Current Thoughts - Staff Member Requirements

[Jobawick]

(I was going to do this as a status update, but then thought I would make a topic to see other's opinions, certainly of some other staff members as well )

I still disagree with this requirement when signing up to become a team member: 'You must be 17 years or older. Why this limit? We require Mature people who know when to be serious and when to joke'.

 

I understand that TMP want mature people, nobody that will make bad decisions such as banning someone for a week for saying 'You're an idiot' and then banning someone for 1 hour for ramming 9 guys. They also don't want a 'kid' (any member of staff really) to sit there and argue with somebody over the CB radio before punishing for something they did, causing the (not so professional) staff member to argue with them. All they need is a warning and then a punishment can be given. I feel that a lot of people would sign up to become an admin/staff member if the age requirement was dropped, or just even lowered.

 

What do you think? Also, may I ask what happens after the applications are sent in? How the process works, or what the managers do to identify who would be suitable for a staff position.

 

*Since this is going to be opinionated replies, please try and not argue... :3 I don't want my posts locked because of any of them happening. Also, dear 'staffs', don't lock this because an argue may happen. It's a topic wanting opinions to see how people think the process should work... you never know, the mod devs may find some backup useful .*

[The Scottish Lad]

Well you could make expections for the team

[Jobawick]

@MasterDimz What do you mean by 'expections'? May I have an example?

[Sunort]

Hi:

 

I think the requirements are fine as they are right now. Being staff member from a huge community like this isn´t easy at all, and being serious and strict when you must to be it´s really important.  In my opinion, I would leave the requirements as they are

 

Don´t worry, there´s no reason to lock this post, I see it as a personal opinion

[John_24]

TMP require these limits because they want to be cautious and careful with their choices.  Indeed it is quite difficult to be selected to be a staff member again, even if one has left on good terms. 

 

As far as who decides who gets picked all depend on the recruitment that's open.  @fyzz08 does support @Burner does MP, and I believe @Clarkinator does IGA. 

 

These types of topics are ok as long as users play nice. 

[Cooper's Freightmaster]

Note. You cannot apply to be admin - it is invite only.

[John_24]

^oh yea I forgot to mention that hehe

[Guest]

As Sunort has said above, being in a community such as this with more then a million users in it is hard work. I think the requirements are sensible. Unfortunately there are immature people out there and having an age limit of 17 cuts out a large proportion of them (Yes I know people of ages 17+ can also be immature, I am very much aware of that) it's just it blocks a lot of them out.
Staff members also require some sort of experience, this means there has been more time for this experience.
Alot of users also go down the lines of "You are only a 15 year old kid, i'm not going to listen to you.", this is also to defend some of them.
Also most 17 year olds are still in school...

As for recruitment...
Fyzz08 Deals with support recruitment...
Burner Deals with Mod recruitment...

As for IGAs, Burner recommends some Forum Mods that they think would make good InGame Admins. Clarkinator then picks out the ones he agrees with. 
The reason for this? Why not choose support or Users? Forum moderating gives us experience of what is expected, punishments etc.

 

[Jobawick]

@littlefoot_22 @Sunort I understand you're two responses above, they're very fair and both come with great reasons on why there are these limits. I understand completely why these limits are in place and why they want to be cautious. I wouldn't want to choose some random person never seen before and tell them to ban bad people. They don't know how and may not even know the rules! Myself, I believe that so many great staff members could be brought onto the team if a simple number wasn't in the way. Myself, I would make applications like the following:

In the (imaginary in this case) box below, give us the following: You're age, your in-game hours (single player, you don't want a staff member whose never played!) information about you, how many bans and how long ago were they from, how much time do you think and hope to put towards your position etc...

 

This gives the applicants the full ability to give as much information as they can about themselves and show how much they could really benefit the TMP mod and the community.

 

Great responses though, thank you!

---

@Cooper's Freightmaster Oh okay. Does this mean if I put a lot of effort into helping out within the forums somebody COULD be invited to the support team? If not, why not?

 

[Sunort]

@Jobawick for entering support / moderation, first you make you application in an official announcement (made by fyzz - support or Burner - Mod). Then, they will take care of choosing you or not.

[Jobawick]

11 minutes ago, Chjl1234 said:

A lot of users also go down the lines of "You are only a 15 year old kid, i'm not going to listen to you.", this is also to defend some of them.
Also most 17 year olds are still in school...

(Once again, just stating my opinion on these two comments, not trying to be argumentative person)

1) Why would somebody know my age? May I say that it is discriminating against something that we are unable to help? Also, if someone doesn't listen and breaks the rules from there, consequences are able to be put in place.

2) Why does this matter?

 

I would appreciate an answer, but if you feel it is best to ignore it, you are always welcome. Once again, not trying to be argumentative. It's just a topic I am quite unstable on because a lot of people look down upon people for something they cannot help. Thanks for the reply!  

---

@Sunort That's why I am making this post, because people of 16- are simply unable to do that! At least abiding by the 'if you lie, you get rejected immediately'.

[FirestarteR93]

8 minutes ago, Jobawick said:

@Cooper's Freightmaster Oh okay. Does this mean if I put a lot of effort into helping out within the forums somebody COULD be invited to the support team? If not, why not?

 

Its kinda both, because even if that certain member is good enough, he/she will still have to fill an application form thingy (so the responsible team leader can get a rough idea of what kind of person is the talking to)

---

 

Age doesn't really matter, but its still useful to know it - I mean you can't really expect serious behaviour from a toddler - There are more important factors like basic mod/game knowledge, languages, experience etc.

[Jobawick]

@FirestarteR93 Well obviously!  But as I said on a post above, the ages below 17 aren't there to be clicked on, so we would have to 'lie our way through'. 

[Burner]

You can always apply to mod team even without meeting the requirements, I check the applications anyway. Wouldn't be the first one to accept without being 17, we got people like that in team.

[FirestarteR93]

yeh, but by the time I replied, you posted like 5 more messages.... xD

 

Anyway, I feel that there's an elephant in the room which is not getting any attention and it's kinda important too - ban history

[Jobawick]

@FirestarteR93 Ah... ban history.

 

My view: If they have only 1 or 2 bans and they are from a long while ago (3 months at least) I think that it has shown that you have learnt from these mistakes and stopped doing them. I've got 1 ban. It was for calling someone an 'idiot' and have I done this since? Nope! I've learnt for sure. I also think it is quite reasonable if you see this. It will make people think before they do ban someone that it is a legit reason because they may have despised the time without being the ability to play on MP. 

 

@Burner So uh... may I make a little request or two? That lower ages are added to the list you can click on. And also instead of 'you MUST be 17' it could be changed to 'we would PREFER you to be 17 or more (older people will have more chance maybe?)  Don't worry if that's a bit much. 

[[VIVΛ HH] KЯΛVΛTIΞ]

^^

 

i have a similar problem and im nearly a year of being ban free

[Jobawick]

^^ @Mr Panda  6 Months since my only and last ever one?

[FirestarteR93]

^ @Jobawick Well, in general, such bans are also ignored, but there's like next to no chances for people with 50 bans or people who e.g. tried to DDoS the server to be accepted in the team

 

(Krav, Y U broke my ^ )

[[VIVΛ HH] KЯΛVΛTIΞ]

@FirestarteR93 mine don't seem to be ignored and mine are minor

[Jobawick]

^ @FirestarteR93 Of course. Well this has been a civil discussion, thanks for chatting.

 

I'll leave this still open for more opinions and i'll still be replying.

 

[SlavaH]

I think that people who could prove themselves dont get a chance. Being deadly honest here, The only people who have a shot at forum mod are the people who are already friends (or other bits) with the higher parts of the team, giving them a bigger chance. Maybe you should look at other people for once and give them a chance because you dont always find the best bits close to home. sometimes you have to venture out a little to get the best experience and to pick the best bits out.

Just my opinion, dont want to get lit up because it doesnt go with what you want people to think.

[Jobawick]

@Mr Panda Uhh... Minor Panda?

[[VIVΛ HH] KЯΛVΛTIΞ]

tbh this is similar to my 

 

it is

 

no way would @I<3VODKA ever sit there for like a whole day and watch me, he probably watched me for a short time then said i was doing it all day

 

i'd love to see the evidence for it tbh

[xhavefunx]

If an admin is 15 years old but takes his job serious and acts in a mature manner, i have no problem with it. I believe @TruCkDr1V3r  was 13 when he joined the staff and 15 when he was leader of support. (Correct me if i'm wrong). 

 

There's basically 3 kinds of members on this community: 

 

- The less serious member who doesn't really care about neither the forums or online trucking. The one who complains about no auto park future and no mods. 

- The normal member, who likes to help people with problems and gives his opinion on different subjects on the forum. Who takes driving online more serious than the above member, and plays by the rules. 

- The enthusiastic member, who spams the forums and drives online as a combination of both the less serious and normal member. 

 

You can tell that 9 out of 10 times it's the normal member who gets chosen as staff member. Like Burner said, age doesn't really matter then. If you're a normal member with a good reputation you have a good chance of becoming staff.