ST Interview

these will be some questions about some scenarios and your personality
ready?

OliviaToday at 13:55
Yep!

mattatlasToday at 13:55
cool
so let's start with this one: what do you think are the biggest issues with aurora, presently? what do you think you'd work to improve, or remove if that's the case?

OliviaToday at 13:59
Well, to be honest I'm pretty happy with the way Aurora is at the moment. I'd say if I had to pick the biggest issue I'd honestly say that at times there's just not been enough staff on to take ahelps or deal with issues when they arise. For example a mod needing to call an admin, or no mods on at all when some issues are happening on the server. Or- another scenario where there's only one moderator or admin on, and they have to field all the ahelps themselves. Of course this is rectified by hiring more staff, but I do see it as an issue a few times a week.

mattatlasToday at 14:00
alright, so, what kind of server do you think aurora is - a realistic one, or a believable one?

OliviaToday at 14:04
I'd say Aurora is definitely a believable server. I mean, honestly my favourite thing about fantasy and sci-fi based worlds is that they aren't realistic. I absolutely love the suspension of disbelief and the world that Aurora has created. It's grounded enough to be believable, but a huge part of the enjoyment comes from the fact that it's not anything like the current day in our world. There's teleportation, magic (sometimes!,) and even just the fact that there are so many different races- it's something amazing to think about, but it's believable to a point where I could see some of it happening. Just not yet.

OliviaToday at 14:15
My message go through ok? ^-^

mattatlasToday at 14:17
yes, but I got wound up in a big ticket
apologies

OliviaToday at 14:17
No worries!

mattatlasToday at 14:17
What's the difference between realism and believability in your opinion?

OliviaToday at 14:19
Well, realism, in my opinion, would be if Aurora was set in today's time. There's just not too much interesting about that, in my opinion. Human's living in space, fighting space-fish, and interacting with other races is believable, but it's not realistic, not at the moment. The definition of realistic is shifting and moving every day as we develop new tech, but to put it in perspective, before cars were invented, getting around in any other manner than a horse wasn't realistic. But someone making something better? That was a believable scenario.

mattatlasToday at 14:20
Going off on that: what's the difference between realistic and believable characters, then?

OliviaToday at 14:24
See, people aren't the same as technology and advancements. People are completely more complicated, and in that I think a realistic character is about the same thing as a believable character. Someone who realizes what's happening around them, and reacts in a way that is realistic in the setting. It's about understanding what mindset your character has, their personality, and their abilities and managing it in a way that makes sense. As much as the world and tech may change around us, people, generally, stay the same in regards to what is realistic and believable for them to do.

mattatlasToday at 14:26
What do you think about self-antagonistic actions? Can characters have buildup leading to them? Do you think it should be possible for characters to do things that may be against the "believable characters" rule?

OliviaToday at 14:31
I think it's very situational. Characters should understand that this is a workplace, and they applied and chose to work there. It's not as though they're being forced, and as a result I think that they should make the effort to keep their job. What is and isn't acceptable depends on the round, the character, and what's happening around them.

I think that in emotionally-heightened situations, it may be possible for characters to break the rule, but a good rule of thumb is to ahelp first. It doesn't take too long to say "I'm going to do x because y and z", and wait for an answer from staff. As a general rule of thumb, if you're unsure if your actions are breaking rules, think about why you're doing what you're doing. Is it because this is something my character would do if pushed to the breaking point, or is this something I want to do because I'm bored?

mattatlasToday at 14:34
Good enough
Alright, so, we'll start the scenarios now

OliviaToday at 14:34
okie dokie!

mattatlasToday at 14:34
Want a rundown on what tools you have as a trial mod?

OliviaToday at 14:34
Please.

mattatlasToday at 14:37
Admin PM > You can PM a guy, bwoink them
Toggle Wind > Comes up on rclick, you can freeze a guy and they won't get back up
Add Note > Adds a note to their record
Warn > Can add a severe or normal warning
Ban > Self explainatory. Our usual escalation is in days, 1 to 3 to 7 to perma, as a trial you cannot permaban and a moderator has to do it for you
View Variables > You can view a mob's variables. Their HP, their combat logs, their status, and so on and so forth. If you aren't sure if you can do something with it you can ask me
Check Antagonists > Check all antagonist characters and their roles
As soon as you've read over all of this hmu and we'll start

OliviaToday at 14:37
Okay! Perfect.

mattatlasToday at 14:38
Sure
So, you're the only moderator on. It's a calm lowpop extended round. You see a guy joining as a green afro assistant with a pink beard and he's named "ULTRA INSTINCT GOKU". He seems a bit clueless and just wanders in the odin.
What do you do?

OliviaToday at 14:39
Well, first thing would be that I bwoink him, and ask him if he has a sec to talk.

mattatlasToday at 14:40
He doesn't respond. Just keeps walking around.

OliviaToday at 14:41
I'd bwoink him again, and say that he needs to click my name to respond to me, and type in the field that comes up.

mattatlasToday at 14:43
Doesn't answer. Someone respawns on the odin and starts walking to the shuttle. He follows them.

OliviaToday at 14:43
At this point, I'd wind him, and say he needs to respond to me or I can't help him at all.

mattatlasToday at 14:44
He walks over to the other guy and just starts beating him up.

OliviaToday at 14:44
After being winded?

mattatlasToday at 14:47
oh yeah I missed that whoops
He asks you what you want

OliviaToday at 14:47
no worries!
I tell him that his name isn't appropriate for an HRP server, and tell him that he's going to need to change it.

mattatlasToday at 14:51
He tells you to fuck off and let him play

OliviaToday at 14:52
I tell him that I'm not going to let him go around with a name like that, and he's going to have to work with me or I'm going to have to take some more drastic actions.

mattatlasToday at 14:52
He logs out.

OliviaToday at 14:52
Can you apply warnings/notes/kicks/bans when people are logged out?

mattatlasToday at 14:55
as long as their mob exists
yeah

OliviaToday at 14:57
Okay! So I'd make a note and say that they were obstinate in bwoinks and unwilling to have a discussion, and then ban them for three days saying they can appeal on the forums with an explanation for their behaviour, and when/if they come back I'd like to see it improve.
Can mods spawn bstechs?

mattatlasToday at 14:57
Bans already leave a note

OliviaToday at 14:57
ah, ok!

mattatlasToday at 14:57
So when someone sees someone's notes
they'll see every ban and every warning and every note

OliviaToday at 14:58
okay, perfect.

mattatlasToday at 14:58
and mods cant spawn bstechs, no
admin only

OliviaToday at 14:58
Oh
well then I'd tell the other person in the odin to
cryo the guy.

mattatlasToday at 14:58
alright, that works

OliviaToday at 14:58
okie!

mattatlasToday at 14:58
one last question
You have the power to change one thing on the server
What do you change?

OliviaToday at 15:04
I'm honestly really happy with the way Aurora is at the moment. I don't think I'd want to change anything major, to be honest. More staff on, is the only thing I can really think of. Maybe allowing players a little more freedom in gimmick-wise. What I mean by that is gimmicks, at the moment, need a lot of adminbussing- complicated ones I mean. And when admins aren't really on, doing those complicated antag gimmicks can get tough. I'm not entirely sure how one would rectify this, though, other than more staff on, or eventmoderators.

mattatlasToday at 15:05
Alright
Want this interview to be public?

OliviaToday at 15:05
Sure!