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REPOST OF STAFF THREAD MSG 
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It is my fervent hope to send a strong message to all staff, in coordination with Rodge, that the current condition of Trench Wars administration is quite poor, and that in order to continue its success and survival, it requires reworking at the hands of those in charge. I'll be blunt, as tact has never been my strong suit.
TW Staff is an utter farce of what it once was; it's borderline ineffectual, like a body that continues to live despite the brain's death. To continue volunteering a large amount of time and creativity to a project with such a dilapidated administration is only an exercise in futility and frustration.
I feel extremely strongly about the present awful condition of staff communication channels, organization, participation and willingness to further develop the game, a condition that very few players and shockingly, few staff members, seem to be aware of. Discuss it with some who have been around many years, and you'll find that there's a great deal you don't know about this game you love, that we all love. The absurdity of the administration is something straight out of an Andy Warhol film. Like an onion, the more you peel it, the more it stinks.
Considering the present atmosphere and disposition of TW Staff, I am regrettably forced to resign from the following positions:
- TW Moderator
- TWCore-current Maintainer
- TWL Bot Coder
- TWDev Coordinator
- TWDev.org Webmaster
- TWBeta Leader
At present, some members of upper staff are unresponsive, apathetic to reworking a system that's all but broken, and unwilling to give anything more than verbal support to new ideas. I hope that (all modesty aside) in losing some of the currently most productive members of staff, there will be more awareness in the ranks of lower staff that something is seriously
amiss, and a greater willingness among members of upper staff to contribute to the game and make a real change. At the moment, the current "organization" prevents all but the most basic progress from occurring, and as you can imagine, it's incredibly frustrating to
contribute countless hours to improving a system that neither acquiesces nor cares.
Please READ THIS:
- LOWER STAFF needs to recognize the degenerative system. Members of lower staff, you are running nearly all of Trench Wars, and this is simply wrong. DoCk> and the smods are doing very little to help, when, by their rank, they should be contributing the greater share rather than almost nothing at all. If you are more of a typical staffer, in that you don't do much development work, you may not see as much of the failings of the system, because you're most likely operating within the confines of it rather than pressing the boundaries. You're not likely to see that in order to get anything done, one has to basically go behind the back of all of upper staff, which is ridiculous. They certainly don't offer much in the way of support. And I'm sure you have seen how unclear the policies are, the inactivity of almost all members of upper staff, and the general lack of communication and coordination in Trench Wars. This is not how it has to or is supposed to be. I urge you not to think, "It's just fine the way it is." It's absolutely not. Please research the depths of the organization before coming to this conclusion. There will always be people who will tolerate any condition given to them (particularly if they are given a tidbit of power!). Some might say if they succumb to such an error, that they deserve whatever is handed to them. Think about what’s going on.
- UPPER STAFF needs to recognize their role in the eventual downfall of TW. You are making it almost impossible, by your stubbornness, apathy, and yes, downright laziness, to improve the game. I am not referring to all members of upper staff here, and some know that a large part of their inactivity (which is not to be confused with online time) is due to this mockery we call TW Staff, but regardless, the problem remains. If you don't care very much about the game anymore, then I urge you to please retire to an honorary position, letting others take your place, instead of being party to this façade.
- DOCK>, you need to reevaluate your commitment to TW. One of two things need to happen: either decide that you wish to dedicate yourself fully to the reinvention of the game, will full willingness to completely reorganize the highly dysfunctional system, and not just as a false and empty promise as you and other members of upper staff gave to Rodge; or retire as you have promised for many years now and hand the reigns over to someone who is more willing to revise and take seriously the administration of Trench Wars. You as well as anyone know that many extremely talented people have quit in frustration because of your refusal to retire as you promised. Here are two more to add to the pile -- will this pattern continue until staff is made up of only those who are willing to put up with a dying, devolving organization? If you continue in the present manner, perhaps. Here is an example: you banned EventBot without a word to anyone. No message dropped to those who had worked on it, nothing to Rodge or I who coordinate the new development projects, who were left stunned by the complete loss of faith in Trench Wars of a very productive coder. That was flat out a stupid move, DoCk>. It was unprofessional, childish, and indicative of the complete lack of communication in TW -- a fault that lies with your organization, not with the coder -- which, had it been adequate, would have plainly shown there was no desire for an EventBot and would have saved everyone a lot of time and heartache. You're dealing with people, and you need to start treating them as people, with respect and dignity, or you're going to find that only the weakest and most submissive will dedicate time to your organization. Don't misread me; I don't mean to make small your many accomplishments and contributions to the game. You've added immeasurably to the quality of Trench Wars, and that should never be overlooked. But in the same breath, your current position as reasonably apathetic sysop is the main deterrent to the improvement of the zone, and you need to decide to either reinvest yourself in the game, or please, for the good of TW, allow another to take over your position. Your heart just doesn't seem to be in it anymore.
- PURE_LUCK, I will be absolutely astounded if you read this without someone else telling you to do so. If this is the case, perhaps I am wrong about you. Otherwise: I don't believe you're fit for your position, and I think you should step down immediately. You were once quoted as saying that when a new staffer unexpectedly quit and sent you a long letter detailing why, you read one line and closed the email. One line read -- as Dean of staff, not even looking past one line to see why someone would quit after just one day, as though that that might be useful in figuring out just what went wrong. About what might be wrong with the hiring process as a whole. That one action just about sums up your incompetence, and plainly shows that you really don't give a damn about Trench Wars. You didn't care enough to take 5 minutes out of your day to do your job, yet you seem to be able to spend ridiculous amounts of time in BD. Here's another: the only way that I ever knew I was promoted to ER and Mod was because you said "get on your new name," after which you left the arena without a word. No information about the responsibilities and duties of the new position, not even a congratulations -- nothing. And we wonder why there must now be a special training regimen. Perhaps the worst part, the very absolute worst, is that very few have the audacity to call you on any of this, because you're essentially in control of all lower staff promotions, or to lower staffers, the most powerful figure in TW... far more powerful than the sysops. As such, you have immunity from all complaints (and there are many), as anyone who dares to complain would not have a chance in hell of ever getting a promotion -- you are known to hold grudges and only hire and promote those you like, after all. It's fascist, and it's wrong. I work for the US Department of Homeland Security, and there, as in all branches of the government, we have what's called an IG -- an Inspector General. The IG's job is to take all complaints and handle them impartially, fairly, and with full investigation and anonymity for the person who files. Such a system would benefit TW immensely and it would ensure that you either do your job correctly, or resign. People talk about the corruption of TW Staff regularly. Well, here's a wake-up call: you’re definitely one of the guys they talk about. In order to keep from going any further, I'll end by saying: the person who hired you made a serious mistake in doing so, and the damage done to TW under your rule as Dean is irreparable. Did you read all of that? Congratulations.
I wish you all the best, and have enjoyed knowing you all. To those I have essentially slandered, I have nothing against you as people; the criticism is merely from a professional standpoint. Though I can hardly forecast much for the zone, I hope for its eventual improvement. The Golden Age of Trench Wars is long gone, and unless a majority of staff members take it upon themselves to strike a positive change, it will never return. Like an aging Hollywood star, it's seen its day, and rather than dying off mercifully, it will hold the far more tragic fate of humiliation at the hands of its now faded glory.
Should upper staff truly want to change the system, I'd be quite interested in coming back and helping reinvent a new Trench Wars. But I really don't intend to return. Unfortunately, some things never change.
qan
---
It is my fervent hope to send a strong message to all staff, in coordination with Rodge, that the current condition of Trench Wars administration is quite poor, and that in order to continue its success and survival, it requires reworking at the hands of those in charge. I'll be blunt, as tact has never been my strong suit.
TW Staff is an utter farce of what it once was; it's borderline ineffectual, like a body that continues to live despite the brain's death. To continue volunteering a large amount of time and creativity to a project with such a dilapidated administration is only an exercise in futility and frustration.
I feel extremely strongly about the present awful condition of staff communication channels, organization, participation and willingness to further develop the game, a condition that very few players and shockingly, few staff members, seem to be aware of. Discuss it with some who have been around many years, and you'll find that there's a great deal you don't know about this game you love, that we all love. The absurdity of the administration is something straight out of an Andy Warhol film. Like an onion, the more you peel it, the more it stinks.
Considering the present atmosphere and disposition of TW Staff, I am regrettably forced to resign from the following positions:
- TW Moderator
- TWCore-current Maintainer
- TWL Bot Coder
- TWDev Coordinator
- TWDev.org Webmaster
- TWBeta Leader
At present, some members of upper staff are unresponsive, apathetic to reworking a system that's all but broken, and unwilling to give anything more than verbal support to new ideas. I hope that (all modesty aside) in losing some of the currently most productive members of staff, there will be more awareness in the ranks of lower staff that something is seriously
amiss, and a greater willingness among members of upper staff to contribute to the game and make a real change. At the moment, the current "organization" prevents all but the most basic progress from occurring, and as you can imagine, it's incredibly frustrating to
contribute countless hours to improving a system that neither acquiesces nor cares.
Please READ THIS:
- LOWER STAFF needs to recognize the degenerative system. Members of lower staff, you are running nearly all of Trench Wars, and this is simply wrong. DoCk> and the smods are doing very little to help, when, by their rank, they should be contributing the greater share rather than almost nothing at all. If you are more of a typical staffer, in that you don't do much development work, you may not see as much of the failings of the system, because you're most likely operating within the confines of it rather than pressing the boundaries. You're not likely to see that in order to get anything done, one has to basically go behind the back of all of upper staff, which is ridiculous. They certainly don't offer much in the way of support. And I'm sure you have seen how unclear the policies are, the inactivity of almost all members of upper staff, and the general lack of communication and coordination in Trench Wars. This is not how it has to or is supposed to be. I urge you not to think, "It's just fine the way it is." It's absolutely not. Please research the depths of the organization before coming to this conclusion. There will always be people who will tolerate any condition given to them (particularly if they are given a tidbit of power!). Some might say if they succumb to such an error, that they deserve whatever is handed to them. Think about what’s going on.
- UPPER STAFF needs to recognize their role in the eventual downfall of TW. You are making it almost impossible, by your stubbornness, apathy, and yes, downright laziness, to improve the game. I am not referring to all members of upper staff here, and some know that a large part of their inactivity (which is not to be confused with online time) is due to this mockery we call TW Staff, but regardless, the problem remains. If you don't care very much about the game anymore, then I urge you to please retire to an honorary position, letting others take your place, instead of being party to this façade.
- DOCK>, you need to reevaluate your commitment to TW. One of two things need to happen: either decide that you wish to dedicate yourself fully to the reinvention of the game, will full willingness to completely reorganize the highly dysfunctional system, and not just as a false and empty promise as you and other members of upper staff gave to Rodge; or retire as you have promised for many years now and hand the reigns over to someone who is more willing to revise and take seriously the administration of Trench Wars. You as well as anyone know that many extremely talented people have quit in frustration because of your refusal to retire as you promised. Here are two more to add to the pile -- will this pattern continue until staff is made up of only those who are willing to put up with a dying, devolving organization? If you continue in the present manner, perhaps. Here is an example: you banned EventBot without a word to anyone. No message dropped to those who had worked on it, nothing to Rodge or I who coordinate the new development projects, who were left stunned by the complete loss of faith in Trench Wars of a very productive coder. That was flat out a stupid move, DoCk>. It was unprofessional, childish, and indicative of the complete lack of communication in TW -- a fault that lies with your organization, not with the coder -- which, had it been adequate, would have plainly shown there was no desire for an EventBot and would have saved everyone a lot of time and heartache. You're dealing with people, and you need to start treating them as people, with respect and dignity, or you're going to find that only the weakest and most submissive will dedicate time to your organization. Don't misread me; I don't mean to make small your many accomplishments and contributions to the game. You've added immeasurably to the quality of Trench Wars, and that should never be overlooked. But in the same breath, your current position as reasonably apathetic sysop is the main deterrent to the improvement of the zone, and you need to decide to either reinvest yourself in the game, or please, for the good of TW, allow another to take over your position. Your heart just doesn't seem to be in it anymore.
- PURE_LUCK, I will be absolutely astounded if you read this without someone else telling you to do so. If this is the case, perhaps I am wrong about you. Otherwise: I don't believe you're fit for your position, and I think you should step down immediately. You were once quoted as saying that when a new staffer unexpectedly quit and sent you a long letter detailing why, you read one line and closed the email. One line read -- as Dean of staff, not even looking past one line to see why someone would quit after just one day, as though that that might be useful in figuring out just what went wrong. About what might be wrong with the hiring process as a whole. That one action just about sums up your incompetence, and plainly shows that you really don't give a damn about Trench Wars. You didn't care enough to take 5 minutes out of your day to do your job, yet you seem to be able to spend ridiculous amounts of time in BD. Here's another: the only way that I ever knew I was promoted to ER and Mod was because you said "get on your new name," after which you left the arena without a word. No information about the responsibilities and duties of the new position, not even a congratulations -- nothing. And we wonder why there must now be a special training regimen. Perhaps the worst part, the very absolute worst, is that very few have the audacity to call you on any of this, because you're essentially in control of all lower staff promotions, or to lower staffers, the most powerful figure in TW... far more powerful than the sysops. As such, you have immunity from all complaints (and there are many), as anyone who dares to complain would not have a chance in hell of ever getting a promotion -- you are known to hold grudges and only hire and promote those you like, after all. It's fascist, and it's wrong. I work for the US Department of Homeland Security, and there, as in all branches of the government, we have what's called an IG -- an Inspector General. The IG's job is to take all complaints and handle them impartially, fairly, and with full investigation and anonymity for the person who files. Such a system would benefit TW immensely and it would ensure that you either do your job correctly, or resign. People talk about the corruption of TW Staff regularly. Well, here's a wake-up call: you’re definitely one of the guys they talk about. In order to keep from going any further, I'll end by saying: the person who hired you made a serious mistake in doing so, and the damage done to TW under your rule as Dean is irreparable. Did you read all of that? Congratulations.
I wish you all the best, and have enjoyed knowing you all. To those I have essentially slandered, I have nothing against you as people; the criticism is merely from a professional standpoint. Though I can hardly forecast much for the zone, I hope for its eventual improvement. The Golden Age of Trench Wars is long gone, and unless a majority of staff members take it upon themselves to strike a positive change, it will never return. Like an aging Hollywood star, it's seen its day, and rather than dying off mercifully, it will hold the far more tragic fate of humiliation at the hands of its now faded glory.
Should upper staff truly want to change the system, I'd be quite interested in coming back and helping reinvent a new Trench Wars. But I really don't intend to return. Unfortunately, some things never change.
qan
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