I've read most of the topics, and heard most of the complaints.
Most of you know me, and for those of you who don't....I used to be the guy who did the unbanning rather than the other way thats so popular. Recently change in my personal life has made it difficult for me to give full attention to the ban list which is frustrating to some (mainly the ones who are banned).
I'm here to discuss and state my opinion on the so called ATS servers.
Fact 01. How the hell did ATS get the permission to run a server?
They are not ATS servers. Before most of you played the game, and this is mainly directed at the NA community, there wern't even NA servers. Then one day that terrrible situation ended, with chadz starting two up himself. At one point he didnt want to handle them anymore so he handed them off to Garguro. Garguro was not in ATS at the time.
Here is where ATS got involved.
I noticed that the NA servers lacked admins, though they were rarely needed back then, and the servers lacked maps. So i took upon myself to advertise on the NA servers, like many have done, to get chadz to allow my own server. This was unacceptable at the time, even for myself. The reason being is that the code for the database was directly linked to the servers, and if they fell into the wrong hands, they could be abused. For example, in the early days of crpg, the 22nd Guild hacked the database through their server, and modified their characters to be gods.
Eventually Garguro ran into me on his servers advertising for the right to run a server. He and I began talking and he presented a solution that solved my issues. He would allow ATS to create maps, and have a few admins.
ATS at the time only had 3 admins, then there was Garguro (who was not ATS at the time but joined later), Posslington (who was not ats but joined later) and a few others.
Eventually the non ATS admins either went inactive, or joined ATS on their own accord. With ATS becoming more active and the other admins disapearing, it became known as the ATS servers.
Today, Garguro and I still run most of the NA servers, but I maintain the fact that there are non ATS admins who through their own accord delegate their own time.
Fact 02. How do the rules get determined? And who picks the admins?
Technically there are no rules for crpg servers. chadz has left it up to the server owners to determine the rules. However, this doesnt mean that a server owner can get away with just about anything. If a server administrator were to allow exploiting or game breaking mechanics to persist, his server runs the risk of being disconnected from the database or in old times (the xp might be nerfed for the entire server.)
The rules that most of you have grown accustomed to have been created by garguro and myself, often taking into account the suggestions of many others.
The most popular of which are:
No Tking/Friendly Fire
No Round Delays
No Racism
We've also dabled in:
No slander
No homophobic remarks
No inappropriate names
No false clan tags
and Clan banners are Reserved for clans.
However, those rules were deemed to hard to enforce and have been removed for the most part.
Since I can not specificly create a rule for everything, a general rule was enabled to help catch the fuckers out in the community who push everything to the limit and it was called the:
No DoucheBaggery Rule.
Many rules have been tested and have failed due to the required administration needed to enforce them. Since this is a learning curve for us, most of you have allowed us to make our mistakes with only mild teasing but others have taken it personally. That was not my intent.
Now onto the more important thing that most of you would like to know:
Who the hell picks these horrible admins?
Well...I do, or garguro. And we normally talk about it before hand.
My number one priority is server safety and security.
Only a handfull of people have the ability to access the web admin which allows the alteration of server files, like the ban list.
When it comes to game admin, the policy is a bit more tolerant, since technically any harm they do the server can be resolved.
This has however, resulted in Admins who have been appointed but have either abused their position, or have done nothing with it. Obviously one gets noticed before the other. but in terms of giving people game admin, the policy i normally follow is this:
CRPG experience:
CRPG activity:
CRPG Knowledge:
CRPG Community Knowledge:
Now that list is easy for me obviously to fill out for those already in ATS. But often enough its hard for me to find out who else is can fill those requirements. Since i can't, and have to take a leap of faith, you'll normally see more ATS admins only because i already know they fit all three categories.
The people who do get selected are there to enforce the rules that have been created by the server owners. They are not there to pick favorites or change the rules. The enforce them as best they can. If they repeatedly make bad choices, or cross the line, they will most likely lose admin. However, the job they do is a volunteer one, and its one that doesnt make you popular nor should it.
Because of the bitching that has been going on, its had me cross examine the situation. I've noticed a couple of things.
First of which, 70% of the complaints are from those who are being retarded. They are people who are either being pricks or have broken rules. This being the case, it makes it difficult to weed through the legitimate arguments or ones of bullshit.
Secondly, Many of you dislike ATS since the admins who have been ATS are normally more strict, or flaunting about their power. I've only seen a few cases of abuse, and normally they are minor cases.
Third, Hospitaller suggested that they try managing the 100 slot server, and though i find this a great idea, it has stemmed problems like a non universal ban list, or game admin disputes.
The solution will be as follows:
I will be leaving due to personal reasons for a time period not yet determined.
Gash_ATS will be taking up my role. He's a good guy, unbiased, and respectable. The only problem some of you might have is that he is french Canadian, other than that, treat him with respect like most of you have me.
The Hospitaller 100 Man server will combine (if Devilize approves) with the rest of the NA server ban lists, besides STO.
New admins will be appointed. Gash_ATS will pick 6 admins, and Devilize will picks 6. Then at the end of the day they will both look at the lists and discuss any disputes. PLEASE NOTE: These lists will not pertain to just ATS or Hospitaller. I know for a fact non ATS members have already been chosen.
Further more, if there is any questions please direct them to this thread. This isn't a thread to ask to be unbanned, or a thread to mock or troll. Constructive suggestions are requested.
