A Message to GMs

[Zason]

GMs, I would not want their job. It zaps the "play" out of roleplay.

I sent a GM a PM and no response. I assume it either was deemed unimportant or ignored. It was sent on Tue Sep 22, 2009 11:34 am so there is a chance it has not been addressed yet.

Still, being a GM turns a game into a job. It can kill your joy of the game, real quick.

"Z"

[DrinkArizona]

I would assume that a GM is selected for the job..because of his ability to multitask like crazy. To juggle around the responsibility of normal play -and- one of a GM.

That's something I can't do, but a GM can. As for them being cold...you can't always assume that. They're just usually busy with -a lot- of stuff. Just give it time and patience, it will come.

Patience is a virtue, young padewan.


Zona.

[Secrettom]

Well...All I can say is that I am sorry.

I try, people. You may not think I do, or maybe not any of the staff, but I can say every single thing I do is aimed for all of your happiness. When I said I loved this server- I quite literally mean it, and it's my simple job to make the people here feel accepted, happy and maybe even a haven with friends they can turn to...if I have failed at that I might as well quit what I am trying to do right now.

Podcasts, events, tickets, items, leveling, spawning, and whatever else is very taxing on me, and with what problems I have personally It's been hard to keep everything balanced. Just keep in mind that myself and the rest of the staff work as hard as we possibly can for -you- and if we end up looking cold, mean or even cruel we never mean it. If we hated this job we would not be here to begin with.

[Grakor456]

This is something that often comes up time and time again. After seeing this, there are two things that come to mind.

1. This varies from GM to GM. As someone mentioned, some of the staff also goofs around. I'm fairly famous for going off-topic in Chat only to get yelled at by the players. I think if there's going to be an issue where the staff is unapproachable, names do need to be shared so we know who we're talking about here.

2. To a certain extent, a certain amount of coldness and distance will always be there because of the stress of the position and the distance we have to take in order to solve certain issues. As bad as that is, I've determined that no matter what we do, there will be some players that will always be afraid of us in some manner.

[DrinkArizona]

Quite honestly, I'm not afraid.

"And they shall know no fear.."

I am not afraid, because usually when I PM a GM...I do it with a kind attitude, and a nice approach.
And honestly, I would expect somebody to return the friendly attitude...not naming names, but people have.
I've talked to GM's, and they responded with a good..clean and professional attitude.

It's just that, not everybody does so.

Zona.

[Vrahn]

I suppose I actually do very much understand what I think Scout is trying to convey. I've been around for a fair while and I've seen or gotten to know a lot of the current GM staff and I do note a difference in how it was when they were still on the player base side of the board vs. the administrative end of things. Mainly this is actual time constraints. With the variety of things they have to do it does get rare that I will be RPing with them or joking around to the same extent as it used to be due to not only the vast material that the GMs deal with (which tends to be the focus on vent.) but also that they simply don't have the time to RP in a casual manner as much as before. Keep in mind, this is my view on the matter, it wont be agreed with by everyone, but this is how I see it and have experienced it. It's not really something a lot of players would pick up, but balls to you for being able to post about it, I definitely understand where you are coming from.

[Kretol]

Just a quick note, as I'm still at work, but I know I can be rather bad at replying to PMs at times. If it's something like feedback, I may not reply, but it is still certainly appreciated. Everything I get I do read, and depending on the subject matter, often share with at least Grakor.
There are others things that I have a chance to not respond to, however. Check my profile link for some of that, but you'd be surprised how many technical questions I get, when most of them don't require my assistance. In fact, oftentimes people would be able to find answers to whatever they need from a simple glance in the Tech Support forum. Either that, or a quick post in there. Many other players are willing to chip in with their own knowledge, and as I mentioned previously, that's usually all that's needed.

Another possibility, for me at least, is that I check my mail and PMs a ton while at work, and a lot of times I can't actually do anything until I get home. It's just not feasible to send a response when I'm doing so, as I'll usually still be on the floor at work. That's actually one of the reasons I put up that news post a bit ago regarding impatience, since some folks just expect a response immediately (though some of those people have realized it's not feasible, by now).

Anyway, must get back to work! I wuv my iPhone. ^_^

[Hinbane]

I'm sorry Scout, but I really question the point of making this a post instead of a PM between you and the GMs (including Kretol). If this is truly a "Message to GMs" I feel it should have been just that. Confronting them up-front, but in private, would still send the message home, and yet maintain the unity of the server.

My take on these sorts of issues has always been to keep communication channels open, but having been a GM on another private server myself once, I can recall the pressure, as well as the headaches of having to "serve" the players of a private server.

Though I know your intentions may have been good, I feel that this should have been done in a different way.

[PiesOfNub]

Yo, Retail, I'm really happy for you, and I'm gonna let you finish, but CotH has the best Player Support of all time. OF ALL TIME.

Sorry, couldn't help myself! Heh, the GMs are possibly the most supportive people I've seen on any kind of server.. Mostly due to the tight-nick community, etc. Yeah, they sometimes get stressed.. Yeah, sometimes the massive influx of profiles and new players MAY tick them off, but they're good people! Personally, I couldn't think of a better bunch of crackpots and fools for the job.

[Kaghuros]

I really have to say that most of us don't mean to be like that. In my situation, there's just a lot going on in my life and I barely have time to dot down and get my storylines to move let alone get on my character for an hour to play with everyone I know. It's hard on people who get involved with my characters or people I played a lot more with before now. In the end, I do wish I had the time to put in for everyone, but this is my senior year and I've got a lot on my plate besides what all I do normally.

P.S. I AFK ingame a lot and do my other work. When I don't answer, I'm probably writing furiously at my desk.

[Kainue]

Kaghuros speaks truth. Busy, busy, busy.

I knew and stuck around the "old" Kaghuros that would be on a lot, running around with his Orc and all, killing giant insects in deep canyons around the Barrens! But alas, it all came to a..semi-end, if you want to call it that, when he became a Game Master. Then of course, I took my hiatus as well and wandered off for a few days and nights. So I can't say too much about that relationship.

I guess what I am trying to say is, with that gaming/community title comes a sudden change. Good or bad changes, it has no mercy nor does it have a particular target. It just happens. It happens because of the immense work bestowed upon them that can and will create a feeling of alienation because "you don't want to appear too soft" or "too mean".

I know that is starting to sound a bit -repetitive-, but it's as simple as that.

EDIT: Personally, this does not change my views of Kaghuros though. It is up to you if you want to understand their plight or see it as another "rude gesture".

[Cressy]

Hmm.

Well, I will say my opinion and drop this topic, and I will use a real situation to convey the meaning.

Lethys and I are like...BFFROBERTKAYLA. Yeah, I dropped real names. We are probably closer than most GM player are, this mostly coming from prior relationships. When he became GM I knew what was coming, he was going to be over joyed and then become unusually distant due to GM responsibilities. He had profiles to read through, questions to answer and new RP events to organize. I, being the understanding friend, understood this. We rarely were able to talk much and our RP-adventures became slim to none. Yes, I did feel like he became cold at times, but being the understanding friend I didn't let it get to me. Why? Because I saw how much he did for this community. He really improved many of the issues that were being seen by the players, and for this I admired him. Now that he has even taken more on after becoming Content GM, I know that this will happen more, but because I value this server, I let it. I am not going to make a friend feel the need to apologize for doing his job.

Believe me, the GM staff does more than the players realize. It isn't just reading profiles or leveling people. They add more to our RP experience. Has anyone seen Silvermoon or Stormwind lately? Ratchet perhaps? Or even the arena? I mean, it is time consuming what they do. They don't do it for themselves, they do it for the community. Now if that means not responding to a PM or my private chat channel, or even going out of their way to add stuff so my RP can be all beautiful and pretty, then so be it. I mean, my GM friends scold me for doing stupid shit in the chat channels even, but do I take offense? f**k no . It is their job, and I should know better. Just because they are my friends, does not mean that they need to drop their job, WHICH THEY DO FOR FREE MIND YOU, to let me be an ass.

I don't think that the GMs are doing anything wrong. Yeah, I said it. Be cold and heartless and ignore my personal PMS and outrageous requests, and add pretty shit to the server and give people fat l00ts and okay their profiles.

Ta-fuckin'-da.

<3333

Cressy

EDIT: If this came off rude, brash or offensive, I am sorry. My opinion is my opinion. You can deal with it.

[Darksaber]

I understand what the original poster is talking about though. As time goes on, what i have seen happen, and from talking to older members of the server, is that the GM community is appearing to seperate itself from the rest of the realm more and more. An instance is their own Ventrilo entirly as opposed to using one the rest of the community uses, even though on that they DO have their own channels.

I also feel that the longer someone has been a GM, the more... "Off the Ground" they become. They begin to lose track of what it actually was to be a Grunt or peon.
Don't get me wrong. When i say this i don't mean that "All Gms are powerhungry mongooses'!" But i do mean that they could come down to earth on the whole matter that the GMs are not a seperate branch of the community, but more of Mylin Sheath on the Nerve Cells of the community.

Another thing i feel is that each time a new GM is added to the game, another older GM feels like they have no exceeded the limit to make a strong contribution to the feedback forums, such as Character profiles. Backtracking a while, you can only see one or two of the Trial GMs doing it. However it is a task, i believe, that all GMs should at least put some ounce of effort into.

Because of the Boom of players and character profiles, the Trial GMs who it seems have been stuck with the task of approving profiles have become so buried under with profiles that they are forced to speed up, which also limits their constructive criticism.

If you want my explanation on how to sort out the whole "GM alienating basic members in game/out of game", Being a GM should come with a limited Termship. For example someone can only be a GM for a specific duration at a time. Or at least put it to the polls every two months or so to the forum about which GMs they think really make the difference (anonymously of course)

Thats my 1.2 pennies.

EDIT: Yes, what Cressy said is true. They do work for free. But i feel that if they ever become overly stressed or disconnected with what they're doing, it is probably best for them to step down, even for a while, rather than get the demeanour and reputation that the Game Masters are currently getting shouldered with, one of coldness and narrow-mindedness.

[Vrahn]

I wouldn't really agree with that last point as the longer one is a GM, the more experience they can accumulate during that time, and thus the more effective to the server at what they do. In regards to Cressy's post I failed to mention in my own that my post was not a criticism but rather an observation, and I agree with her message of understanding. I do also agree with Hinbane's post regarding this being a more private discussion, but it is good to throw it out into the open and get people's opinions onto the table.

[Grakor456]

I understand what the original poster is talking about though. As time goes on, what i have seen happen, and from talking to older members of the server, is that the GM community is appearing to seperate itself from the rest of the realm more and more. An instance is their own Ventrilo entirly as opposed to using one the rest of the community uses, even though on that they DO have their own channels.

It's a bit unfair to throw that against us. The "GM Vent" is Kretol's personal vent, which he had long before the one for the players was set up. As he didn't have the space to accommodate the entire server, we just chose not to share that information with the players and have a problem with his vent exceeding the number of people it can support.

Another thing i feel is that each time a new GM is added to the game, another older GM feels like they have no exceeded the limit to make a strong contribution to the feedback forums, such as Character profiles. Backtracking a while, you can only see one or two of the Trial GMs doing it. However it is a task, i believe, that all GMs should at least put some ounce of effort into.

Some of us have other things we'd rather be doing, really. Though to be fair, I do agree that more GMs should be working on profiles. The problem becomes that, because we are not paid and this is volunteer work, we can't exactly force them to keep up with the profiles.