At present, I don’t support any sort of in-game reward. I’d hate for someone to join staff only to receive those rewards, and I wouldn’t want anyone to receive an unfair advantage. However, I feel it’s worthwhile to state that this is NOT an uncommon practice. The three other roleplay sites I have staffed have offered gold and experience rewards. Not that it’s wrong or right, just that it’s not unheard of. This isn’t a greedy, power hungry move.
And truth be told, I’m disappointed that a staff member would be accused of that, just for wanting a bit more recognition. Did they volunteer for this? Absolutely. But there’s absolutely no harm in being given a “hey, good job.” Especially for people running the bosses. You don’t even know who it is controlling them. All of those hours spent away from families, without sleep, to make the players’ experiences better. And they’re monsters for asking for some thanks? They’re greedy and abusing their position? They should suck it up because they asked for the job? That’s not fair at all.
What I’m taking away from all of this is that staffers feel isolated. Pin was correct in outlining how staff members can get saddled with too much work, and a sense of duty. I vividly remember staying up all night to work on a staff assignment, and when Kyle asked me why I wasn’t spending time with him (since we were long distance and I saw him very rarely), my response was “if I don’t do it, no one will.” It was true. I felt that I would let the site down if I didn’t finish it. Yes, that’s a mindset that I could “get over.” But I shouldn’t have to.
I was a teacher, one of the most thankless jobs there is. I didn’t go into the job for the perks (ha, as if there were any). And I didn’t expect praise. But you know what? It felt really, really good when I was given it. And it wasn’t a raise, or a tangible present. It was my students telling me they appreciated something I did. Or my coworkers telling me I did something well. It can be that small.
I like the suggestions that have been tossed around. Or even something like “this boss is being run by x, y, and z” somewhere in the fight thread. Because think about developers’ interactions with the community. PST is a grueling job, don’t get me wrong, but at least they get a thank you when they close a thread or approve a craft. People rolling out new content, or running floor bosses, do so largely anonymously. And most of the interactions from the community I’ve seen are concerns, or “when will you do this?”
Long story short, we could all be doing a bit more to make everyone feel appreciated. Just because we signed up for it doesn’t mean we have to shun all thanks, and look down on those who seek it. And of course, staff can absolutely restructure how events and floor bosses are handled.
Disclaimer, this feels a little cheap now that I’m on staff again. But I’d have said the same thing if I weren’t. Also, today is Thanksgiving, and that’s sort of fitting. We wouldn’t have a site if it weren’t for half a decade of people giving us their time.
Rewarding Staff Members
in Feedback
A group blog by System Managers in General
Posted
I voted yes.
At present, I don’t support any sort of in-game reward. I’d hate for someone to join staff only to receive those rewards, and I wouldn’t want anyone to receive an unfair advantage. However, I feel it’s worthwhile to state that this is NOT an uncommon practice. The three other roleplay sites I have staffed have offered gold and experience rewards. Not that it’s wrong or right, just that it’s not unheard of. This isn’t a greedy, power hungry move.
And truth be told, I’m disappointed that a staff member would be accused of that, just for wanting a bit more recognition. Did they volunteer for this? Absolutely. But there’s absolutely no harm in being given a “hey, good job.” Especially for people running the bosses. You don’t even know who it is controlling them. All of those hours spent away from families, without sleep, to make the players’ experiences better. And they’re monsters for asking for some thanks? They’re greedy and abusing their position? They should suck it up because they asked for the job? That’s not fair at all.
What I’m taking away from all of this is that staffers feel isolated. Pin was correct in outlining how staff members can get saddled with too much work, and a sense of duty. I vividly remember staying up all night to work on a staff assignment, and when Kyle asked me why I wasn’t spending time with him (since we were long distance and I saw him very rarely), my response was “if I don’t do it, no one will.” It was true. I felt that I would let the site down if I didn’t finish it. Yes, that’s a mindset that I could “get over.” But I shouldn’t have to.
I was a teacher, one of the most thankless jobs there is. I didn’t go into the job for the perks (ha, as if there were any). And I didn’t expect praise. But you know what? It felt really, really good when I was given it. And it wasn’t a raise, or a tangible present. It was my students telling me they appreciated something I did. Or my coworkers telling me I did something well. It can be that small.
I like the suggestions that have been tossed around. Or even something like “this boss is being run by x, y, and z” somewhere in the fight thread. Because think about developers’ interactions with the community. PST is a grueling job, don’t get me wrong, but at least they get a thank you when they close a thread or approve a craft. People rolling out new content, or running floor bosses, do so largely anonymously. And most of the interactions from the community I’ve seen are concerns, or “when will you do this?”
Long story short, we could all be doing a bit more to make everyone feel appreciated. Just because we signed up for it doesn’t mean we have to shun all thanks, and look down on those who seek it. And of course, staff can absolutely restructure how events and floor bosses are handled.
Disclaimer, this feels a little cheap now that I’m on staff again. But I’d have said the same thing if I weren’t. Also, today is Thanksgiving, and that’s sort of fitting. We wouldn’t have a site if it weren’t for half a decade of people giving us their time.