[quote source="/post/659016/thread" timestamp="1512691876" author="@zegandhi"][quote author="@stevennl2000" timestamp="1512679672" source="/post/658978/thread"]There is a nonnegligible amount of old admins who say that TotalFreedom has been in a downward spiral since 2015. I will not believe it is too late until the server is truly deserted, but I also don't believe there is an easy solution. What is really needed is for this server to become a hub for socialization again.[/quote]@markbyron   @windows  [b] [/b]I would like to see your opinions on this. I'm not stating that this is all fact, this is just my opinion on what is hurting the server. [b]

TLDR: More admins = Less players. More admins = more drama. More admins = more rogues. More rogues = less players. The server is structured to be a community for admins, when it should be geared towards the actual players.

[/b]
So first of all, there's definitely issues effecting this server. You're right that it's not too late, and that there isn't any easy solution. To be clear, I do think there is a solution to the problem, however it would be very hard to properly implement, simply because of how much we rely on it. But if people really want this server to survive, I think it should be considered.

Now to start off, lets think of a normal minecraft server, we'll call it KanyeCraft. I'll use Kanyecraft as a reference between the average minecraft server and TotalFreedom. On this KanyeCraft, players probably have the incentive to keep coming back for a few obvious reasons: maybe because there's a real sense of community, they find it a lot of fun, or their friends play on it. Pretty similar to TotalFreedom. However, TF has one big difference: the incentive of becoming an admin. On KanyeCraft, less than 1% of the playerbase are admins, and the 99% are normal players who have no chance of becoming admin; this is fine for the players, because the server already fills up all their needs, and there is no incentive of becoming an admin.

This is where my issue is. On TotalFreedom, there is a HUGE incentive to become admin. Now let's look at the possible reasons a normal player wants admin, and relate it to KanyeCraft player incentives I listed earlier:

[ul type="disc"][li]There is almost no OP community on TF. No, seriously, it's almost non existent. In huge contrast to the admin community, which is actually rather large, and is growing. So as the OP community shrinks, the admin community grows. I will touch on this later. [/li][li]Being an admin is simply far more fun than being an OP. Just objectively, being an OP is just a bare bones experience when compared to the admin experience. And the players definitely know this. [/li][li]If their friend referred them to the server, their friend is [i]probably [/i]an admin. And guess what? If their friend happens to be telnet or above, they can [i]instantly[/i] make them an admin. So why stay an OP when every single sign points towards becoming an admin, which is objectively more fun?[/li][/ul]
So there's the problem. There's no point in staying a normal player when becoming an admin is more fun and easy. Whereas on KanyeCraft, becoming an admin is [b]extremely hard[/b], and probably [i]less [/i]fun than being a normal player. So what causes becoming an admin on TF so easy while on KanyeCraft it's so hard? Four things: Admin applications, AdminPAS, ranking up, and admin culture. These four things are [b][i]huge [/i][/b]parts of TotalFreedom. I'll now compare and contrast all of these issues individually with TotalFreedom and KanyeCraft.

[b]Admin Applications[/b]:
[ul type="disc"][li]TotalFreedom: Admin applications are opened almost the entire year. There is no real limit as to how many can be open, and there's never really a reason as to why they should be open. Now let's be clear, admin applications almost always fail, mostly because the applicant doesn't know what they're doing. But even if applications only succeed 5% of the time, considering [i]how many [/i]applications there are, a considerable amount succeed. Especially when you consider that people can just try, over and over again until they eventually succeed. So now that dude is an admin, but did we [i]really [/i]gain anything from that?
[i][/i][/li][li]KanyeCraft: Admin applications are either: nonexistent, almost never opened, only when they really need a new admin, or always open, but extremely strict. So let's suppose that the latter is true, and that applications are just really strict. Like, so strict that even if someone deserves admin, they won't get it because the server doesn't actually need any new admins. No one will become admin simply because they applied so many times that they finally succeeded.
[/li][/ul][p]
[/p][p][b]AdminPAS[/b]:
[/p][p][/p][ul type="disc"][li]TotalFreedom: AdminPAS (tpas, spas, opas, etc) was originally a good idea when a very small amount of people could do it. It used to be limited to just seniors, and there was way less seniors back then. When you have so many people that can do this, you'll find that you get more and more admins exponentially. It's just an outdated concept, and promotes nepotism.
[/li][li]KanyeCraft: It either doesn't exist, or there's a similar concept where higher executives or the owner can choose an admin. But it's probably not really a thing.
[/li][/ul][p]
[/p][p][b]Ranking up[/b]:
[/p][p]
[/p][ul type="disc"][li]TotalFreedom: Ranking up is a huge part of the admin process on TotalFreedom. It does give an incentive to admins to work harder, but it also promotes power hungry admins, and it ultimately gives a reason to be an admin that has nothing to do with even the server itself. The ranking process creates a cultural divide even between the admins of the [i]same server[/i]. This is almost entirely unheard of in other servers, but it's a huge problem here simply because of how many admins there are. And since there are multiple layers to being an admin, we're more likely to promote someone to super admin, because the rank means less.
[/li][li]KanyeCraft: Ranking up exists, but it's probably only done when someone [i]really [/i]deserves it, not because they've waited their turn. This still creates power hungry admins, but since there are far less admins than on TotalFreedom, it's not really an issue. It's not really a formal process like TotalFreedom has.
[/li][/ul][p]
[/p][p][b]Admin culture[/b]:
[/p][p][/p][ul type="disc"][li]TotalFreedom: Oh boy, this is a big problem. The divide between the admins of the server and the players of this server is just intense. I've seen on very many occasions where OPs are just openly treated like garbage, simply because they're a lower rank. I have experienced this personally, when I wasn't an admin for a bit. Admins that did not know I was a past senior almost always treated me like shit, like I was subhuman. Dare question authority? Too bad. Admin disrespected you? Oh get over it. But no disrespecting admins! This also contributes to more people wanting to become admin, just so they actually feel respected. And if they don't decide to become an admin, they might just leave the server because it's just so hostile. So what does that mean? More admins, less players.
[/li][li]KanyeCraft: There probably isn't any admin culture. Admin culture only exists on TF because it's evolved to this point after so many years.
[/li][/ul]

[p][/p]So with all of this being said, how does more admins mean less players? Here's my little feedback loop to explain it. [p][/p][p]When a new player joins the server, here are the possibilities of things they will do next:[/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][ul type="disc"][li]Player joins the server and never becomes an admin, but stays: This is the ideal situation, and the situation that should be promoted more. However, it is being increasingly less common, which is TERRIBLE for the server.
[/li][li]Player joins the server and becomes an admin: This is the less ideal situation, and I think it's being promoted far more than it should be. When a player becomes an admin, you have one less player.[/li][li]Player becomes admin and goes rogue: This is a cause and affect of the player having become admin. If he simply stayed a player all along, this scenario would have never occurred. And he probably caused some players to leave while he was at it.
[/li][li]Player joins the server and leaves: If a player can't become admin, they might just leave. This is the worst possible scenario.
[/li][/ul][p]
[/p][p]
[/p][font size="5"][b]How do I propose we fix this?
[/b][/font][p][/p][p][b]
[/b][/p][p][font size="2"]So if you've read this far, perhaps you agree with me, perhaps you don't. Regardless, here are my pretty controversial suggestions, that you may or may not agree with:[/font][/p][p]
[/p][p][font size="2"]1. Indefinitely close admin applications. Do this until we actually really need a new admin.
[/font][/p][p][font size="2"]2. Stop giving rogue admins their power back so easily. If someone really proves they deserve it after a long time, maybe. But if we just keep giving people more and more chances, it just does so much harm to the server, and results in more drama.
[/font][/p][p][font size="2"]3. Work to develop the community for the players. Advertise the server, give new opportunities for players, find a way to give a lasting sense of community, etc. Stop focusing on the admin community so much.
[/font][/p][p][font size="2"]4. Admin purge. Purge a large amount of admins that simply aren't living up to the job. If that definition happens to include me, so be it.
[/font][/p][p][font size="2"]5. Remove all applications for being promoted. Admins should be handpicked on who is best for the job, and then can be voted on. No more pity promotions.
[/font][/p][p][font size="2"]6. Stop treating players like dogshit. You see it every day, even on the forum. Stop acting like admins are more entitled to respect, everyone deserves the same respect.
[/font][/p][p][font size="2"]7. Just start gradually moving towards acting like a normal server. If we really want this server to survive, we need to do what works.[/font][/p][p]
[/p][p][font size="2"]Now these changes would only work if we actually committed to them. No half measures. I think these changes are worth trying, but that really falls to the owner to decide. Now obviously more would be needed to, but this is just a start. [/font]
[b][/b][/p] 
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