will be a big help. Please don't turn into a lurker staff member who forgets that they have discord powers.

+1 Bus Driver
He's a huge memer but also really mature. I don't think I've ever seen him or heard him lose his cool, and that's super important as staff.
 

+1 innocent until proven guilty guys.
(also, it is very well possible that he was unaware of the ban for doxing and the number he “doxxed” was a public hotline or some shit. Then upon seeing he’s banned he just figured it was for being loud and racist. I personally think that the actual ban is what might be being argued here cause maybe it was false but who knows. Just gonna give him the benefit of the doubt here and say fr +1. A year is a long time if he gets on and does the same shit then just reban)

Yeah, uh... he was banned for doxxing people's numbers.
Xeno Gamers
BANS.XENOGAMERS.COM ~One year ago, but I still think that doxxing people is a little more serious than simply cheating or saying a naughty word.
-1

Yeah, uh... he was banned for doxxing people's numbers.
Xeno Gamers
BANS.XENOGAMERS.COM ~One year ago, but I still think that doxxing people is a little more serious than simply cheating or saying a naughty word.
-1

I can't really speak for how you performed as a staff member in the TF2 division since I wasn't exactly playing TF2 while you were staff, but I can say that what I've seen over Discord has been more or less positive. That being said, I have seen certain situations where you might have a little trouble keeping your cool- something you've already acknowledged, which at least demonstrates a level of maturity. It's not unusual to have a staff member show poor judgement, but I feel like if you're just a little more careful than most with keeping your cool it would do the Discord some justice to have you keeping an eye on the server since you pretty much read it all day.
As a previous Discord moderator, I can assure you that the bot will suck major dick and learning how to use it will be a pain in the ass (pretty sure none of the staff members actually know how to use this one anyway, so try and be the first). If you're up to actually learn how to use the bot and you can handle upping the maturity when you're dealing with people, then +1. Just make sure not to join in on arguments, take care of them if they get out of hand. Not all arguments are bad, some are healthy and it's really up to the discord staff to discern whether or not they should step in. Generally this role is ridiculed much more than others, at least from what I've seen and personally experienced so growing some thick skin will be a big help. Please don't turn into a lurker staff member who forgets that they have discord powers.

Nobody has anything to do with the tf2 div at this point
 
But honestly I think it's a bit harsh making this a public post and shaming him in front of everyone here for lying about a whole bunch of dumb shit, the kid probably is a bit miserable if he constantly lies about all that stuff anyway, and it's not like he's done anything outrageously wrong or fucked up, hence you listed all the things hes done wrong which only collectively make him look bad. Just saying I woulda brought this to aegean or virr's attention in private

profile music

Heres my annual selfie 
 
 

Division
Discord Offenders In-Game Name
Dannypicacho#8187 Offender's Identity
Dannypicacho#8187 Ban Type
Server Ban Explanation and Evidence
He bully me.

accepted i guess
~closed i guess

stop talking noob

What's FUCKING good boys
In case you're (somehow) not aware, I've stepped down. This is as a result of many things, none of which are excuses.
For one, I've been extremely busy with life. I now work, go to university, have a social life and Rosa. We've recently made a massive discovery and found out exactly what is wrong with Rosa. As a result of simply a random nurse saying "You have similar symptoms to ____", we've discovered that Rosa was infact MISDIAGNOSED with M.E has chronic lymes disease (long lasting untreated lyme's disease, Lyme's Disease symptoms are similar to M.E) and has done since she was 11-12. It's rendered her immune system completely faulty and that common cold is still having a party in her body. Lots of these have progressed into something more serious, such as diseases that can often make her go paralysed in some limbs.
However, the fantastic news is that this is treatable and curable, with an up to 80% recovery possible.
It's been very difficult helping her prepare for the treatment but we're hoping for her to be possibly walking properly in 2 years time. It's going to be a very long journey, which is why I must accept that I can't remain as DL and leave the boys hanging. My passion and time to play TF2 has ran quite slim, due to multiple reasons (tf2 dead lol) and with all of this stuff going on around me, I didn't really have the time to play even if I wanted to. Timezones are also a bitch. I haven't touched the game in months and I realised after being messaged by @hongkongatron that I was holding onto something that I wasn't doing anymore, kinda like a gym membership, but it was making things worse for the people I would consider friends. So here we are.
 
I would like to say one thing though.
Community Managers, Community Leaders, whoever,
If someone doesn't touch the game they're supposed to be the leader of. Or even worse, not even touch the discord in a few months,
Please demote them. It only holds everyone else back.
 
I should've stepped down earlier and I apologize for that, no excuses.
 
much love to the boys speak soon❤️

@Bonk @Jadow @Bumpy @Lithium close

yes

Just saying you could have you know connected Razorscooter to Razor on the discord or you could have already known and just decided to be toxic and compare someone you didn't know to someone who acted like a retard

NO WAY BRO REALLY