Let me just make some waves

[McNeo 3]

To Whom It May Concern-

 

(tl;dr: Read it if you can, if you skim nothing will make sense and you’ll miss the point. If you really insist on getting to the meat and potatoes skip the first 5 paragraphs.)

 

I started playing on xG servers in mid-March of this year. I joined the forums within a few days and made my first donation only days after that. During my time as a non-member I posted most of my “How to” threads that are still out there and growing today and also helped a number of community members with random questions and computer stuff.

 

Within weeks I applied to join the clan. My submission received nine submissions in the first 24 hours without a single negative thing said. During my time as a member I continued to meet people, befriend people, help the community, and learn how things operated. I was also mistaken for being a mod a number of times because of my helpful and understanding demeanor.

 

Members of the community and staff suggested that I apply for mod even though there were a few requirements I didn’t meet. I talked to a few people and prepared some stuff and made the app. My mod app received a couple positive reviews within 90 minutes at which time I requested it be closed because I had achieved “paid mod” status. At the next promo/demo time I was promoted to full mod at the collective decision of higher-ranking staff members and without a complete app and without the support of the community. Despite the way I achieved mod, things went over well in the end.

 

Recently I had received a few reports and vibes that made me felt like maybe I wasn’t welcome in the mod position so I made a new mod app thread to give the community an opportunity to share any opinions. And, again, over ten positive replies in less than 24 hours.

 

I gave you this brief history lesson to make a few things clear. Yes, I am relatively new to the community. However, I have achieved the rank of mod because higher-ranking staff members believed I would be a good fit and the community has already shown much support for that decision. These higher-ranking staff members have had an opportunity to see that I want to learn and that I can be dependable, reliable, and trusted. The community has had an opportunity to see also that I can be trusted but also that I can be helpful and welcome and represent the clan well. So again, even as a newfag, I hope I’ve proven myself to all of you.

 

With that, I finally arrive at my purpose: I hate to say it, but shit’s got to change. Now, before I offend anyone at any rank, let me explain. I certainly don’t want to be the newfag that offends the oldfags and I don’t want to come through here and try to steal away your baby and give it a gender change. But sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to see things and I hope you’ve come to trust me enough to believe and trust what I see.

 

First, I’ve seen a number of xG members and staff leave the clan because they either felt that the community was falling apart or felt unwanted. I see this even as a newfag and its honestly part of my reason I posted my newest mod app yesterday – I wanted to know if I was wanted. The community will continue to fall apart only if we let it. We need more together-ness. And frankly there’s no easy way and no right way to do it, it’s something that will just happen. It will happen when we all get along. We will get along when we stop fighting. We will stop fighting when we stop disagreements. Disagreements such as how a rule should be interpreted, or how double-standards can be set for various staff members.

 

Second, I think there’s got to be more discipline and accountability among staff. This is a role-playing server so there’s a lot more rules to be enforced. Bad mods will cause problems just like dirty cops will in real life. The rules aren’t there to be bent, they’re there to make sure that everyone is on the same page and they know what to expect so there are no surprises and confusion. Mods and admins need to be held accountable for their actions and they need to take their job seriously or GTFO. Div Leaders and Co Leaders need to maintain the same level of accountability while monitoring the mods and admins without favoritism or bias.

 

Finally, the rules need to be clear. So many things have floated around the forums, private chats, and admin chats that really need to be implemented. We have the MOTD as a black-and-white final authority on most things, but again, things have been discussed as long as four weeks ago that still haven’t been added. As a result we are all enforcing a different set of rules and it’s just a mess.

 

And these three points is just the tip of the iceberg in a way. There’s plenty more that can be done in my opinion but if these three things are addressed I think a number of other things will fall into place.

 

I was given the position of mod because, as one co-leader said, “[we] like that you stand up to the old members and what’s right.” This decision is now obviously also supported by the community. I don’t mean to be harass, a killjoy, a heartbreak, or a sore thumb – but I take what I see and try to act without bias in the best way possible and I think that’s why people like me, I don’t take a usual approach to things and even if it’s against the grain in the end it all makes sense.

 

I am posting this publicly so the community has an opportunity to chime in. I invite that community to share any and all opinions and ask that the admins and powers allow this to be an open forum for free expression granted there’s no personal bashing. At the same time I invite the co-leaders to take appropriate action – Keep me around as mod if you want me to continue to be an advocate for what I feel will benefit and support the server, or strip me of my title if I’ve gone too far or done something wrong.

 

I love it here and I love all you guys. But if you want things to improve I really hope you understand what I’ve said here and take it to heart. Frankly I won’t be around much longer myself if things continue on this path – and that’s not a “threat” but now that I’ve been here longer and been on staff I’m seeing things more thoroughly and honestly some stuff is just jacked. Co-leaders feel free to PM if you want to discuss anything further.

 

I’m going to tag some people now for no reason other than to ensure they see this post… @@silence @Aegean! @@serbiansnaga @@Jihad @DaKorean @@bees @@orangejuice @OHMAIGAWD @@themick07

[Stence 1]

Your a good guy McNeo dont let anyone hurt you or make you cry... or I will hurt them!

[Loki 0]

Skip the first 5 paragraphs, holy fuck, 8 more to go, link me to the Audio-book when it's out.

[Angrehorse 3]

Mcneo for admin anyone??? I would +1 that.

[Aegean 849]

Read the whole damn thing, it's quite long I must say.

 

Alright I will just say what Silence will say, if you have specific problems, just tell us, don't sugar coat it. Although we work on proof, there are some things we would still rather hear then wait to hear about because sometimes it opens our eyes at some of the issues before they become big.

 

Anyways, from what I've read, I will say a couple things from my own experience to you about people leaving and even OUR experience.

 

These a few points I'd like to add:

1. We are a gaming community, we do not charge people to play in our servers, we do not harass you guys for donations, and we try to make our servers as enjoyable as we can.

2. No one (including co-leaders) have fun powers and normal powers are not to be abused.

3. Although we don't use favoritism on "people we like" there is such thing as seniority, for example a payed-mod abusing team-change compared to a div-leader of that division who knows what he is doing are 2 completely different things in my opinion.

4. This isn't a business, this is completely volunteer work that every single person does for this community, from me rewriting MOTD from scratch, Korean making a staff list AND getting everyone's steam ID, Rabid helping Silence fix classes in War3 server to all our mods moderating and trying to make sure rules are being followed.

5. There are plenty of communities out there, we are not the strictest community, but we are definitely still growing and we are a friendly community who lets in members who want to be here who follow our rules.

6. All our rules in our MOTD are black and white, gray areas are to be discussed with staff members so we can fix it.

 

We just had about a 2 hour convo on TS and we got lots of things sorted out, a couple misunderstandings here and there, some stuff to kink out but our clan personally is no where near falling apart. For the size of our clan, the rules that we still enforce is a big accomplishment as any clan our size or bigger either have abusive admins or a cold clan. We have teamspeak and play a range of about 10 different games together just as a clan, we have xG tinychat parties and we are a big but unified clan. If you guys have problems, tell us, if we can't fix it, then maybe this community isn't for you.

 

We work hard guys, but in the end we can't keep everyone from leaving, some people will never be satisfied and that's okay. In the end we have a Jewish leader and 2 Canadian Co-leaders who care about this community, we are here for you, so if you don't message us with problems, and just leave we can't fix the problems that cause those situations.

[McNeo 3]

An update to all from my end @Aegean! and I had a good little convo and decided you're all whores. No I'm just kidding but really it was a good convo and shit's getting super cereal. No not really but yeah things are good. Of course I still want to invite anyone to read and reply as they see fit. I like stirring the pot cuz I'm a jerk like that.

[GanjaMonster 5]

Nice to see a piece of you're mind about how you do things McNee, and regarding to the MOTD thing we should get a majority of people that are in ts in the day sometimes its around 30 ppl put them in a channel and discuss what should be in MOTD whats should be added, changes, or even adding more games that cts are allowed to play. We can always figure it out as a big community

[Jihad 0]

Honestly McNeo i think nothing negative of you. As a member you do your duties to show xG as a good community and as a Mod you handle situations accordingly!

[orangejuice 6]

5:40 am i just read the most of it under stood ... most of it and you sir are a great person and in my opion u make a great mod =D and i love you ... no homo =)

[serbiansnaga 9]

i get up to go to work, see a giant wall of text, and say to myself "holy fuck, this is too much stuff to read at this time", so ill read it all when i get back from work

[Trente 7]

Second, I think there’s got to be more discipline and accountability among staff. This is a role-playing server so there’s a lot more rules to be enforced. Bad mods will cause problems just like dirty cops will in real life. The rules aren’t there to be bent, they’re there to make sure that everyone is on the same page and they know what to expect so there are no surprises and confusion. Mods and admins need to be held accountable for their actions and they need to take their job seriously or GTFO. Div Leaders and Co Leaders need to maintain the same level of accountability while monitoring the mods and admins without favoritism or bias.

 

I agree with this. I see more and more often mods and admins, just using their powers to have fun, and not to enforce the rules. We are an example of xG and represent the clan, but sometimes i fell embarrassed of how mods and admin use their powers, and doesnt have respect for other people. Then when some people point out that they shouldnt abuse, they just tell them to relax and have fun and dont get butthurt...

I hope im not the only one seeing this as a problem.

[Gawd 1]

then when some people point out that they shouldnt abuse, they just tell them to relax and have fun and dont get butthurt...

I hope im not the only one seeing this as a problem.

preach it.

 

 

+1 +1 +1

 

 

However, I would like to add something : there have been many cases where I've seen a mods friend break a rule and they do nothing. They just brush it off like they didn't see it. That's gotta stop. :2

[TobytheSlave 1]

And these three points is just the tip of the iceberg in a way.

sounds a little like titanic

 

 

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[MineCrack 62]

You're a good guy, why does the judgement of a self centered kid cause you to do this shit?

[HaaDron 4]

why the fuck did you tag mick?? hahahaha

Anyway I agree with what your saying. I've noticed all this stuff too, just haven't really sad anything about it :c