Notice GM Blog: January 2021

lf > pink guy

 

I just realized that, to my understanding, the GM blog has been a place to announce staff changes in addition to server related updates (see November and December's). Between December and January's blog post, I believe there's been at least one (unsure if more) changes to the staff, but this wasn't mentioned in this month's post.

Could someone on staff shed some light on why this specific news/update was omitted from this month's blog post?

 

Thank you @June for the time you dedicated to this server. Whilst you have only maintained your time on staff for 2 months as a GM intern, it is my personal opinion that you have made a more significant contribution to Staff and MapleRoyals than most other current staff members.

Ignoring all the unappreciated time that you’ve spent for this game and this community, your departure in itself has highlighted to the wider MapleRoyals community just how tone deaf and nepotistic the current administration is.

It’s frankly disgusting that one sentence from the server’s very owner has undermined the entire efforts of Joel’s post.

Happy Royals.

 

I guess we should just unban every single person June banned during her 2 months as staff, remove all the banners she created, and reverse all the corrections she made to nx items.
If the work that June completed is considered insignificant then we might as well consider the work of all GM interns as insignificant. Why's it so hard to give credit where credit is due?

 

What does “significant contribution to the team and the game” even mean to you? From my perspective during the time on staff with @June she was one of the most active GM intern/staff in game and out of game ranging from helping out on everything she can like being active on staff chat, actively helping ban hackers, actively replying to report abuse & ban appeals, co-hosting events with me, providing in game support, engaging with the community, testing out new content, etc. It really takes zero dollars to say something nice.

 

Gonna take a second to speak for myself here- but this really should extend far beyond staff.

Anyone who plays this game, who supports it by voting and buying RP, who play within the rules and doesn't cheat so the experience is pure for everyone is significantly contributing to the game. Anyone who reports hackers and rule breakers is equally important and integral to the process of keeping the game clear of bad players and is contributing significantly to the team, as the people who have the ability to ban do.

I've said this a million times, but we (staff) can't be there all the time, and we rely on the players being active and proactive in reporting for us to be able to do what we do. Speaking mostly on the forum, those who report posts and the spam bots are making our lives so much easier. Even though I've been bashed before for saying this "since it's my job to patrol the forum", that doesn't mean players are hugely helpful and that- at the very least, some of us are appreciative.

At the end of the day Staff are just players. We're volunteers, and we're not more special than regular players, just like GM's aren't better than Forum Mods, Developers, and whatever Chok is (who, mind you- keeps this placed glued together. Without him we wouldn't be able to have these discussions on the forum lol). Everyone here deserves recognition, doesn't matter if you have a title or not, and it doesn't matter, IMO, how someone goes out. People are allowed (able might be a better word) to have a good history and go sour without it turning all their past work into nothingness, just like people who have been naughty little beans are allowed to grow and turn into better people without their past dragging them down by the neck. Probably a divisive opinion- but hey, opinions are like butts- we all have one and that one is mine.

That's what it means to me (not that you asked ha).\

Edit: I know your focus was on June- my point is that it shouldn't matter who does and doesn't get a farewell post. Some people who probably shouldn't have, have gotten them, and some who probably should, haven't. I don't think it should matter in the end. Court of public opinion after all, if people have nice things to say, the people it's directed at will appreciate it even without a shiny announcement post.

 

Communication is important, y'all. It's also time consuming, and when team-discussions are involved it can take days. To get a bit meta: user laora asked a valid question that demands some consideration on how to approach. Transparency vs. tactfulness etc. A choice was made to keep things very brief, and to give the user closure in swift time.

Whether or not to include a mention of ex-GM intern June was already discussed prior to posting of the GM blog, and the reasons for the outcome were numerous. Of the reasons discussed at that time, "significant contribution" is not one which I can remember. Rather, I believe this word choice is a result of the aforementioned attempt to give a brief and conclusive response to the question.

Here's some insight for you: the community is a brewing pot of passionate souls, sometimes very explosive; a real factor which is necessarily taken into account when deciding how to deal with various issues. June was a GM intern who made several contributions to the game. I wish for everyone to understand that this is a fact which cannot be denied, and isn't internally denied either. "Significant contribution" here was used in a broader sense, perhaps more abstract or philosophical. This level of nuance was obviously not conveyed in such a short message.

Multiple reasons could have been conveyed: June left the team on bad terms, something which was unprecedented with regards to other team members who had left since the inception of the GM blog. We didn't know if June would appreciate such a mention, given that she both quit and was banned for violating the rules, or if such a mention would be received as a slight in light of the circumstances. Importantly, the ordeal was also a thing that had somewhat settled, and there was no particular desire to stir it up again.

A more satisfactory reply could and should have been given in this case, but as usual: choices, reasons. Pros and cons to each one, and things happen. I believe this is something that could have gone down a better road, and I hope your takeaway from this will be something a bit more hopeful. Thanks for reading.

 

Thank you all from staff for the response and insights. I asked my initial question because I was genuinely curious why June wasn't given recognition for her work and effort during her 2 months as staff. Overall, I share the same sentiments as other players have expressed on Matt's response and overall stance to giving credit where it's due.

I'm frankly disappointed by the server owner's unwillingness to give credit to past staff, regardless of method or context on departure. On top of that, Matt even thought that one specific sentence could "give closure in swift time" without the community getting upset (full knowing the server's opinion on June- see her farewell post & poll and Ch4 FM on Dec 10th). His quick response felt like a slap in the face to June (who can't even respond back) and to all staff & community members who are working to making this server better because we'll only get recognition if we make "significant contribution," whatever the fuck that means.

From the other personal posts by staff (or past staff), it seems we're all in agreement that June contributed to the server during her 2 months here with specific examples listed, whether that be external community facing or internal updates. So why couldn't these opinions have been expressed in two sentences in the initial blog post? I'm baffled that her effective "manager" and teammates didn't fight to give her the public credit that we all believe she deserves. I say manager here because Matt essentially chose her to be part of staff, either indirectly or directly, as the server's owner.

However, I also understand that there's likely a lot behind the scenes that players are unaware about and don't have knowledge of, but this further reinforces the issue of transparency between staff and the community. So, thank you Joong for shedding some light on the conversations and insights behind the scenes. And, thank you Joong for acknowledging that a more satisfactory response should have been given from Matt.

My only ask is to give credit where it's due, regardless of additional baggage that it may carry. Acknowledge the work of your team, current and past, with specific examples. Don't half ass it either cause people can smell bullshit from a mile away. Thanks for reading.

 

I don't know if I'm misreading the intentions from this post, but based off the recent happenings surrounding June's departure - this honestly does come across as an intentionally backhanded dismissal/ridiculing of her contribution as a staff member. Rules are rules, and there are definitely lines that June should not have crossed, but her actions were obviously driven by a commitment and passion for the community's wellbeing. I'm not saying that it should excuse some of the things she said/did, but it genuinely disheartens me to see that you have chosen to publicly degrade the time, energy and passion she willingly poured out into helping the server when you surely didn't have to respond to Iaora's question in that manner.

It's been a pretty discouraging few months watching how staff issues have been handled, and I can understand why many long-time members are feeling jaded after being repeatedly shut down. I might be a foolish optimist, but I really do hope that there will come a time when staff will sincerely be willing to bridge this chasm between them and the community instead of providing cookie-cutter, politically-correct responses. I might not have been around here for as long as other players, but in the past ~2.5 years since I've joined, it does worry me that there seems to be a painfully distinct pattern whereby so many widely-loved/dedicated/hardworking staff members end up leaving the team on bad terms. I truly am deeply appreciative of all the work that the administration puts in; I have made wonderful friends and memories because of the server you've built. But surely this pattern has been clear enough for you to see as well?

On the whole - I hope this post isn't taken purely as a rant or venting of frustration. This is just the perspective of a random insignificant community member who loves this server and hopes for a brighter and happier collective future. Love you all.

 

Fancy deleting posts throwing shade at you, but not your own post that's clearly throwing shade at June.

Poor Joel's having to write essays in attempt to justify your actions here. Ever thought of giving him some credit?

 

Could you elaborate on which part of Matt's post you consider to be "constructive feedback"?

 

I genuinely think you work quite hard both on discord and on the forums and I appreciate your effort in maintaining forum etiquette/order/whatever you call it. However, I do not agree that "the incident is over" and nor do I believe I'm necroing some issue that has somehow been dealt with without my knowledge.

After posting an obviously targeted comment towards June, instead of acknowledging what actually went wrong Matt has continued to degrade June's input in a separate post. The implication is that;
- June was not capable of following the staff guidelines and improving when any mistakes may have been made
- June was not contributing to staff discussions in a polite and un-biased manner, and
- June was not generally being a positive addition to the game and staff team

The only thing that he has apparently accepted was "not being clear enough in what [significant contribution] entails".

So, I'll ask again, in what way do you, as a forum moderator, think these posts are any less "constructive feedback" and any more "pure flaming" than your boss' own post?

Spoiler

For the record I reported Matt's post as Antisocial Behaviour - under the clause "Deliberate and continued harassment, bullying or otherwise targeting of a player with unwanted comments". Do you not agree?


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But go on, feel free to keep sweeping things under the rug.

 

Did you remove my post too @Dave Deviluke? Just curious as I was not provided a reason for deletion (or I wasn't able to find it in my alerts anyway).

 

he deleted mine too