UPNetwork  

Go Back   UPNetwork > Independent Forums > Fizzy Bubbles > FB Time Out > Hall of Records

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 01-28-2021, 06:14 PM   #1
Sandaa
Volcano Badge
 
Sandaa's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,464
Mew FB Moderation Nominations 2021

Hello Fizzytopians, this has been long overdue, but I appreciate your patience as we got everything in FB into order over the past couple of months. I’m going to keep this brief, but at this time I would like to begin the official process of gathering nominations for appointment to the moderation staff of Fizzy Bubbles. At this time we are looking to add one or two new mods to the team, depending on the quality of the candidates as well as the opinions of the community. To start, here is a list of some of the expectations of what it takes to be a FB moderator:
  • Availability: Possibly the most important quality, must be accessible around the clock to work in conjunction with other mods as well as interact with the community (barring sleep, real life commitments, and emergencies obviously)
  • Open-mindedness: An ability to set aside one’s own personal views in order to work for the community’s best interests as the ultimate priority
  • Initiative: The willingness to take on tasks that might seem monotonous but are critically important to keep FB running
  • Cooperation: The ability to collaborate with others, keeping discussions civil and productive and working towards operating on the same wavelength as your peers
  • Leadership: Being able to address the community on a regular basis, maintaining a level of transparency as well as being able to step in and correct disruptive behavior
I have already gauged general interest in becoming a mod a couple of months ago, but if I did not speak to you at that time, I may send you a short questionnaire to get a feel for your ideals and background.

From now until February 12th, 2021, please state your nomination below if you wish to become a mod, as well as share with the community some information about yourself. After this date, the polling process will begin for Fizzytopian Mod Election!
  • Nomination:
  • Why would you like to become a mod?:
  • What do you think you can add to the moderation team?:
  • What is your level of experience with leadership (either in FB or outside)?:
  • What do you hope to accomplish once you become a mod?
  • What are your views on problem solving and conflict resolution?

Last edited by Sandaa; 01-28-2021 at 06:20 PM.
Sandaa is offline  
Old 01-28-2021, 06:56 PM   #2
Lil'twick
Insanity
 
Lil'twick's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Fizzy Bubbles
Posts: 5,751
Send a message via Skype™ to Lil'twick
Nomination: Hi everyone, people know me by either Lit or Leo, but I've been here for a long time now and have gotten to know most of you well by now. I'm active pretty much every day, either talking on the discord or doing things on the forum. I know I've had some activity dips in the past, but right now I'm committed to both working on the game and staying active in the community. But besides that, I just like to hang out with everyone here, and do enjoy talking with everyone. I'm also always open to talk so please feel free to reach out if you so wish!~

Why would you like to become a mod?: I've been part of the FB Community for multiple years now and have put in a lot to make sure it has thrived. I have been able to hold a thriving zone for over two years now, and I make sure that everyone adventuring in it has timely and fun adventures. I'm also a Gym Leader and have actively contributed to both balance changes and pushing for changes that benefit the community as a whole for both raids and zones. I feel like this is the next natural step, and want to make sure Fizzy Bubbles is a thriving community for years to come.

What do you think you can add to the moderation team?: I am quite good when it comes to creative direction, and hold to the philosophy that people should be able to enjoy Fizzy Bubbles how they want. I know I'll be able to help flesh out projects that are worked on, and make sure that the community is involved in every step. I am also well known in the community and active in the discord, and hope to help out there was well when needed.

What is your level of experience with leadership (either in FB or outside)?: As stated previously, I am both a Zone Owner and a Gym Leader. Besides that, I have experience hosting multiple stand-alone role plays of my own, so I understand structures as well. Besides that, I have been considered for both team leader or trainer positions for every customer service job I've held and would like to use that experience to help moderate Fizzy Bubbles.

What do you hope to accomplish once you become a mod? The main thing I want to accomplish as a mod is the make sure that people can adventure in zones how they want and enjoy adventuring. I want to make sure that all of our development forum projects and proposals are both heard and have a resolution that benefits the community. e need to work on getting rid of the mod vs community mentality and realize we're all just people wanting to play and enjoy a game together, and I hope we can accomplish that.


What are your views on problem-solving and conflict resolution? I like to tackle any problem that is thrown at me in the best way possible. I want to make sure that both sides of an argument are heard and try to take a neutral stance as much as possible. When it comes to conflict resolution, I want to make sure that both sides can reach a compromise that they are both able to agree on, and would like to make sure that is applied to both the mod team and the community.
__________________


I fill my lungs with everything
You want someone that I can't be
You say it's insanity, but
I say that's my life

Fizzy Bubbles
Lil'twick is offline  
Old 01-28-2021, 08:46 PM   #3
Pearl's Perap
Ca-caw!
 
Pearl's Perap's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Ancient Aerie
Posts: 1,279
Bulbasaur

Nomination:
Hey guys! Might not be as familiar a face as Lit but I'm Pearl’s Perap / Zak and I'll be similarly nominating myself for the moderator position. Since returning to FB, I'd like to think I've been an active member of the community and I've really enjoyed the time spent back in the game in its present state. My day-to-day already sees me engaging with both Discord and the forums consistently and I'd love to be able to take some of that FB time and put it to even better use.

Why would you like to become a mod?:
I have spent a good chunk of my life within the Fizzy Bubbles community at one time or another and now more than ever is a time where I feel like the game is at one of its definite high points. I’d love to be able to have the opportunity to keep stoking away at those fires so that the game and community continue to thrive together as they should. Not only do I feel that I have the inclination to work towards this, I also have the time available to dedicate as well.

What do you think you can add to the moderation team?:
Though I’d consider myself to be quite an easy going and fun individual, I’m also level-headed and more than willing to speak my mind, particularly if I feel like what I can offer is beneficial to a situation or dialogue. My main focus if I was to join the moderation team would be the continued support of the community and ensuring that everyone is having the experience they would want to be having during their time in FB.

What is your level of experience with leadership (either in FB or outside)?:
The majority of my leadership experience comes from outside of FB where I have managed both small and large teams. Through these roles, I've come to understand that clear communication is always key when managing individuals and encouraging people towards a shared goal. I feel like I know how to be approachable when necessary as well as knowing how to deliver harsher words when required too. My time as a duty manager at a theatre saw me working with both the public as well as people from all different backgrounds in the staff so I feel like this experience paired with an open mind would serve me well in such a diverse community.

In FB, I have experience in the past as a ZA (or ZO back then) where I co-ordinated several ZUs in Miasma Heights; a zone I had recommissioned from a portion of an older zone (bit of trivia for ya: some remnants of the zone actually still live on in the Unreal Archipelago to this day!)

What do you hope to accomplish once you become a mod?
If I was to become a mod, I would want to ensure that FB continues on the track that it is on - a game with possibilities abound, built for (and quite often by) the community. I'd want to support people's ideas and would love to be able to help to keep things 'moving' to make way for the fresh and exciting ideas of the future. Given the strength of things as they are, I'd also love to be able to encourage a drive for new members to join our ranks too.

What are your views on problem solving and conflict resolution?
I often find that the best approach to any problem is to step back from things and try to look at things from every angle. This isn't always possible as an individual but given the community-based nature of FB, I think this can be achieved through transparency and offering members the chance to directly contribute. I know this is something that already happens within FB but I'd love to be able to encourage people to bring even more of their ideas and passion to the development side of things as every voice counts and could end up bringing something vital to the discussion.

I believe the best thing for any conflict between members is to be always seek to foster an environment where both sides of the coin feel like they are not only being listened to by the other but truly heard. Where this can’t be achieved between the two, mediation and strong communication from somebody in a unbiased position are going to be key components in resolving this conflict, both of which I believe I could bring to the table as a mod. In my life outside of FB, I have experience offering formal support with mediation and conflict resolution in the workplace as part of a past role as an associate trainer for an EDI consultancy.

---

If you got this far, cheers for reading and thanks in advance for any and all support ^^

Pearl's Perap is offline  
Old 01-29-2021, 02:01 AM   #4
Sneaze
Mrow?
 
Sneaze's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Camping the White Market
Posts: 6,934
Pichu

Nomination:
Hey guys! It's Sneaze/Sniz/Sneasel/Michael/etc throwing his name into the ring again. Those who know me (which I would hope would be most of you by this point, if not, let's change that going forward, huh?) know I've been kicking in and out of the community for absolutely ages now. Like most people, I've had activity issues throughout the life of my stay in FB, but also like many I've strived hard, especially recently, to make sure that I balance life in such a way that I can give FB the attention it deserves, both as a game and as a community.

Why would you like to become a mod?:
FB has been a sort of second home to me for close to two decades now, and even during the times when I didn't manage to split my interests well and couldn't really be active, I've always made sure to keep tabs on the goings on. We've all, together, seen high points and low points in this game, glorious golden years and injustices to the community that can never be repeated. And I'm throwing my hat in because, more than anything, I want to be there with everyone and for everyone to bring more of those high points and golden years to the future, and plant myself firmly with everyone to prevent those lows. I threw myself back into things here during the Fizzylution because of the fractures I saw, and returned a year ago and decided to dedicate myself to FB above all other similar interests because I saw the cracks beginning to show then, even if nobody really wants to admit it. So ultimately, I'm here for the community, if nothing else, to mend the bonds between each other and between the leadership of the game both now and for the future as the game roars with some of the strongest success we've seen in many, many years.

What do you think you can add to the moderation team?:
I'm sure that, regardless of what the leadership of FB ends up looking like, I can work with those around me to make sure changes are put through effectively and efficiently, but more importantly, that changes put through are brought forward with a sense of transparency to and from the community. I tend to think about things as cause and effect, and when considering things will look at not only how it may affect the game and community as it currently stands, but also how it affects anything currently in discussion or with plans to be discussed or balanced in the future. Respect is a big driver of discussion, and is something I have with all members of FB and all parts of its leadership, from mods to GLs to ZAs to SOs, but I'm certainly not afraid to put a foot down and tell someone (especially members of leadership) that they are out of line when it comes to not respecting the wishes of others when it comes to balance changes or general behavior (not that this has been overly needed in recent years). Because a community isn't a community without its members, and everyone here deserves someone willing to go to bat for them.

What is your level of experience with leadership (either in FB or outside)?:
I've been in leadership in some form or another for over a decade now, whether that be in other communities, ranging from small groups to thousands strong, convention work, customer service, and everything in between. With no small amount of overlap across that time. These roles have ranged from low-level leadership to training to middle management to that of a council member making high end budget and staffing decisions. It's given me a pretty good sense at this point of how to meet people halfway where needed and how to let people know not only when something can't be done the way they want, but why, which I hope everyone has seen in some form in the past little while here as I've helped the current leadership with pushing out changes as a GL and a ZA.

What do you hope to accomplish once you become a mod?
Frankly? FB as it stands has an entire Las Vegas kitchen worth of back burner projects and discussions that have been sitting at this time, and these need addressed in some capacity so that we can have an understandable timeline on when things might roll out. But more importantly, I think that there needs to be more transparency between leadership and the member base, something I have been pushing for since the Fizzylution and will continue pushing forward as time goes on. Our game is in a good state right now, but there's no reason not to strive to be better. That goes double for general organization of information. While most things have managed to find their proper place around here, I'm of the firm opinion that a cleanup is in order, from things as simple as properly listing all custom moves and items (yes, including those created as staff rewards) to making it much more clear when something is an idea put forward to the community and when it has actually become a written rule. After these are taken care of, my goal going forward would be primarily to push out regular checks of how everyone feels about the game state, as this was a major point of order during the Fizzylution that has not been held to standard, and making these changes come to life in a way that benefits all involved.

What are your views on problem solving and conflict resolution?
I think both Lit and PP pretty much hit the nail on the head here (yes I'm forcing you to go read their stuff instead of rewording it, this is an election and you should be reading through all candidates to get an idea of who you best feel would represent all of our needs). That said, while proper communication, mediation, and transparency should be the go-to for anyone in a position of power, here or anywhere else in life, there is a certain point wherein a foot must be put down. This is when respect for one another has been lost, as I've stated above, and those involved need to stop what they are doing and take a step back to re-evaluate the situation. That doesn't mean cutting someone out or treating them like they are a child, merely making it clear that something unacceptable has happened and chill pills need to be taken so that it can be properly discussed and resolved.
__________________

Daisy wins at life for making this Battle Cut
Sneaze is offline  
Old 01-31-2021, 02:56 PM   #5
Ironthunder
The Uncultured One
 
Ironthunder's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Somewhere.
Posts: 3,562
Send a message via Skype™ to Ironthunder
Nomination
It's me, Ironthunder, resident Department Store owner and former Gym Leader. Been floating around for a while on the fringes, always there and talking but never really doing much in terms of actually playing the game.

Why would you like to become a mod?
Honestly, I feel like the admin team needs people who are willing to sit down and knock out the ideas that have been floating around, rather than letting things float around and accumulate into a backlog that then stagnates everything and blocks new ideas coming through. I'm the sort of person who will sit down and knock out a framework for an idea to get it started, then throw it to the other people for feedback.

What do you think you can add to the moderation team?
Hopefully a drive to push through a project at a time and get things hammered out and dealt with. If the admin chat was anything like the discussions in the old GL chat, there were a lot of floating ideas that never actually went anywhere, and the only one that went anywhere was because I started sitting down and kicking out a framework for it.

What is your level of experience with leadership (either in FB or outside)?
I admin TWW2 tournaments every weekend for over a year now, for the Sunday tournaments I'm basically running the show single-handedly. Lots of dealing with conflicts and having to provide judgements without being functionally a tyrant. Also currently overseeing a review of the maps used in said tournaments, which is a lot of feedback management.

What do you hope to accomplish once you become a mod?
First course of action is going to be to open a discussion on the future of Bond. There was a discussion back in October about potentially removing or reworking Bond, and I'd like to push that further. It's hard to make other changes when such a fundamental part of FB is as archaic and awkward as Bond is, it's going to be an awkward untangling as it is without piling extra stuff on top of it. After that, we'll likely start finishing up discussions in the development subforum, because the whole curry debate becomes a little more awkward if we do go through with removing Bond.

What are your views on problem solving and conflict resolution?
Sledgehammer. In all seriousness, there's not a lot to say here that isn't already stated in the last three submissions. You step back, look at all sides, make a call (ideally as a team) and then step in with the lead boot. Foot goes down, the admin team has spoken and they will stand by that unless new information comes through. Obviously the team working as one is ideal here but real life will invariably intervene, so striking the balance of flexibility and control is necessary. Sometimes you have to step in and drop the Word of God, and people need to be able to do that.
__________________
Ironthunder is offline  
Old 02-02-2021, 04:58 PM   #6
Prof.Enigma
Enraptured by Enigmatics
 
Prof.Enigma's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Anchorage Alaska
Posts: 1,516
Self Nomination

Nomination:
Everyone on here knows me as Prof.Enigma or Enigma, sometimes even by my Discord name Wolfe. I haven't been too terribly active when it comes to writing in zones but I keep my eyes and ears on the forums as well as the Discord.

[*] Why would you like to become a mod?:
Much like Sneaze and Ironthunder, I feel that there is a need to be more people to drive out many issues and backburner ideas, as well as properly connect the community with the moderation teams. Both the community and Mods need to work together to make FizzyB as a whole thrive even more. However, personally, I am here also wanting to help be involved more with the development, getting tasks whipped out on time, and setting up things so shops are easily updated and kept to work on, helping shoulder tasks that shouldn't be placed solely on one person.

[*] What do you think you can add to the moderation team?:
I am not afraid to speak my mind on matters and call things out that I feel need to be called out on. I am a pretty flexible person and I am able to adapt to different situations and come up with systems to get things done faster. I generally have the time to think over things for long periods of time to come up with a solution while I work on other tasks. I also work well with others and almost never have any issues with anyone or thing when it comes to working on problems.

[*] What is your level of experience with leadership (either in FB or outside)?:
I help Co-run a Pokémon battling community on Discord and have been the sole driving force behind getting it up on its feet and getting it active as well as making it a comfortable place for all members of the Pokémon and gaming community.
I also have helped run other communities inside and outside of discord in many ways, ranging from getting tasks done to coming up with ideas and working with others to implement ideas within said communities. Outside of social life, in my places of work, once I understood the systems and the goals needing to be done, I am generally entrusted to lead my fellow employees to get tasks done within a specific time frame, On top of being a person who also helps teach newly hired employees about the job and what my companies do. With a few exceptions, I work great with all of my coworkers and managers inside work, but I make sure to keep myself and them focused on the work at hand rather than sit around idly gossiping.

[*] What do you hope to accomplish once you become a mod?
I hope to accomplish goals that I share a mindset with PearlP and Sneaze. I want to get everything cleaned up and dealt with starting with the longest sitting discussions and work my way down a list of all discussions and plans of action needed to get done. Then once I am sure that we are getting the goals finished if they aren't already, I am going to push to try and encourage new members to join our community and make sure all of our current members within our community are comfortable with what we are doing. If they aren't well then I am willing to take criticism/feedback on what would make their experience more enjoyable and see if I can apply it to the mod team goals and tasks. Within reason of course.


[*] What are your views on problem-solving and conflict resolution?
Not everyone can be pleased with every situation or solution. That is a given.

First up I want to identify what the problem is, and then I want to understand the resolution is that the people want to have in place. I would want to judge how it would affect the community now and how it would affect the community in the long run. If it would be good for the community now, but potentially disastrous down the road then I would want to negotiate a solution that appeals to those who have the issue but also works to prevent future instances of conflict-related to the current issue. This method of solving issues has worked for me in the past with my social communities as well as my work environment so far so I do not see why I couldn't apply it here.


Thank you all for reading through my submission and I strongly advise you all to read the others if you haven't already because they are wonderful too!
Prof.Enigma is offline  
Old 02-11-2021, 06:41 PM   #7
Sandaa
Volcano Badge
 
Sandaa's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,464
At this time I would like to give a big thank you to our current nominations:
  • Lil’twick
  • Pearl’s Perap
  • Sneaze
  • Ironthunder
  • Prof.Enigma
As I prepare the ballots, I’d like to give the community an opportunity to ask the candidates anything they want about expectations, policies, whatever is on your mind that might not have already been stated in their nominations. So, from now until February 16th, 2021, feel free to address the candidates with any questions you might have, and hopefully they will be able to answer your questions to the best of their ability!
Sandaa is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 08:03 AM   #8
Maskerade
Rainbow Badge
 
Maskerade's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 954
I think all of you have the necessary overall skillset to be a text game moderator, and I'm sure all of you will excel! So I'd like to ask something a bit more personal.

What is the personal project you'd most like to see implemented if you become mod, in terms of bringing something new to the game? (Not so much what you want to accomplish in broader terms, that's already been asked)

Not looking for a detailed rundown of how you'd implement anything! More along the lines of... getting to know your passion project for FB, if you have any.
__________________
Maskerade is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 08:16 AM   #9
lilboocorsola
Dragon's Tears
 
lilboocorsola's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Searching for light
Posts: 6,453
Lil' Bluey

This question is for all nominees: Of the other candidates, whom do you personally feel you would work best with as members of a team, and why?

Also, please consider any weaknesses you have that may be covered by said dynamic. You don't have to list them, but I'm looking to see what the most well-rounded, ideal group set-up would be.
lilboocorsola is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 08:22 AM   #10
Sneaze
Mrow?
 
Sneaze's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Camping the White Market
Posts: 6,934
My absolute passion project would be to bring back Contests in a capacity that is both fun and efficient on time. Old Contests had a very bad habit of dying due to either a lack of updates or a lack of sustainable interest from those participating due to the time requirement. I think that treating them in a manner similar to how we handle raids could work, but there would be a lot of details to hash out, such as expected timeframe of a single contest and deadline timeframes on orders, as obviously a single month with two day order times wouldn't fly.

I also feel this is needed sooner rather than later to help bring some longstanding issues with regards to inventory stagnation to a bit of a close.

Who I would work best with? Definitely Leo, quite possibly PP. Leo is an obvious choice for obvious reasons but we've also worked together in multiple communities, both those that have sprouted from UPN and those that haven't, for years now. PP I do feel a bit of kinship with as I respect his drive to get things done, and he carries a different viewpoint than I do, which is near always a good thing so long as things are approached with respect.
__________________

Daisy wins at life for making this Battle Cut
Sneaze is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 09:28 AM   #11
King Ghidorah
Rainbow Badge
 
King Ghidorah's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 804
I’ve often felt too many FB initiatives get caught up in overly long debates and discussion periods that prevent or delay reaching any sort of real conclusion. How do you feel about that? How will you address issues like that?
__________________
King Ghidorah is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 10:29 AM   #12
Sneaze
Mrow?
 
Sneaze's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Camping the White Market
Posts: 6,934
For any and all changes there needs to be time for community discussion, even if it's only brief. There is also almost always going to be discussion had in the background with mods/ZAs/GLs/SOs. The biggest problem is that when discussion has come to a halt it takes far too long for there to be any updates. Personally I feel that any time a discussion sits without the community providing real input for 2-3 days there should be an update from the mods on it. Even if it's just as simple as "we're not sold on this yet, but here's what we have so far, please discuss on this proposal". This is something that still happens now, but the timeframe of 1-2 weeks at times to hear back from FB leadership is just not conducive to a proper pacing for potential changes and ideas and just results in things sitting dead in the water.
__________________

Daisy wins at life for making this Battle Cut
Sneaze is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 10:58 AM   #13
Emi
Barghest Barghest Barghe-
 
Emi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 12,068
Send a message via Skype™ to Emi
One of the ongoing discussions and debates in Fizzy Bubbles is how do we attract new members to FB, in order to keep the game healthy and lively, and to what extent should the Discord server play into that? It's been a largely open-ended discussion with not much really pinned down, likely due to its importance. If you had the ability to implement a policy on this as soon as possible, what would be your preferred method of doing so? What do you think the role of the Discord server should be?

In addition to this, an influx of new members may require new updators? How would you facilitate members to become updators? This is a very open-ended question, so feel free to cover stuff like incentives or making updating easier.

Finally, a personal critique of my own time as a moderator was that I was always fairly unwilling to step in and make strong decisions, even when the situation would have desperately called for it. While this is related to conflict resolution, this is more a question for when things become dire enough, which they inevitably will even with best efforts. How willing are you to step in and make decisions in conversations that are clearly unproductive? Doing so may require not taking a neutral stance. What will be your position on dealing with people who may not agree with a decision?
Emi is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 11:03 AM   #14
Connor
Flashbacker
 
Connor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 9,068
I'd like to double down on Emi's second question. I think updating accessibility should be one of the problems at the forefront of discussion. I understand that the logistics of creating a comprehensive guide are staggering, and would probably look dramatically different depending on who is composing it. It'd be interesting to see what candidates have to say or spit ball with regards to solving this issue.
__________________
FB
Connor is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 11:14 AM   #15
Sneaze
Mrow?
 
Sneaze's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Camping the White Market
Posts: 6,934
Hoo boy that first one is just the lingering question any forum based community has to address nowadays. Ultimately, it will be some time before we start seeing anything resembling an influx of new members, sadly, as forums have been slowly dying for half a decade plus at this point. That said, I'm very firm in the opinion that the game itself cannot move off the forums in any capacity. It simply is a death sentence to uproot like that for a proper RP like this. The Discord is great for building a sense of community and should be used for that and that alone, lest we get more members that are not able to join and begin to miss out on things. Beyond that and into expanding, obviously we need to push our presence on BMG a bit more as well to help pull in new members, but our online presence as a whole really. Even something as simple as making sure people can look into what the RP *is* without having to reach out to ask. What steps we take there are honestly not a mod decision, it's a full blown community discussion that needs had and addressed regularly.

The second point has already begun being addressed behind the scenes by ZAs, but I plan to expedite the process. It really just needs to be that we have a clear and open route to start updating that doesn't scare people off. We also need to readdress Staff Rewards to feel more like a progressive scale than a series of brackets that feel same-y quickly, to help keep people interested in the rewards they receive. Edit: @Connor: A guide is in the works but has stagnated due to being a bit wordy at the moment. This will need some dedicated time to fix but honestly I feel it needs brought to the community as is to assist in doing so as the ZAs uave been a bit stuck on it.

I really am not going to address the last question too much. The whole of the community at this point should know fairly well by now my policy on putting my foot down, namely that I am not at all afraid to do so in the name of positive change.
__________________

Daisy wins at life for making this Battle Cut
Sneaze is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 12:37 PM   #16
Lil'twick
Insanity
 
Lil'twick's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Fizzy Bubbles
Posts: 5,751
Send a message via Skype™ to Lil'twick
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maskerade View Post
I think all of you have the necessary overall skillset to be a text game moderator, and I'm sure all of you will excel! So I'd like to ask something a bit more personal.

What is the personal project you'd most like to see implemented if you become mod, in terms of bringing something new to the game? (Not so much what you want to accomplish in broader terms, that's already been asked)

Not looking for a detailed rundown of how you'd implement anything! More along the lines of... getting to know your passion project for FB, if you have any.
I'll say that the personal project that I want to work on the most is revamping zones. What I mean by this is reworking both how people can earn rewards, but also making a more intuitive system for people role-playing in zones as a whole. The updater/updatee role-play is at our core, and that is something I never want to be changed. But, at the same time, we are isolating some members who wish to partake with the current system, either due to lack of them being able to get rewards, bad incentives on the updater end, or a myriad of other reasons. I hope I'll be able to work with the other mods in working on these changes and proposing them when the time is right. Also Legendary Pokemon.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lilboocorsola View Post
This question is for all nominees: Of the other candidates, whom do you personally feel you would work best with as members of a team, and why?

Also, please consider any weaknesses you have that may be covered by said dynamic. You don't have to list them, but I'm looking to see what the most well-rounded, ideal group set-up would be.
For people I think I'd work best with, I'd say PP or Sneaze. PP and I are pretty like-minded in terms of our vision for FB, and I feel like from the small things we've worked on that we'll work well together on the moderation team. I do feel like we'd be able to push for things without it being seen as too aggressive for some members of the community, but also make sure that the community members are listened to. I think the main weakness is this combo would be seen as us being a little too wishy-washy on putting our foot down, and not try and hard to make a decision if needed. I feel like this is definitely the more co-operative, creative option.

As for Sneaze, he and I have a lot of experience working together for sure, and there are things we'd be able to push through yes, but my main concern at the moment is that if we're both elected too much power will be consolidated in one place. When we work together, we also tend to either steamroll through things or end up too argumentative that grinds things to a halt. The best comparison is a train, as we'll be able to quickly get things sorted and done without any issues, but if something happens to the machine it will end up slowing down or potentially breaking. This is my get-stuff done, we're fixing things option.

Quote:
Originally Posted by King Ghidorah View Post
I’ve often felt too many FB initiatives get caught up in overly long debates and discussion periods that prevent or delay reaching any sort of real conclusion. How do you feel about that? How will you address issues like that?
I think the main thing with initiatives as of late is that there are just so many things happening that are bogging things down. We both need a better way to expedite things if they've been sitting around, as well as making sure there is a lot more transparency from the leadership involved with the discussion and the people proposing it. Things have been more stagnant for a variety of reasons, but making sure that we take care of what we have when we can as well as working towards the future is important. Trying to force things out will only cause more stagnation, in my opinion.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Emi View Post
One of the ongoing discussions and debates in Fizzy Bubbles is how do we attract new members to FB, in order to keep the game healthy and lively, and to what extent should the Discord server play into that? It's been a largely open-ended discussion with not much really pinned down, likely due to its importance. If you had the ability to implement a policy on this as soon as possible, what would be your preferred method of doing so? What do you think the role of the Discord server should be?
I feel like the Discord server is the central hub for community interaction is a good thing for sure. However, I don't think it needs to be the primary focus on where the RP is. We did have a discussion on Discord earlier about moving more of our active proponents towards BMG, and I am one hundred percent for this. I feel like, as much as well all love UPN, it is a dead forum at this point. While I'm not saying we completely shut UPN off, I am saying we should move Raids and some of the shops towards BMG. This way we'll be able to better attract new members, especially if there is more activity there. Basically, keep the Discord server as a social hub, and make BMG the RP hub with a few little exclusives here on UPN.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Emi View Post
In addition to this, an influx of new members may require new updators? How would you facilitate members to become updators? This is a very open-ended question, so feel free to cover stuff like incentives or making updating easier.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Connor View Post
I'd like to double down on Emi's second question. I think updating accessibility should be one of the problems at the forefront of discussion. I understand that the logistics of creating a comprehensive guide are staggering, and would probably look dramatically different depending on who is composing it. It'd be interesting to see what candidates have to say or spit ball with regards to solving this issue.
Since I am pretty passionate about this, and a huge propionate of the third adventure slot, I'll state what's on my mind. We 100% need to hard revamp staff rewards. We just do. Once you reach about 100 FC, you realize that this won't be changing for another 150 FC until you hit the 250+ tier, and then after that things RESET and you have to slog through 250 FC to just hit that sweet spot. As a community, we need to come together and work on changing the middle tiers of the rewards ladder. 100/150-250 really needs to be changed to make it so there is always an incentive regardless of where you are at.

Moreover, I feel that we need a third adventure slot, and have it updator locked. From what I've noticed recently is that we have enough updating manpower that its easy enough to delegate people for a ZA. I have one of the largest used zones in Fizzy Bubbles, and I make sure that everyone adventuring in it finds an updater as soon as possible. If I see someone stagnating or not being updated, I try my best to work on the situation behind the scenes to make sure they are taken care of. With this, I feel like having a third adventure slot tied to the first tier of bi-monthly would help people incentivize trying to update, as well as increase the RP activity of the forum. Though, this needs to be seen as an incentive, not a requirement.

As for the guide, Sneaze has pretty much hit the head on the nail. When I initially wrote the first draft, I went WAY too wordy on a specific section that we just haven't been able to cut down, and I'll be honest I think we should reach out to the community to not only shorten it but as well as get overall feedback on it.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Emi View Post
Finally, a personal critique of my own time as a moderator was that I was always fairly unwilling to step in and make strong decisions, even when the situation would have desperately called for it. While this is related to conflict resolution, this is more a question for when things become dire enough, which they inevitably will even with best efforts. How willing are you to step in and make decisions in conversations that are clearly unproductive? Doing so may require not taking a neutral stance. What will be your position on dealing with people who may not agree with a decision?
With putting my foot down? I'll 100% do it if I have to. I like trying to work with people as best as possible, but if it needs to be done, it needs done. I do this in my apartment, I do this with my fiance, I do this with my family, and I do this with my friends. I mediate as best as I can until I see the only option is putting the foot down. Sure, it will mean taking heat, but you get that no matter what your decision is in a leadership role. We can't appease everyone for sure, and when things stagnant too much you need a spark to ignite things, not let things get bogged down.
__________________


I fill my lungs with everything
You want someone that I can't be
You say it's insanity, but
I say that's my life

Fizzy Bubbles
Lil'twick is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 01:23 PM   #17
Pearl's Perap
Ca-caw!
 
Pearl's Perap's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Ancient Aerie
Posts: 1,279
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maskerade View Post
I think all of you have the necessary overall skillset to be a text game moderator, and I'm sure all of you will excel! So I'd like to ask something a bit more personal.

What is the personal project you'd most like to see implemented if you become mod, in terms of bringing something new to the game? (Not so much what you want to accomplish in broader terms, that's already been asked)

Not looking for a detailed rundown of how you'd implement anything! More along the lines of... getting to know your passion project for FB, if you have any.
Having worked on executing the PokéRinger of old, I would love to introduce some sort of yearly or twice-yearly tournament of some kind where members would go up against or alongside each other with one person ultimately taking the crown. These could take any number of shapes (PokéRinger, some sort of race, Sky Battle, Double Battles, etc) but each would require a straightforward system to be put together for them as well. Given the collaborative nature of FB in its current form, the nature of this tournie could be potentially decided by a vote or even a creative competition.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lilboocorsola View Post
This question is for all nominees: Of the other candidates, whom do you personally feel you would work best with as members of a team, and why?

Also, please consider any weaknesses you have that may be covered by said dynamic. You don't have to list them, but I'm looking to see what the most well-rounded, ideal group set-up would be.
I would say that I have jelled well with each of my fellow candidates but I am most familiar with Leo and Sniz and how they operate. In knowing them both in the capacity that I do, I know that we each offer a different perspective and feel that these differences of opinion would prove more useful than not with more angles having the chance to be covered. That being said, I'd like to think I'm fairly adaptable and believe I could work well with any of my fellow candidates.

Quote:
Originally Posted by King Ghidorah View Post
I’ve often felt too many FB initiatives get caught up in overly long debates and discussion periods that prevent or delay reaching any sort of real conclusion. How do you feel about that? How will you address issues like that?
I’d always like to keep the ball rolling with things where possible and believe that our projects can be segmented into clearer ‘phases’ with perhaps a little more stringency around deadlines to help us achieve that. I’m not talking making things happen overnight but i’d like to add a bit more agility to things, allowing ideas to progress in phase if they have the support through discussion, feedback and polling. I'm also quite happy to 'take risks' and have certain ideas evolve post-implementation once members have chance to feedback about whatever this feature may be.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Emi View Post
One of the ongoing discussions and debates in Fizzy Bubbles is how do we attract new members to FB, in order to keep the game healthy and lively, and to what extent should the Discord server play into that? It's been a largely open-ended discussion with not much really pinned down, likely due to its importance. If you had the ability to implement a policy on this as soon as possible, what would be your preferred method of doing so? What do you think the role of the Discord server should be?
Given the fact that UPN is mostly dead outside of FB, I definitely think we should look to hosting more activities on BMG for better visibility. At the moment, it kinda just feels like we're there in a placeholder format but I think we could easily split more of the game between here and there, if not look to migrate entire portions over to BMG in the long run. It has been mentioned on Discord today that we could host raids over on BMG and I wholeheartedly agree with this idea as a good point to start with such a migration, particularly given that this is our most 'current' feature that is in the game at the moment.

I definitely think that Discord plays an important role in Fizzy Bubbles, particularly as it seems to be the main place for members to communicate. That being said, though, we have the odd member here and there who doesn't access Discord (*waves at Spiny*) and I don't think we should rely on that platform for anything that isn't also going to be available on either UPN or BMG too. I must admit, I already feel a bit strange knowing that the raid schedule is released purely on Discord and would be a mystery for anyone not on there until the hours before sign-up but this is a separate issue in itself.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Emi View Post
In addition to this, an influx of new members may require new updators? How would you facilitate members to become updators? This is a very open-ended question, so feel free to cover stuff like incentives or making updating easier.
I believe that the incentives we have in place are certainly a good starting point (the FC ladder as well as bi-monthlies) but I think the introduction of a third slot for updaters could help to alleviate some of that. I understand that this would mean an extra adventure available per updater on top of any new members but I feel these incentives would hopefully be enough of a draw for new updaters.

If existing members would like to be updaters but aren't too sure, I think this is something we should make a point of addressing and supporting first and foremost. A couple of ways this support could be offered could be through the introduction of the aforementioned and long discussed updater guide or through some sort of mentor system with existing ZAs or ZUs who feel they could offer their time to support an interested party.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Emi View Post
Finally, a personal critique of my own time as a moderator was that I was always fairly unwilling to step in and make strong decisions, even when the situation would have desperately called for it. While this is related to conflict resolution, this is more a question for when things become dire enough, which they inevitably will even with best efforts. How willing are you to step in and make decisions in conversations that are clearly unproductive? Doing so may require not taking a neutral stance. What will be your position on dealing with people who may not agree with a decision?
Though I'm somebody who likes to get along with people, I don't have any issues with speaking my mind and implementing decisions or delivering bad news that may go against the wishes of some. That being said, I'm always very keen to hear perspectives and don't like to make any decisions without taking people's thoughts and concerns in to consideration.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Connor View Post
I'd like to double down on Emi's second question. I think updating accessibility should be one of the problems at the forefront of discussion. I understand that the logistics of creating a comprehensive guide are staggering, and would probably look dramatically different depending on who is composing it. It'd be interesting to see what candidates have to say or spit ball with regards to solving this issue.
I definitely think the introduction of the fabled updating guide would be a good start. If this is available in some capacity, I think it would be good to get this out to the updating community to share their thoughts and feedback about how we can convert this to an easy-to-use but concise resource - particularly if it's as cumbersome as people have said!

Going back to my 'mentorship' idea from before as well, I think it would be good to find out more from the non-updating community who would like to but haven't yet made the leap - is there something extra there people feel that they need to know before becoming an updater? would support from existing ZAs/ZUs help people to give it a go? etc. With those findings, I believe we would be able to pair interested parties up with other members of the updating community who could best support their needs.

---

Thanks for all the questions so far everyone - if you've got anything to ask about the above or any further questions, feel free to fire away :>
Pearl's Perap is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 02:35 PM   #18
Prof.Enigma
Enraptured by Enigmatics
 
Prof.Enigma's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Anchorage Alaska
Posts: 1,516
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maskerade View Post
I think all of you have the necessary overall skill set to be a text game moderator, and I'm sure all of you will excel! So I'd like to ask something a bit more personal.

What is the personal project you'd most like to see implemented if you become a mod, in terms of bringing something new to the game? (Not so much what you want to accomplish in broader terms, that's already been asked)

Not looking for a detailed rundown of how you'd implement anything! More along the lines of... getting to know your passion project for FB, if you have any.
I don't personally have a project I would yet like to implement into FB at this current time however this could change later down the line. I would have to give this some thought after we get the majority of FB swept up and running smoothly




Quote:
Originally Posted by lilboocorsola View Post
This question is for all nominees: Of the other candidates, whom do you personally feel you would work best with as members of a team, and why?

Also, please consider any weaknesses you have that may be covered by said dynamic. You don't have to list them, but I'm looking to see what the most well-rounded, ideal group set-up would be.
I don't know the other candidates very well personally but I believe IF I were held to pick someone, I would pick PeralsPerap. He and I seem to share a very similar mindset and easy-going personality and I feel he and I would click very well to get tasks done. However, I must note that I do believe I could get along with and work just as fine with any of the others with little to no issue at all.


Quote:
Originally Posted by King Ghidorah View Post
I’ve often felt too many FB initiatives get caught up in overly long debates and discussion periods that prevent or delay reaching any sort of real conclusion. How do you feel about that? How will you address issues like that?
Debating and discussion will happen, however, I do agree that people can and probably will get caught up within said debates and discussions. I already have a system I use with my other social groups whenever we hold big discussions where I list the problem(s) Ask fellow moderators/leaders how they feel on the said subject along with what they would like to see or have done with said problem. IF we end up coming to similar conclusions then I push to start getting the conclusive course of action out to solve the issue. IF we do not come to similar conclusions and are at odds with what or how we want to solve it then I try to push for common ground we can both agree on that still solves the problem but also doesn't sacrifice either of our ideals on the matter.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Emi View Post
One of the ongoing discussions and debates in Fizzy Bubbles is how do we attract new members to FB, in order to keep the game healthy and lively, and to what extent should the Discord server play into that? It's been a largely open-ended discussion with not much really pinned down, likely due to its importance. If you had the ability to implement a policy on this as soon as possible, what would be your preferred method of doing so? What do you think the role of the Discord server should be?

In addition to this, an influx of new members may require new updators? How would you facilitate members to become updators? This is a very open-ended question, so feel free to cover stuff like incentives or making updating easier.

Finally, a personal critique of my own time as a moderator was that I was always fairly unwilling to step in and make strong decisions, even when the situation would have desperately called for it. While this is related to conflict resolution, this is more a question for when things become dire enough, which they inevitably will even with best efforts. How willing are you to step in and make decisions in conversations that are clearly unproductive? Doing so may require not taking a neutral stance. What will be your position on dealing with people who may not agree with a decision?
Some of what my answer to attracting new players to the game was discussed in Discord earlier. I feel we should push to have a more active community on our BMG side of FB and split activities more so between here and there. This alone will not solve getting new active members to join in as I feel apart of our system needs to be reevaluated to help not only new members but also passersby who happen to stumble upon our threads understand our system.

In terms of how much discord should pay a part of this, well technically we could start advertising our server to other servers and whatnot, to similar Forum RPG groups and the likes. But ultimately whether or not this should come to be should include how comfortable the FB's current Discorders are with opening up the server more in these ways.
Personally, I feel we should keep the Discord as it is for now and readdress this question when we have our stuff cleaned up and have several tasks done if not already getting done.

Updating and updators. Looking over Pearl's personal answer on this matter I have to say I agree with them and would basically be Chatoting what he said.
I feel that if we were to implement a guide and also a mentor system that would help because I actually learned the ropes through updating TKF this way and I feel this could help other members too. This and along with what Lit stated as well. We need to readdress the Updator Ladder to make rewards more enticing and more rewarding once you really start going, and to change up the repetitiveness with how the current rewards are ( which don't get me wrong, they work... but they need to be reworked and probably will need to always be checked in on and reevaluated in the long run.

In terms of putting my foot down on matters, I don't want to abuse this whatsoever. Despite this, I know there will be times where I will have to bite a bullet and Stomp down hard. I am not afraid to call stuff out, not afraid to work with the Fizzidents on matters, but I would hope to avoid situations where its needed to put my foot down.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Connor View Post
I'd like to double down on Emi's second question. I think updating accessibility should be one of the problems at the forefront of discussion. I understand that the logistics of creating a comprehensive guide are staggering, and would probably look dramatically different depending on who is composing it. It'd be interesting to see what candidates have to say or spitball with regards to solving this issue.
I sound unoriginal when I say this but I am inclined to agree with what Lit and PP have already stated on this matter. However I will be giving this issue some more thought as I continue to go on about my day to see if I can come up with my own original solution for this.
Prof.Enigma is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 03:33 PM   #19
Emp
Volcano Badge
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,143
I haven't read everything in this thread yet so if any of my questions feel similar to one you've already answered, feel free to skip over it.

What are some of the big ticket items you would like to address if elected as mod? There’s been a lot of general talk about how you would lead but I’d be interested to know if there’s any specific areas you’d like to put your focus into if elected.

How would you look at striking balance between the interests of the leadership team and interests of the community, ensuring that ideas from both sides get a fair and critical evaluation? While I do feel this game has been in great hands with the current guard, I feel that community suggestions are often unconsciously neglected, to the point I’m finding it hard to even put forward my own thoughts or suggestions anymore. I’d be interested to know if any of the candidates share this sentiment and how they might work to address it.

What are your thoughts on the acquisition of Pokemon? This has been an ongoing topic over the past year that while breeding makes it easier for people to acquire their teams, it’s not they way all of us want to build our teams. I’d be interested to know where the candidates opinions lie on this topic and any changes they may look to introduce without disrupting the balance of things.
__________________


FB PASBL TL 4

26-4-0 KO74 TP208
B Ref SP 2

Emp is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 03:58 PM   #20
TheKnightsFury
Volcano Badge
 
TheKnightsFury's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 4,809
Balance. Outside of updaters probably the most important part of FB. At times in the past FB has been likened to a shop simulator. With each new generation new ideas are presented to incorporate but including all of them is just not achievable. Question here is broken into a few parts.
1. How would you describe the current state of FB?
2. How would you go about introducing new mechanics when members have different views on what should be introduced?
3. Every new mechanic adds to the community work load, how would you go about ensuring that this increased workload doesn’t fall onto the same people that already have a lot on their plate?
__________________




TheKnightsFury is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 05:17 PM   #21
Ironthunder
The Uncultured One
 
Ironthunder's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Somewhere.
Posts: 3,562
Send a message via Skype™ to Ironthunder
Mask's inquiry. Personal project to bring something new, honestly new stuff hasn't been a focus point for me. I think we need to take a solid look at the core of the game before we resort to adding flashy new bits.

Lilblue's query. Who'd I work best with, honestly not sure. I don't really know PP or Enigma all that well, and Sneaze... I feel like we'd just end up butting heads constantly. I'd probably have to say Leo as a result of that, but that's simply by elimination so I'd probably be fine with any of them.

Ghid's bit. As for dealing with excessively long debates, there does need to be something done here, but a lot of the time I feel the issue is less debates are overly long and more that Gary and co were waiting for more input that never came. Perhaps Discord chats would be easier to spitball ideas? Idk, something to consider.

Emi's questions and Connor's addition. Purpose of the discord and attracting new members. Not going to lie, going to be difficult. There was talk of putting more stuff on BMG and I can get behind that, maybe being a little more prolific in our advertising maybe, but functionally it's an awkward topic and I don't really have an answer to it. Discord should remain the TO replacement, and maybe extend to include channels for discussing some of the proposals rather than just having "development-and-faq". As for more updators, I think that it's a multi-pronged approach. Look at increasing the rewards maybe, and definitely look at lowering the perceived threshold. Perhaps push forwards a "testing" situation for people to practise updating with actual updators giving feedback on a short adventure bit, going over common areas and common pitfalls. As for stepping in and quelling escalating and/or circular discussions is something I'm no foreigner to. Spent too long doing tournament admin to deal with that, sometimes the boot has to go down and when it does, there's a resolution with it. More than just a "Shut up", there needs to be actual progress from it.

Emp's points. Big ticket items, I've already said my main priority is reviewing the entire Bond system for either a redo or a straight removal. As for balancing community vs admin ideas, I think a little more transparency might help. The admins have always had this huge "backlog of ideas" that stalls everything but nobody but them actually knows what the hell any of that backlog is, and it does feel like some ideas get dismissed because the admins have given themselves a bunch of projects. As for acquisitions... I think that'd have to be tied into a second look at how zones work, which I believe came up somewhere else before? Either way, I think the main reason Breeding's so popular is because outside of the odd event (mostly gen-launch stuff), the other way to get them is adventures which are kind of slow. Partly because there's about six updators.

TKF's little list. At the moment, I'll be blunt, it's a raid sim. Raids and shops are mostly the only thing going on, with the odd update coming through. Introducing new mechanics with differing views, we listen to the views and see what works, then we implement the best working option. Not having it land on the same few shoulders is an issue. Probably have an advertising point in the announcements to let people outside the core few step up and do stuff.
__________________
Ironthunder is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 06:08 PM   #22
Pearl's Perap
Ca-caw!
 
Pearl's Perap's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Ancient Aerie
Posts: 1,279
Quote:
Originally Posted by Emp View Post
How would you look at striking balance between the interests of the leadership team and interests of the community, ensuring that ideas from both sides get a fair and critical evaluation? While I do feel this game has been in great hands with the current guard, I feel that community suggestions are often unconsciously neglected, to the point I’m finding it hard to even put forward my own thoughts or suggestions anymore. I’d be interested to know if any of the candidates share this sentiment and how they might work to address it.
Since the majority of ideas and suggestions seem to come from the member base, it seems only natural to me that the decision making process is something that should heavily feature the members themselves, be that through feedback or polls of some kind. As a moderator, I’d want to facilitate these sorts of discussions and work towards a solution that is going to suit as much of the community as possible with the main objective to implement new content and not have things stagnate at the planning stage.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Emp View Post
What are your thoughts on the acquisition of Pokemon? This has been an ongoing topic over the past year that while breeding makes it easier for people to acquire their teams, it’s not they way all of us want to build our teams. I’d be interested to know where the candidates opinions lie on this topic and any changes they may look to introduce without disrupting the balance of things.
At this stage, it seems like a good chunk of people’s acquisitions come from either breeding or zone captures and I personally feel like obtaining Pokémon I want is a lot easier these days compared to the FB of old (who finds a shiny Drifloon before a Chatot?) - that being said, I would be keen to what people think about introducing more eggs into the game. Nothing like the Egg House or anything like that but more something along the lines of the Halloween eggs we won in October (i.e as part of special events at varying points of the year)

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheKnightsFury View Post
Balance. Outside of updaters probably the most important part of FB. At times in the past FB has been likened to a shop simulator. With each new generation new ideas are presented to incorporate but including all of them is just not achievable. Question here is broken into a few parts.
1. How would you describe the current state of FB?
2. How would you go about introducing new mechanics when members have different views on what should be introduced?
3. Every new mechanic adds to the community work load, how would you go about ensuring that this increased workload doesn’t fall onto the same people that already have a lot on their plate?
1. I’d say there’s a fair chunk of enthusiasm in Fizzy Bubbles of late, particularly compared to times in the past. Despite that, it doesn’t seem as if that always translates into action. None of us are strangers to the fact we have a number of developments going around in circles and this is something I’d want to address before continuing onwards with a mind for firming up the development process along the way for future projects and ideas.

2. I’m all for everyone having their say and sharing their thoughts but if there was a clear majority in favour of (or not contesting) an idea, I wouldn’t have any issues supporting its implementation. That being said, every voice counts and this is not to say I wouldn’t encourage all views on any given topic, polarising or not.

3. I’d like to give others the opportunity to take on new responsibilities, particularly if people were expressing an interest in doing so. If there wasn’t enough staff to manage one of these hypothetical projects but we as a community felt that it was an essential addition, I would say that responsibility should lie with the moderation team. Even with all of our incentives, i’d never expect anybody to give what they don’t have and believe the mods should step in to provide this support to the staff and member base.
Pearl's Perap is offline  
Old 02-12-2021, 06:19 PM   #23
Lil'twick
Insanity
 
Lil'twick's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Fizzy Bubbles
Posts: 5,751
Send a message via Skype™ to Lil'twick
Quote:
Originally Posted by Emp View Post
I haven't read everything in this thread yet so if any of my questions feel similar to one you've already answered, feel free to skip over it.

What are some of the big ticket items you would like to address if elected as mod? There’s been a lot of general talk about how you would lead but I’d be interested to know if there’s any specific areas you’d like to put your focus into if elected.
Went hard into this in my last post so I won't reiterate here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Emp View Post
How would you look at striking balance between the interests of the leadership team and interests of the community, ensuring that ideas from both sides get a fair and critical evaluation? While I do feel this game has been in great hands with the current guard, I feel that community suggestions are often unconsciously neglected, to the point I’m finding it hard to even put forward my own thoughts or suggestions anymore. I’d be interested to know if any of the candidates share this sentiment and how they might work to address it.
I am of the opinion that the voices of the community are starting to get drowned out. There have been multiple discussions where people do present their ideas and then either get told no or ignored. I feel like the important thing is to continue to have an ongoing dialogue. Instead of saying no, to begin with, both sides need to hear the other out in order to reach a compromise. It is a hard balance to strike, and sometimes the foot does need to be put down yes but never immediately. I'd be more than happy to do break down posts on thoughts for either myself or for the mod team as a whole in the future since people have the right to understand the process behind answers.

I also, also, want to make sure it's stressed enough that whatever leadership says is not set in stone. People need to speak up if they don't like something and state it. If there is enough backlash to an idea it needs to be re-evaluated or changed into something that benefits the entire community going forwards. This needs to be done for both sides, and only once everything is talked about and listened to can things properly change. The foot is for when things go to a hard impasse, and only then. If there is a way to continue a dialogue, I will make sure the dialogue happens.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Emp View Post
What are your thoughts on the acquisition of Pokemon? This has been an ongoing topic over the past year that while breeding makes it easier for people to acquire their teams, it’s not they way all of us want to build our teams. I’d be interested to know where the candidates opinions lie on this topic and any changes they may look to introduce without disrupting the balance of things.
Considering I almost tripled the size of my squad last year and used all of my breeding slots on one Pokemon, I think we need to look at a few things. The amount of ambient eggs floating around needs to be discussed in some compacity. I'm fine with people being able to get the Pokemon they want for sure, and breeding helps, but there does need to be better ways for people to get Pokemon outside of breeding or eggs. The Realm of Shadows, at least how it is now, is a fantastic thing and gets things out there. The new Adoption Center monthly drop-offs are a cool thing, even if it does get snatched up almost immediately by those online at the time. I feel like one of the best things to do is make it so updaters don't have to give their captures at the end of the adventure. While it isn't a hard requirement, there is a lot of stigma about early captures for non-newer members. It's something that I want to have included in my zone plans I mentioned in my previous post.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheKnightsFury View Post
Balance. Outside of updaters probably the most important part of FB. At times in the past FB has been likened to a shop simulator. With each new generation new ideas are presented to incorporate but including all of them is just not achievable. Question here is broken into a few parts.
1. How would you describe the current state of FB?
2. How would you go about introducing new mechanics when members have different views on what should be introduced?
3. Every new mechanic adds to the community work load, how would you go about ensuring that this increased workload doesn’t fall onto the same people that already have a lot on their plate?
1) While the community is definitely a lot more active at this time, at this point the current state of FB, as Iron said so bluntly, is a raid/shop simulator. Raids at this moment in time have been dissected to a point where it is almost impossible for raiders to fail. I have proposed a High Difficulty system in the GL chat, and want to get that fleshed out as realistically possible. Besides that, I feel like the role-playing aspects of the community have just come to a halt. Sure, it's the start of the spring semester for a lot of people, and jobs are picking back up. I get that. However, when most people tend to get updated within a two-three month span I feel like we've failed as an RP. I miss the times when the free RP zones BLEW UP and so many memes originated from it (Marion's Taco Truck, etc.). we have Secret Bases for a reason! I can see so much untapped creativity in people here. THere are always places to RP, even if you don't think it. Zones aren't end all be all for RP. We need to address this. It needs to change.

2) Simple. Talk. So many things can easily be solved by communicating. The number one reason why any kind of relationship fails? Lack. of. Communication. The community as a whole needs to better communicate. Do you like something? Say it, please. Do you hate something? Say it, please. Not talking is still taking an action, but it is a more detrimental action than disagreement. People feel like their voices aren't being heard. People feel like there is no point in interjecting, things will pass anyway. That needs to change. When the Fizzylution, those of us who worked on the system made sure that the community always had a chance to have their voice heard.

3) THe thing is, if people don't wish to do something, they just won't. No matter how hard of an incentive or how tempting the offer is, if a mind is set to not doing something, they will not do it. So the best thing to do in terms of this is to try and encourage people who feel like they want to do something but are unsure to reach out. Always reach out! Don't let one bad experience turn you off from an entire part of FB. If people want something done, or want something they like, they will push for it and make sure it is taken care of. All we can do is try and help the people who want to help out. Sure, that probably will overburden the workload, and in a lot of cases that happen. There is no one solution for this problem, so the best thing to try and do is encourage those willing and work with them, and don't force the people who do not wish to.
__________________


I fill my lungs with everything
You want someone that I can't be
You say it's insanity, but
I say that's my life

Fizzy Bubbles
Lil'twick is offline  
Old 02-13-2021, 05:54 PM   #24
Sneaze
Mrow?
 
Sneaze's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Camping the White Market
Posts: 6,934
Quote:
Originally Posted by Emp View Post
I haven't read everything in this thread yet so if any of my questions feel similar to one you've already answered, feel free to skip over it.

What are some of the big ticket items you would like to address if elected as mod? There’s been a lot of general talk about how you would lead but I’d be interested to know if there’s any specific areas you’d like to put your focus into if elected.

How would you look at striking balance between the interests of the leadership team and interests of the community, ensuring that ideas from both sides get a fair and critical evaluation? While I do feel this game has been in great hands with the current guard, I feel that community suggestions are often unconsciously neglected, to the point I’m finding it hard to even put forward my own thoughts or suggestions anymore. I’d be interested to know if any of the candidates share this sentiment and how they might work to address it.

What are your thoughts on the acquisition of Pokemon? This has been an ongoing topic over the past year that while breeding makes it easier for people to acquire their teams, it’s not they way all of us want to build our teams. I’d be interested to know where the candidates opinions lie on this topic and any changes they may look to introduce without disrupting the balance of things.
1. So most big ticket items I'm already directly involved with as a ZA and GL. But the two biggest things I have pushed for hard and will make priority to push into public review most immediately are changes to Bond and to Staff Rewards. These two things affect most every single thing that wants rolled out as of now.

2. Frankly, no decision should ever be made without community review in some capacity. This is a hardline rule that was written during Fizzylution and has been slipping since then. End of day the game exists for the community and while the mods get final say on what goes through it should always be based on the wants and needs of the community to make things an improvement to the gamestate that best works for everyone.

3. We are quickly devolving into Shop Simulator again, and while there is a point to those that exist, we need more community scale events that are not overly long and easily managed to help expand teams instead. Things like the recent Holloween Maze or how we've treated Springtime Pyukumuku events are a good step, though I'm firm in the opinion that handing out eggs as rewards after they are done for people to hatch in bulk a week later does devalue the point of them.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheKnightsFury View Post
Balance. Outside of updaters probably the most important part of FB. At times in the past FB has been likened to a shop simulator. With each new generation new ideas are presented to incorporate but including all of them is just not achievable. Question here is broken into a few parts.
1. How would you describe the current state of FB?
2. How would you go about introducing new mechanics when members have different views on what should be introduced?
3. Every new mechanic adds to the community work load, how would you go about ensuring that this increased workload doesn’t fall onto the same people that already have a lot on their plate?
1. As stated above, we're bordering Shop Simulator again. This is not in and of itself a bad thing, as some people do like shops, but honestly even raids are basically free rewards most months for minimum effort. I think we simply need to allow for those that like RP in various locations to be rewarded for doing so. Money and Bond for RP in specified shops in the same way as raids are treated might be a nice start, for example.

2. End of the day, if members can't agree on something a foot might need to come down. It should be very, very rare that the mods decide the end all be all of a conversation, but rather mediate to an agreeable point. That said, if multiple attempts at finding a common ground that works for the community from the viewpoints of multiple members as well as leadership does not resolve the issue, the foot does need to come down at times. If that does happen, those that night be slighted by the decision should be given the chance to have their voice heard on other matters to make sure everything is still enjoyable for them. Decision making is a game wide balancing act, we're not going to make every cake at a bake sale fit the tastes of all in attendance, but everyone should be able to find pastry they enjoy.

3. If you as the person bringing forward an idea are not yourself willing to run it, that is both perfectly acceptable in that everyone should be responsible for knowing what can be added to their own plate, but those that ARE willing to run it will likely be given some priority in problem solving the mechanics of said idea. If at the end of the day a mechanic that is to be newly introduced cannot realistically fit onto anyone's plate, the idea will need to be shelved for a discussion on how workload can be decreased elsewhere to make room. There is always room for improvement especially when it comes to making tasks a bit easier or enjoyable to be performed.
__________________

Daisy wins at life for making this Battle Cut
Sneaze is offline  
Old 02-13-2021, 07:25 PM   #25
Prof.Enigma
Enraptured by Enigmatics
 
Prof.Enigma's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Anchorage Alaska
Posts: 1,516
Quote:
Originally Posted by Emp View Post
I haven't read everything in this thread yet so if any of my questions feel similar to the one you've already answered, feel free to skip over it.

What are some of the big-ticket items you would like to address if elected as a mod? There’s been a lot of general talk about how you would lead but I’d be interested to know if there are any specific areas you’d like to put your focus into if elected.

How would you look at striking balance between the interests of the leadership team and interests of the community, ensuring that ideas from both sides get a fair and critical evaluation? While I do feel this game has been in great hands with the current guard, I feel that community suggestions are often unconsciously neglected, to the point I’m finding it hard to even put forward my own thoughts or suggestions anymore. I’d be interested to know if any of the candidates share this sentiment and how they might work to address it.

What are your thoughts on the acquisition of Pokemon? This has been an ongoing topic over the past year that while breeding makes it easier for people to acquire their teams, it’s not the way all of us want to build our teams. I’d be interested to know where the candidates' opinions lie on this topic and any changes they may look to introduce without disrupting the balance of things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheKnightsFury View Post
Balance. Outside of updaters probably the most important part of FB. At times in the past, FB has been likened to a shop simulator. With each new generation new ideas are presented to incorporate but including all of them is just not achievable. The question here is broken into a few parts.
1. How would you describe the current state of FB?
2. How would you go about introducing new mechanics when members have different views on what should be introduced?
3. Every new mechanic adds to the community workload, how would you go about ensuring that this increased workload doesn’t fall onto the same people that already have a lot on their plate?

Big Ticket goals/ TKF's 3rd:
These are some of the things I would like to tackle the most. ( I am answering TKF's with this as its one of my goals )
I would personally look over everyone's current workload, then I would review what needs to be done and who would need to be doing what, IF I could I would ask for volunteers to assist with certain tasks, but if not I would break the workload up into sections and have people prioritize certain parts of the workload or the parts I wouldn't already be dealing with myself.

Striking a Balance / TKF's 1st / 2nd: Currently, FizzyB is a bit unbalanced between those working on things and those playing ontop of being heavily Shop and Raid oriented. Not in a bad way but I believe we could definitely work on making it a bit more inclusive with mechanics and members. I like how we have had Public Voting on mechanics but I would like to have a once-yearly event where we ask all members across all spots of FB what they would like to see and implement ( with as much detail as possible ), put it to a public vote and then work on the finer details of balancing it out a said mechanic within the moderation team. This would have to be Way later after we stabilize the current system.

Getting Pokemon: This one here is a tough subject to go on, there are several Pokemon I would like to make a bit easier to access for everyone ( Specifically mythical pokemon that we can technically assume there's more than 1 of in the world ( such as Phione, Shaymin, Type Null/Sivally so on and so forth ) ) But this is difficult to implement safely without completely imbalancing the current system and to make sure members aren't going to abuse in some way or form. I would have to make a list of Pokémon we feel are able to be more included within FizzyB outside the norms of how we currently have ways of pokemon obtaining set up and then discuss with other mods on how we could introduce said pokemon, giving everyone a chance to try and obtain one while still being fair and not overthrowing any of the balance set in place.

I have already been thinking about obtaining pokemon within FB for quite some time but this is still something that would have to be discussed in great detail and then proposed to the general public of FB on how they feel about it. There will be Pokémon that I don't ever think will be obtainable within FB for each person but I would like to implement Events where special unobtainable Pokémon are Fightable/workable with like the Primal Dialga event that took place. ( That was one of my favorite events and allowed for a lot of development for a person's character and Pokémon in the event and outside it too Coughs wildly and mentions MM's introduction of his fifth character )
Prof.Enigma is offline  
Closed Thread

Lower Navigation
Go Back   UPNetwork > Independent Forums > Fizzy Bubbles > FB Time Out > Hall of Records


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:30 PM.


Design By: Miner Skinz.com
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.