Resignation

[Ewe]

Ged -- That's simply not the case. The last admin turnover Maecius and Endelyon let the whole community know and there was ample time for me to send in an application to Maecius. This time there was zero warning or hints at all that the process was underway. Z even wrote that it wasn't handled properly. As Z wrote previously the server belongs to the community not to one person.

[DM Dreamer]

I have no idea what you did for the server, Dae, but you were always a fun person to speak to. Hope to see you around somewhere for a chat. All the best. <3

[athornforyourheart]

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 .

I will just echo these words and its reply as KOPO hits the nail on the head with what I would say. How he feels is completely valid. Though I am completely content with Rhifox and Valefort joining the admin team.

I hope you don't go Dae... but I totally understand if you do. Maybe you'll come back but if you don't - just know that you were and are paramount to this server.

[Shadowspinner70]

As much as I'm sad to see you go, my concern is this:

Is the upset because there was no process or because you weren't expecting anything to become of this, and you were not made admin?

The lack of process has already been addressed and there is an active effort to add more transparency in the future, but as you've said, even that won't make things better in your eyes I agree with Ged that adminship is far more than knowledge, and far more than power.

Admin have acknowledged their mistake, and are working towards ensuring this doesn't happen again on their watch. They're human. They care about you, this server, and its community -- but sometimes they don't think of the ramifications of a lack of communication with their fellow staff at the very least, even if by and large the new admin selections are wonderful. They stepped up in the first place not for the power, but because they care, and will tell all of you as such.

They just made a mistake, one where, like I said, like they've said, are trying to ensure doesn't doesn't again on their watch. And I can guarantee other members of staff will hold them to their word, including myself. I'm just afraid that the rumor mill will misconstrue this, maliciously, as an act of deception. Terrified, even.

[DM Dialectic]

Ewe, I am very sad to see you going. I would encourage you to stay on and perhaps wait for a future admin selection opportunity when it happens in the future given what Zann said. Really appreciate all that you did for the server in any case. Thank you.

[mrm3ntalist]

Thank you and goodbye

[yyj]

Very sad news. I read the post earlier and thought out something to write.

Is there any chance that you could stay? Perhaps not developing for the server but at least to remain part of the community.

I understand your discontent perfectly. Like DM Dialectic said perhaps there's chance in the future.

[Rain]

Iv’e seen some of your work you’ve done Dae and I can say without a doubt that you definitely had avenues of server development that no one else on the team has.

If it is not on BG I can see you excelling in your craft far and wide and of course wish you the best.

[Dolorof]

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 .

I will just echo these words and its reply as KOPO hits the nail on the head with what I would say. How he feels is completely valid. Though I am completely content with Rhifox and Valefort joining the admin team.

I hope you don't go Dae... but I totally understand if you do. Maybe you'll come back but if you don't - just know that you were and are paramount to this server.

I've been through similar situation in the past. Its kinda worrisome how most of the posts here don't actually adress the problem at hand.

[Anchor]

+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 .

I will just echo these words and its reply as KOPO hits the nail on the head with what I would say. How he feels is completely valid. Though I am completely content with Rhifox and Valefort joining the admin team.

I hope you don't go Dae... but I totally understand if you do. Maybe you'll come back but if you don't - just know that you were and are paramount to this server.

I've been through similar situation in the past. Its kinda worrisome how most of the posts here don't actually adress the problem at hand.

The current admin already made his post. What more are people looking for?

[athornforyourheart]

To voice their opinion as is their right regardless. Just because a statement has been made doesn't necessarily mean "okay everyone, its over."

My statement on backing what my fellow staffers said wasn't an attack or shun of the admin. Zann and I talk and we have a good relation. But I know that he understands if players need to vent or want to voice, then, it is their right. Nobody is attacking anyone, just voicing their concern.

[DaloLorn]

Hidden: show

+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 .

I will just echo these words and its reply as KOPO hits the nail on the head with what I would say. How he feels is completely valid. Though I am completely content with Rhifox and Valefort joining the admin team.

I hope you don't go Dae... but I totally understand if you do. Maybe you'll come back but if you don't - just know that you were and are paramount to this server.

I've been through similar situation in the past. Its kinda worrisome how most of the posts here don't actually adress the problem at hand.

Less worrisome now, IMO, considering the people most adequately positioned to prevent future incidents have already acknowledged the problem. Unfortunately, the damage is done, and there's no elegant way of solving it. My primary concern was with the apparent nonchalance of Dae's initial sendoff, and the implications of that nonchalance, but that illusion has since been dispelled. (With multiple people hinting at the fact that it had been an illusion all along, no less.)

When there is no more damage control to be done, I don't see why the thread shouldn't pivot back to farewells and well-deserved praise.

[Ewe]

I don't like long posts, I try to keep things short, but I felt I wanted to share more about my time at bg staff.


My background IRL:

IRL I am a project lead of an international software team for a major publicly traded company. I oversee the team's check-ins, code reviews, unit testing, continuous integration, and I know the complete product and architecture end-to-end for each project I lead. Usually I am called in to help a legacy product that is having problems for customers, but sometimes I am also part of a complete re-design effort of an existing product.

This is what I do for a living. I am very successful and get proven results. You can see for yourself my applied knowledge that has caused the server timer to be bumped up to 9 hours and hold stable -- an increase in the timer that Endelyon herself had said she has been uncomfortable increasing since 2016.

In addition I hold several degrees, one of which is an MS in Computer Science. I have a deep background in legacy code and root cause analysis.


On topics of BG dev team:


Working with others:

Make no mistake -- I could not have achieved the results by myself it takes a whole team of people.

On the bg team I championed collab work more than anyone else on the team. I have completed more collabs than anyone else in my time there. I have also encouraged and conducted crosstalk on code reviews and have worked one-on-one with staff members explaining methodologies and coding even at the simplest level.

I took the initiative to seek people outside of bg staff who had critical knowledge to NWN2 engine and infrastructure. I engaged Edmaster, Crom, Skywing, and others -- prominent figures in the modding community. I spent long hours working with Skywing learning everything I could from him about NWN2 infrastructure and reverse engineering analysis, his tools and implementations of the technologies we use, and more. I worked with Crom on nwnx server technologies and far too much to summarize here. I also spent time discussing obscure bugs with Edmaster due to his vast experience leading another persistent world which helped greatly in cutting down time on some root cause investigations.

There's no way I could have solved all of the instability issues the server faced on my own. I did not work in some silo not working with others. I am not a difficult person to work with. On the contrary I encouraged more teamwork and sought out others to ask questions and get help when I needed it.

On "unfitness":

I have never once said anyone on our team in bg was "unfit" even when it was evident that their skills in a particular area were on the weaker side. A leader is meant to empower and inspire their subordinates and team members. Telling someone they are "unfit" is one of the lowest emotionally iq things you can say to a team member. Instead, I always spent time to help tutor or carefully explain something to the best of my ability in an effort to empower the team mate to be able to succeed. Telling someone they are unfit pushes them away whereas empowering them with your experience and knowledge instead makes them more of an asset to the team.


Final Thoughts:

Based on this I think I would be a great lead. The fact that my team mates didn't even consider me at all during this selection -- not even any notice that it was even going on at all -- bothers me greatly. Completely ignoring someone on your team, and then after-the-fact demoralizing them by calling them unfit -- I'm sorry but a simple apology and asking me to roll over and accept these results isn't enough for me to stay on.

[DM Dialectic]

I don't like long posts, I try to keep things short, but I felt I wanted to share more about my time at bg staff.


My background IRL:

IRL I am a project lead of an international software team for a major publicly traded company. I oversee the team's check-ins, code reviews, unit testing, continuous integration, and I know the complete product and architecture end-to-end for each project I lead. Usually I am called in to help a legacy product that is having problems for customers, but sometimes I am also part of a complete re-design effort of an existing product.

This is what I do for a living. I am very successful and get proven results. You can see for yourself my applied knowledge that has caused the server timer to be bumped up to 9 hours and hold stable -- an increase in the timer that Endelyon herself had said she has been uncomfortable increasing since 2016.

In addition I hold several degrees, one of which is an MS in Computer Science. I have a deep background in legacy code and root cause analysis.


On topics of BG dev team:


Working with others:

Make no mistake -- I could not have achieved the results by myself it takes a whole team of people.

On the bg team I championed collab work more than anyone else on the team. I have completed more collabs than anyone else in my time there. I have also encouraged and conducted crosstalk on code reviews and have worked one-on-one with staff members explaining methodologies and coding even at the simplest level.

I took the initiative to seek people outside of bg staff who had critical knowledge to NWN2 engine and infrastructure. I engaged Edmaster, Crom, Skywing, and others -- prominent figures in the modding community. I spent long hours working with Skywing learning everything I could from him about NWN2 infrastructure and reverse engineering analysis, his tools and implementations of the technologies we use, and more. I worked with Crom on nwnx server technologies and far too much to summarize here. I also spent time discussing obscure bugs with Edmaster due to his vast experience leading another persistent world which helped greatly in cutting down time on some root cause investigations.

There's no way I could have solved all of the instability issues the server faced on my own. I did not work in some silo not working with others. I am not a difficult person to work with. On the contrary I encouraged more teamwork and sought out others to ask questions and get help when I needed it.

On "unfitness":

I have never once said anyone on our team in bg was "unfit" even when it was evident that their skills in a particular area were on the weaker side. A leader is meant to empower and inspire their subordinates and team members. Telling someone they are "unfit" is one of the lowest emotionally iq things you can say to a team member. Instead, I always spent time to help tutor or carefully explain something to the best of my ability in an effort to empower the team mate to be able to succeed. Telling someone they are unfit pushes them away whereas empowering them with your experience and knowledge instead makes them more of an asset to the team.


Final Thoughts:

Based on this I think I would be a great lead. The fact that my team mates didn't even consider me at all during this selection -- not even any notice that it was even going on at all -- bothers me greatly. Completely ignoring someone on your team, and then after-the-fact demoralizing them by calling them unfit -- I'm sorry but a simple apology and asking me to roll over and accept these results isn't enough for me to stay on.

Just more qualification reasons I would encourage you not to quit IMO. There will be future leadership opportunities that I bet you will be a gigantic community asset for. But understood if you already feel too hurt to stay on. Wishing you the best in any case.

[Steve]

I don't like long posts, I try to keep things short, but I felt I wanted to share more about my time at bg staff.

It's difficult to remain positive when emotionally bruised by a person or group of persons that you believed considered you "in the fold." Trust me...I've had the same experience on BGTSCC.

But, we cannot always assume everything we think it is, or feel it is, or believe it is, IS actually as we experience it. Some people just make dumb mistakes. Yeah, I said it: Zan made a dumb mistake here. On one hand. On the other, if I can read between the lines, he needed to make a more-or-less immediate decision to "keep the boat afloat," if you will. All decisions have consequences.

I think that, if one wants to have compassion given, one must also grant compassion, without expecting result. Then it is a gift.

Dae, you have made a huge difference for BGTSCC. I hope you can understand that many see this, and experience this daily even if they don't know it was you. That seems not in any real argument, yes?

So, what it comes down to is whether you can accept someone's apology for a fault, and honestly, being able to do that shows the better side of a person. Not to write here that your grievances are not valid, only that one cannot change what has happened, but one CAN work to support such mistakes never happen again.

From my perspective—though it probably matters very little among you and the leaders of this Server—no one is asking you, Dae, to "roll over." Instead, I see people directly asking you to stay with the Server, and support the decisions in the moment, see what the outcomes are, and considering now that you've openly stated your interest in leading this Server in the future, you likely have a chance at that sometime down the road.

In the meantime, your value and the appreciation of that value, still stands. On top of that, I think there are many that wish you to remain so that you can continue to enjoy yourself within the BGTSCC community, because before recent events, that seemed possible on the daily basis, right?

In the end, you have to decide how you want to proceed. But please, don't let someone's else's mistake deter you from doing what you seemed to enjoy doing, which was to be a yuuuuge benefit to this community. And a fun part of this community. Hopefully, for you, that is not too late. Well, even if it is, one can always change their mind in the future...as long as you don't go burning bridges. Cheers.