Answered Lead Admins

I'd be happy to explain. So I guess I can break it down into four major areas:

1. Managing four admins and their moderators
2. Adopting changes
3. Handling drama (mostly meaning that I deal with players who can't be dealt with by the rest of the team)
4. Talking to players, listening to input, reviewing suggestions

First of all, let me just say that lead admins do not staff the servers. This a common criticism levied against us, often times you will see people say "haha, he hasn't even played gmod in like two weeks what a worthless lead admin", and that is kind of unnecessary as we aren't really required to staff the servers. I try to make it a point to jump on from time to time, but I am a busy person and so it can be difficult to find the time. That being said, I've toyed around with the idea of trying to do twenty hours bi-weekly. Not saying it will happen, but I've considered committing myself to the goal.

Let's talk about the first area, managing four admins and their moderators. As a lead admin I have full authority over Espurr, Kythol, Irish, and Lordy. I also have full authority over their moderators (you can check the staff team if you wish to know who they are), and as such I am directly responsible for the actions of my admins in the same way that they are responsible for the actions of their moderators. When one of my admins is reported I am the one who has to deal with it. I specifically have coached my admins to be more personable with their teams, and to communicate effectively. I will often times drop into their DMs and ask them how their teams are holding up and who they have in mind for replacements (if they have open slots). I also contact the moderators and ask them how their admins are and what they can be doing differently. I also ask them if they wish to speak to me about anything, as I know that it can be a bit nerve racking to approach a lead admin if you are a moderator. Most of this is done outside the public's eye, so I can understand if you guys didn't know I did this.

Then there is my work with adopting changes. I'll admit, that is a slow process, but I have introduced several changes to be implemented. You can go back and view the threads I made, as well as the revisions I have done to the extended rules. Even now I am working on fixing an error in our rules relating to detectives and koses. The problem with this one is that often times things that I want to move forward get held up in the approval process, and as such I have to wait a long time. That doesn't mean I am not holding discussions with the staff team as well as the community at large about things that could be implemented. Some of the changes that I have been behind thus far have been the rule regarding SOL for rdms. Now it is a solid two maps, as before it was discretionary. I am currently pushing for the mass rdm bans as well as the new extended rules. Both of those threads can be found here & here

Then there is handling drama. As a lead admin I am mostly the judge jury and executioner when it comes to higher bans: Leaking, Conflicts of interest, CP, DOSing, Higher levels of harassment and pretty much anything else that would require me. This is easily my least favorite part of the job, as no matter what I do people seem to get pissed off at the bans. I guess that just is what it is, but nonetheless this is a part of my job. I also handle a lot of ban appeals behind the scenes and deal with unruly members of the community.

Arguably what I do more than anything else is just talking to people. My DMs are almost always jumping with users and staff members coming to me with problems that must be addressed. Either that is rules based, or they wish to complain about something that aggravates them. I take great pride in the fact that my DMs are always open, and that I respond to every message that I receive. I'm always willing to listen to people, even if they don't have very much to say. In fact, I've actually had conversations with people about random shit, such as IRL relationships and mental illness. Then there is also the interaction I have with players and staff members on the forums. I look at 95% of all the threads on the forums, and I post actively. I try my hardest to answer questions, handle reports, view suggestions, contribute to discussion and I also try to enforce forum rules to the best of my ability. This is largest part of what I do, but it is nonetheless important.

So when you ask "what does a lead admin do?" I hope you aren't going away with nothing. Whether I do a lot, or do very little, is all a matter of opinion. I'd imagine those who don't know me, or those who dislike me, will say that I've done nothing. I would highly disagree. The job is challenging, and there have been many times where I've considered just saying "to hell with it", but I keep on because I love this community. I did on the first day I joined, and I do now. Thanks for asking man, and if you have any more questions just feel free to ask.