Do you feel you get decent response time from staff?

[Furious George]

Without going into WHO your staff members you are dealing with are, your clan, or anything that might single anyone out, on the whole, how do you feel staff response times are for:

1.  Dealing with clan emails.
2.  Dealing with clan projects.
3.  Setting up special apps.
4.  Answering questions.
5.  Troubleshooting issues.
6.  Handling crisis situation emails.
7.  Character feedback.
8.  Questions about clans you might be interested in.


This should not include app approval turnaround nor should it include request tool issues.  But based ONLY on emailing the staff.  It seems to me that there are some spread out posts of people having email issues, or even people not getting info from staff members, so I'm wondering if there's a larger issue that needs to be looked into.  Perhaps the mail system is still out of wack, at best, or at worst there's a lack of Staff-Player communication?

I think "decent response time" should be qualified as 2 business days from hitting the send button, unless someone has a better idea.

Again, do not single anyone out or point any fingers, the poll should account for any issues, and discussion should be limited to vague responses.  I'm only curious if there's an issue.

[fourTwenty]

I love our staff (except Shalooonsh who's got to many damn "o"s in his name for me to E-mail right the first time ).

You have to consider that these are all volunteers with lives and 2 days is kinda ridiculous. If I send an E-mail I wait patiently for a week. If I don't get a reply I may send a polite follow up at the week to week-and-a-half mark. I've yet to not receive an answer.


Edit to ask: Wouldn't this have been better suited to Ask the Players?

[Gimfalisette]

This is like asking: "Are the professors at your school good?" The answer is: It depends on the context, it depends on the task in question, it depends on the individual imm, it depends on the imm-player relationship. I've had good experiences and bad experiences with the same imm, I've had bad experiences with imms that other players had good experiences with, I've had distant/neglectful relationships with some imms and close/supportive relationships with other imms, I've had to change my playstyle and communication style nearly every time I've had a new imm in order to better work with that individual.

[staggerlee]

This is like asking: "Are the professors at your school good?" The answer is: It depends on the context, it depends on the task in question, it depends on the individual imm, it depends on the imm-player relationship. I've had good experiences and bad experiences with the same imm, I've had bad experiences with imms that other players had good experiences with, I've had distant/neglectful relationships with some imms and close/supportive relationships with other imms, I've had to change my playstyle and communication style nearly every time I've had a new imm in order to better work with that individual.

I'd add to this that it's going to depend a lot on the attitude of the individual player, the nature of their requests, and how they organize or phrase their request.  It's a two way street.

[brytta.leofa]

My feelings about staff have improved tremendously since I stopped sending long rambling emails and started calling out exactly what I'm asking for a response on.

[Fathi]

Depends entirely on the situation and the imms in question. In my last two "leader" type roles, most emails were answered quite rapidly, usually within one or two days. The time in between that I played in a clan but wasn't a leader... they just didn't get answered.

[Moofassa]

If a staff answers me within a month, I'm euphoric. They volunteer their time to run the game. Great, take your time.

If I get an answer withtin a day, or 12 hours, i'm euphoric and my body begins to tingle and go numb.

Volunteers never get enough praise. Poor volunteers, take your time.

[Fnord]

Yes and I've found that it helps to be concise and to follow up.

[SMuz]

I think the Highlords are taking too much time.. I need a skill strongly related to my char's background, money making skills, and focus (he refuses to use the crafting skills he already has) and I'm wondering if he'll die by the time they read the request. But I don't mind. It's a free game after all, and they're all volunteers.

[Gimfalisette]

I'm wondering if he'll die by the time they read the request.

It's not a good idea to base your PC's life or death on whether an unusual request gets granted by the imms. I strongly suggest joining a clan so that you can learn about the game and get really plugged in, as well as helping you navigate early survival in ARM.

[Jingo]

If a staff answers me within a month, I'm euphoric. They volunteer their time to run the game. Great, take your time.

If I get an answer withtin a day, or 12 hours, i'm euphoric and my body begins to tingle and go numb.

Volunteers never get enough praise. Poor volunteers, take your time.

What happens when you start talking to staff in real-time?

[Moofassa]

If a staff answers me within a month, I'm euphoric. They volunteer their time to run the game. Great, take your time.

If I get an answer withtin a day, or 12 hours, i'm euphoric and my body begins to tingle and go numb.

Volunteers never get enough praise. Poor volunteers, take your time.

What happens when you start talking to staff in real-time?

My vision goes black.

[Clearsighted]

I tend to get stellar response times from clan imms. Have a clan imm right now who is so responsive, I'm afraid he'll get burnt out. Anything after that is a crap shoot. Ranging from a week to months and months...

[Pale Horse]

I've never had a bad experience working with the staff.  They've only gotten better as I've delved deeper into the game and increased my communication with them, and thereby come to a better understanding of just how things work around here.

I've read posts by people who have quite the game and community, because of perceived (or real.  I don't know the particulars) slights from our Imms, and I can't help but feel that it's a certain unwillingness to "give and take" that led to them.

Compromise is the root of any human relationship, be it however small or large.

[SMuz]

I'm wondering if he'll die by the time they read the request.

It's not a good idea to base your PC's life or death on whether an unusual request gets granted by the imms. I strongly suggest joining a clan so that you can learn about the game and get really plugged in, as well as helping you navigate early survival in ARM.

It's just a minor skills request that I made at the start of the month. A glimpse at his bio and the guy's focus should approve it. He's living his dangerous life happily and is trying to make do while he tries to learn the skill Can't really make any side money till I get the skill, though.

[Clearsighted]

I'm wondering if he'll die by the time they read the request.

It's not a good idea to base your PC's life or death on whether an unusual request gets granted by the imms. I strongly suggest joining a clan so that you can learn about the game and get really plugged in, as well as helping you navigate early survival in ARM.

It's just a minor skills request that I made at the start of the month. A glimpse at his bio and the guy's focus should approve it. He's living his dangerous life happily and is trying to make do while he tries to learn the skill Can't really make any side money till I get the skill, though.

There's a whole massive labyrinth of bureaucracy that any kind of skill request goes into. So buckle in.

But if its any consolation, it is absolutely possible for any PC, no matter which guild or how many days played, to make side money. Granted, some of this stuff requires having been around a little while to know the precise whereabouts and commands, but its not totally obtuse...there are many minor jobs like mining obsidian, cutting wood, finding salt, sifting spice, and foraging stones on the ground that take virtually zero coded aptitude. Heck, even gathering herbs and selling them to a herbalist. The absolute best one of these little gathering 'minigames' is found in the rinth. Beyond which I probably shouldn't say.  Not meant to be one of those patronizing posts. Just that there are so many options out there, most of which have been modestly well described on this board by now, that anyone can make side sids doing at least one. In fact, alot of it is probably too profitable.

But if you've survived a month without this skill, and haven't starved to death for lack of sids, you should be doing okay and have some steady gig going. Hell, even living a month is great...

[FightClub]

This is like asking: "Are the professors at your school good?" The answer is: It depends on the context, it depends on the task in question, it depends on the individual imm, it depends on the imm-player relationship. I've had good experiences and bad experiences with the same imm, I've had bad experiences with imms that other players had good experiences with, I've had distant/neglectful relationships with some imms and close/supportive relationships with other imms, I've had to change my playstyle and communication style nearly every time I've had a new imm in order to better work with that individual.

[Lizzie]

I've had certain imms who were so responsive, that I had no idea it wasn't something we should expect! So when another one wasn't -as- responsive, I got bummed. I've also had imms who were so -un-responsive, that it took them almost 2 RL weeks to answer an e-mail about my character, *after* my character was already dead and I was playing another one.

[Melody]

I tend to get stellar response times from clan imms. Have a clan imm right now who is so responsive, I'm afraid he'll get burnt out. Anything after that is a crap shoot. Ranging from a week to months and months...

Amen.

On average, I found staffs respond within a week, around 3 days is the norm. I am so spoiled with the responsiveness that if my current clan staff doesn't respond within 2 days I would get panick attacks over them being dead and can never be around to spook my char again.

OK, maybe not that dramatic. Yet.

[jcljules]

I've waited up to a month and a week for a response to a simple question before, and sometimes I get instant emails. I guess it really just depends on the time, the staffer and the situation?

[jstorrie]

It's not entirely fair to expect perfect efficiency from volunteers who have lives, jobs, and families to attend to. I think the staff are generally quite good, and much better than the unprofessional 'deities' most muds have.

[Riev]

I was almost certain this was locked...


I still say, I have never had an Imm take an inordinate amount of time for something, except back when I STARTED playing, and a character creation request took literally three days. The reason.

I was dumb enough to app during a Staff Meeting. Hurrrrrrrrr.

[brytta.leofa]

Yeah, I do.

Use the request tool for everything you can.

[mansa]

When I started...

It was two weeks for a character to be approved.

You were scared to wish up because of rumours of immortals killing characters for stupid wishes.

You had to wish up to request a reroll, and you were scared to do that.

...

The response time for certain issues is 110% better than what it used to be.  For some issues, it's only 40% better.


So, final answer is yes.

[tortall]

When I started...

It was two weeks for a character to be approved.

You were scared to wish up because of rumours of immortals killing characters for stupid wishes.

You had to wish up to request a reroll, and you were scared to do that.

...

The response time for certain issues is 110% better than what it used to be.  For some issues, it's only 40% better.


So, final answer is yes.

Agreed. Since coming back my characters have been approved, at -most- in a day. I remember waiting a week or more back in 2001-2003.

[musashi]

I've always received WONDERFUL response times from the staff.

Asking for a copy of my account notes: Less than a day.
Asking a question via the response tool: At most a week.
Processing player/staff kudos: At most 3 days.
Replying to my weekly character update emails: Usually 1 day.

The only thing that ever took a long time for me was special application ... which was just a little more than a month long in processing. But since the staff has never made any illusions about the fact that special apps are the lowest of their priorities, time consuming to process on top of that, and will take about a month to get done ... eh, I wasn't really expecting anything less.

[deviant storm]

I am pleased with the response time I've been getting from the imms in my current clan. Last night I wrote them and received an answer back that same night. And I know they were busy, too.

So I can't complain. At all.

[SMuz]

I just got a reply from my skill request after a month. Ironically, I was told to reapply after I'm actively playing again, but can't start actively playing again till I get a proper Internet connection. I don't really mind anyway, it's nice to know that they paid attention. Quite ironic though

[Akoto]

I've had quite a few reasons to communicate with staff over the years, and my experience has been that they're almost always prompt. That hasn't been 100% true, but they're human and volunteers.

My current clan staffer (who shall remain nameless per OP's request) is really good. He usually answers me on the same day, or by the next morning at the latest. Special apps have also been coming through quite regularly.

[Winterless]

I tend to get stellar response times from clan imms. Have a clan imm right now who is so responsive, I'm afraid he'll get burnt out. Anything after that is a crap shoot. Ranging from a week to months and months...

QFT, my imms are 110% awesome. One in particular is truly going above and beyond, and I <3 it! I've never had such great imm-teraction as I get now.