In-game Username: gruesomegray
Discord username: gruesomegray
Characters you play: Buries-the-Hatchet and Bulls-Eye are my main characters with an assortment of other side characters I occasionally play.
On average, how many hours do you expect to admin per week: 3-5 hours.
Days you are available to admin on: I play on weekdays mainly, early in the morning and late at night but am typically available throughout the day and almost all day on week ends.
How old are you? 22 now, soon turning 23.
Do you have any SS14 experience outside of Wizard’s Den servers, or any SS13 experience? I am an active player on Cosmatic Drift’s HRP server, usually attending the Saturday playtests.
Do you have prior administration experience (SS13/SS14 experience preferred, please also post a way for us to verify this)? I was an admin for a Path of Titans realism roleplay server for over a year. The server is called Walking With Dinosaurs. My admin duties included moderating the discord server, spectating and moderating in game, reading and accepting/denying whitelist applications, and I had a lot of experience managing/running in game events for the server.
Have you ever been banned from any SS14 or SS13 servers? No.
What are you primarily interested in doing as an admin? My main interests would be in-game rule enforcements and providing fun events for players. I play exclusively on MRP and would love to see more unique wide-scale admin events happen more often. I also tend to play in the mornings or late at night while the server population on Salamander is small and, as far as I can tell, not many admins are in game at that time.
What are you least interested in doing as an admin? I suppose skimming through replays would be what I’m least interested in, but if it’s part of the job then it is something I’m willing to make time for.
Detail Questions
What role do you think game admins serve on our servers?
A game admin’s main purpose is to make sure the game is enjoyable for everyone, whether that be done through enforcing rules or enhancing the round with event type things. They make sure the round runs smoothly and that anyone who’s just there to ruin the fun gets dealt with swiftly.
Why do you want to become an administrator for SS14?
I currently have over a thousand hours in SS14, specifically on WizDen servers, and I have such a great love for this game as a whole. I have met so many wonderful people on these servers both in-character and OOC. I don’t have anywhere near as many hours in any other game than I do on SS14, and I simply want to be able to contribute and continue to foster the great community that is drawn in by SS14.
How do you feel about the current roleplay status on the servers?
I really cannot speak on the LRP servers because I played the bare minimum to be whitelisted on MRP and never looked back, but I think most of the time MRP is a great place. I (and many others) believe the MRP level of roleplay sort of devolves the more players are online but I believe this can be helped by admin intervention to an extent. Either way, in general, I believe the status of roleplay on MRP at the least is in a decent place.
Other than banning problematic players, what admin actions do you believe have the biggest positive impact?
I think the best thing an admin can do, on any server/game, is simply talk to and interact with the general population. It helps remind them that admins are normal people too, and many problems can be sorted out with a quick chat rather than resulting to permanent consequences.
Dealing with ban appeals as well can leave a lasting positive impact. No one wants to be banned, and discussing the situation in an appeal with them can ensure the behavior doesn’t stick in the future.
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?
I have had plenty of negative interactions with people both in character and OOC, whether it’s command members that really shouldn’t be in command or passengers making my life hard by self-antagging. Even as a normal player, I always encourage people to Ahelp instead of fume in silence and tell them that all Ahelps are good Ahelps. The worst that can happen is it’s not actually a rule break and the Ahelp gets brushed aside. I have not yet had any kind of negative interaction with a game admin. (And I hope it stays that way!)
Have you ever had a good experience with the game or a game admin? If so, what was it?
I have had so many great experiences in this game, I wouldn’t have a thousand hours of playtime if I was not having a good time. Any time I have had to Ahelp I have had a fine interaction with the admin available. I will never forget the time that I Ahelped a captain for saying something vaguely homophobic and then was gifted 2 BBQ rib sandwiches as a thank you by the admin who answered.
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”.
I think I would first wait for the traitors to be selected, then decide from there based on how many there are and such. I’d make sure to let the ghosts know that I can’t promise anything will happen and that I want to ensure the traitors are able to play their part. Furthermore, I would encourage the observers to make their own fun and take ghost roles.
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.
First and foremost I would want to track down why the HoS and HoP are against the captain. Is the captain making poor decisions or otherwise not acting in a way that is expected of a captain? Is it something so severe that it warrants a demotion of the captain? Or is it simply the HoS did not agree with something the captain said/did and is choosing an extreme retaliation? Depending on the answer to this:
- I would prefer to let people sort it out in character if the coup is “justified” and not intervene unless it leads to actual server rules being broken.
- If it is the HoS abusing their power as a member of security to push against something that they simply just didn’t like, I could do something like a CentComm announcement to denounce the coup and remind command that they need a valid reason to revolt essentially against their captain, as well as encourage command (HoP) to let security do security and not take up arms themself if it is not necessary.
If further in-character ways of resolving it do not pan out, then an Ahelp message to the players to try and sort it out would be my next action.
The QM seems like more of a bystander, simply helping/obeying the captain as any command member should in most cases. If the QM had nothing to do with the previous actions of the captain and whatever they did/said to get the HoS to form a coup, then I would leave it at that.
Finally, the clown. I would wait and try to let players deal with the situation in game first. If security finds the clown with the captain’s sabre and the clown peacefully returns it, everything is fine. Maybe a small note about not stealing weaponry as a non-antag. If the clown however instead fights back, insists on keeping the sabre, slips security and things like that, then an Ahelp message to them explaining self-antagging and that it’s not a funny clown thing to do. Tell them to knock it off. Escalate as the situation deems fit, etc.
Overall, I would prefer to take a backseat and allow players to attempt to sort their problems out in game if no serious server rules are being broken. I would watch over the situation closely, of course, and step in if needed.
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.
I would explain to the admin that pinged me that the player has no previous notes and what another admin had told me about it being a temporary ban. Then I’d ask why they thought it should be indefinite with an appeal. I would base my decision on the explanation of that admin and the discussion that follows regarding the temporary or indefinite ban.