Staff Bits Linking Handles
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Every single time I discovered that a staffer was behind an unmarked player character I felt a sense of violation. I felt like players were automatically presumed to be guilty of something so bad it mandated a system to allow them to be spied upon. Distrust as a default.
I absolutely believe staff deserve to play on the game they help run. I absolutely also believe that they are to be held to a higher standard that should not make them afraid to reveal who they are. If they want to play without that pressure they can go to other games or they can find other outlets or just become a regular player. Nobody forced them to be staff.
Please consider my remarks in light of the notoriously OOC masq-heavy WoD games which make up nearly all of my MUSH experience. And thank you to nearly all staff of the games I’ve been on, because the majority of them were open about these things and their hard work and trust made the fun for me and countless others possible.
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It was a few years ago so I’ll refrain and avoid the drama. I’ve only just started talking and not lurking!
Game didn’t last long. I honestly can’t remember the actual name though I could probably find it with some poking around.
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@MisterBoring said in Staff Bits Linking Handles:
@InkGolem said in Staff Bits Linking Handles:
I think it absolutely should be considered best practice for staff bits to have an Ares handle linked.
I agree. How would you see this translate into non-Ares games?
Require staff list their characters in a +finger note, minimum… for extra chaos (as a joke), link to a BMD playlist featuring every character they have ever played.
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@Yam said in Staff Bits Linking Handles:
Out of curiosity I’m wondering if folk have ever had the opposite reaction of ‘ah him that motherfucker what a tool’, like maybe ‘ah him i love his themes/style/atmosphere i will check it out’.
Everything Darwin and @Wuff. They’re the two that immediately jump to mind, but there’s probably others.
Mummy Pun? MUMMY PUN!
She/her -
@Jennkryst said in Staff Bits Linking Handles:
@Yam said in Staff Bits Linking Handles:
Out of curiosity I’m wondering if folk have ever had the opposite reaction of ‘ah him that motherfucker what a tool’, like maybe ‘ah him i love his themes/style/atmosphere i will check it out’.
Everything Darwin and @Wuff. They’re the two that immediately jump to mind, but there’s probably others.
I’m pretty certain I’ve elicited both reactions.
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@tsar said in Staff Bits Linking Handles:
@bear_necessities said in Staff Bits Linking Handles:
ETA: I would also play anything @tsar made so long as it’s Janitor: the MUSH. I’m still waiting @tsar
We were janitors once!! And you threw it all away!!!
…wasn’t that literally the job
sorry I have nothing to contribute, I just couldn’t leave that one be.
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@Wizz said in Staff Bits Linking Handles:
…wasn’t that literally the job
Cleaners mistake art work for rubbish, throw it out
More on topic and on the subject of staff bits and associating them with characters, I tend not to mind so much but I also typically only really invest my emotional energy in places that are run by people I already trust. If I’m on a Faraday game, for instance, I already have a rough idea of what I can expect from Faraday as far as professionalism, ethics, and so forth. So I don’t tend to worry so much if she decides to spend her downtime playing Ensign Fuggedaboudit rather than her ‘public’ character of Corporal Wordsmith.
What I do hate is when staff have characters in positions of authority. NPCs are a different thing, they’re storytelling tools, but if your personal player character is in a position of authority and you are in a position of OOC authority, I do look upon that with askance. So I can understand expanding that level of suspicion/distrust to staff in a more general sense and becoming frustrated or feeling violated when staff aren’t 100% transparent about everything all of the time.
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@Pavel said in Staff Bits Linking Handles:
NPCs are a different thing, they’re storytelling tools, but if your personal player character is in a position of authority and you are in a position of OOC authority, I do look upon that with askance.
I can understand being wary of that. Heaven knows there have been enough staff shenanigans through the years to warrant such skepticism. But I’ve also been on games where staff PCs were in authority positions and it worked out just fine. I’ve done it myself, though I usually avoid it.
It all depends on the staffer, so I agree it’s nice when you know staff’s reputation. I just prefer if the default “trust-o-meter” is at neutral for someone without an OOC rep rather than “OMG they must have something to hide”.
I still see all of it as kinda separate from Ares player handles. Everyone knew me as Faraday on MUs (from staff char names) looooong before player handles existed. Even on games where staff had wacky themed names, I’d still announce myself in my +finger. And we’ve had alt tracking systems for forever (I already mentioned the auxiliary alt tracker mechanism baked into Ares).
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Once, I staffed under a guy at a superhero game who had his alts in his finger UNTIL he was told that it was a pretty bad look for the head admin of the game to sit in the OOC Lounge and pick petty arguments with players on his alts. After that, he no longer ever publicized his alts.
I don’t think there’s ever a good excuse for staff to not disclose who their alts are, even on pure consent games. It just leaves too much room for shitty behavior.
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@renaveleigh would have been too much to ask to just not pick petty fights with players, huh?
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@chorus said in Staff Bits Linking Handles:
@renaveleigh would have been too much to ask to just not pick petty fights with players, huh?
for the kind of people who tend to run superhero games, yes, that is way too much to ask or expect or even to hope for
(tend to, coin is cool)
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@Ashkuri said in Staff Bits Linking Handles:
In my opinion, if you hate me then it’s best you’re able to identify me and the game I run. I don’t want people on my game that hate me. You don’t want to be on my game if you hate me!
I understand that some unlinked staff may feel differently, for privacy reasons, or for whatever reasons, that is their choice. But for me personally, healthier ecosystem all around if people can go “ah, him, that motherfucker, what a tool” and steer clear.
I think this basically sums it up for me here. The real-world comparison that came to mind to me is: “ok but who owns the business?” “You don’t need to know.” when it comes to staff privacy and not knowing who they are. It’s not a perfect comparison, but along that line of thinking. “How do I know you’re not Asshat X running YetAnotherThemeGame?” “Don’t worry about it.”
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Everyone except me should link their handles.
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This is exactly the point I’m making. If I am going to putting in the time and effort in a game, I want to know whose house I’m in.
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@dvoraen said in Staff Bits Linking Handles:
“ok but who owns the business?” “You don’t need to know.”
I view it more as: “Who owns this business?” “No clue. <shrug>”
Which is honestly how I feel about most businesses. Most places do not plaster their owner’s identity on their front door, and most patrons just don’t care.
There’s nothing wrong with caring. By all means, give your business to a place that you’re not comfortable with. I just reject the notion that not advertising your OOC identity is some kind of shady practice.
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I figure the handle being prominent, right after the name on all channels with every message has probably shifted the expectations a bit, as opposed to an alt list tucked into a finger.
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Believe you me everybody still knew who the staff alts were before handles most of the time.
I guess this is why I find the subterfuge Neon engaged in so silly, in addition to being a red flag. People are gonna find out 90% of the time.
I want something else to get me through this
Semi-charmed kinda life, baby, baby
I want something else, I’m not listening when you say good-byeShe/Her or They/Them
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@Faraday I think there’s a pretty big difference between a business you go to for a few minutes to an hour at a time, and a hobby where you may spend a significant amount of your leisure time.
MUSHing isn’t a business. It is an extremely niche hobby that new people rarely find. Most if not all of us have had intensely negative experiences with one or more players, some of which even extend to RL doxxing and stalking.
I don’t think that means everyone in it needs to be completely transparent about who they are at all times, but comparing a MUSH gamerunner to a business owner is not very apt imo.
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@ham I didn’t start the business owner analogy, I was responding to a previous comment. Any kind of RL analogy is going to be flawed because once you meet the people in person you can be like: “Oh no, not Harvey again. I’m out.”
You’re never going to get that same 1-1 correspondence in an online system. What we’ve been talking about is whether staff OWES people that same level of transparency.
I think being transparent is a good way to build trust. I think being cautious around staffers you don’t know is reasonable. I just don’t think “they have no handle therefore they have something to hide” is appropriate or fair. YMMV.
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