Staff Complaint Rules (now in helpfile)

[Nyr]

We have created a helpfile that details how the staff complaint process works, as well as how Producer consensus works for said complaints.  It is located here, and it will also be the text seen at the top of staff complaints when players wish to file one.

While we encourage players to reach us through a Staff Complaint request if they have a legitimate complaint against staff behavior, it is best for both sides for that discourse to be polite, concise and reasonable. That will ensure that responses are fair and player concerns are handled in the best manner possible.

If you have any questions, feel free to bring it up here!

[Revenant]

Much appreciated guidelines, I had a concern, however...

There is emphasis on being concise and to the point, this is not an easy task for everyone, as we have different personality types and manners of thinking. For some, this may be impossible, and depending on the complexity of the perceived problems, an utter impossibility. Some complaints may seem illogical from one perspective, which may actually hold weight. This can seem highly unfair, depending on perspective, but I can understand the rule, and that's to prevent distracting staff from their duties too much, as time is limited. I'm not mentioning this to somehow voice a complaint on the GDB, or start up any flaming, simply mentioning it as something I would consider when handling things.

The problem is there's only so much time and priorities have to be weighed, and some issues either set aside or discarded entirely. I can understand and appreciate that, as well as respect it. Sometimes, though, when a person feels very deeply troubled by an issue they perceive, they can respond in an irrational fashion, and so respecting the rule can be difficult at those times. I suppose the best strategy at that point is to step away from the situation until you feel more comfortable and collected, and have time to really think about the situation, in order to seek a resolution... and, again, when you feel passionately about something, that can be difficult.

[Adhira]

Hi there,

I'm not sure how you want us to address your concern. We will be leaving the request to keep complaints concise and to the point in the guidelines. They are guidelines, and we hope that people will use them for best advantage as a method for both how to construct their complaint to have it addressed in a manner that is effective, as well as a guideline for players so that they understand the process that WE follow when addressing the complaint (the consensus rule for Producers and so forth).

To be clear, the request to be concise is not really about 'staff time' in terms of reading the request, but is also about clarity. Trying to mine information from a wall of text is difficult. Having a clear, concise listing of an issue, and an expected resolution is much more helpful.

[Revenant]

Address it however you'd like to, I'm not going to push an issue. I spoke my mind already, and there's no point in me speaking further.

[Nyr]

That particular guideline regarding "being concise and formatting things" is the same thing we would expect out of all requests. 

I suppose the best strategy at that point is to step away from the situation until you feel more comfortable and collected, and have time to really think about the situation, in order to seek a resolution...

Yes, that should absolutely be done.

[Revenant]

I mean, I'm not trying to be hostile here, but if you expect clear and concise with all reports, I have to confess that I'll be incapable of that. I wish I could help you all out to the best of my ability, but it feels impossible to communicate with all of you. On the upside, there are plenty of roles that require minimal communication, so, I'll play those instead.

I knew there was a reason I stopped submitting my player reports years ago. Nobody ever told me, hey, you're being too verbose, try condensing it down a bit (until a certain incident, where I lost all incentive to communicate regularly, which, will not be mentioned by me)... I thought they were enjoying it, especially given the responses, bu that's, quite likely because, at the time, I was a newer player, and allowances were made for my ignorance... I mean, I was trying, but, it never was good enough, and I need to accept that it never will be, no one wants to wade through my detail-strewn garbage in order to unearth some meaningful nugget, I don't either. I wish you naught but clear and concise reports, I won't be submitting another request of any kind, save spec app, in the hopes of not increasing staff workload.

[Taven]

Best part of the helpfile:

Delay: after

[Revenant]

It's a good and thoughtfully worded helpfile, myself, I like it, and I like that, now, staff are telling people what they want and expect, kind of a bummer for some of us but, hey, that's life.

[Delirium]

Dude... I used to (and sometimes still do) ramble like mad. Learning to edit yourself is a valuable life skill.

There is no need to feel sorry for yourself or feel like they're singling you out somehow. Just take their advice!

[Revenant]

Dude... I used to (and sometimes still do) ramble like mad. Learning to edit yourself is a valuable life skill.

There is no need to feel sorry for yourself or feel like they're singling you out somehow. Just take their advice!

That's the thing, there is no filter, I can make a rough draft, then go over it, make a first draft, then a second... it's not going to change much aside from typos (or getting longer), or maybe just being scrapped entirely because, fuck it, I'd rather be playing instead of highlighting my concerns, at a certain point. I'm not going any further than that, because the rest is best saved for the request tool, which I've decided to swear off using because I can't seem to use it properly.

EDIT: Anyway, mistaken impressions of intent and/or priorities are simple facts of human existence. That's all I have, I'm shutting up now because I like playing the game too much. Further responses to my posts will be read, but I'm not going to reply to them, for real this time.

[valeria]

I still wish that it wasn't called Staff Complaint.  I feel that Staff Appeal is really closer to how I've used it.  Complaint makes it look adversarial, when sometimes I'm not trying to be adversarial at all, I just don't understand a decision or think it was wrong.

[LauraMars]

I still wish that it wasn't called Staff Complaint.  I feel that Staff Appeal is really closer to how I've used it.  Complaint makes it look adversarial, when sometimes I'm not trying to be adversarial at all, I just don't understand a decision or think it was wrong.

I think this is a great idea.  Staff Appeal makes it sound less worrisome to someone who may just want to clarify something or resolve a conflict they're anxious about.

Anyway, these rules are well written and seem airtight, and I think the guidelines are necessary and good.  I don't know how comforting they are to someone who may not be boiling over with nerd rage and is nervous about confronting staff.  Reading this helpfile, I have no idea what staff's reaction will be, other than that "Producers take complaints seriously" and that the request will be resolved in a manner the Producers think is best.  The reaction of the other party is something I'd be the most concerned about before attempting to resolve a conflict with a group who has complete control over my Armageddon experience.

Maybe staff just want a list of rules to refer a terminally disgruntled player to when they have to ban them.  Or maybe they just want fewer complaints, period.  All I know is, if I was a new player who stumbled into a bad situation and looked at this list, I probably wouldn't submit a complaint.

[Nyr]

I still wish that it wasn't called Staff Complaint.  I feel that Staff Appeal is really closer to how I've used it.  Complaint makes it look adversarial, when sometimes I'm not trying to be adversarial at all, I just don't understand a decision or think it was wrong.

I think this is a great idea.  Staff Appeal makes it sound less worrisome to someone who may just want to clarify something or resolve a conflict they're anxious about.

I'm not really sure how I feel about that...not necessarily against it, but if you "just want to clarify something" or "don't understand a decision", a question request would do just fine with that, no?  If you want to appeal after having it explained, that would be what a staff complaint (or staff appeal) would be for.

I don't know how comforting they are to someone who may not be boiling over with nerd rage and is nervous about confronting staff.

I wouldn't necessarily call it nerd rage or even just rage, but the vast majority of complaints sent in to staff do not follow these rules.  There have been 242 staff complaint requests filed since 2006 (debut of the request tool).  Of the past 100, approximately 20 have kept to these rules.  The rest?  Name-calling, you bet.  Demands, definitely.  Walls of text?  Not that common, but when it has happened lately, we have dismissed the complaint and asked the player to resubmit in a more summarized manner.  Staff-fishing?  Not frequent, but it happens.  Unreasonable, yep, that happens, too.  Putting in a complaint because you didn't like what the Producer consensus response was?  That happens. (When it happens multiple times we have been more prone to just advise the player go play something else and stop spamming the request tool, and sometimes that is forcibly done...at least now there's a spelled-out process for how we will deal with that.)

That's not to say that the complaints were even actionable in those 20 or so well-written/well-submitted instances (some of those include complaints against staff for their PC dying, even though staff weren't even animating).  However, these rules are needed.

Maybe staff just want a list of rules to refer a terminally disgruntled player to when they have to ban them.

This is an added benefit.

Or maybe they just want fewer complaints, period.

They're rare enough as it is.  We sure could use fewer of the sort that don't meet these particular guidelines, though...

All I know is, if I was a new player who stumbled into a bad situation and looked at this list, I probably wouldn't submit a complaint.

Hopefully a new player would attempt to correspond in some other fashion first before going to this extent.  Review the rules, look over documentation on it (which should be available/etc), maybe ask a helper what's up, put in a question request, etc.  It is rare for new players to put in a staff complaint, though.

[Is Friday]

I can only imagine the incredible amounts of nerd rage have been poured into some staff complaints.

[valeria]

I still wish that it wasn't called Staff Complaint.  I feel that Staff Appeal is really closer to how I've used it.  Complaint makes it look adversarial, when sometimes I'm not trying to be adversarial at all, I just don't understand a decision or think it was wrong.

I think this is a great idea.  Staff Appeal makes it sound less worrisome to someone who may just want to clarify something or resolve a conflict they're anxious about.

I'm not really sure how I feel about that...not necessarily against it, but if you "just want to clarify something" or "don't understand a decision", a question request would do just fine with that, no?  If you want to appeal after having it explained, that would be what a staff complaint (or staff appeal) would be for.

Just to explain a little while I think appeal is a better word than complaint: In both instances where I've put in staff complaints, there had already been discussion and disagreement and so yes, I wanted it clarified and I didn't understand the basis of the decision and disagreed with it.  But in both instances, I didn't actually have a complaint against the specific staffer I was disagreeing with (unless that complaint would be that we weren't communicating well with each other, I suppose).  Complaint makes it sound like the person is the target, instead of the decision.  While that's consistent with the helpfile, which calls it a forum for resolving a 'complaint against the staff,' section 4 also says it is a basically 'final way for communicating with staff about a problem.'  That second statement makes it sound more like an appeal to me.

Besides, calling it a Staff Complaint makes it seem like your complaining is welcome. 

[Revenant]

I still wish that it wasn't called Staff Complaint.  I feel that Staff Appeal is really closer to how I've used it.  Complaint makes it look adversarial, when sometimes I'm not trying to be adversarial at all, I just don't understand a decision or think it was wrong.

I think this is a great idea.  Staff Appeal makes it sound less worrisome to someone who may just want to clarify something or resolve a conflict they're anxious about.

I'm not really sure how I feel about that...not necessarily against it, but if you "just want to clarify something" or "don't understand a decision", a question request would do just fine with that, no?  If you want to appeal after having it explained, that would be what a staff complaint (or staff appeal) would be for.

Just to explain a little while I think appeal is a better word than complaint: In both instances where I've put in staff complaints, there had already been discussion and disagreement and so yes, I wanted it clarified and I didn't understand the basis of the decision and disagreed with it.  But in both instances, I didn't actually have a complaint against the specific staffer I was disagreeing with (unless that complaint would be that we weren't communicating well with each other, I suppose).  Complaint makes it sound like the person is the target, instead of the decision.  While that's consistent with the helpfile, which calls it a forum for resolving a 'complaint against the staff,' section 4 also says it is a basically 'final way for communicating with staff about a problem.'  That second statement makes it sound more like an appeal to me.

Besides, calling it a Staff Complaint makes it seem like your complaining is welcome. 

I SAID I was done, shit Valeria!... but I would like this as well, staff "complaint" sounds like a much heavier topic than "appeal", if an appeal option were available, I'd much rather use that.

[LauraMars]

Nyr, nowhere in my post did I say the rules weren't needed.  I said that they were, and stated that the rules were good and necessary.  Feel free to disagree with what I'm saying, but bear in mind that we both agree about having a set of rules for staff complaints.  I'm constructively criticizing the tone of your helpfile (terse, and a bit cold), not the content.

I get why this may have been the tone that was chosen.  Until now you haven't really had much in the way of guidelines, and are faced with complaints of perplexing hostility, and you want less of that, and you want less rule lawyering and more positive conflict resolution. Being terse and blunt might be the only way you feel you can get your point across.  But what could a sentence or two hurt that assures players with legitimate grievances that communication is welcome and there won't be negative blowback for reaching out, provided the rules are followed?  I'm sure that's the case as it is, right?   It might even help people who are in an angry or frustrated emotional state come to the discussion with a more positive attitude. 

As for "Staff Complaint" vs "Staff Appeal" - Valeria breaks it down pretty well.  The fact that it's called a "complaint" has always put me on my heels, and it probably contributes to why I've never submitted a staff complaint in a decade of play, despite having reasons to open discussions about issues that were frustrating me on more than one occasion.  Complaining wasn't the word for what I wanted to do.

[Nyr]

Good points, definitely.  Thanks!  I'll run it by the crew.