Knapman's Post

I re-applied to be a mod right after I was last demoted, by the time I was given a modtrial I didn't even want to be a moderator due to the amount of time it takes away from enjoying the game (and running a town). But I thought, who knows, Ill see how it is, maybe Ill like it. God it has gotten so much worse since I was a moderator initially and there is just no way I want to be a part of the staff when they are just laughed at by the entire server and when it is ran so poorly internally.

Here are some problems you REALLY need to look at:

1) Sort the rules out. They are very vague and can be bent extremely easily. Half the time people are asking if something is allowed. Recently there has been "Is TNT allowed in the wild?" "Can you kill in the 8x8 spawn of a pvp town?" "Can you lure people to a PvP town only to kill them?" "Can you ask people to leave your town if PvP is turned on?" There are many, many more unclear rules that need addressing as well.

2) Staff should support staff, not cheaters and rule breakers. If a member of staff feels they have the right to warn/mute/kick/ban someone, they shouldn't be afraid of doing so. If you don't want mods to do this, don't give them the bloody powers to do it. Its really pathetic to see, this is one of the main reasons Im leaving.

3) Warnings should mean SOMETHING. There is no point in warning somebody 20 times if it means jack shoot.

4) Moderators+ need to be more active in staffing. I don't mean playing the game, I mean staffing the game, its very different, and a huge problem. During my time as trialmod I called for moderators on numerous occasions to help me with a problem, they virtually never came. And then, to top it off, Chieftian has the nerve to send a PM to everyone telling trialmods not to punish people. We wouldn't have to if moderators+ reacted, FFS.

5) You need to get rid of staff who don't do their job. Sure, I may have overstepped my boundaries at times, but at least i was TRYING to do my job. Sorry to use you as an example TheRedScare, but seriously, I've never seen a less contributing member of staff on any server of any game ive ever played...ever.

6) COMMUNICATE!!!! Jesus christ its not hard. Ive seen numerous mods/modleaders online at times when I've asked in staff chat something and they don't respond. Same on the forums. Ive made a few threads recently and nobody says a damn thing. Feel like Im talking to a brick wall half the time.

7) Stick to what you say, Vet. You make the rules then laugh when people gives warnings out for people breaking them. You said you would perma ban Kovio and yet despite having the longest list of rule breaks this server has ever seen, hes the bloody leader of a nation, grooming many more people to play the game like he does (Printer13) Brings me to my next point...

8) Ban Kovio. Forever. Nobody who has played this server for any amount of time likes how the situation with Kovio has been handled and is repeatedly handled. My old mayor (aethernoir) quit because Kovio was treated like a saint, which brings me to my next point again...

9) Donators should not be invincible. Simple as that. I know you claim you treat everyone fairly, but clearly thats a big fat lie. Darwiin said it in vent himself.

10) Stop contradicting each other and yourself! In one ear you are told one thing, in the other you are told another thing.

11) Lose the egos. Some staff think they're the dogs bollocks and players dont respect them for that whatsoever.

12) Vent should not the be all and end all of staffing. I don't use vent, I choose not to. I don't want to talk to a load of strangers from all over the world about some game. Vent is NOT Minecraft. You can communiate in Minecraft perfectly fine. If I want to communicate with a member of staff I shouldn't NEED vent. Thats mainly for the Devs. Get off your high horses and communicate with the membership, dont bloody ignore them if they ask you something and you are blatantly there.

13) This is mainly for modleaders+. Look at the member reports! Once something is reported, its not the end of the issue, you know. A warning CAN turn into a ban, and it should do in some cases. If a moderator isn't sure whether its worth a ban, they may ask in the members section, dont ignore it!

14) Why give trialmod any powers whatsoever when you want them to do nothing but watch and talk in chat, and then tell them off for using said powers?

15) Listen to the membership of the server. If even a few of them think something isn't right/should be changed, it normally means ALOT of people think it. Suggestions and Feedback may as well go in the archive section right away, not once does anybody ever listen to one of them, even if its a good idea.

16) Don't advertise donator perks when you can't even use them. Flashlight and waypoints NEVER worked for me and now MC is down too. You do know how stupid you look when a donator asks why they cant use a single perk from their donation.

17) Lead by example! I never see modleaders do ANYTHING in terms of chat moderation,griefing investigations and generally moderating the server.

18) Staff should have to abide by server rules as well. How FerroLotchi got away with that Rocka thing is beyond me. Just because Rocka said "Its ok" he gets away with it? That would not happen to a normal player. Also Ferro spams chat CONSTANTLY about his bloody party quest. Shut up about it for once. Its enough you have the permission to send TWO forum mass messages about it, I dont want to see a 10 minute countdown for all your parties with the same message spammed every 15 seconds.

19) This is a big one. Lose the red tape. Members shouldn't have to go through 4 different people to get something. Oh look a trialmod, he cant do anything, the mod may warn him, the modleader may ban him (probably wont, they don't check membership reports, then admins/Vet may decide the mod was in the wrong afterall). :shock: There is something called delegation, learn what it is. Trust your staff to make the right decision. If you don' want mods to ban, only give it to modleaders.

20) Set up some REAL guidelines as to when mute/kick/ban should be used. Label each rule with one of the punishments, it would make life a ton easier for mods.

That kind of turned into how to improve the server overall as well as staffing, but you get the drift. There is probably TONS more I could think of too.

I was half tempted to try and become full time Mod and then quit the same day, but I couldn't cope with this anymore. Jump before you are pushed, right? No way was I gona get it based on the forum messages chief sent and the thread Darwiin made, which were both clearly about me.

Id like you to know Im going to show some mods the same respect I was shown during my stint as a trialmod/moderator. Little to none. Chat should be fun! Who knows maybe ill even donate $50 just so i can do what the hell I want and bend and break rules all over the place. I think ill turn town pvp on and get people to visit my mall, say im WTB diamonds for 3z, then keep killing them. Ill sit in the 8x8 spawn actually and kill, thats legal afterall.

See you around :lol:

Good luck to all trialmods! I do hope you enjoy the job more than I did.

Note: My feelings are not directed at all staff, some are excellent. Darwiin in particular is a real asset to the staffing team. Chieftian is very helpful also, as is Azul.

I also still really enjoy the server and think the overall community is excellent, its just a shame it is allowed to be spoiled by a few individuals for the rest of us, whilst staff sit and watch.