@madison: You're right, it does, but considering that several members of the staff have been demoted or removed, a fact we were only recently aware of, we have the right to be confused and uncertain. Although there wasn't a lot for those staff members to o, there were still things that they did. Whose responsibility will those things be? If you're as busy as you are forever saying you are, then surely you and Demos don't have time to do those things. Nor, it seems, does Paper who is the single remaining sub-admin. With their removal, it is logical to assume that our jurisdictions in Harbinger might change as well to cover all the "territory" of the forum. Frankly, just because you didn't give us any new duties with the loss of our coworkers doesn't mean that we could absolutely rule out the possibility.

No, you're right; Harbinger is [i]not[/i] a job, but because we respect you, we've come to expect that same level of respect be given back to us. To be completely honest, if you're so busy with life, then I don't think alienating your staff team [i]or[/i] reducing it as you already have is a very good idea. Few staff means more work for everyone else. Do you have time in your schedule for that?

"So, yes, there has been a lack of communication, but it hasn't been out of laziness. It's because we simply don't have time or energy."

"We didn't get time to explain, because we've been busy."

No, I don't think you do.

We have been kept in the dark, dealt with inconsistencies, gone through drama (let me specifically point at the board wide plot that was discussed), and are still doing our jobs to the best of our abilities. You emphatically reiterate on every point that you and Demos are busy, but what about us? What about [i]our[/i] busy schedules? I have class every day of the week, an independent study class I'm working my ass off to get credit for, three debate topics to prepare for the forensics team, spend extra hours getting help with my calculus because my teacher fails to explain concepts, and on top of that I'll likely have a job by the end of next week. Oh, and did I mention I have to deal with anxiety attacks? We're busy too, Madison, but we still pour our energy into the site and I don't think you've taken that into consideration.

"Harbinger is not a job." It isn't for us, but it isn't for you either.. If you're too busy to run Harbinger, you don't have to. If you don't like that we're bringing up issues we feel need to be resolved, then quit or close Harbinger. Don't keep pressuring yourself as hard as you are now and making the rest of us snap under the tension. There [i]is[/i] a lot of tension in the staff team and the forum itself and I believe that most of our problems have arisen from that stress.



@mel: Until this happened, Mel, I was content to leave the issues be. In your own words, "Everyone here is only human." If there was a time when I felt something could have been handled better or someone got testy, I attributed it to the human factor. No everyone can have a perfect temper all the time and not everyone can do everything perfectly. But, gradually, those things begin to pile up. Someone may not be able to do things perfectly every time, but they shouldn't make mistakes often enough that it eventually winds up like this, either.

We are all staff, but our jurisdictions aren't the same. I can't go around archiving IC threads (expect my own) because that's Lea's duty, nor could Spotty go into the Art Gallery and start doing my duties (expect for tidying up her own studio). In the same manner, we can't do a lot of the things around Harbinger (or know much) without contacting one of the admins. If neither of the admins are present, we could go to Paper. If Paper isn't around, then we're stuck. As much as I would like to believe that if the moderators simply communicated with each other - and we do, every day we get a chance, when something comes up, whether it is a problem with a member or a problem within the staff or something as minor as updating or sorting members - I know it isn't true. We need the admins around because there are some things we just can't do. I don't have the permissions in the forum's database to sort members or update the news or live feed - of the moderators, only Spotty and Frankie can do that.

You assert that it makes it harder for the admins to do their jobs when they're getting yelled at. When we're doing our job and have issues we want to resolve and compromise on, or hear their reasoning for those decisions, we come and post about it in the staff forum and what do we get? The internet version of a parental lecture. I hoped that by allowing Madison and Demos to know what was going through our minds it would help them to become better administrators. Everyone has room for improvement. You do, I do, Pro does, Paper does, the members do, Madison does, everyone does. I had hoped that I would be allowed to understand why the demotions and removals occurred because, without knowing the reasoning behind it, it appears like a flawed, ill-conceived plan. I know that Madison and Demos are more rational than that, but the way they've gone about this has left me with suspicions.

"We're all supposed to be friends on a team working together, but that idea seems insane with the way things have been going."

Even friends have spats, arguments that need to be resolved. The lower staff has brought up issues several times now that we want to get hammered out, but that hasn't happened any of the times. Everyone ends up angry and upset and then childishly stomping off. If it seems like I'm pointing the finger, I'm not; it's a blanket statement to describe what I see when I reread those arguments. Tempers get out of control, people blow up, and then the whole situation dissolves into one chaotic blob where everyone is angry and nothing gets solved. I'm sick of it too, but I don't believe the staff team will ever function normally if we don't get this figure out for good. We shouldn't let things bottle up like this, but how can we stop doing that if we have no channels of communication to use? As I stated before and as Madison has reiterated in her post, both she and Demos and busy and, if they're the ones we have issues with, how are we supposed to talk to them about it if they're not online? This whole situation has designed a course that brings us to the same conclusion: one big fight.