Opticraft Community

First off I want to make myself perfectly clear, this is not a gripe so much as it is an observation followed by a suggestion.

To get trusted it generally means get recognized by a Mod or higher. Were told that we earn trusted by not greifing, being active, being helpful, and not asking for it.
Here are some problems I've seen with that.

1. Being active doesn't seem to be a top priority when promoting, it seems like getting on the Mods good side is the kicker.

2. A player can be extremely helpful and be overlooked by a Mod (or higher) and this may lead to a player asking which will pretty much kill any chance of them getting it.

3. If a person is active and would just like to keep to them self and they do (say for a month or so) isn't that a demonstration of being trustworthy.

Solutions
1. Leave the current system in place as one of two ways you can be trusted but add an application process. Make is so if someone hasn't gotten trusted within a month or so of being active they can apply. Of course this wouldn;t mean they get it. It be a way for the Mods and above to evaluate their past month and if they have no complaints then it could lead to a way of getting trusted. If there denied then they can apply in 2-3 more months again

2. Lay down some less general guidelines so people have a better idea of how to earn it. Make it a goal they can work for.   

3. Don't be so strict on the "If you ask your not getting it" I understand if someone is asking multiple times but if someone asks one time (say a new player that does not know) cut them some slack and let them know that further inquiry's will lessen their chance. If you cut people slack on being banned for certain things then you can cut some slack on this.

Hopefully there is something useful in here that will help, thanks for at least reading it.

1.The trusted rank is for players who have earned the senior staffs trust. So having applications for it would not make sense.

2.Play and follow the rules are pretty straightforward as far as guidelines go.

3.If people read the signs at spawn they will know not to ask for it.

Once again, you are not the first to question how our staff choose a trusted, but everyone is entitled to an opinion . I personally think the system is fine. Opticraft chooses trusteds carefully, making sure these people would never grief or cause problems. In the past, we have had several trusted demoted to member and these people usually griefed others. I know for many people this isn't the case, but I can assure you that mods/ops/admins are watching you (maybe they watch you everyday since they do have the "invisible" command ).

If you guys are truly concerned about not getting trusted for a while, I suggest you try going on Mumble. Mumble is a voice chat application where people can connect and talk and Opticraft happens to have a server on it. The IP and port can be found on the front page, however I'll provide it for you anyway:

IP: mumble.opticraft.net
Port:64738

Going on mumble helps moderators and other players get to know you better. It helps them understand what kind of person you are and can be, if you are capable of handling the rank of trusted. The whole point of the trusted rank is as it sounds, to be "trusted". We, as mods and as a community, must trust you to be a responsible, kind and helpful player.

I hope you can understand that.

@DJAlphaWolf
Don't get me wrong I completely understand the reasoning behind it. I'm not hugely concerned with getting it myself, I like to play on the server either way. The ones of you that know me understand that it's not a big thing to me. My concern largely stems from having to hear certain members complain constantly about not being trusted. If there were a post made with a set of specific guidelines (@Nick play and follow the rules is a blanked guideline) that a complaining member can be pointed to it may help. My idea behind this is that they can be told there strong in 1,2, and 4 but need to show improvement in 3,5,7,8,9,10. This may help to quiet their complaint thus elevating (not eliminating) the ear sores people on vent/in game are exposed to. My goal isn't to stir shit, it's to give input based on a different perspective.

It's just an opinion of mine, I'm not saying it is necessarily right or wrong it's just an idea.

I see. It kind of reminds me of some of our older operator/moderator applications. Some people have asked the admins why they were rejected and the admins would respond why (not online enough or other reasons). Of course, the answers mods would give to people when they ask "why can't I be trusted" will also cause some kind of chaos. People will begin to argue that they have completely "qualified for a guideline....been playing for a long time...helped others...but all for nothing?". People have to learn to understand that the rank is only for the server's most trusted players. If they are helpful, they are not just being helpful because they want to get the trusted rank, but it must be of their own choice. Trusteds are role models in the Opticraft community: people who are mature, follow the rules, never grief, and love to help everyone out. Although it is a rank, we should not consider it to be one. Rather, it is a privileged title to those most deserving of being "a trusted member" of the community. It is a rank you "shouldn't expect to receive", meaning you'll get it at any random time, when the staff feel you are ready. Some trusteds have gotten their rank within hours, while some have gotten it within months. It all depends on the person and how well our staff perceives them.

Like I said earlier, mumble is a great way to get trusted, for those "deeply concerned" about it. Just being on mumble and meeting all the players, mods and even the admins sometimes, helps everyone see what kind of person you are.

This is all just my opinion, though.

Quote from: DJAlphaWolf on March 25, 2012, 08:40:21 PM
I see. It kind of reminds me of some of our older operator/moderator applications. Some people have asked the admins why they were rejected and the admins would respond why (not online enough or other reasons). Of course, the answers mods would give to people when they ask "why can't I be trusted" will also cause some kind of chaos. People will begin to argue that they have completely "qualified for a guideline....been playing for a long time...helped others...but all for nothing?". People have to learn to understand that the rank is only for the server's most trusted players. If they are helpful, they are not just being helpful because they want to get the trusted rank, but it must be of their own choice. Trusteds are role models in the Opticraft community: people who are mature, follow the rules, never grief, and love to help everyone out. Although it is a rank, we should not consider it to be one. Rather, it is a privileged title to those most deserving of being "a trusted member" of the community. It is a rank you "shouldn't expect to receive", meaning you'll get it at any random time, when the staff feel you are ready. Some trusteds have gotten their rank within hours, while some have gotten it within months. It all depends on the person and how well our staff perceives them.

Like I said earlier, mumble is a great way to get trusted, for those "deeply concerned" about it. Just being on mumble and meeting all the players, mods and even the admins sometimes, helps everyone see what kind of person you are.

This is all just my opinion, though.

^ Couldn't have said it better.

in my opinion:

the "trusted" thing worked well when we had maybe 30 players online at a time. It is no longer an acceptable solution to water buckets, and it's not necessary to differentiate choice members by giving them a different color name in chat.

Now, it's simply not a fair system that only provokes incessant questions from guests, indirectly promotes favoritism, and gives admins just another thing to worry about.

It's not a simple problem to solve, and we certainly can't just globally allow members to use water buckets (grief!), but the Trusted system simply needs to be revised / removed entirely.

Maybe it's possible to have water not break redstone, or make logblock able to undo water-broken objects. Then it may be acceptable to allow water buckets - perhaps removing them from the market, even.

The revision part is pretty much the main thing I'm referring to. At least have a productive discussion about it instead of one person saying no and that being the end of it. The ideas I'm throwing out there are just ideas to get people thinking. In my opinion revision is probably the best route since as dejected pointed out you can't just give the water use to every member. There are too many players for Mods/Op's/Admins to fairly manage the current trusted system.

Even if every Admin/Op/Mod doesn't agree at least listen to the people who play on the server we can see problems from a different perspective sometimes. I'm not saying the general players are always right but sometimes they are so they should not be dismissed so quickly. If a better system were in place or at least some compromises made I believe it would quiet enough complaints to make a difference.   

I was on the server Saturday night, and about every 5 minutes, a person would ask on how to become trusted, and Sinnikin explained it every time.

I do agree that the guidelines are a bit vague on how to become a Trusted Member, but I also think that more members should become trusted, and that there should be another rank so that all the new trusted don't spam the Moderator Applications

The whole trusted system just isn't working. Maybe it once worked, but now, apart from water, being trusted = getting your grief/whatever you need from the mod fixed/done faster.

As a member, most of the time I try to talk to my friends, I am ignored as normal members just can't be heard.

In total, I think this whole server needs a massive re-think. The current set up is perfect for a smaller server, the type we had before all the voting came in, with 30ish players on max.
Now, you just can't hear anything, the server is filled with a wall of grey and white spam, and is just overall hard to talk on.

I can't say I have the answer for how to fix trusted, and talking, and everything that goes with it, but playing on a server filled with walls of monotone members' spam just doesn't work anymore.

http://www.opticraft.net/index.php/topic,6935.msg69716.html#msg69716