In-game Username: clinux
Discord username: Clinux
Characters you play: Maxwell Barragy, Conor Hanna, Aidan Fry, Jackson Roeder
On average, how many hours do you expect to admin per week: 10-20
Days you are available to admin on: All seven days of the week
How old are you? 21
Do you have any SS14 experience outside of Wizard’s Den servers, or any SS13 experience? I’ve played a few rounds of goob station, primarily when Wizden servers are for whatever reason nonfunctional.
Do you have prior administration experience (SS13/SS14 experience preferred, please also post a way for us to verify this)? I used to be a superadmin of a gmod TTT server. The server went by “Paradox Equinox”
The server has since been shut down but a few of my old admin forum posts survive (most notably the “addon ideas” thread.
Have you ever been banned from any SS14 or SS13 servers? Yes, unbanned via appeal.
What are you primarily interested in doing as an admin? Personally, I would love to resolve player and rule disputes. Having to decipher a complex scenario from logs, replays, and witness accounts was one of my favorite things to do back when I was a TTT admin. Other than this, observing rounds is also interesting as it provides a unique way to achieve a deeper understanding of the game and its mechanics as players of all experience levels interface with them to achieve whatever fun result they desire. Finally, I won’t deny that I wish to dip my toes into small scale admemeing (on the scale of ERT) as it seems very similar to being a D&D DM (prioritizing player fun while simultaneously providing a challenge and/or entertainment) and as a forever DM that is my bread and butter.
What are you least interested in doing as an admin? Appeals review. In my experience (feel free to correct me if it’s different for ss14/wizden) 90% of appeals are blatant rule breakers that wish to repeal a perma ban and cause more havoc. I fully recognize the point of having an appeals process, providing a way for players to have a decision reversed in the event of a misjudgment is extremely important, but they are still tiring nonetheless.
Detail Questions
What role do you think game admins serve on our servers?
The game admins first and foremost uphold the rules of roleplay. Without the threat of a boink, RP breaks down and player experience suffers as a result. Secondly, they are tasked with ensuring the game operates as intended. SS14 is by no means a complete or bug-free game and sometimes admin intervention is required to prevent some kind of game-breaking issue from ruining a round (be it the puddle getting glitched into the station or someone getting stuck in a wall, admins are there to resolve these issues). Finally, if there is no immediate issue (be it a rule break or bug) the admin is tasked with enhancing player experience and roleplay. This can be done through answering prayers and responding to CC faxes or full-on events. Player enjoyment is key, and that’s what the admins uphold.
Why do you want to become an administrator for SS14?
Personal enjoyment. I find administrative roles fun and engaging and being able to enhance player experience on top of that places SS14 admins in a perfect crossroads. When an admin isn’t on to answer ahelps or respond to CC faxes it detracts or ruins the experience of that round and I wish to be there to plug that gap.
How do you feel about the current roleplay status on the servers?
I am an LRP man myself and I think the player roleplay, while at times can break down, is in a pretty good position. I find that when players wish to roleplay at a higher level they find plenty of willing players to reciprocate even on these LRP serves. While it’s expected that LRP servers are chaotic and for at times RP to break down (be it new players, shitters, or some other X factor), it almost always recovers to a fun and acceptable level.
Other than banning problematic players, what admin actions do you believe have the biggest positive impact?
Answering CC faxes (and other small admin actions like that) and responding to help (rules and mechanics questions). The former allows for player RP experiences to greatly improve while the latter prevents new players from getting frustrated or lost when a command or more experienced player is unavailable.
Have you ever had a negative experience in the game or with a game admin? If so what, if anything, would you do to prevent other players from experiencing this?
Having the lack of an admin when an issue arises is the worst. The suspension of disbelief which facilitates RP crumbles immediately when a legitimate issue goes unresolved. It is vital that there is an admin on frequently to prevent this and purely by being connected to the server and attentive can fix this.
Have you ever had a good experience with the game or a game admin? If so, what was it?
I have two key moments in my mind. The first is when there was what I thought to be an atmos bug on Oasis station was revealed to be my own incompetence at the time, the admin was very patient and helpful when describing what I was doing wrong and what can be done to fix it.
The other time was when a HOP was dissing CC in some manner and CC responded by temporarily blinding them (after several back and forths). It caused an extremely comedic scenario and had me faxing CC asking if they wanted me the CE to coup the hop.
Scenario Questions
Scenario 1
It is the start of the round. There are 60 players on the server. The game mode is traitors, traitors have not been selected yet. There are three players who decided to observe the round instead of join it orbiting you. Two of them are encouraging you to “do something funny”.
There is no need to listen to these people. In this specific scenario, no admin intervention is required in the slightest. The round has just started, and there are enough players for the game to both function properly and be fun. Intervention or admemes will only occur should players have either an issue (rules or bugs), or an in-RP reason to contact CC and request it. (stuff like ERT should all heads get killed and the station comes under syndie control.)
Listening to some random ghost players round start just because they want an admeme interrupts the natural gameflow and might negatively impact roleplay. They can go play a naturally spawning ghost role if they want something funny.
Scenario 2
This scenario takes place on LRP. The Head of Security has decided to coup the Captain. The Head of Personnel agrees with the Head of Security and has taken up arms in case it is necessary to aid in effecting the arrest of the Captain. The Captain is hiding with the Quartermaster in the cargo shuttle to avoid the Clown who has stolen the captains saber as a non-antag. There are five people named in this scenario. Please describe what actions, if any, you would take in relation to each, and why.
It is immensely important to establish the cause of this coup. If there is a legitimate reason for such extreme action by both the hos and the hop then the situation should play out organically and whatever rule breaks (if any occurred) can be handled after the situation has been resolved. The same goes for the clown. Establishing how the clown acquired the sword, what they are using it for, and what role they played in the current coup is vital. If they joined up with sec, slipped the cap causing them to drop the sword, and subsequently used it to attack them then that is a legitimate RP reason. Now, if they refuse to give up the sword to sec and continues to hold it and even turn on sec, this can be qualified as a self antag but can likely be resolved with a warning or direct admin intervention if required.
Now on the flip side, if the hos and the hop are acting way out of line and are causing this coup for no or little reason, an in-game push to cease hostilities can be used (such as a CC announcement threatening action should the coup continue). This allows for RP to continue in a somewhat organic fashion while resolving the problem. If this fails then more direct action can be taken. After hostilities have stopped or the round ends a punishment can be given depending on context.
Scenario 3
You are ahelping a player about an issue. The player has no prior noted issues. A few days earlier, an admin had told you that this type of situation should result in a temporary ban for a first offense, and you are confident that this situation is not substantially different from the type that admin was describing. During the ahelp, another admin pings you on Discord with a link to the ongoing ahelp and tells you to just indefinitely ban them and make them appeal. Excluding trialmins and headmins, all admins are equally “ranked”. A headmin is not currently available.
Seeing as how both admins are in agreement that a ban should be issued at the first offense it is likely that the issue is severe and immediate action must be taken. I would likely temporarily ban them (1-2 days) in accordance with the first recommendation with the note that the length of the punishment is subject to change per a head admin’s review. I would then immediately contact a head admin when one is available and ask them to assist in deliberation and to advise whether or not a perma ban is necessary as the second admin recommended and then act per the head admin’s advice whatever it may be (removing the ban, perma ban, shortening/extending the ban, etc). Should anything change with the ban length I would attempt to notify the banned player through either Discord or forums if available.