Reopen Trusted Applications - Old Man Jenkins

[General Blue]

Description of the Idea:

Reopening the Trusted Applications.

Why Should This Be Added?

To reduce recruitment and promotion wait times, as well as to alleviate some of the staff workload during intense in-game events.

What Negatives Could This Have?

(See below for more details.)

Additional Information:

As we know, Trusted applications have been closed since November. After speaking with several staff members, I received the following reasons for why this decision was made:

1. Abuse/Neglect by Trusted Members
   Some staff have shared that Trusted members were abusing their powers, such as giving meta promotions, changing player names, and allowing stupid names into factions. 

2. Having Too Many Staff Members Makes It Useless
   We already have a strong staff team, and ticket wait times have significantly decreased compared to months ago when I was a staff member.

Now, let's consider potential solutions or counterpoints to these concerns:

1. Abuse/Neglect by Trusted Members

While the issue with Trusted was certainly about abuse of power, I don't think the problem was with the powers themselves, but rather with the individuals who were granted the Trusted rank. Many people were approved for Trusted because they held important positions and had time on the server, but that didn't mean they had genuinely earned the trust of the community or the UA team.

If the Trusted rank is reopened, it should be opened for players who fall under the following criteria in order to truly be "Trusted". 

• Prior Staff Members in Good Standing: Applicants should have retired or left the staff team on good terms. For example, a staff member who had to retire due to real-life commitments but maintained a good reputation throughout their service. Verax tracks staff members like a hawk and keeps records of everything, he's basically the HR manager of Prometheus, so this would be easy to verify.

• Must Have Reached Admin Rank: Applicants must have achieved at least Admin rank during their time on staff. This would demonstrate that the UA team trusted them enough to have passed through the Mod ranks, showing maturity and an understanding of the rules.

• No Notes or Bans in the Last 30 Days: To ensure a clean record, applicants should have no recent issues, such as notes or bans. 

2. Having Too Many Staff Members Makes It Useless

It's true that ticket wait times have improved, but we must consider when the server experiences its highest activity, during coups and major political events. During these times, the staff team tends to be larping, and many players with high-ranking positions tend to be staff members.

Here’s how the typical staff recruitment process works:

• A player creates a character, joins a faction, and over time becomes a high-ranking member.
• Once they reach a high rank, they become "known" in the community.
• They then apply for staff.
  (Side Note) as a prior staff member I can say with certainty that staff members tend to get promoted faster than regular people when on RP chars as they are better well known and seen as more trustworthy.

The problem here is that, to become known, players often have to achieve high rank, which results in many staff members occupying high-ranking positions during critical times. As a result, these staff members are often too busy with RP situations (like cabinet meetings) to handle tickets promptly.

I’ve been in situations where recruits have waited for 10+ minutes for staff to come before leaving, only for a staff member to finally take the ticket another 10 minutes later and say "oh sweet, free ticket!" and dip. The same happens with officer promotions. During high-stress moments, it becomes increasingly difficult for staff to manage tickets, and having Trusted members available to help would be an excellent way to ease this burden. 

Why Trusted Matters During High-Traffic Events

There are times when staff are overwhelmed with RP. Trusted members could help with recruitment and promotions, allowing staff to focus on more urgent matters. While staff are crucial and should have their moments to enjoy the game, Trusted members can serve as an essential fallback during busy periods.

This is particularly beneficial for staff members who resign due to the inability to meet weekly quotas due to personal commitments. They could still contribute to the server by helping with tasks they can manage during their limited time online.

Conclusion

Overall, Trusted could be a valuable tool that takes the burden off staff and empowers the community. Even with a sufficient staff team, there are still periods where ticket times can become excessive. By reopening the Trusted applications with stricter guidelines and thorough vetting, we can create a balance where Trusted members can effectively support staff and help maintain smooth operations, particularly during peak times.

**PLEASE READ THE FULL POST BEFORE COMMENTING** Post any concerns below and I will answer them.

Thanks!

~Old Man Jenkins

Edited yesterday at 06:56 PM by General Blue

[Spedu]

+1 

this is good its that we the player base make alot of tickets but theres sometimes a few staff or when there is event going on so staff roleplay so that means longer waits but one thing i would change would be give the powers to on guy per faction so that can handle the work load but it also means nobody cant abuse it

 

[Hound]

No.

We had Trusted for years before we got rid of the rank. It became too much of a headache to deal with, between players abusing permissions to not being able to keep track of everyone who had it. Trusted players would continuously misuse permissions, and we decided it was no longer worth having the rank entirely.

At this point in time, we're not interested in bringing back Trusted.