Okay, so I'm gonna start this off, by saying this. I understand the points you made, I do. and just because I have not been around the community since 2012, does not mean I do not know anything. I have been in the community for 2 years and have LONG understood the underlying feelings of the community towards the staff. However, I do not agree completely with your points, some need rephrasing in my opinion, I still understand where you are coming from. I believe the staff team will always have room for improvement, however, before I get into what I think will make it better, I'll respond to each of your points.
Point 1: Staff have a lack of personality/only do things to get promoted, and act more like robots than humans. I can see where you're coming from, personally, I have never had this issue in my long time as staff, in fact, for me, it was the complete opposite. I had too much personality and not enough professionalism which almost cost me the job. The job, that's what the staff position is. It is voluntary, but is still a job, a set of responsibilities and duties that must be done. At the end of the day, as much as you want mods to be those cool people that can talk to you about anything from MCGamer to your favorite tv series (which they can do) they need to be professional at the same time. There must be a level of professionalism because this is a job. Remember guys, the staff team is a group of people, mostly teens, and we all have different personalities. Some of us are quiet, some are shy, some are loud, some are too much at times (me) and the list goes on and on. However, with each personality, they must carry a degree of professionalism. When you go to the police asking a question, you can't expect them to be swearing and acting like someone you hang out with at barbecues or concerts. They are on the job, they will and need to be professional as it is a requirement. However, when they don't need to be strict and stern, say in a ts channel, or on a casual discussion here on the forums, they can show as much personality as they want (as long as it abides all the rules) They can be goofy, funny, silly, sassy, whatever there personalities are, and we encourage that. When I meet mods, I don't fall in love with their work load, I love their personality, and how they treat and communicate with others. Don't get me wrong, I expect them to be professional when needed, but when we're just chilling or talking, I would want them to be as fun-loving as me. To me, and this is the critique I got as a mod, it's all about balancing, and knowing that there's a time and place for everything. There's a time and place to be a Mod/Senior Mod/Admin, and there's a time and place to be a friend/comedian/clown. The mods that take time to show me how they really are, I love them, and it is a shame that the community does not see what I see in them. They are really amazing people, from different walks of life. Some had very hard lives, and they're bravery and strength inspires me, some are so funny, I almost die of laughter, and some are so kind and caring, they make me wanna give my mom some pointers. Overall, you can not expect mods to show their entire personality, when they're mod duties come first, that is what the job calls for, and that is what we need in staff members, good workers and leaders, however amazing personalities is also a HUGE part of it. As for the awards and Mod of the Month, they were not meant for competition, nor should they be. Awards is meant for the community to show who they admire and look up to/what they love. Mod of the Month is to congratulate mods on their amazing work, and so they know, that what they do here, means a lot. Trust me, around December of 2014, I was going to resign, because of a lot of heavy personal issues, and it felt like I wasn't good enough for anything or anyone. Then I got Mod of the Month, and it made me feel special, and important, and that gave me the spark of energy I needed to keep being a mod, and look at where I am now. It is meant to show appreciation, not to create competition, if a mod makes it a competition, then I have nothing to say, but tell them to stop, and if they want to treat the whole job as something as trivial as that, then they are better off leaving, and giving the position to someone who wants to help the server for unselfish reasons. Another note, in terms of "speaking out," there is a bit of a concern with that. People can say things, as long as they abide to our rules i.e. no vulgar language, insults, etc, however, do not forget, we have more than those basic rules. The reasons staff don't say certain things, is because it is against the rules, plain and simple. Speaking out, can be taken in different ways, but to me, it means saying something in a crude manner, which if it were rephrased, would be perfectly fine. There are those people who are like "Mcsg staff sucks, learn to moderate" or whatever, but far worse, and then there are those people that are like "the staff could be better, they should try doing more forum related events." Quote 1 is against the rules, because it's a rude/disrespectful comment, and quote 2 is encouraged, because it's getting the same point across, but said in a respectful manner. There are times where I don't like certain things about the staff team, but there's no point in yelling at people like I lost my manners and my mind, and just start hollering and screaming like a hyena. If I have an idea or suggestion, I bring it to an Admin, or a Senior Mod, or a Mod, depending on what it is, and that's how I handle my things. It's all about how you phrase things, and how you handle things. That is my response to point 1, and I can further the discussion more.
Point 2: The staff-community barrier, now correct me if I'm wrong, but it feels like the blame is being put on the staff, when the relationship is supposed to be two way. I do not believe the reason the barrier is there, is because staff don't care, I think it's a lack of trust. Community members have had a history of getting into very tense situations with staff, and what happens to the relationship? Trust is lost, and affects both sides. Just as hurt the community feels by not having a strong relationship with the staff, the staff share that same feelings. It would be nice, if community members and staff could just talk on ts any day in a public channel or if staff could trust community members with their skypes, or if community members could make a post about a controversial topic, and not worry about being yelled at. Unfortunately, a long history of bad community members, and bad staff caused things to be where they are now. A lot of the people responsible for causing this drift, aren't even here anymore, and we are here suffering because of it. It's no one's fault, other than those members/staff that came before us. It is up to the current MCGamer Staff/Community to rebuild all the ties and trust that was lost. Community events were made to help, and so far, they have been helping. The community loves to pick on the staff and tell us it's all our fault, but that is not the case. I would love to be able to go down in a public channel and not worry about my ear drums being blasted, or not worry about being recorded and turned into a soundboard (both of which, have happened to many staff). Trust is a two way street, and the community and staff must both help to rebuild it, it is not the staff's fault alone. As for the point of being so welcoming to new staff, it is because we are happy that a new member has joined our team. The staff team is a unique family bonded by the desire to help the MCGamer community outside of reporting and playing. I get so excited meeting new staff, especially when my personality clicks with theirs. It's just like when a new person joins your after-school club or theater team/sports team. It's fun, it's someone you're gonna be seeing a lot more often and someone you can talk to and what not. It's also so much easier to make friends with staff, because you immediately have something in common, which is a passion to help MCGamer. It's like when you're at a concert with your favorite band, and you meet someone, and you guys start talking about your favorites songs and all that, you have something in common, so you want to get to know even more about them. Meanwhile, in high school for example, it can be harder because you might not have something in common with all of those people. The same thing applies to the community as a whole. I get along with everyone, but only really get close to people that mesh with me. Same with the staff, except we really want everyone to feel welcome, and happy that they are joining the family. I mean, we can take the extra mile for the community as a whole as well, but to me, the trust needs to be reestablished first. Right now, I think it's more that the community is angry, and the staff are more scared because they don't like seeing people angry. I think if we can be willing to focus on establishing trust, all the big issues from the community, can be worked on a lot more efficiently. So essentially, let's build up that trust we have, and understand it's gone because it was everyone's fault, not just the staff.
Point 3: Alright, now I have to say on this as well unfortunately xD. Now I am gonna start this off by saying, the only people who know absolutely everything, behind the scenes, and up and personal, are the Sr. Staff. The community sees a fraction of what a moderator does, and mods see slightly more of the picture, but not quite as much. The Sr. Staff know exactly who is here to be a show off, or to be a "try hard" and who is genuinely here. There are times, where we may not see something that others see, but that's rare, and we find out eventually. Trust me, I personally have seen a lot of mods come here, for the wrong reasons, and they don't last very long when they find out their bad attitude isn't getting them anywhere. Once again, the idea of personality comes into play. I do not like robots for mods, I want them to be able to express themselves and be human, I agree with you there, but there is a time and place for that. Mod of the month, once again, it is not supposed to be competition, or a reward, it's to show that the person's work and efforts are noticed, and it's to show appreciation and so they can be assured, they are impacting this community in a positive way. Now, I also want to speak on this, I know the forums loves Ceroria, but I think it is not fair that everyone has ear marked him as the best mod. You guys have decided that one person you know of, is better than all 140 of the rest because he's active on the forums. This is my sole opinion, but I believe you really should all be recognizing other moderators as well. I am not surprised that the forums people love Ceroria, it makes sense, but at the same time, you seem to have forgotten all the rest and how much there is to moderation other than forums. There are mods who have dedicated just as much time and effort to other areas like TeamSpeak, In-Game and Slack (our communications system). To me, the best moderator is someone who can truly balance all aspects of moderation, and be consistent. I look for strong, fierce consistency in all areas. I also think that in general the forums community tends to ear mark mods that were in clans as the best mod, when that is not fair at all. It's been a somewhat recurring theme at MCGamer, and I am hoping that when choosing a best mod, make sure you're not bias. I know a lot of mods, are hurt, I was. I felt like no matter what I did, I could run OMN once, every two weeks, run MCGamer Awards, help clean sweep and catch 100 hackers every month, go on teamspeak everyday, spend hours in Available Poke if Needed on ts, catch hackers during my homework study breaks, none of that would matter, because I was not in a clan, and I was not forum active. None of my work in other areas mattered, and every MCGamer awards for best mod, it was the forums people who were voting, and since they all vote based on who's active on forums, me and all the other mods the community forgot about, felt hurt. Luckily for me, I got Mod of the Month, so I did feel appreciated, but a lot of other AMAZING mods left, because they felt like what they did, didn't matter. So before thinking on who you're actual favorite mod is, think about two things. Let them know they are appreciated, I am sure Ceroria feels appreciated enough, let someone else feel the love, and don't give me the excuse that he is the best and the rest are no where near as good, because that is completely false. There are amazing mods in the team, and you just haven't taken the time to truly see them in action, and I don't blame you guys. Once again, only the Sr. Staff know each of the mods personally, and the community-staff barrier is pretty rough, but still, take my words into consideration. Vote who you think works behind the scenes, that deserves the love, not just who was in a clan you liked, or who's very forum active, appreciate those who work hard in the hubs, or on the teamspeak, or at events, or in their community guides, or in the general support, or wherever. My biggest point here is, be appreciative of all the mods, and stop ear marking the same people, because it is flat out not fair, and not right in my opinion, because it is based off of forum activity only. That is my opinions, and being in the staff for so long, it has been a very reoccurring theme. So, as for the point, just appreciate the behind the scenes, and know that the staff do have personalities, that sometimes get overshadowed, because they need to be professional at certain times, and be on duty, not a friend.
So that is my essay, thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy! It took me like an hour to write this XD so yeah have fun! I am open to more discussion, but this is basically my thoughts on your three points. Note this is my opinion alone, no one else's was incorporated, nor do I want to represent the opinions of anyone else.
