demote inactive staff

Cyk753, Krissy, Devannn_, K41YU, Pancake, RedstoneTrails & Wilbs are almost never seen in-game and all of them either have private profiles or no recent activity (meaning they've done literally nothing on the forums within a couple of weeks, with the exception of K41YU who updated their profile picture recently and decided to announce it on their profile). I do understand that being a staff member is not a job and shouldn't be treated as such (no strict schedules or anything like that), but these people wouldn't have been promoted with this level of inactivity in mind.

 

I think in one way or another there should be something done about inactive staff, but as a player we can only see so much. No idea what they are doing behind the scenes in discord, or talking to other staff about ___.
(They also have lives to live outside of a Minecraft server, so they could be gone for personal reasons and still care about the community and would like to be more active)
But I cannot speak on their activity so take what I say with a grain of salt.

 

If a staff member can't consistently log on AT LEAST once a week, LET ALONE A MONTH, what is the point of having them? They've served their purpose, they don't owe the server anything, and they clearly have no interest in the game anymore to be that inactive. I don't care whats going on in their life. Either get demoted for being inactive or resign, you do nothing for the team when you don't care enough to play.

You post this quote of Kerahna, another inactive staff member tbh, saying that the inactive staff aren't "taking up spots"... If that's the case why is the team so big and yet we don't have a staff member on at all times? If that was the case why does the server have no truly active super mods? If that was the case why are good picks not promoted when they are needed? Why are some of the active and good mods currently on the team not promoted?

The team has a need that isn't and won't be filled, and you guys are in denial because you like the inactive ones. I'm sure they do have IRL and can't log on much, but inactivity provides nothing to the team. Resign or put an attempt in to look like you care.

 

Here we go, another thread complaining that involves staff members as the topic

Also pro calidre

 

It wasn't a complaint, but if it was, the fact that you was immediately drawn to that conclusion despite my lack of any negative connotation would prove my point. I was merely observing the lack of staff presence in-game, noticing that so many of the staff members rarely play & then making a thread (in the discussion subforum) to discuss it.

 

By definition it was a complaint.
"a statement that a situation is unsatisfactory or unacceptable."

 

Given that I have not yet expressed my personal opinion on this particular subject, and that "unsatisfactory" & "unacceptable" are subjective in this case as well as the fact that I've now made 2 efforts to state that this thread is a discussion (with no definitive negative emphasis), I did not make a complaint.

Please keep my discussion thread on topic.

 

Having been around for a long time, and seeing countless staff be promoted, demoted, be active/inactive, I understand where you are coming from. I also can sympathize with you on how these positions would not be filled by players who have not proven to be both active and helpful.

However, the screenshot shared by Calidre should be sufficient evidence of the situation. Kerahna is more than capable of taking care of her staff, which includes removing those who should not be in their position. She is not unaware of the situation, nor is she ignorant of their contributions to the server. Kerahna has been around for a very long time. She knows all the ins and outs of the server, what works best for it, and how to conduct her staff in the most efficient manner.

Furthermore, given that the staff are under the authority of Kerahna, if you truly have an issue with a particular staff member (whether it's their activity, or something else), it is respectful to contact them (or Kerahna) privately, and have a cordial discussion about your concerns. Kerahna is extremely open and willing to discuss any issues players may have. If you find something of concern in the future, I would encourage you to message her about it.

 

Acknowledging a situation does not mean that it is being handled correctly, you see people/representatives acknowledge terrible situations everyday because acknowledging it is technically better than pretending the situation doesn't exist. When 7/16 of your Moderators (I didn't include Kerahna, Dexuby or Crew) have basically 0 presence, they need to be demoted, perhaps in spite of how good of a staff member they are.

Your honesty is great, but doesn't actually take away from the inactivity that you are, by admission, aware of. I'm sure you were once an active staff member who did great things, but the server is still kickin' homie. Whilst it may initially seem sad that people who have dedicated a long time to the server won't have staff titles any more, it's apart of life. Things change, they progress. + there can always be Ex-<insert staff position> ranks if the time these staff so nobly dedicated to the server require recognition that much.

 

Getting onto the server shouldn't define whether or not you are considered 'active'. From my point of view, you still make huge contributions to the community. Running the discord isn't just some small thing. I have seen you constantly engaging, answering questions, keeping the discord alive & fresh.

Just because staff members aren't always seen in the limelight doesn't mean they aren't contributing towards the community. Everyone on the staff team who may be labelled as 'inactive' are there because they have gone above and beyond to prove their usefulness & dedication to this community. Kicking them out would be a slap in the face to every staff member who has dedicated their time towards Skyblock, past or present.

We appreciate everything you do, and have done in the past, Krissy, and nothing can change that.

 

Being "active" shouldn't define whether or not you are considered "active"..?

There is a severe lack of staff on the server despite there being so many staff members. Not demoting staff members that are only still staff members because they once did what their position requires them to do (that they don't do any more) because it will make them sad is just silly.

 

So, if I understand correctly, you’re saying that people on the backend who keep the server running should be demoted because they don’t hop on the server when they’re spending time helping it in other ways?

What about the staff who don’t play because they’re working on the brand new updates for skyblock?

Viewing playtime as the only criteria for staff is an extremely biased opinion. The community wouldn’t exist without any the people who contribute in the background providing things such as the discord, bug testing/fixing, management, and developing.

Kerhana has also stated that none of them are holding spots that will actually lead to having more staff online, so there really isn’t an argument as to why they should be demoted.

 

Yes, I believe Moderators should Moderate (typically need to be active, which Krissy is not (by self admission)). I realise that Krissy is a Discord administrator, but they also hold the rank of Super Moderator. If Krissy is so active in the Discord, why not just remove their rank that covers the forums and game server? They would still be connected to the staff team (so they could do their important miscellaneous back end work) but wouldn't be a representative of a group of staff members that they just can't represent due to their lack of activity.

The people I have named have shown (with the small exception of Krissy I suppose) 0 signs of activity, that cannot be justified by random, unnamed (presumably unimportant, as the work can be put off to people that don't play or interact with the server any more) jobs. (the staff I named)

I specifically exempted Dexuby, Kerahna & Crew from any form of inexplicable inactivity as they are the top dogs, they run the show. Everybody else should be held to a certain standard of activity, even if it's not a high standard.

 

Funnily enough, when I was younger, I used to have the exact same opinion. I used to be a mod on a 10 000 concurrent player server, and always used to push for the demotion of senior staff simply because they weren't active enough... oh how stupid and young I was.

I personally now don't think stalwarts of the staff team should be demoted.

There are many things wrong with the staff team at the moment imo, but activity isn't really one of them. At the end of the day, it is a Minecraft server... It is a volunteer position and should be treated as such. Any way in which a trusted player is able to help, is positive. Sometimes activity levels can heavily fluctuate. I, for one, tend to come online for 4+ hours per day in the holidays when I have lots of spare time. However, I will not come on during term time because I have other priorities. Whilst I'm not a staff member, I appreciate that staff members are human beings and that they have lives outside of Skyblock and that should take priority. I think it's a bit futile putting a trusted individual through the very lengthy application process each time they decide to start playing actively on the server.

A bit of a controversial opinion, but the staff that are super active every single day for hours (even during school time) are probably worse staff members, because it's clear they don't have a healthy gaming/life balance. It shows signs of immaturity and youth more than anything imo. I also really hate how new applicants are expected to have over 4+ hours of playtime each day when that is simply not sustainable in the long run.

 

I do agree inactive staff is an issue. I'd love to see staff more active, but I also realise they either have school or work. I personally think the effort they put in when they do come online says a lot about their motivation and excitement to still moderate.

I haven't seen many issues lately since I feel like server is kind of at a steady flow of old and new players. I'm curious to see how it's gonna be when the update rolls out and new players are more likely to stay.

 

Whilst I do respect you because I did not know what stalwart meant before reading your comment, I do officially diagnose you with "not reading the thread" syndrome. I've addressed everything you have said, and am clearly not talking about people who just aren't in-game every day (I literally named 7 staff members with much longer streaks of inactivity than is reasonable).

Again, the staff members in question aren't just a little bit inactive, popping in once or twice per week when they can, you just never see them. I do appreciate the Moderation efforts of those I actively see online during my activity hours (typically Megan, Souly & Luka).

 

While I understand both perspectives I'm going to give my shared opinion. What I've been told is the same thing Krissy stated above on how some staff are meant to be behind the scenes and do other things besides in game activitiy. However, there needs to be a set precedent on some of these staff as sometimes it can be months without any activity. If an applicant had the same activity level as "an inactive" staff member, they most likely would not be promoted for the reasoning such as "try being more active we never see you on". However, that completely sets a double standard for those who are staff and get to keep their position no matter how active or inactive they are, while some work very hard compared to some who just don't care anyomre. A few years back, it took over 12 months of inactivity, multiple staff reports for 2+ years, just to get an inactive staff member demoted who never had any activity or contact. The whole process to me seems a little messed up and not justified and has been a topic of discussion between the community for a good portion of time now. While I'm not saying to demote staff members, I have said it before and I will say it again, there does need to be better communication from "inactive staff" to the staff, but also the playerbase themselves. If you really do not have the time to pop in once a week and make a few thread comments or discord messages, or at least once a MONTH, it might be time to give up your position or at least take a break from your position until you can fulfil it somewhat accordingly. There is always time to make a quick message on the forums or other platforms, and those who don't just lack the motivation, not the time.

I know how activity is a huge problem for people including myself, but for some staff to not log on for months without any comments, activity, etc. it can cause issues with the playerbase and how the example is set from the staff for future applicants. I work myself and go to college and have had little to no playtime at all, so I completely understand. But that doesn't prevent me from commenting on a forums thread like this, or to comment on a Suggestion post, or to make some chat in the Discord. There are a ton of other ways to show activity without coming in game, and it just seems as if some staff do not have the motivation to do these things or to put in the work when there have been players in the past and present who want to put in hours a day and would like to make a positive change.

I can keep going on and can probably write a short essay on this topic, but as I said above I see BOTH sides, even though my explanation was directed towards the siding of the thread creator. It is important to have staff who are in the background, and do some tasks that others cannot do as Krissy stated above. However, there are other ways to show your activity and your motivation for the sever as no motivation shown from staff just replicates itself to the playerbase, and the playerbase will lose their motivation due to lack of staff. Both players and staff have to do their part for the relationship to work. Players need to respect that staff have actual jobs, school, outside activities, lives, etc., but the staff also need to be aware that the overall picture of inactivity and little or no communication can really hurt the community/playerbase, and more importantly future applicants.

So to come to a conclusion I would like to see more activity/communication from the specific staff that go on and off for months with this inactivity problem, but us players have to respect that people have lives outside of Minecraft

 

I will say you can take Krissy off that list, she does come online. I have seen her several times. Also I can say Krissy does help out immensely offline, I can vouch for this.

The rest I reckon can go, I really don't see them contributing, it's a shame however as some of them (Pancake) were good mods imo