Let me start this off by saying that being an SGM staff, from all the second-hand knowledge that I have, is pretty much having a part-time job. At least when it comes to Admin+. We are a community that has more rigidity, more structure, (more rules) and more complicated behind-the-scenes work and organization than basically any other, and that still holds true when basically 1 server is all that's ever being played on. Outside of a few notorious figures, it is an achievement to be a staff for SGM, and you aren't liable to find better staff in almost any other server. However That high standard makes mistakes all the more glaring, as well as the more systemic problems this server faces. The point of this thread is to highlight and discuss generalized failings of the staff as a whole, highlight changes that the staff do or have done really well, or highlight and discuss specific staff members whose actions are so consequential as to affect the server as a whole (Be it as an example of what to do, or what not to do). Except for the last situation, please avoid giving names- It just helps keep the discussion focused purely on-topic, and helps keep bias and prejudice from influencing the course of any debate.
As to the most glaring issues that I personally have: Rulechanges The biggest issue (Historically) is how rules change to convenience staff, rather than the server as a whole. While that might have changed in recent months, I haven't been around, I remember that nearly every rule change during the time I was playing lined up perfectly with an Admin or Lead Admin being reported for either doing something that only aligned with the rules after the change, or messed up a report on themselves or the moderator. To give the most notorious of these incidences (In my opinion): A staff member shot someone in the back in the hallway on Hotel, who immediately turned around and killed them, slayed the person who killed them, and then it turned into mess on the forums. The resulting change to the rules was so strict about you seeing the shooter, that you could have the shotgun the shooter was holding clip through your screen, see the animation play, and turn around and kill that person, and you would still be slain. More recently, I think it is safe to assume (And I am completely assuming this) that recently overturned rule about 'Is this a KOS on <player>' was to be considered a KOS by the person who spoke the words also fell into this. Either something happened, or there was simple incompetence in the creation of the rule, and frankly it doesn't matter which. Because: Why do I bring this up as the biggest issue? Because bogus rules destroy servers. More than bad content, more than good content, more than no content, a server's rules will make or break the TTT experience for people. It's what everything stems from in this game, and it's what SGM and its staff are known for. Innovation is nice, more content is nice, but at the core of it all, when people log in to play this 10+ year old game mode, they aren't doing it for something fancy, they're doing it for the pure experience of TTT. Any and every rule must be made to preserve that experience, and if it has to alter that experience in any way, you'd better have a damn good reason for changing it, because otherwise you are actively worsening the experience of everyone on the server. Harassment, Toxicity/Other subjective offenses Person 1 does something dumb. Persons 2 3 4 and 5 start ragging on person 1. Person 1 says 20 words that are considered harassment and get banned. Persons 2 3 4 and 5 all say 5 words that are considered harassment, and either doesn't even get noticed or get off with a light warning. This is bullshit. This happens nearly every single day I am on in some form or another. I have seen virtually everyone complain about this, and I have never seen as a single staff member address it. We all know it happens, but the staff just have blinders on when it comes to addressing it. I don't even have anything more to say to this because to say anymore would require some form of input from the people enforcing the rules, and we just don't have that. Anybody can gang up on a person, and if they successfully frustrate that person enough, get the person they are ganging up on banned for returning fire on toxicity. 'But someone being toxic to you is no excuse to be toxic to them' Fuck that. We're human beings. If someone is aggravating us, we're going to act aggravated, especially when the mods that are supposed to be stopping it don't do jack shit. You mods don't want to play babysitter and settle disputes? Well maybe you should have settled the issue before it got to that point. More egregious than this is biased enforcement of the rules. I know for a fact that there at least was an official or unofficial policy where 'troublemakers' had rules more strictly enforced on them, where staff would look for an excuse to ban somebody they wanted to get rid of on a technicality rather than just chalking it up to some overall toxic offense. And by looking at recent reports, that doesn't seem to have changed that much. When combined with the issue above, bullies can easily target someone who's gotten in trouble on the forums and get them kicked or banned with near 100% certainty. If someone is being such an asshole that you want them gone, ban them. I've heard current staff say a lot that they want to crack down on toxicity more: Well the first step towards that is to actually start banning people for being toxic. And when I say toxic, I don't mean 'Oh, you insulted this dude, ban'. I mean 'Oh, you are actively going out of your way to ruin someone's experience playing TTT, or even attempt to ruin their day'. When you skirt around the toxic ban and give bullshit reasons, it doesn't just piss off the person being targeted, it ruins the integrity of the rules. If you wouldn't enforce the same situation for everyone, don't enforce it just to get that excuse you needed- Either the person is bad enough to get rid of the right way, or they aren't worth getting rid of. Conversely, I'm sure every single person can attest to a time where they know a ban or a warning was given to either them or a friend that was given only because the staff member giving it either didn't like them or was in a bad mood. You can have a level of objectivity when it comes to Toxicity, but I don't think that staff have ever even tried to define it. And the whole 'No slurs' rule is kinda lame. It does nothing to solve any actual problems, and makes regular banter difficult. Actual harassers don't just go up to someone and yell 'faggot' in their face- It's a continuous series of small, subtle events, which almost never get acted on because staff either don't care, or don't think it's consequential when evidence is given.
You've really got to provide some specific examples here, dude. Even name some names so that things can get solved. It's really easy to get on a soapbox about how staff are bad whilst at the same time not actually giving examples. If stuff like this is going on, let's get to the bottom of it. I definitely agree with you that stuff like this should be solved if it's happening.
I am sorry but I have no idea what you are talking about. It reads like you are upset that you got banned for harassment and that you don't understand the rules. The problem with the way that the staff team is structured creates problems where staff members are often trained unevenly, and sometimes ex staff are not retaught rules that have changed. The problem is entirely in coordination, and the best way to fix it is by getting the administration to work more behind the scenes to make sure their people are on the straight and narrow. As far as what you said above, I don't see the big deal. If someone misunderstands you asking a question about a kos, and goes and kills someone else, I'd consider you to be the root cause. Personally though? I think that you probably shouldn't be slain. It should just be chalked up to a misunderstanding and let go of. Yet, the staff team often struggles when it comes to the idea of just not taking action in situations where it is clear that nobody was really at fault. Leads to them looking bad I think. Overall, yeah okay bud.
Staff team is fine hire developers or get people to become developers that'd be pretty great having things move quick especially when suggesting something. staff good, but me want developer
