09-22-2006, 06:52 AM
Quote:DRACULA MAN
If you became staff and noticed an extreme decline in the amount of people who liked/tolerated you and your decisions were greated with distate and anger, but the higher ranking staff did not feel it was worth neither you nor them taking action for, how would you handle it? By that, I mean that the higher ranking staff told you it wasn't worth a Warning or disciplinary action, but the players in question were continually ragging on you and getting on your case, day in day out, IM, PM, Boards, etc.
You would be forced to handle it yourself, one way or another. Remember, not only must you do what is best for your own sanity, but must also try and set an example for the players and other Staff Members. (*YES, the wait of these decisions WILL be on your shoulders. That comes with being Staff*)
I am curious what Bardock thinks will work for Bardock on the Staff Team of Chubbs DBZRPG. Keep in mind, a popular guy can become hated once staff, and a widely disliked guy can become popular once staff. It not only depends on how the players react to the news, but also your reaction TO their reactions.
I don't understand the underlined part in your question, but hopefully I answer it in here.
The scenario is, I'm a mod. First of all, I'm a big boy and am capable of taking care of myself, and I would not go asking the higher staff to solve a simple conflict for me. As a person and as a mod, I have a certain amount of control to tackle a problem with. I may ask for advice, but that's as far as it goes. Secondly, like any other person, I do want to be liked, but I don't place so much emphasis on it that I can't function if people say they don't like me or give me shit all the time. Nor do I place much emphasis on my own popularity or that of others.
If it was a personal problem, it would be as simple as a conversation to get to the bottom of things, and if that didn't fix it, I would ignore them. I am perfectly capable of turning the other cheek. If need be, I would read their PMs but delete them instead of responding, block any unwanted screennames, and not respond to their posts on the boards. Chances are, I'm not going to change their mind, and sooner or later, if I keep ignoring them, they'll let it drop. If they never do, that's just wasted energy for them, because they aren't going to get a rise out of me. I would still maintain my duties as necessary (questions, updating, etcetera), but I simply wouldn't speak to them beyond a professional boundary. Just because I'm staff doesn't mean I have to talk to them beyond that if they insist on harassing me. If I felt it crossed a line, I would warn them without bothering to "ask if it was okay," and I doubt the other staff would be so hard about it as to revoke that warning on the grounds that "it wasn't worth it." Should they decide to do so, there's not much I can do about it, can I?
But, if people were for some reason giving me (as a mod) a hard time, I would first stop and consider why they are doing so. Am I being a dick? Am I being too much of a hard-ass? Am I being unreasonable? I need to figure out if I am doing something wrong: what am I doing that loses me their respect to my authority? If it is not immediately apparent to me, I would ask them what their beef with me was. Chances are their answer is going to give me a perfect picture of what I am dealing with. If it's a problem I can solve by reasonably changing something I do, the problem ends there. But of course, this particular instance isn't as simple as that. So let's say they've decided to be a pain in my ass because I didn't slide in their favor of something or they're complaining about something. I would explain the reasoning behind my decision, and say it's going to stand no matter what they do, or try best to figure out how to resolve their complaint (or if need be, tell them that complaining isn't going to do any good). Again, if it gets to the point of ridiculousness, I will warn them, and as I said above, I doubt the other staff would be so hard about it as to revoke that warning on the grounds that "it wasn't worth it." Again, should they decide to do so, there's not that much I can do about it. There's a line between working with someone to solve a conflict and putting your foot down, and it's a line every staffer needs to know.
In short, Drac, I would do everything within my power to solve the conflict (peacefully) until I get to the point where there's nothing I can do, and have to simply accept things as are. If I should ever get to that point, well, then I'm not a very good staff member, am I?
Personally, I feel this question is under the circumstances that I have no power to do anything and my hands are completely tied, whereas in a staff position, I do have influence, even in the smallest measurement. But, hopefully I have answered your hypothetical situation.