Resignation

[Ewe]

I don't agree with how the new admins were selected. Staff deserved to be aware of the process and all candidates should have been considered.

I was the one mentoring Rhifox in basic programming. I was the one pointing out Valefort's long standing mistakes in key systems like the dispel system and death system. I never lauded my abilities over anyone and always tried to help them both succeed. I was the one who posted detailed guides on how to analyze and conduct these dump investigations. I was the one who always tried to lead the team to not repeat the same mistakes by cataloging them on the forums.

I put more work in than most in making the server a stable and better place to play for all. I deserve to be treated like a person. I am not just some tool everyone can ignore and cut out of major server changing decisions that effect me and who I report to personally.

The admin had been back a week and seemed to accept the first two people who came knocking in secret meetings. If the admin had made any effort what-so-ever to say "hey I'm considering new admins please send in your proposals if you want consideration as well" and all proposals had been reviewed and the end result was VF and Rhi then I could live with that. But the way it was done is lazy leadership and completely unacceptable.

I refuse to follow people who came to power under these circumstances. They claim to have golden people skills but cannot even announce their candidacy publicly.

I resign as "custom content creator" effective immediately.

[Nemni]

Things haven't always been super smooth during your time with us Dae , but I want to really thank you for the great job you have done with the server codebase. Few people are willing to dig into and fix messy systems that have been built up over years and I have a lot of respect for people who do. A great deal of the recent server stability we achieved is thanks to you. Good luck with whatever you do next!

[DM Boo]

Thanks for your hard work you put in over the last few years, Ewe/Dae!

[DiceyCZ]

I don't really understand the nitty gritty of what you did, but from what I saw on the team side it seems like you did massive piece of work to improve the server, thanks for that a bunch!

[Rhifox]

Dae, you've done an amazing job and I am very sad to see you leave. You were instrumental to fixing server stability, and I'm extremely grateful for all the help you've given me. I'm sorry that aspects of this transition have made you feel excluded, and will do my best to address the concerns you've raised going forwards.

Thank you for all you've done.

[matelener]

Much thanks for your contributions, especially in the server stability department, they have been paramount

[Planehopper]

The work Dae did has done more for server stability, and likely long term health and growth, than has been done in years if not ever. And its work that isn't completely done. That it goes unseen, unknown, and without a lot of self promotion, is a testament to his dedication to the community.

Haven't always agreed with you on all things, but I never expect to with most anyone. I appreciate your time and energy and will miss your perspective.

[Steve]

First off, thank you for all that you've done, Dae. I've been seeing that work in the Server Updates, and every post you made for something fixed or improved upon, was truly, TRULY, appreciated. As this thread is showing, every bit of your time and effort was appreciated by so many. You are recognized.

It is unfortunate that your perspective and feelings could not have been addresses and/or debated by yourself and the Staff. I would hope it could have been, and if it wasn't, that was a missed opportunity. Over the years, I think I have come to know the current Admins quite well—as best one can in these semi-anonymous ways—and none of them are cruel, or would wish to be insensitive to others that are part of the Team.

Your OP seems very certain in your decision, though I would ask that you reconsider. For what it is worth, your complaint has been heard, and there CAN be a future were decisions and actions can be improved, BECAUSE of your complaint. Perhaps you want to see that future still?!?

If not, then like others, I to wish you the best in your endeavors. Cheers.

[DaloLorn]

I find the responses to Dae's resignation simultaneously heartwarming and concerning.

The heartwarming part is obvious. His efforts have not been trivial, and they haven't gone unnoticed.

The concerning part, though... only two posts even touched on the issue that prompted this thread's creation. Neither of them really seemed to go too deep into the implications, or whether or not Dae's concern was warranted. How does admin selection work? Should it work that way? Is he overreacting, or should things have been handled differently?

Based on what I know about them so far, I don't think I would have contested Valefort and Rhifox's appointment. I have disagreements with one, and vague, unverifiable concerns about the other, but no real indication that their newfound authority won't result in an overall improvement to BG. But I'm not on the staff, so I didn't see why I would be consulted.

However, in a time when every second complaint that filters through to the playerbase is about internal conflicts, lousy communication, or a lack of openness, I find it somewhat disquieting that yet another promising member of the team has thrown in the towel for exactly that reason. That I then see no clear response to that issue only unsettles me further.

[Zanniej]

His concerns are valid, but have also been addressed. Though I tend to not do so publicly, since such topics always have something personal about them.

Since this situation only concerns actions I have taken, however, I feel free to share this publicly.

While admin changes don't happen often, and I've only been involved in one before, I can go into what happened here, that prompted this situation. As most of you know, I have been absent for a couple of months. While Mia and Maecius were amazing enough to step in in my absence, they had to carry on with RL, with which they discussed with me a moment for me to take over again (last week). That moment came sooner than I was ready, it appeared.

Fast forward to now. I am still very busy, and as such don't have enough time to dedicate to this community. Not the amount of time it deserves. Since I remembered some interest was communicated in my absence, I jumped the gun, and without taking (or having) enough time to consider the consequences, appointed two co-admins. I see now that I should've given more avenues for conversation, and should have taken more time to work this out properly.

Since I can't undo what I've done, I do want to point out that I have spoken with Dae, to address his concerns. It is not my place to divulge anything of that conversation (Dae is of course free to do so), but I can say that I have apologised for my misjudgement in handling this situation, as I do again here.

Dae has done amazing work for this community, and I should have handled this situation differently.

Since I do not wish to hijack this thread, please feel free to reach out to me if you have further questions.

[KOPOJIbPAKOB]

I find the responses to Dae's resignation simultaneously heartwarming and concerning.

The heartwarming part is obvious. His efforts have not been trivial, and they haven't gone unnoticed.

The concerning part, though... only two posts even touched on the issue that prompted this thread's creation. Neither of them really seemed to go too deep into the implications, or whether or not Dae's concern was warranted. How does admin selection work? Should it work that way? Is he overreacting, or should things have been handled differently?

Based on what I know about them so far, I don't think I would have contested Valefort and Rhifox's appointment. I have disagreements with one, and vague, unverifiable concerns about the other, but no real indication that their newfound authority won't result in an overall improvement to BG. But I'm not on the staff, so I didn't see why I would be consulted.

However, in a time when every second complaint that filters through to the playerbase is about internal conflicts, lousy communication, or a lack of openness, I find it somewhat disquieting that yet another promising member of the team has thrown in the towel for exactly that reason. That I then see no clear response to that issue only unsettles me further.

+1 to Dalo's post

I find Dae's concerns perfectly valid. In fact, I agree with him.

I appreciate Zanniej's honesty as he fairly admitted that it was a rush call and it could use more consideration.

I always thought highly of you, Dae, I still do. Well, you probably know it anyway.
Sent the rest in pm. You'll be missed .

[Valefort]

Dae, as told to you yesterday I was quite grateful for what you did, especially server stability, sorry to see you go but thanks again.

[DaloLorn]

Hidden: show

I find the responses to Dae's resignation simultaneously heartwarming and concerning.

The heartwarming part is obvious. His efforts have not been trivial, and they haven't gone unnoticed.

The concerning part, though... only two posts even touched on the issue that prompted this thread's creation. Neither of them really seemed to go too deep into the implications, or whether or not Dae's concern was warranted. How does admin selection work? Should it work that way? Is he overreacting, or should things have been handled differently?

Based on what I know about them so far, I don't think I would have contested Valefort and Rhifox's appointment. I have disagreements with one, and vague, unverifiable concerns about the other, but no real indication that their newfound authority won't result in an overall improvement to BG. But I'm not on the staff, so I didn't see why I would be consulted.

However, in a time when every second complaint that filters through to the playerbase is about internal conflicts, lousy communication, or a lack of openness, I find it somewhat disquieting that yet another promising member of the team has thrown in the towel for exactly that reason. That I then see no clear response to that issue only unsettles me further.

+1 to Dalo's post

I find Dae's concerns perfectly valid. In fact, I agree with him.

I appreciate Zanniej's honesty as he fairly admitted that it was a rush call and it could use more consideration.

I always thought highly of you, Dae, I still do. Well, you probably know it anyway.
Sent the rest in pm. You'll be missed .

Given my post, it seems only fair to echo basically all of your sentiments in the wake of Zanniej's post.

It's both refreshing and encouraging to see people admitting to their mistakes and choosing not to repeat them. In hindsight, it's possible that the harshness of my post was one such mistake, since calling people out on ignoring/downplaying scary things only makes sense if they're really ignoring/downplaying those things in the first place... not to mention the fact that part of the perceived scariness was the fact that all the other parts seemed ignored/downplayed.

On a more whimsical note: Why can there only be one RIT alumnus on the team at any given time? Dae, come baaaack! (Granted, the joke assumes I'll actually make the cut, but I couldn't resist it anyway.)

[gedweyignasia]

The admin job isn't about technical knowledge; it's about working with people, coordinating different groups, and resolving interpersonal issues amicably. I'm sorry to see you go, but this kind of mercurial behavior is the sort of reason you would not be well suited to the role. I hope you'll come back to the dev team at some point, because you've been an invaluable asset and mentor to a lot of us.

Re: admin changes
It would have been best if Zanniej had talked the decision over with the leads for each team before proceeding, but staff is currently in flux with a lot of retirements and a lot of new volunteers, so I can understand why things might be a bit chaotic right now. I do not think that a better choice could have been made or that further discussion on the matter would have changed the result, only provided some transparency (at the cost of slowing the appointment). In the past, it has usually been the admin's own prerogative to reach out to some trusted and respected community member(s) when passing on or sharing the mantle, so this transition is certainly in keeping with our history. Changes in other leadership positions (HDM, Lead Programmer, Lead Builder, Head of QC, etc.) are not discussed either, so I'm a bit surprised to see one or two people balking at this.

[Lockonnow]

I see the point now listen to the first 9 words [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqaiKmm8gsY&t=80s[/youtube]