[GoM StaffM Application] GENERs Staff Manager Application (v2)

[GENER]

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Volunteer Staff Application Terms & Conditions

Last updated: January 20th, 2021

These Volunteer Staff Application Terms & Conditions constitute a legally binding agreement made between you, whether personally or on behalf of an entity (“you”) and Star by Star Gaming ("Company", “we”, “us”, or “our”), concerning your volunteer services on any of our services and or platforms such as and not limited to, our websites, game servers, any other media form, media channel, console or PC application, mobile website or mobile application related, linked, or otherwise connected thereto. You agree that by posting this application and or responding to application question (1.) with "Yes, I do agree to these terms and conditions.", you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by all of these terms and conditions. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ALL OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, THEN YOU ARE EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED FROM APPLYING FOR A VOLUNTEER STAFF POSITION AND YOU MUST DISCONTINUE YOUR APPLICATION PROCESS IMMEDIATELY.

You accept and understand that you are not any form of an employee, contractor, or agent of Star by Star Gaming. You accept and understand that the volunteer services you provide will be a donation and under no circumstances will you expect wages, salary, or benefits from Star by Star Gaming for the services provided during your time as a Volunteer Staff member. We reserve the right to remove or let go of any volunteer staff member for any reason and at any time at our sole discretion.

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These Volunteer Staff Application Terms & Conditions can and may be updated at any time without notice at our discretion, so be sure to frequently check back for any updates to these terms and conditions. An effort to inform you that they've been updated will be made, but not promised, so it's your responsibility to periodically check back. By posting this application and or responding to application question (1.) with "Yes, I do agree to these terms and conditions.", you are accepting and agreeing to these terms and conditions indefinitely regardless of any changes or amendments to these terms and conditions unless or until you are no longer a Volunteer Staff member. If at any point you no longer agree to these terms and conditions, you must immediately resign from your Volunteer Staff position and cease to continue your volunteer services immediately.

Please do not remove or delete these terms and conditions from your application, otherwise, your application will be considered and declared void.

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Applicants Steam ID - STEAM_0:1:90890134

-♣-♦-♥-♠- = -♣-♦-♥-♠- 

GENER

[insert pretty image here @'LexaForumsWoman']

(1.) Do you agree to and accept the Volunteer Staff Application Terms & Conditions? If so, please answer with "Yes, I do agree and accept these terms and conditions." - 
Yes, I do agree and accept these terms and conditions
 
(1a) What name and or alias are you most commonly known as within the SBS community? - 
GENER  - (In-game names: ♱ 'Father Fudge', ☠ 'Captain Governatore')
 
(1b.) What is your age? - 
21


(2.) Which volunteer community staff position is your application for? - 
Staff Manager
 
(3.) Approximately, when was the first time that you joined our community and how did you initially discover it? - 
I can no longer remember 
 
(4.) Community staff are held to a much higher standard both in general and with activity when compared to the standard game server staff. In this case, do you understand that you can be let go at any time for excessive inactivity at our discretion? -
Yes, I am aware we historically take the activity of super admins very seriously!!!
You know, I think… I think (just for the sake of formality) we should write down what this ‘higher standard’ is! Yes, we should… write it down, and publish it. Let everyone see it. Just saying ‘higher standard’ is pretty vague and ass I don’t like it.


(4a) How can we be certain that you will remain active on the server upon being accepted for a volunteer staffing position? -
There is no reason to doubt this. 
 
(5.) Tell us a little about yourself and why you would like to be accepted for a volunteer staffing position at SBS. (100 words or less) -
I am a university student; like a few other members of the staff team. I have had the opportunity to see many managers come and go. I believe that I am capable of assuming the responsibility of managing the staff team in the future. Generally, I am regarded as being friendly but people often comment on my unnecessary verbal flourishes. I do it for fun, but I can also be concise. I very much enjoy seeing the server abuzz with people to talk to (and mess with via events).
 
(6.) In your opinion, which quality of yourself do you feel that you need to improve on the most? -
My memory. 


(6a) In your opinion, which skill set of yours do you feel that you need to improve on the most? -


I very much rely on feedback I received from the late Pierre (he resigned, didn’t die just to clarify btw) and Administrators (collectively). The skills I am in need of improvement on are thus:

• Engagement with the Staff Team: being more enthusiastic about spending time with the staff team OUTSIDE of the server, participating in teambuilding, talking more in staff chat outside of formal responsibilities/communication, etc. Arguably, this is not a problem, and the criticism could be more elegantly phrased as 'engage with the rest of the team and take a greater initiative to at least talk to other staff members outside of formal responsibilities'. It took me a bit to reflect and realize this was what the feedback was really trying to say; because it appeared to me initially that I was effectively being told 'you must be close friends with as many members of the staff team as you can' which did rub me the wrong way at first as compulsory friendship seemed unhealthy. 
  UPON REFLECTION, of course, I see what the critique is trying to say and understand that the staff manager will have to communicate with all members of the team regularly.  I would like to think my communication with the team and initiative in sending votes in advance when it is impossible to attend meetings evinces this initiative and desire to engage/progress.
  

A manager will be looked to as a leader and authority figure, having a friendly and somewhat open team presence is important, and neglecting it could lead to a disconnected admin team. I accept and understand this.  But, I do think it is worth mentioning that the feedback I received from the former staff manager actually acknowledged, in writing, that a ‘disconnected admin team’ was: “an ongoing issue … but its one (he was) trying to rectify”.


It is not my job to assess whether the state of affairs in relation to a ‘disconnected admin team’ has changed since the date I received that feedback. — 06/07/2022. However, I will note the following: 

• If I were the staff manager, this would VERY MUCH be my job.
  
• I can see the significance of having that open team presence and being that example. This is why I am applying; I want to do precisely this in a way that is fair and meets community expectations. 
  

(7.) How would having you on our volunteer staff team benefit our community and what qualities set you apart from the rest of the applicants? -
 I very much rely on feedback I received from the late Pierre and Administrators (collectively). Though, to be honest, mainly Pierre. I present the qualities in list format because I understand this assessment to be accurate.

• Individuality : Catering to others is not something I am known for doing (i.e. reluctant to enforce rules selectively for a particular group, general favourtism, etc)
  
• Activity is consistent, and my performance as a Gamemaker is not at issue
  
• Friendliness; was regarded as generally polite and friendly outside of concerns found in Q6.
  

(8.) Have you ever previously maintained a game server staffing position, or currently are, on any other Garry's Mod servers? If so, which ones, and in which staffing positions? (List them if possible) -
No



(9) How would you rate your skills overall out of 10 (E.g., patience, response time, etc.) -

• Patience 6/10 : I would like to think my patience is perfect EXCEPT for certain things that just make patience that little bit harder. For example, hypocrisy, and people being generally disappointing will wear my patience like anyone else. The problem comes with me having to dole out punishment during this time; and I recall recently banning a player (who repeatedly tried to leave the sit; not engaging) that I had to ban. Because I was not patient, I ended up banning this player in a way that was inappropriate (ban length was too low compared to what it was supposed to be) and I did not log the ban. I learned a lot from this experience 
  

• Communication & Response time: 7/10 : I will generally ignore people off server platforms unless I /MUST/ respond to them. I could probably just direct them somewhere else, but no, no I am being honest here. I ignore them. I will not do that if promoted. In terms of response ON server platforms; fine. I will respond quickly unless someone else is around to respond at my behest or has an overriding duty to respond instead. I realize, that if promoted, /I/ would be the one expected to respond first. 
  

• Impartiality: 10 : I have been repeatedly praised for this. Even the server owner approached me at one stage (on a matter that need not be disclosed) because he valued this quality; he made specific reference to it. I don’t expect him to remember this but I can jog his memory in confidence if necessary.
  

• Teamwork 7/10 : I have participated in these teambuilding exercises the staff team has once before. It was quite fun, but I do not see these as mandatory and have preferred to keep my distance from the staff team professional, but friendly. This, I have on good authority, may have been a misjudgment on my part because it has given the impression that “If you’re [not] my friend, you will probably never speak to [me]”. Personally, all I think needs to be said in this regard is my communication will necessarily improve if I were assigned the responsibility of managing the staff team. 
  

• Professionalism 7/10 : Valid critique has been levied that I
  

“sometimes push the line which can slide as a GM but would definitely (create issues) as an admin”
I should have asked for specifics when this criticism was levied, but from memory, it was because I put a meme in the infamous #dank-memes channel of GLaDOS cracking a joke about Link from the hit franchise ‘The Legend of Zelda’ and horses. No details, but basically; not appropriate. This reflected a broader pattern of behavior I have since dialed back. 

• Attitude/General Demeanor: 9/10
  

My interaction with staff and players is above board and completely acceptable. Critique has been levied that I sometimes dip into “negative aspects” of my attitude. I interpret this to mean that, on occasion, I can perhaps be a bit cold. I manage my displeasure with others not by chastising them, calling them names, etc. but by simply dismissing them at best and being catty at worst. This is very rare, in my view.




(10.) Provide a couple of examples of situations or issues you may encounter and how you would handle them in the position you are applying for -
 

• Two staff members arguing: If staff members are arguing; but are… (borrowing from experience)
  

1. Raising their voice; shouting or yelling
   
2. Swearing/cussing at another, using slurs, threats, and directly personally attacking the other staff member.
   
3. Crying or clearly getting emotional in a way that could be embarrassing/uncomfortable for all parties involved.
   

They are to be immediately separated (e.g. removed from a meeting, for example) because these things, it would appear to me, would require speaking to both staff members separately (and then together, if appropriate). I would then use everything I learned in Alternative Dispute Resolution to try to figure out what the argument was about and how to move forward. 

• Staff member being inactive : 
  

Demote them?
There would be written, publicly available activity standards. Inactivity would be dealt with meticulously, like clockwork. 

1. Is the staff member on LOA (Leave of Absence)?
   

If yes: look to the LOA records of this staff member (I would keep records of every time a staff member takes a LOA, reasons (kept private if appropriate), and length. Do the records show patterns that are suspicious? Has the staff member taken too many LOAs, that, in all the circumstances, are so unreasonable or excessive that the staff member’s demotion would be fair and make “virtually no difference to the staff team’s performance”?


If no: has the staff member’s activity fallen short of the written standards?


If no: staff member is sufficiently active
If yes: Issue a strike and warning. Written and verbal. Record both of these. A verbal warning is to be issued in an extremely formal, detached, depersonalized way. I will be reading off of a script, making reference to the date, etc. This is because discipline is not supposed to be an opportunity for managerial coddling. 


NB: Staff members can be given 2 strikes. On the third strike, the staff member is demoted. 
The written, publicly available activity standards will be determined in consultation with the staff team.
The time which must pass before the ‘strikes’ of all staff members are wiped and removed will also be determined in a similar way. 


This system is meticulous, and sets out fair expectations that are written, publicly available, and developed in a democratic way. It seems perfectly fair to me; albeit a little juvenile giving ‘strikes’ out like we’re in 3rd grade but it is what it is. I would not implement the system though, without community approval. Approval by the staff team is a secondary consideration. 

• A severe report has been made showing a community member engaging in reprehensible conduct :
  

A general way I could approach this (presuming I have the ability to see and deal with these reports) could be as follows:

Step 1: Determine if the conduct is criminal in the ordinary sense of the word. If yes, defer to Server Owner depending on the circumstances. 
Step 2: If not; determine if the report is frivolous or if it is actually reporting something that merits a severe report
Step 3: If it merits the report, evaluate the evidence, talk to relevant parties including people in the report if strictly necessary and appropriate for clarification, and ensure all sides are heard where appropriate.
Step 4: Decide if the report should be accepted/punishment issued.

• Staff members abusing their permissions :
  

I continue to be baffled by the lack of any written code of conduct for staff members concerning their vast powers. I would institute a written (albeit, non-exhaustive) code of conduct (liable to amendment at staff meetings) that will spell out:

• Definitions of abuse, setting out examples of abuse
  
• Comprehensively outlining duties/responsibilities of staff members and their various ranks. This would also include the Staff Manager role, but that’s treading murky waters as I do not think it would be right for me to set out my own duties/responsibilities without consultation with the entire staff team and whomsoever is made server manager. But, I would certainly be able to set down such things for the rest of the staff team.
  

I would refer to the written code, and see if the abuse falls under any of the definitions. If not, look to the more broad provisions in the code. Determine if it is possible to interpret this in a way that is fair and would encompass the abuse concerned.


If abuse is novel; determine whether disciplinary action is reasonable on the facts and what kind. Try to evaluate the seriousness of the abuse. Act accordingly; providing punishment proportionate to the abuse (or not at all; depending on history and nature of abuse)
Regardless of if any serious action is taken; abuse is to be written down and recorded, with dates. The list is to be viewable only by the staff manager and other super admins; though staff members would be able to request to see their own record of abuse. 

• Community Questions :
  

I would endeavor to answer all questions as they come, but this can be unrealistic in certain circumstances… I shall set aside time on a day when I will be known to be available to answer questions; hear community concerns, etc. 

• Leaking:
  

I will determine the nature of the information leaked: (e.g. quantity, quality). I will ask if the staff member was given opportunities to confess to the leaking. If the information leaked is sufficiently serious AND the staff member was given the opportunity to confess a demotion will be expected. If I could *do more* I would, depending on the circumstances. Unsure if I would be able to: staff manager’s powers not written down or defined. 


(11.) If applicable, please provide a list of all your previous volunteer staff applications, provide a link to them if possible, and list any reasons why they may have been locked. If they were previously accepted, please provide a short explanation of why you are no longer volunteer staff at the time of this application. (Disregard if this is your first application) -


-Applied for Server Manager on one occasion on a date that has been lost.
-Applied for Staff Manager before this, once before, on a separate occasion, on a date that has been lost.
-Many GM Apps.

[Etlenor]

Most experienced applicant so far. I love how detailed and understanding each situation you listed is.

I definitely agree with the feedback that the staff team gave you in the past regarding how distant you seemed from the rest of the team. You knew them, and they knew you, but you just weren't around. Something I learned while I was on the team was how important and beneficial it was to be integrated, and I didn't see much of you in the staff chat specifically which was not very epic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apart from this, I believe you're a very suitable candidate, and I think someone of your character and how you express your thoughts openly about anything is really nice. I know you've been looking for a super admin position for a long time, and I really think this might be the time.

Neutral to +1. Good luck<3

[Bҽʅʅα*:･ﾟ✧]

My Comments:

Gina is what I like to call a spirit-head of the community, I really don’t know many within the community that genuinely dislike him.

Gina’s want for a forthcoming of a more standardised formality of expectations for the team is 1 I should look forward to seeing, as things like the mentioned standard of super-admins being actually written, or a direct and set out process of handling things such as inactivity. 

Furthermore, Gina’s persistence on laying out plans for a more consistent admin team is something to be desired, and I know that with the position this would probably be 1 of the main things he would set to do as he states. I think something else that is much desired is a general written out expectation of all staff members, and a sort of “Code of Conduct” when it comes to server related things.

My problems with Gina lie in exactly what he has stated in Question 6, where his engagement with the team is far and few between, but much loved when it does arise.

I specifically remember him messaging me, and I quote: 
“their feedback was 'oh if you're not his friend he will not talk to you’ and I'm like, ok? AND? Tf you want me to do man babysit ur kids on Thursday like, what?” [blah blah blah] “But that is fair I am famously reclusive. If I was a billionaire I'd build a giant library, lock myself in it, and give the rest of the money away ong”.

As one might be interpret from the above message, Gina (so far) is a nerd who likes to sit in the corner away from everyone else, law book in hand, flipping through pages like a maniac to find the reason why Queen Victoria married her cousin. But it also shows, to me at least, Gina’s possible lack of compassion for staff members, or I suppose a general care for those within the team rather than his own gain or those he is close with. A more disconnected character might be ok for the Server Manager Position, but it worries me when it comes to Staff Managing. I have high hopes to see this rise or for me to be proven wrong in the coming weeks.

One thing I do know though is Gina is able to be very level-headed and as he says, impartial. (Also the best gamemaker money can buy, you could put a doll and a rock infront of this man and he'd make a coherent event out of it) I should hope to see Gina participate more in staff discussions in the coming few weeks to prove that this would happen if he gets the position. Besides that I think, in the same way as Etlenor, it might be time.

Neutral but moreso leaning to the +1 side, subject to change in the coming weeks.

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Edit: Revised Vote - 

In light of this process going on for longer and longer, I want to narrow down my personal opinion to who I think would be best suited for the position. Over the past few weeks I know Gina has made a greater attempt to engage with the team, communicating a little more and such.
However, I've recently had another concern come to mind, your engagement in disciplinary scenarios, I can think of negative examples which I wish not to include here (they're recent)

To put it simply, Pierre brings up a lot of good points,
I've come to the simple conclusion though that I think I'd much more like you as Server Manager over Staff Manager Gina, and I think that, by this point, you'd get a fully supportive plus 1 there from me, even some of the votes here reflect that, e.g: "A vested interest in keeping things moving well and the server alive" - Edgar Nova (sounds like feedback that might be more suited to a server manager app)

Neutral as I still don't think you'd be bad, but actually maybe more leaning to a -1 vote as I'd prefer you for server manager instead,

[Pierre]

This will be my first serious post since my resignation and with the exception of other staff manager apps my last for a while. Despite me not playing GoM or intending to play in the future, I do have unique insight for this applicant that I'd like to share.

For a while, Gina was somebody I had considered for a promotion to the admin position. I may even go as far as to say that I would still support a promotion to admin for him. He was considerably more community-forward than staff-forward which was becoming rarer and rarer. He seemed very in touch with the community and would often consider their side when voting on staff material. Gina has been incredibly active for as long as I can remember. I believe that as manager Gina wouldn't slack on his responsibilities and would know when to resign if necessary. Not only that, he possessed a quality I value the highest, individuality. He would speak his mind and stay true to himself regardless of what the opinions of others were. If an applicant received a full sweep of -1s from the team but Gina felt they would be good, he would stick to his guns.

(switching to address Gina directly now)

This can be a double-edged sword though. There is a very blurred line where individuality crosses into stubbornness. And I feel that there were times where you crossed into that (it's been a while, pardon for lack of examples). However, that concern is trumped by my two main ones.

The first being something I noticed while reading your application but I worry could grow to be a bigger issue. You seem to have a heavily outlined plan on how you would execute things which is good. I can't help but worry however that what you plan to do is TOO outlined and formal. I am very pro a public code of conduct. It was one of the promises I made towards the end of my career that I couldn't deliver on due to the closure of Hogwarts and not wanting to rewrite much of it afterward. However I'll be honest I'm not a fan of some of the things you've described, in particular, the "staff member being inactive" section. The system you have seems to discredit any sort of input from the staff member you're dealing with and will create a very stressful and unfriendly relationship between you and the team. Every situation is different. I'm not saying you shouldn't have some guiding principles to go off of, but the way you describe how you would handle certain matters seem akin to your team presence, just a bit distant.

I'll now move to that. As it stands, your communication with the team is perfectly acceptable in the position you're in. When I was manager, you being a gamemaker that goes as does their own thing and does it well was frankly a blessing. However that all changes when you step up to a position of leadership. You bring up my feedback about you being distant from the team in relation to becoming an admin. That concern doubles when considering you for staff manager. On top of that, you seem to be content with your current engagement when evalutating yourself for the position of manager (See "I would like to think my communication with the team and initiative in sending votes in advance when it is impossible to attend meetings evinces this initiative and desire to engage/progress."). I can tell you right now, unless things have changed, your engagement is NOT enough for the position. If you are to get it you will need to step up. Don't confuse this for me telling you that you can't do it, rather it's me saying that there is work to be done.

This whole post may come across as overly negative however it comes from a good place. Despite what I said, if you can correct these concerns (maybe I'm wrong on them but time will tell if you do get the position) I know you'd do well to lead the team. As it stands it is very likely you will get the position so I'd view this as a bit of final feedback before obtaining the position rather than a last-ditch effort by me to turn heads on you as manager. 

Gl Gina, No vote.

[Mister Meeseeks]

eccentric catboy connoisseur... consumer? customer? anyways, short of Guy specifically wanting you for the role, I don't know if it's worth your time and energy pursuing a management role. Gene can be a strong advocate, or a strong critic. An inspiration, or someone who can crush you. 

Would probably trust Gene to put the whip to Lexa who it turns out is aloof and lazy, but does the current team want Gene to be the one to cry to for their interpersonal issues, to be their emotional punching bag (he has spikes, y'know), and to be there every weekend taking notes? Does Gene himself want to subject himself to this? idk. if you really want this i can probably provide some scenario to help your application along.

also, time zones. same with bob hoff.

[Edgar Nova]

+1 Similar to my other +1 for a different candidate Gener is generally very fair and does alot to keep people involved in the server. With as much time in the community you have you do have a vested interest in keeping things moving well and the server alive. Definitely a quality pick

[[red] Tyr]

+1 very good very cool good job

[Luke Sisca]

Me and the applicant have had some hiccups in the past however i feel they're one to still look past any biast they may have -aside from maybe miro- and be a good Staff Manager +1

[Splootastic Ryte Lionheart]

+1, I know Gino for a short bit and I can say that she is a great person. I believe she is studying in uni right now so that means that she will work very hard to look after the server as a staff manager by using the skills she learnt in uni on here. She seemed to have the right balance of strictness and goofiness. But I know when things gets serious, then she is serious. If you feel that I am wrong, Gino then by all means comment on this post and we can discuss on why I believe you will be the right candidate for this role.

[Charlie Allman]

+1, I know Gino for a short bit and I can say that she is a great person. I believe she is studying in uni right now so that means that she will work very hard to look after the server as a staff manager by using the skills she learnt in uni on here. She seemed to have the right balance of strictness and goofiness. But I know when things gets serious, then she is serious. If you feel that I am wrong, Gino then by all means comment on this post and we can discuss on why I believe you will be the right candidate for this role.

Gino is a dude bruh.


+1 on app. I feel that he’s always been a good option for staff manager and him and one other candidate would be amazing options