Stripetail Moderator Application.

[Stripetail]

Byond ID: Stripetail

Colonial Marines Character: Joshua Kincaid / Paul 'Buddaball' Balderson

Age: 26

Gender: T

Timezone: CST USA

On average, how many hours are you available per week to moderate?

My workplace demands open availability so I cannot guarantee set hours. Lately I'm getting less hours at work so I'd be more active until needed.

Rough estimate 10 hours and up a week, as the lowest possible time I have to do so.


Do you have any previous experience in being staff (not just SS13)?

I've moderated servers on other games, though in the passed two or three years I've been uninvolved in any game staffing.

Did you play any of the previous Colonial Marine servers?

No.

What are the 3 biggest servers you play on besides CM?

I play ocassionally on TG and Goon, I've also spent a small amount of time on Bay. (I'm terrible at standard SS13.)

Provide links to any previous Colonial Marines applications that you've made:

viewtopic.php?f=125&t=15188 Pred App


Are you currently a staff member elsewhere (not just SS13)? If so, where?

I am not.


Have you ever been banned for more than 24 hours on Colonial Marines?

I've never been banned.


Have you ever been banned for more than 24 hours on ANY server? If so, which server, when, and what for?

I have 'never' been banned.

Are you familiar with the chat program Slack (its use is required)?

I'm not. I've been told it's like a business Discord. I could likely learn it quickly enough.

Common Staff Situations:
Write a description of what you would do in each of the following situations. Do not write on the same line as the situation - use the space below it or make space as needed. Failure to do this proves your inability to follow instructions and your application will be automatically denied.

1. A player randomly shoots someone at round start and MPs have detained him.

This is an IC Issue. Let the MP's handle the player, check said player's notes to see if it is a common occurance or not. As long as it isn't a common thing or many many marines weren't maimed I see no reason to make a mountain out of a mole hill.


2. The ship has a breach to space and a bunch of players have died or are dying as a result.
My response would depend on how the breach happened. Though it's "impossible" to breach the ship currently if for some ungodly reason a researcher or any player found some way to breach the ship I'd repair the breach and fix the Oxy loss, and have the player Ahelp to find out what events happened to cause the breach. I'd thank them for their assistance in figuring out what went wrong and then give them a note describing what'd happened. If any players were killed due to the breach I'd discuss with more senior mods and then escalate to an admin about whether to aheal them.

If the Aliens hijack the dropship and it crashes to create a breach I'd seal the hole and replenish any oxy loss. In this case it was a gameplay event that lead to the loss of life and I feel the round would be better off sorting itself out. (Based on what I've observed with other cases of this happening.) So I'd likely avoid healing any marines unless prompted by an Admin.


3. You see a player walking around the ship naked and clearly lost.

I would refer a Mentor to the player, we're all cryobabies once in our lives.

If no Mentors were on and it had been a very calm round I may take the time to teach them the basics of CM and make sure they understand the Server Rules. I'm also fond of finding other players who aren't necessarily Mentors, but I know can and will teach those offered to them well.

4. A player is being very rude to you in Adminhelps and requesting to speak to an Admin+ staff member.

If the player was being obscenely toxic to Staff I would check their notes. If it's their first offense I'd give them a 3 hour ban and inform them if they have issues with staff they can open a discussion on the forums or report said staff member.


5. You notice a player with a name that doesn't fit our naming rules. The player is arguing that: They've used the name for several years, no one has told them to change it before, and that they didn't know it was a rule.

I've heard that there are a couple of players that have had normally not allowed names approved. This being said I do not know if it's a rumor. I'd check their notes to confirm whether they were given special permissions. If they weren't I'd explain the server rules and ask them to change their name in the following round if their current name isn't too extreme (Ex: Jack Assmonger.) Or a name directly ripped from Aliens Canon (Ripley.). Add a note for improper name and go on to the next Ahelp.

6. You see a Maintenance Tech running around in armor and carrying a rifle. The security level is green with no threat present.

This is an IC issue, the MP's will handle the MT. However, I'd likely check their notes to make sure they've got no previous ones for heading down to the planet as a non combat role. If all checks out there's no reason at all to interfere.

7. You see a Squad Medic performing surgery on the planet. He claims it was because there were no doctors in the FOB.

With the new skills system this question may be obselete. If somehow a medic managed to start a surgery planetside I'd check their notes for previous powergaming issues. I'd then explain the rules against powergaming to them, give a warning and note for the future. If they have a constant habit of powergaming I would discuss with a more senior mod or admin through slack on whether the offense warrants a 3 hour ban.


8. The round is stagnating. There are 30 marines and 4 aliens. The marines won't leave the ship, and the aliens won't attack. What would you do, to "encourage" the sides to engage each other?

In this situation I'd probably SM the acting CO to encourage them to make a final push seeing as they have the numerical advantage. On the flip side I have seen a few times where the Queen Mother has told aliens to die glorious deaths against the tallhosts to end the round. Before doing something like that I'd feel more comfortable consulting with more senior staff.

9. The round ends, a MARINE starts shooting a hostile IRON BEAR and the IRON BEAR Adminhelps complaining he was killed after the round ended.

Though the IB no longer exist... I would inform the IB that it is not against the rules for marines to fire upon antagonists after the round end. IB and USCM are hostile to eachother by design.

10. A marine is running around disarming, punching and stealing gear at round start.
Since the rules have recently been updated on this, I feel that the first offense should be met with a HEAVY warning and a note, then let the issue play out IC. If the player continues to do this I would issue a 3 hour ban and escalate from there if they didn't learn their lesson.

11. A marine has killed another marine. When you ask him why, he said it was because the other marine had punched him.

I'd need to PM the players to get an idea of what's gone down, Log dive and check their notes for previous instances of similar actions. Note for improper escalation and heal the victim, issue a heavy assed warning to the offending player, possibly apply a three hour ban so they can think about what they did.

12. An issue arises that requires Admin+ abilities.

Ask for an admin on slack and let them take care of the issue. If there is one on duty they've likely got the situation under their reigns, but if they haven't noticed it inform them. I can't really think of any event that may require this other than the server exploding, and even in that case higher ups likely will know something is going down.


13. There are minor racist comments going on IC. 9 of the 10 people are laughing and RPing but one player gets offended and Adminhelps about it.

Minor racism in an RP sense is fine, characters have quirks. If it stays in small amounts and IC I don't feel there is an issue with it. However, if someone's been upset enough to Ahelp the situation I'd ask them what was said that offended them, check the logs to make sure there wasn't any excessive or lowrp shittery. If it's just small talk or a casual remark, inform the ahelping player that no server rules have been violated and they're welcome to remove themselves from that IC conversation if they feel offended. Still this would all be case by case and this is just a general answer.

14. A marine opens fire at round start in briefing killing multiple marines and instantly logs off.

Straightforward, any marine killed by the obvious griefer would be healed. Then check player notes for previous behavior and apply a 7Day ban for griefing at roundstart by killing multiple marines, file for perma. We don't need players like this and they'll appeal it if they want to play again.


15. You see a player playing a xeno larva/chestburster run towards the frontlines and die.

This is an old meme, frontline larva aren't allowed for any reason. PM player to get their reasoning for doing this, then check player notes for previous behavior. If they're clean inform them of the rule, possibly issue a heavy warning or a three hour ban with note of reason either way. (Three hour would be in a case such as a round start larva running up to a survivor's cade to get killed.)


16. You see a xeno memeing, saying AYYLMAO, REEEEEE etc in hivemind chat.

This is taken more seriously now than it used to be, if a player is acting this way inform them of the server rules through PM. If they have a history of doing this with no ban issue a 3 hour ban for the offense. Maybe it will give them time to think about what they've done. If this is their first offense and it wasn't excessive a warning shouold do.

17. A xeno player calls the shuttle a "dropship". A different xeno player complains to you that it's metagaming/failRP to call it a "dropship".

Inform the complaining player that Hivemind is the english translation of Xenomorph, calling a dropship a dropship is acceptable and this is not failrp in the slightest. Check notes to see if they have brought up other pointless ahelps in the past and issue a warning for them if they've done this before, recommending a 3 hour ban on their next offense.


18. A Command staff player at briefing near round-start mentions there are aliens on the planet.

I feel like this would be an incredibly rare case, but in the event that it happened I feel there are several options: PM the player informing them that they do not know there are aliens on the planet, and to retcon their previous statement. Issue a warning and note of metagaming as Command Staff if it is their first offense and they fix it well enough.

On top of this a more senior admin could have an ARES announcement put forth to discredit the Commander, opening up more RP scenerios from this incident. Something along the lines of ((Player)'s background check has been sent from High Command, (Player) has a history of suspecting illegal immigrants as the cause of colony blackouts.

If the situation was extreme, a 3 hour or job ban could ba warranted. However, I feel in most cases I've ever seen like this they're minor and often played out best into unique RP scenerios for marines to follow up on.

19. A Marine kills another Marine on the EVAC Pod to take the last spot and claims it was RP as he was saving himself.

Though this may piss off the murdered party, it's acceptable and an IC issue. It's not too unbelievable to believe that a Marine may murder their fellow marine for a chance to escape the Xenomorphs.



20. You see a fellow staff member give wrong information in an Adminhelp or incorrectly enforcing a rule.

Quietly and privately inform a higher admin of the situation, this is the exact kind of situation we have high admins and managers for. If they're a well seasoned staff member that I personally knew I'd inform them directly as well, but I feel this would be extremely rare.


20a. You see a fellow staff member abusing his powers in-game.

Contact the next person higher than them on the totem poll, report the situation and let them deal with it.


21. You see a player talking in OOC chat about what he did with your mom last night.

What do I care? This is a game of 2D spessmens and I give 0 shits about what anyone says about me in it. If they're excessive and being obscenely crass or a shittler either issue a 3 hour ban depending on their notes, or defer judgement to another moderator as I feel it could be considered a bit of a no-no to issue a ban on a player that'd directly attacking you as this could be considered a biased ban. Still if you keep your head cool about the situation I don't think this is ever going to escalate to this point.


Any additional information you'd like to add?

I have some notes: Warned about flavortext that isn't even flavortext. "No, you CANNOT have TWO gyros so you can dual wield shotguns and murder your own team." by x (Moderator) on Fri, June 23rd of 2017

Warned for improper escalation: Gunned down a doctor with an SMG burst for "Injecting me with shit" (Which was a beneficial stabilizer by the way) by x (Moderator) on Sun, July 2nd of 2017

Warned for metagaming as queen. When evac was triggered, immediately said (Hivemind, Elite Empress (follow) hisses, 'To CIC'), for no IC reason at all. CIC was empty at the time, and he admitted his mistake and apologized. by x (Admin) on Sat, July 22nd of 2017

Spoke to the player briefly regarding a rotated turret that killed a survivor, was unable to really find anything out conclusively and they were quite helpful during my investigations. by x (TrialModerator) on Sun, August 20th of 2017

Other than this, honestly I'm an open book person so if there are questions let me know.


_{Happy April Fools!}

[Cry of Wolves]

Looks like it's in the wrong forum. I'll be sure to get a head to move it.

[Stripetail]

NooOoOoo!

[WinterClould]

Do it.

[Sambalu]

Join them. Resistance is futile.

[Stripetail]

It's been pointed out that I'm simply too stinky for the staff to handle.

[Emeraldblood]

Moved to the proper forum, cause I think you want it here. If not, just say and we'll move it back to acid goop.

[WinterClould]

+1 Call this nerds bluff. He'll make a great member of staff. Weather he likes it or not.

[EchoingPhaser]

Stripes a good lad and will be a fine addition to the collection +1

[Cry of Wolves]

Just like before, this app is very solid.

► Show Spoiler

10. A marine is running around disarming, punching and stealing gear at round start.
Since the rules have recently been updated on this, I feel that the first offense should be met with a HEAVY warning and a note, then let the issue play out IC. If the player continues to do this I would issue a 3 hour ban and escalate from there if they didn't learn their lesson.

This is about the only thing slightly wrong but given the age of this app, this was the correct answer when we were much harsher.

I love to see you on the staff team and I can't wait to see other's reply.

+1

[Adralimas]

Ye sure +1!, G'luck buddy! o7

[Dumblike]

Joshua FFs me alot, -1 >:(

Just like Adra said,
Ye sure +1

[VitorThauma]

Solid answers, decent player. +1

[Sir Lordington]

HAHAHAHAHA it got moved. Get rekt.

I had to sweat ink to get you to even post a mod app.

This man knows what he's doing. +1 get him on the bus before he can react.

[Solarmare]

Are you making an actual application to be a trial moderator now?

[Stripetail]

Just got out of work, so this is my first opportunity to give a response to this.

This is a real application I made many months ago but never submitted due to self doubt and added responsibilities at my work place taking up more of my free time, I posted it in Acid Goop for April Fools to get a rise out of a few of you who know and goad me into joining the CM Battle-bus that is staff. I really didn't expect anything to come of it, much less it get moved to the ACTUAL app forums. That being said, as Chen pointed out, I think my bluff got called pretty hard on this. So, if it will be allowed, (given the silly origin of this thread) I think I'd like to have it considered as my actual trial mod app.

...Wow, I wish I could put together a proper sentence to describe the surprise of seeing this moved, and the support to it, I apologize for any confusing surrounding it.


@Cry, Absolutely fair on 10, If I remember right when this was written it was around then we had a decasecond click delay and round start grief was being hammered down on. I hadn't updated it since then so sorry on that.

@Solar, Yeah I guess I cooked the goose on this one. If you will, please accept this as my actual trial app.

[Kavlo]

Kincaid has got the right understanding for being a moderator I believe and he seems like a chill guy, on top of that he's been playing CM for a long time now.

+1

[Bancrose]

TL;DR

+1

Its Joshua, and I trust him to uphold the values of our server.

[Kerek]

Nothing else to be said, Stripes would make a fantastic mod. +1

[Solarmare]

With 15 a xenoban can be placed if it's deliberately done twice, some other minor issues but enough good overall to give this a +1. Anything that comes up can be learned over the course of the trial period.

[frozentsbgg]

+1
Teeny Tiny Minor Gripes have already been addressed.
I personally think that you should have applied earlier and that if a made mod, you'd have a positive impact on both the staff team and the wider CM community.

Your well known, and that's both a blessing and a curse. A lot of players will respect you, because of your reputation. Others, maybe less so, and it's up to you to command the respect that the position of Mod deserves.

I look forward to seeing you in Slack!

[Sneakyr]

Stripes has always been by the book every time I've seen him. Always.
This causes friction between he and I on occasion, but this is the type of person suited to moderating the type of server CM wants to be and for the most part is. I'm not going to pretend that the only reason I rose from my grave wasn't because I recognized the name or even that he really needs another character witness, but the position is warranted regardless.

[Grimcad]

Looks like your answers are pretty good. But I'm not sure if this is something you actually want to do. I'm not one for pressuring people or convincing people to do things. In my experience if you have to cajole someone into a position they don't take it seriously enough and wind up doing a bad job. If it is honestly something you want to do, you have my support doing it. But if its something that you are feeling pressured into doing when you honestly made this as a joke, and are now just going with the flow, I'll pass. Your saying "Yes I really wish to do this" will go a long ways with me.

[Stripetail]

Going to start with @grimcad as I think this is pretty important to address.

I know the way the app came to appear here wasn't standard, but I hope I can alleviate some of you concerns with this: I have always tried to give back to the server in one way or another, I actually very much enjoy doing so. When I originally created this application I was intending to submit it up until a combination of some really stressing rounds and real life responsibilities added up and made me decide to hold off posting it. It wasn't because I didn't want to out of not taking the role seriously, it was simply that I didn't think the added pressures of moderating would have mixed well with the added stress of my work and real life duties. I didn't want to post this until I'd got into a groove with my job and had the important things in life taken care of. I take almost everything I do seriously, even if my attitude may seem nonchalant at times. I'm sure there are those that can attest to my attempts to preserve rounds and adhere to rules, as well as aid others in keeping things together when possible.

The app here is a real application, the joke was posting it in acid goop where I thought it would die because I'd planned on making an updated and better version as I didn't think this one was very good by my own opinion/standards. The response I got surprised me honestly, that's why I asked to leave it here when it got moved over. I didn't think it'd be up to snuff.

If you still have some concerns absolutely point them out, I'll happily address them, but know if I did get trial then I would absolutely take it seriously.

@all others

Thank you much for the support and +1's, there's so many of you it has kind of blown my mind. I know there's a lot of good and a lot of bad to come with the positions, the likelihood of harassment/etc. Life is full of its ups and downs and it's not going to bother me any now that I've got the more important things in life settled. I appreciate all of your kind words and your criticisms, noted #15 down as well. I hope you know I'm not trying to do this for power/name color. I genuinely want to give back to the game that's brought me quite a lot of laughs and several gray hairs.

o7

[Grimcad]

Thank you for addressing my concerns. With that cleared up I have absolutely no problem giving you my support.

+ 1