Mod Apps and Changes

[cosmods]

Happy Sunday to you, Cosmographia. We’ve had quite a lot to think about this weekend, as well as a lot of emotions running rampant – but above all, we want to make sure to keep you abreast of what’s going on.

First of all, Cosmographia is opening applications for two mod positions and one helper mod position. They will be accepted from today, November 22nd to Friday, November 27th. We’ll be looking at mod experience, what applicants know they can do in regards to admin and playerbase work, and where they want to take the game; Freya will be the one reviewing these applications. Given that the state of the game is so volatile right now, any mod stepping into the spotlight is going to be intensely scrutinized. The modship's top priority right now is repairing the game and trying to restore order. and so for the time being we feel that it is best done through anonymous modding. That way, we as a team can focus on the welfare of the game and its playerbase. It will also mean that contacting the mod team through email will be the paramount way to contact us.

Now, obviously, not everyone on the team will be anonymous – Freya will still be helping, and Elaine will still be a mod. As for Elaine, she is willing to remain open to questions and concerns on Plurk as she has done throughout this weekend.

Second, we will be implementing a monthly HMD post for both players and the game itself. There will be an opportunity there for players to bring up their concerns with how the game is run, as well as a place for people to receive critique on their playing. This is a general forum for people to express their opinions and concerns, and to talk openly with the mods and each other about improvements.

Third, we will have to push back November’s event to next month. Again, we want to focus on your welfare, and after all that’s happened this weekend, it’s apparent that both the mod team and the playerbase are exhausted. Elaine has offered her time and services to run a lighter Thanksgiving-themed mingle. Initial details can be found here, and more will be posted in the next couple of days.

Lastly, we will be implementing some small housekeeping changes to the calendar in regards to the weather. We’ve noticed that many players tend to forget that Waverly Bay is set in the Southern Hemisphere, and thus the seasons and their usual times are flipped from what they are in the Northern Hemisphere. We’ll be including a general weather blurb with each monthly calendar to give folks an idea of the meteorology.

If you have any questions or concerns, please address them in the comments below.

Edit: After discussion, we felt it best that the case of anonymous modding will be reviewed by the new mod team in question.

Comments

A formal apology

[cyan_maid]

Hey guys. Elaine here. Sorry to use Jane's journal - the personal one I have is literally never used, and I wanted to make sure you guys recognized this as coming from me.

I wanted to apologize personally for the events of the last couple of weeks. A lot of feelings have been hurt, a lot of mistakes have been made, and all I can say is that I was not as open to conversation as I should have been. I can say many things regarding this; I work a full time job, the situation was fragile enough for me to be unsure as to what course of action to take, and this is literally my first experience in a leadership position in journal roleplay. However, none of these things should be taken as an excuse. Rather, I am going to use this opportunity to learn from and work towards being a better mod for the game, which is ultimately what you guys need and deserve.

Unless you have anything pressing to discuss with me on the matter, this is the last I will be posting about it - a lot of people have contacted me telling me to take a break from being open to conversation, and I am trying to take your advice.

[rickdiculous]

...you need to stop apologizing for it when you have literally done nothing wrong and don't deserve to be made a scapegoat for any of this.

jfc i wasn't even going to get involved again but i've been getting the impression that a lot of this is being shoved on you by tora/freya and i am not okay with that

[cyan_maid]

Hi Lepo.

This is not an apology pushed onto me by anyone. I wanted to apologize. You had to do a lot of shit, and I was floundering like an idiot. Hell, I should've gone to you privately to apologize for my part in this, even if you're not going to accept it.

I am well aware I've done nothing - that's the problem.

[rickdiculous]

that's because you literally have nothing to apologize for

elaine. you were the only one on that modteam who actually seemed remotely interested in listening in regards to that problem, and actually put in a degree of effort to solve it, which is more than i can say for some people.

so no, you were not floundering around like an idiot and you do not deserve to have any of this pushed on you. because outside freya/tora actually floundering like idiots on the main mod address, you seem to be the only current mod interested in addressing player concerns and keeping in touch with them.

which i might add was...kind of a major issue here in the first place.

(frozen comment)

[gomi]

Lepo - If you want to discuss these things with Elaine, please do so privately. I don't appreciate you coming in and publicly calling me an idiot for trying to get a handle on things you did drop out of and I did ask if you would like to come back and help with, nor your participation on wankgate regarding this game. If you have issues with me, talk to me. If you don't have anything more constructive to add to any of this, leave and stop drama mongering.

[cyan_maid]

I still think me submitting an apology can't hurt. This is something I'm doing of my own volition, out of my own concern for the game. And regardless of it being pushed on me or not, I am still a mod, and this game's distress is still my responsibility.

I don't want to throw names around. I don't want to perpetuate any more hurt. I just want to help set things right.

[torya]

tbh I don't think that 'anonymous modding' is really a good choice, like. At all. I can only speak for myself, obviously, but one of the biggest problems I've had with the mod team in this game (since I joined, so it's not a recent thing) has been a lack of transparent methods to communicate with the mods. A monthy HMD is a good start, but how are we supposed to give feedback for mods if we don't even know who they are?

I understand where you guys are coming from, but given the concerns raised in the last post, I don't think less transparency is a good direction to go. That's just my thoughts though, of course.

I'd also like to ask, how exactly are mod applications being accepted? Is there a place we should post them, or do we email them in? Is there some kind of application form, or should we just say "Hi, I'm So-and-So, I'm applying for X position on the mod team, because blah blah"? Just want to make sure before I throw my own application in!

[gomi]

My perspective on the anon modding, for the moment, is simple: It'll mean there's less scrutiny for new mods who may be uncomfortable being in the spotlight, and not only that, it means we mods will be approached as a team and we will all be on the same page - rather than going to one particular mod and the other mods not really knowing what is going on. It doesn't mean that the mod team, as a whole, will be less transparent. The idea is the mod team will be acting together, publicly. The HMD is going to be a part of that accountability - it will allow the mods to all respond to concerns publicly on a monthly basis.

For now it's a temporary measure just due to the drama and to get some mod team unity and a new team starts off. How effective it is and how comfortable the new mods are with it will be up to them to deal with.

And yes, mod applications are being accepted through email, and you do just need to tell us why you think you'd be fit to be a mod.

[torya]

I'm going to be frank and say that if someone is not comfortable with at least some level of scrutiny in regards to taking a mod position then they really should not be taking a mod position, least of all following this entire mess. I'm really not sure how hiding just who is on the mod team is supposed to foster any kind of trust in the people running this game -- as said below, it just makes it harder to single out any potential problem mods because we quite simply don't know who's at the helm.

A lack of mod transparency is what caused this entire problem in the first place and further distancing the mods from the player base in this way is not the way to go. At all. I completely agree that proper mod unity is part of what's needed here, but that should come from better trust and communication between the mod team and not from hiding the mods in question from the players.

[gomi]

Alright. After some discussion with Elaine, regarding this comment and the below, we've decided to leave it up to the incoming mod team to deal with, since at the moment we're struggling with solutions (clearly) and the point is to try and get a new mod team in to respond to player concerns such as these.

[hasmovedon]

Agreeing with the above -- anonymous modding seems like a bad idea, especially because with mods anonymous we won't be able to spot it if obvious favoritism like that 'temp drop' system happens again. I'm willing to give it a test run for a bit though before calling judgement; it may remove some of the stress from the mods, which seems to have been one of the contributing factors to this debacle (though hopefully our new mods will be better at handling it and we won't have wank of this magnitude allowed to happen again).

I am completely in favor of an HMD, though! It's something the game has needed just as a formality for a while and I'm glad to see it's being implemented (and I think having one ALSO would have contributed to this not becoming the huge issue it did).

I think this is a pretty good direction going forward overall and I'm optimistic. Come on, Cosmos! We can come back from this strong and kicking.

(frozen comment)

[novainlustris]

obvious favoritism like that 'temp drop' system

Okay I'm going to address this once and for all, publically, so everyone in the game can see it.
Saying the Temp Drop Hold system is "obvious favoritism" is an utterly enormous insult to a player that was in the game from the very start and a former mod who was also one of our absolute most valuable to boot: Gena.

Gena was an unbelievably amazing mod who worked her ass off for this game. If it wasn't for her, Cosmos might not have had any events for the past several months because she was the driving force behind all of them. She ran events and NPCs with excellence despite an immensely hectic work schedule, and communicated with a lot of players. When she temporarily dropped, she did so because she was dealing with so much other overwhelming stress in her life that she was briefly hospitalized. She couldn't continue to mod or play in the game, for the moment, for serious health reasons.

When you say the Temp Drop Hold system is "favoritism," you invalidate every contribution Gena has ever had to this game from its inception, both as a player and a mod. You're saying she deserves to be immediately replaced, all her CR erased and future plans rendered impossible, just because she needed to temporarily bow out of the game for a little while for her own health.

That's what the Temp Drop Hold system was established for: honoring Gena and players like her. When it was implemented it was agreed upon as a good idea and fair by the entire mod team. But no one has given a single damn about Gena or what she's done for this game. Instead, they're hyperfocusing on the coincidental fact that Gena also played a Gravity Falls character, and Remaix, who played Lapis Lazuli (also since the very beginning of the game), who Bill had significant CR with, also received a hold on BOTH of her characters that she approached the mods about re-apping at a later date (so NOT JUST LAPIS; Chiaki is on hold too, who Bill had basically no CR with). The hold was granted for similar reasons as Gena's, the only real difference being Remaix was never a mod. The ignorance towards this is disgusting, and I'm tired of it.

If the new mod team wants to abolish the system, that will be their decision. But whether they do or not, at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if Gena or Remaix don't want to come back anymore after how their contributions to the game have been disrespectfully shoved aside in favor of a belief in "favoritism."

(frozen comment)

[twentycoolpoints]

Speaking as a new player who has never met Gena, experienced her character, or any of the above, it looks exactly like favoritism to me and that is crappy. The entire reason, within DWRP, that you can't hold on to a character if you're not active with it is because others may want to play them, and it's not fair to them. Like... this isn't RP rocket science? This is pretty basic stuff?

I'm sure Gena and Remaix are nice people and all but they still shouldn't get extra benefits over others, or others that came before the institution of this rule, at least.

Sometimes bad things happen, sometimes you've gotta let an RP storyline go, sometimes we don't all get what we want? Like... I've got nothing. This sounds ridiculous.

(frozen comment)

[relaxfriend]

"When you say the Temp Drop Hold system is "favoritism," you invalidate every contribution Gena has ever had to this game from its inception..."

Way to guilt trip player expressing legitimate concern at something that was obviously wrong with the game. It just shows you're not actually sorry because you're just going to keep up this pattern.

[twentycoolpoints]

So hey, I'm a pretty new player and haven't been here long or done much, but... I want to stay, and want this place to be worth staying in? The HMD stuff, that's good, but I'm really not down with the anon mods thing. At least not at this moment. Others have said it already, that the problems that have brought us here were because of a lack of transparency. Obscuring who the new mods will be will just leave people wondering if decisions are being made fairly and evenly.

Also, we already know who the older mods are, what good would it do to obscure the identities of the new ones? If the idea is to protect them from excessive criticism, well... sometimes, part of being a mod is being able to take other's crap. I've been in similar positions in other gaming situations, and I stepped down from those positions when I knew that on a personal level, I'd reached my limit. Shouldn't we have people stepping up that can handle the lumps and bumps and slings and arrows that come with modding?

[cyan_maid]

Believe me, I'm in the exact same mindset as you. I want Cosmographia to be a place worth staying in, and I am beyond glad you are bringing your concerns here about the anon mods decision. And I completely agree - I want the people I'm working with to be able to weather the bullshit right alongside me. Whether this decision will be reverse or not depends on player input. If you know anyone else who has a strong opinion on it, please encourage them to comment here and not be silent. I want to hear EVERYONE's voices.

[twentycoolpoints]

A pretty big part of organizing any group of people is putting up with stupid crap! It's enormously rewarding at times, true, but it's not easy. I do think that anyone volunteering has some idea that it's going to be hard work.

Again speaking from my previous not-modding-but-similar experience, when stuff has gotten to, uh, this post's current level of anger? It might be a good time to close stuff off and send everyone away for a 24 hour cooldown. Good decisions are rarely made in the heat of anger. And what we want are good decisions.

[cyan_maid]

I cannot agree with you more. I've asked Tora and Freya to step away, and I'm handling this post here, but as for locking things out entirely, I don't think I have the authority or the ability to do so on my own.

Which...is a pretty dumb thing to admit to, but I'm being honest.

[cunninggenius]

You should be able to freeze any threads that are getting heated with the cosmods account! IMHO, as long as you drop a comment letting people know why, I don't think it should be a real issue.

[twentycoolpoints]

Is it possible to freeze the threads above? That might only be able to be done from the mod account. Shutting down this whole post isn't really necessary, since you do want to get more opinions from the rest of the playerbase. (this whole thing hasn't been up very long! Everyone should have a chance to see it.)

Honesty's what people have been wanting, so hey. Here we are.

[breakingtheice]

I agree so strongly with this comment. There is a lot of (justified!) anger on every side of this and it is painfully uncomfortable and alarming to watch as an uninvolved third party, so not only are good decisions difficult to make but it is alarming the rest of the playerbase that isn't actively commenting. We're all still here watching this unfold. And it's concerning.

[dirteater]

I love this game and it's very important to me for what little time I've been in it. Because of that I've submitted my application. However I don't think that anyone chosen-- be it me or anyone else-- should be anonymous. Being in any sort of leadership position means that you have to take the heat sometimes and unpleasant as that may be it's important that people know who's running the show. It's really more about what the players deserve in this situation.

However I'm all for a HMD-- I think it'd be awesome to give each other feedback both on a player and a mod level. Looking forward to that and the future.

[cyan_maid]

I'm going to echo what I said to Picky's mun and say thank you for putting your concerns here, I cannot make the call on my own, but I do encourage you to make sure everyone with an opinion puts that opinion as a response to this post. PLEASE help make sure the word gets out.

[cosmods]

Alright. That's it. Elaine here. Sorry to be that person, but this has gone on far, FAR too long and I'm not going to let it get worse.

I'm freezing the comment threads with drama. I am taking the reigns.

[breakingtheice]

Thank you