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12-12-2015, 03:08 PM
Hello all,
The Admin team constantly strives to be as transparent and open with all of our decisions as possible. We constantly encourage you to come talk to us if you would like to know how a decision was arrived it, or why a certain call was made. However we also know that for some of you, this might be an intimidating task. So! In the interest of keeping communication as open and free as possible, we wanted to give the community some insight as to how the Admin Team actually functions.
The Admin team constantly strives to be as transparent and open with all of our decisions as possible. We constantly encourage you to come talk to us if you would like to know how a decision was arrived it, or why a certain call was made. However we also know that for some of you, this might be an intimidating task. So! In the interest of keeping communication as open and free as possible, we wanted to give the community some insight as to how the Admin Team actually functions.
- WHO WE ARE
The Admin Team is comprised of three main admins: Tamme, Blu, and Odd. We three are responsible for making all decisions that pertain to Helovia. Broadly speaking, Tamme oversees updating, Blu oversees Judging, and Odd oversees mythical. However we are all capable of stepping in to these areas when needed. For instance, we are all capable of updating and making item and magic related decisions, are all capable of rolling and judging spars, and are all capable of writing Gods and REs.
HOW WE OPERATE
None of us act autonomously. We function as a group. All decisions need to be ‘passed’ with a 2/3 majority, however all members of our team are always informed of decisions made and the reasons why. Sometimes we have different opinions about rules or policy, but as mentioned, we always discuss these things together - and even when a vote isn’t unanimous, we all stand by the decision and understand the reasonings.
BIASES IN OUR TEAM
Biases are unavoidable which is why we eliminate all possible conflicts of interest. Admins may not roll their own spars, write RE’s/Gods to themselves, roll their own drops (if they are in a drop that they are hosting, someone else will roll for them. OR if the drop is ‘puzzle based’ they are simply not allowed to participate). We track our IPs, and so we can ALWAYS see if any of these failsafes have been violated. We take screen shots and post them for drops, since that is the biggest point of contention with biases, but we are always happy to give you even more background information if you think any amount of unfairness has occurred. We are not allowed to judge our own stealths, or judge stealths were biases might be a problem, nor do we judge our own spars. In fact, spars have to be approved by a SECOND admin, before being posted.
In order to eliminate any other biases, occasionally we break out 2/3 rule. If one of the admin is directly involved in challenging a rule, or is in any other conflict, they let the other two know, who handle the situation. We all know that emotions can run high especially when your character is involved, and so as admins we are forced to step back and abide by the decisions of the other two. When this is not possible (if we are all involved in something), we outsource. We look to our Jr A’s, or even to members of the community who have been admins in the past, or who have been around long enough to have an informed position.
- On a personal note… It is very hurtful when we are accused of being biased. We are often told that our characters get unfair dice rolls, that we win more in drops, etc. Not only could we show you how far from the truth this actually is, but being an admin actually vastly decreases our opportunities. There is rarely a day that goes by where we don’t have to discuss someone on the site who is upset, someone who wants to talk about a rule, battles that need to be rolled or judged, SWP posts that need to be made, future SWP’s and other goodies (the giving trees, the halloween contests, the birthday event, etc) - Gods that need to response, ranks that need to be updated, stats, items, magic, wish lists, new applications, ETC. So after ALL THAT, we might have time to post. But we’re usually exhausted. We don’t have time to just post like you guys do - because we do all these things behind the scenes. We three are EASILY among the most active on this site - but half of our energy is spent making Helovia run. So believe me when I say, when we hear “It isn’t fair you have a demigod. That’s bias” or “it isn’t fair you lead a herd” “it isn’t fair you won a prize” - let me tell you how crushing that is. We get NOTHING for doing this job - there are literally no perks and about a million downsides to doing it. But we work hard to make Helovia run, and work hard to keep up our characters at the same time. So if you would like to know how a decision was made, or to be reassured that no ‘funny business’ is happening, we are more than happy to have that discussion.
SO!
Please come to talk to us about any issues you may be having. We are ready and willing to provide proof (include showing IP addresses of the poster with permission) to any of your claims. If we do not know the issue, we cannot help, but we are always trying hard to make sure that this site is as fair as possible. Even if you just want to causally bring up some way you might have been feeling about the site, we are ready to talk and able to show you who has been doing what. We can't emphasize enough that we are always willing to talk to you about ANY issues you might be having. We are available through PMs, or on Skype - and are always happy to have a 'moderator' to keep everything light and professional.
Thank you,
The Admin Team
