08-04-2020, 03:50 AM
I have no interest in joining in the insults or rage against OP, rather, I'd like to give my genuine, honest, experienced, opinion on the matter.
For a little context, so my standpoint is clear; I play Areli Leysa and Fina-Ncor, I have been on the server for twoish weeks now I believe. Outside of chomp, I have staffed for roughly six servers outside of SS13, and one server in SS13, and I was a headmin in three of those six non ss13 servers. My crowning achievement is running my own server, which currently has 2840 members. I am not unfamiliar with the moderation and staffing process, is the point I'm trying to get here.
Starting from the beginning, I personally have no opinion of Kurou as a character or OP, nor have I heard many tales of their past. This server is still very much so a blank slate for me, and I have little knowledge of past offenses and other such matters, so I will only be talking about what I've personally experienced, and what has been mention in this forum. Along with this, I will not be making any comments on OP's mental state, for it is of little consequence in the context of moderation. Keep in mind, this goes both ways; your problems should be given no sympathy nor should it earn any ire, it is not to be considered much at all. In the pursuit of what is best for the server's environment and well being, these problems would only paint many areas grey, giving exceptions to people who are more troubled than others, whilst not improving the environment in the slightest.
With that all being said, I shall begin.
Firstly, the purpose of any server material or channel is completely determined by the server itself, even if this goes against the designer's purpose for creating the content or channel. If you wish to suggest that this be changed, I am sure there are many places in which you can do so, such as in the discord development channel, or on the github. However, unless that is changed, the server rules stand true, and it does not matter what traditions you believe OOC should be held to. You gain little from going about things in a childish and improper way, and doing so discredits your own argument. This is not a matter of discussion, especially not in a ban appeal. If you dislike the way the server utilizes itself, move to a server which shares your ideals.
Whilst on the topic of OOC, I would like to mention that ranting about game mechanics in OOC is very disruptive to the other players, especially those who are simply trying to wind down from a troublesome day. As said before, there are places in which you can suggest and argue for changes, and I'm sure you have friends who would happily let you vent your grievances to them. It is possible some admins/devs would even be HAPPY to hear your complaints personally, as they are not mind readers and cannot know of every problem without being informed of it; though this is simply a possibility, I do not speak for any staff members here.
Moving on, the same can be said about your character taking their own life, repeatedly. It is disruptive to the environment, taxing to those who simply come to relax after a rough day, and is not simply resolved after your character is dead/you disconnect. You must keep in mind the fact that this is, at the least, a MRP server, and a suicide is not going to simply be accepted and moved on from. IC, there are going to be rough reactions, it is going to be mentioned over comms, and the server as a whole will be roughed up and brought to attention.
Furthermore, as someone who has mained medical for the past few months, I can tell you that your character killing themselves adds nothing to our shift. Primarily because suicides are DNR (Do Not Resuscitate), so you will not be revived to begin with, assuming the medical staff members in question follow that. If they don't follow that, this still offers little to the department, as we return to the same IC issues once you are revived. Suicides are not sources of interesting medical gameplay, and often go ignored in general.
As that effectively covers the reasons why you were banned, at least from what I understand, I will not be talking about anything else that was done, though I will mention a few things about server moderation in general. Most importantly here, is the effect of population numbers and first impressions. When there are very few people on the server, there is little point in strictly enforcing every rule, as there are less chances for people to be bothered by these violations. Similarly, if there is an influx of new people, you do not want to taint their first impression of the server, as they have no prior knowledge of the server. Put simply, new members do not know if what you are doing is normal, accepted, abnormal, etc. As such, if they assume that what you are doing is normal, they may lose interest in the server.
Moving on from that, I will also mention that many, but not all, servers have a more 'response' based policy; explained simply, some servers and staff will not act on a problem unless it is reported, which makes it clear whether or not the violation is bothering someone. Assuming Chomp works similarly, this only reinforces why you did not have these issues in the past; if no one reports the problem, it may not be acted upon. Again, this is making an assumption about the inner workings of the server, but the point still stands. Sadly, there are many ways to moderate a server, and I cannot speak for everyone.
Lastly, I will finish by saying that an effective staff member is like a coin with two sides. They have their personal side, and their administrative side. Ideally, these sides never meld or cross over, which is where your talk of respect comes into play. No amount of respect is going to matter, if you are violating rules and bothering people, you are violating rules and bothering people. It does not matter what excuse you have, it does not matter what disability or mental disorder you have, it does not matter what amount of effort you put into fixing the problem, or convincing the staff otherwise; you either stop violating the rules, or you do not. If you do not, you are removed from the server, encouraging you to move on and find a group which you sit better with. This is about the server and its environment, this is not about you in the slightest, you are not the focus, you are not the goal. The goal is to improve the server's environment, there is no interest in making exceptions for you, nor is there an interest in working around you. What must be done for improvement must be done; making the mother of all omelettes here jack, can't fret over every egg.
With all of that being said, that concludes my statement. I have tried my best to stick to what I would have said if this were any other server I staff for. Whilst I have no authority here, and I am not trying to influence any decisions, I wish to mention this so the problems with how you are going about this, and how you have attempted to appeal, is very clear;
If I was the one making the decisions in this instance, I would have long since posted all that I have written thus far, explained that the way you are using the forums is childish and inappropriate, and that any personal complaints should be brought up with the staff members directly, not in the appeal. If you wish to appeal, you will do it properly, you will not drag your personal complaints into the appeal, or you should be muted from the forums until you can control yourself enough to appeal properly. At this point, given that all that you have said, the ban should have been made permanent, as your passion shows that you are clearly not going to improve any time soon. If you truly care about the server and wish to rejoin, understand that the server and staff decision making process does not revolve around you, that you are simply a welcomed guest in the community, and that no one is against removing you if you cause more trouble to other guests than you are worth.
For a little context, so my standpoint is clear; I play Areli Leysa and Fina-Ncor, I have been on the server for twoish weeks now I believe. Outside of chomp, I have staffed for roughly six servers outside of SS13, and one server in SS13, and I was a headmin in three of those six non ss13 servers. My crowning achievement is running my own server, which currently has 2840 members. I am not unfamiliar with the moderation and staffing process, is the point I'm trying to get here.
Starting from the beginning, I personally have no opinion of Kurou as a character or OP, nor have I heard many tales of their past. This server is still very much so a blank slate for me, and I have little knowledge of past offenses and other such matters, so I will only be talking about what I've personally experienced, and what has been mention in this forum. Along with this, I will not be making any comments on OP's mental state, for it is of little consequence in the context of moderation. Keep in mind, this goes both ways; your problems should be given no sympathy nor should it earn any ire, it is not to be considered much at all. In the pursuit of what is best for the server's environment and well being, these problems would only paint many areas grey, giving exceptions to people who are more troubled than others, whilst not improving the environment in the slightest.
With that all being said, I shall begin.
Firstly, the purpose of any server material or channel is completely determined by the server itself, even if this goes against the designer's purpose for creating the content or channel. If you wish to suggest that this be changed, I am sure there are many places in which you can do so, such as in the discord development channel, or on the github. However, unless that is changed, the server rules stand true, and it does not matter what traditions you believe OOC should be held to. You gain little from going about things in a childish and improper way, and doing so discredits your own argument. This is not a matter of discussion, especially not in a ban appeal. If you dislike the way the server utilizes itself, move to a server which shares your ideals.
Whilst on the topic of OOC, I would like to mention that ranting about game mechanics in OOC is very disruptive to the other players, especially those who are simply trying to wind down from a troublesome day. As said before, there are places in which you can suggest and argue for changes, and I'm sure you have friends who would happily let you vent your grievances to them. It is possible some admins/devs would even be HAPPY to hear your complaints personally, as they are not mind readers and cannot know of every problem without being informed of it; though this is simply a possibility, I do not speak for any staff members here.
Moving on, the same can be said about your character taking their own life, repeatedly. It is disruptive to the environment, taxing to those who simply come to relax after a rough day, and is not simply resolved after your character is dead/you disconnect. You must keep in mind the fact that this is, at the least, a MRP server, and a suicide is not going to simply be accepted and moved on from. IC, there are going to be rough reactions, it is going to be mentioned over comms, and the server as a whole will be roughed up and brought to attention.
Furthermore, as someone who has mained medical for the past few months, I can tell you that your character killing themselves adds nothing to our shift. Primarily because suicides are DNR (Do Not Resuscitate), so you will not be revived to begin with, assuming the medical staff members in question follow that. If they don't follow that, this still offers little to the department, as we return to the same IC issues once you are revived. Suicides are not sources of interesting medical gameplay, and often go ignored in general.
As that effectively covers the reasons why you were banned, at least from what I understand, I will not be talking about anything else that was done, though I will mention a few things about server moderation in general. Most importantly here, is the effect of population numbers and first impressions. When there are very few people on the server, there is little point in strictly enforcing every rule, as there are less chances for people to be bothered by these violations. Similarly, if there is an influx of new people, you do not want to taint their first impression of the server, as they have no prior knowledge of the server. Put simply, new members do not know if what you are doing is normal, accepted, abnormal, etc. As such, if they assume that what you are doing is normal, they may lose interest in the server.
Moving on from that, I will also mention that many, but not all, servers have a more 'response' based policy; explained simply, some servers and staff will not act on a problem unless it is reported, which makes it clear whether or not the violation is bothering someone. Assuming Chomp works similarly, this only reinforces why you did not have these issues in the past; if no one reports the problem, it may not be acted upon. Again, this is making an assumption about the inner workings of the server, but the point still stands. Sadly, there are many ways to moderate a server, and I cannot speak for everyone.
Lastly, I will finish by saying that an effective staff member is like a coin with two sides. They have their personal side, and their administrative side. Ideally, these sides never meld or cross over, which is where your talk of respect comes into play. No amount of respect is going to matter, if you are violating rules and bothering people, you are violating rules and bothering people. It does not matter what excuse you have, it does not matter what disability or mental disorder you have, it does not matter what amount of effort you put into fixing the problem, or convincing the staff otherwise; you either stop violating the rules, or you do not. If you do not, you are removed from the server, encouraging you to move on and find a group which you sit better with. This is about the server and its environment, this is not about you in the slightest, you are not the focus, you are not the goal. The goal is to improve the server's environment, there is no interest in making exceptions for you, nor is there an interest in working around you. What must be done for improvement must be done; making the mother of all omelettes here jack, can't fret over every egg.
With all of that being said, that concludes my statement. I have tried my best to stick to what I would have said if this were any other server I staff for. Whilst I have no authority here, and I am not trying to influence any decisions, I wish to mention this so the problems with how you are going about this, and how you have attempted to appeal, is very clear;
If I was the one making the decisions in this instance, I would have long since posted all that I have written thus far, explained that the way you are using the forums is childish and inappropriate, and that any personal complaints should be brought up with the staff members directly, not in the appeal. If you wish to appeal, you will do it properly, you will not drag your personal complaints into the appeal, or you should be muted from the forums until you can control yourself enough to appeal properly. At this point, given that all that you have said, the ban should have been made permanent, as your passion shows that you are clearly not going to improve any time soon. If you truly care about the server and wish to rejoin, understand that the server and staff decision making process does not revolve around you, that you are simply a welcomed guest in the community, and that no one is against removing you if you cause more trouble to other guests than you are worth.