11:37 PM
Broken
This blog wasn't really planned; just a spur-of-the-moment post. Lately I've been shown some comments posted around the web about the staff on Rescreatu. A lot of them claim that we are way too strict and harsh. But tonight I was told of a comment calling us "unprofessional" because of this:
Yes, there are times when staff members will get playful with the system message. It's all in fun, it draws the attention of users not normally very active in the chat, and makes the 'scary red letters' a bit less intimidating when they do have to be used for an official reason. I suppose we could be more like oh I don't know, Neopets? And convert to an autoban system? Where even the most benign words and phrases will earn a ban? But where is the fun, the personality, and the connection to the other users in that? There is none.
Staff members of Rescreatu are not professionals. We're semi-paid volunteers. We are users just like you. Users who chose to take on the extra responsibility of helping maintain and develop the site. None of us have a background in professional moderating (whatever that is!). We have the same personalities we had before becoming staff (which, by the way, personality is a highly important factor in hiring decisions), the same sense of humor, and the same love of the game and the community. We strive to keep that connection with the userbase friendly, welcoming, and comfortable, by not being stiff and "professional".
I encourage everyone on the staffing team to stay true to their personalities and to continue to be playful like this. It would be highly disappointing to see a team of stiff, miserable staff, who are unable to be themselves, all because a very small minority thinks that is what "professional" should be.
