A Note On Courtesy

[Sighter Tnailog]

I regret making this announcement. I had expected somewhat better of Althanas.

It has come to my attention that some players are regularly submitting judgment requests with only one comment: "Anyone but <insert mod name here>." A number of mods have been falling victim to this activity, and some of them more than once or from a number of people. The vast majority of our players refrain from this sort of behavior, and I highly encourage the few who do to reconsider their actions and reform their ways.

I would like to respectfully ask that this sort of behavior stop immediately. Some of the moderators singled out are our most active moderators, without whom we would have a backlog of anywhere from two to three times the current number of threads. It is extraordinarily discouraging for our mod staffers, all of whom are volunteers, to work as hard as they do only to have their efforts rewarded with such animosity.

It is acceptable to request a certain moderator for a quest or battle. It is not acceptable to show any member of Althanas this kind of disrespect, let alone moderators who give of their time and energy to help their fellow players receive appropriate rewards for their effort.

For now, there will be no ban on such statements, only a polite request to cease making them. But if the problem persists or worsens, I might be inclined to say that any request tagged in such a fashion will be automatically moved to the bottom of the judging queue and not claimed nor dealt with until all threads are cleared -- even those that might be submitted AFTER the offending post.

That is all.

[Poison]

And what about when the mod in question was extremely rude and unfair (several times) to the member asking that someone else handle a judging request?

[Sighter Tnailog]

You may take up issues with individual moderators with any administrator -- Serilliant, Ashiakin, and myself are all here to help handle the inevitable issues that can arise during moderator-player disagreements. The appropriate response is to use these channels to address any real grievances you have with an individual moderator. If you have specific comments or concerns regarding treatment you have received in the past or currently, informing an administrator is the way to go about doing it -- not only can administrators handle the situation as it occurs and maybe correct a behavior before it becomes a problem, but we can also remove a moderator if the offenses continue. Passive-aggressively using judging requests as a way to express displeasure with a certain moderator's attitude is a very immature way of handling the situation.

That is all that will be said on the matter, and this thread is closed. However, any problems you have with specific moderators may be brought to me via Private Message, and I will attend to your concerns as quickly and smoothly as possible.

[Serilliant]

I would like to add to Madison's comments regarding speaking with an administrator. I understand that many worry that complaints will fall on deaf ears or that we will always side with a staff member over a complaining party, but I want to assure everyone that we take all concerns very seriously. I encourage anyone with any sort of grievance to speak first to the offending staff member and, if the situation cannot be remedied, to speak with one of us.

I am very committed to making sure that all of our players have the best possible experience on Althanas. This view is shared by my fellow administrators. Please do not hesitate to contact any of us if you need help with a conflict or any other matter.