Haven't made a post in a while so I thought I'd compile some thoughts I've had over the past year in one post.
I've always noticed that there are too many admins on this server, it's just a fact, the server is top-heavy. Some might see this as being a good thing because it means that there is always an admin to help someone in need, so it benefits the server and the players to have an abundance of admins. This is not the case in Syles.
In an age where players (admins and non-admins) are hard to come by, committing so much of your player base to admins turns out to not be such a great idea. You end up taking players who contribute so much to your servers interest level by making clans, creating drama, helping new players--and you stick a rank on them which requires them to stop doing everything and keep a look-out for violations. On top of that the old admins we have never seem to lose their admin power, so they are free to come back and abuse it, bump heads with the new admins, and create a general clusterfuck or drama that's completely unnecessary.
I'll cite examples without getting too personal or derailing my point. Zak? Eldrun? Old Doctor? These are players the server needed as players. Guys like these used to make clans every week, battle, truce, report, fight with each other, now they sit back and look for violations (zzzzZZZzzZZZzz). I'm not even criticising how well these guys perform as admins, none of them are great, but that's not even the point. The point is that they are all more valuable to the server as players rather than admins. On top of that if they try to do the things that make them valuable as players when they become admins, which is common, it's even more of a mess.
In addition have old admins who come on the server once a month, do some shady stuff because they still have admin but don't care about the server, than leave. The system is so political that these people aren't deleted as soon as they lose their usefulness, there is no structure to the system and more problems arise as a result. The system works like a ladder for the player to climb, player->cop->admin->superadmin->elite->root, why do we need to many ranks? These are like crack to the powerhungry. I see 5 people in the server and 18 down the side panel, I know most of these are inactive, but are they stripped if they are?
My solution is a new admin system with what I like to call "slots"
The structure looks like this.
1 Owner
1 Head Admin
4 Admins
The admins occupy admin "slots" slot1,slot2,slot3,slot4
If the admin in "slot2" becomes inactive or is stripped, a post should appear in the admin forums asking people to apply for slot2, the best applicant is selected, admin numbers never go over 4 active admins. If someone thinks they deserve admin but no slots are open there is no reason for them to become disgruntled about not getting admin. Old admins don't feel slighted by the server for being stripped when they are inactive because no reasonable person should think they deserve a slot when they are away from the server. If an adminx loses his admin he should be able to apply alongside others for his slot, assuming he promises to be more active or stop the behaviour that got him stripped. The head admin looks over the applicants and the comments about them and makes a final call on it.
The main criteria the Head Admin should be looking for is :
1. Is this player going to be a smart, capable admin who shows little bias or possibility for abuse?
2. If the answer to 1. is Yes, Is this person more valuable to the server as an admin than a player? (Really Important)
Admins should have as little power as they absolutely need to be effective for the server, nothing more.
Strip all of the admins and open 4 slots, I don't see why we need any more than that if they are active honestly, if you change this number do it before you open applications so it doesn't look like the number of slots is subject to change. Post the 4 admins on the side of the forums so everyone knows who occupies each slot.
Would be interested to hear thoughts.
I've always noticed that there are too many admins on this server, it's just a fact, the server is top-heavy. Some might see this as being a good thing because it means that there is always an admin to help someone in need, so it benefits the server and the players to have an abundance of admins. This is not the case in Syles.
In an age where players (admins and non-admins) are hard to come by, committing so much of your player base to admins turns out to not be such a great idea. You end up taking players who contribute so much to your servers interest level by making clans, creating drama, helping new players--and you stick a rank on them which requires them to stop doing everything and keep a look-out for violations. On top of that the old admins we have never seem to lose their admin power, so they are free to come back and abuse it, bump heads with the new admins, and create a general clusterfuck or drama that's completely unnecessary.
I'll cite examples without getting too personal or derailing my point. Zak? Eldrun? Old Doctor? These are players the server needed as players. Guys like these used to make clans every week, battle, truce, report, fight with each other, now they sit back and look for violations (zzzzZZZzzZZZzz). I'm not even criticising how well these guys perform as admins, none of them are great, but that's not even the point. The point is that they are all more valuable to the server as players rather than admins. On top of that if they try to do the things that make them valuable as players when they become admins, which is common, it's even more of a mess.
In addition have old admins who come on the server once a month, do some shady stuff because they still have admin but don't care about the server, than leave. The system is so political that these people aren't deleted as soon as they lose their usefulness, there is no structure to the system and more problems arise as a result. The system works like a ladder for the player to climb, player->cop->admin->superadmin->elite->root, why do we need to many ranks? These are like crack to the powerhungry. I see 5 people in the server and 18 down the side panel, I know most of these are inactive, but are they stripped if they are?
My solution is a new admin system with what I like to call "slots"
The structure looks like this.
1 Owner
1 Head Admin
4 Admins
The admins occupy admin "slots" slot1,slot2,slot3,slot4
If the admin in "slot2" becomes inactive or is stripped, a post should appear in the admin forums asking people to apply for slot2, the best applicant is selected, admin numbers never go over 4 active admins. If someone thinks they deserve admin but no slots are open there is no reason for them to become disgruntled about not getting admin. Old admins don't feel slighted by the server for being stripped when they are inactive because no reasonable person should think they deserve a slot when they are away from the server. If an adminx loses his admin he should be able to apply alongside others for his slot, assuming he promises to be more active or stop the behaviour that got him stripped. The head admin looks over the applicants and the comments about them and makes a final call on it.
The main criteria the Head Admin should be looking for is :
1. Is this player going to be a smart, capable admin who shows little bias or possibility for abuse?
2. If the answer to 1. is Yes, Is this person more valuable to the server as an admin than a player? (Really Important)
Admins should have as little power as they absolutely need to be effective for the server, nothing more.
Strip all of the admins and open 4 slots, I don't see why we need any more than that if they are active honestly, if you change this number do it before you open applications so it doesn't look like the number of slots is subject to change. Post the 4 admins on the side of the forums so everyone knows who occupies each slot.
Would be interested to hear thoughts.
"pseudo want to be mafia gang punks" - Darth Tater