[Community Event] Staff Appreciation 2018

And a small bump!

Hope you guys are still willing to fill out the form to tell us about your favorite staff:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1qpds-ueHj3ZLEjzT4zKTziXeHAAqkeCyrGsc67i0maM/

Event status update

Someone informed me that I never mentioned anything about prizes, and this IS placed in the public member events afterall. Well, that actually was somewhat by design (the missing link was a dumb mistake on my end). The poll (and thus the event!) lasts for approx. 4 weeks. Which means I have to come up with something to keep this event somewhat interesting (I will not start an event where the only thing you get to see is constant bumping. I don't mind it if others do, but that's not my style).

So yes: there will be a symbolic prize for the winning staff member, just like last year. I will also set up a donation spot later this week where players can donate prizes if they want to.

AND... there will also be another small change from last years events involving you guys. No, not necessarily you random reader but those who actually filled out the form. What change?

Stay tuned and find out!

Looks like both of my favourite staff members are senior staff nowadays. There are others, though, but now it becomes harder to choose...

Can anyone honestly say they're no alt? (I wanted to include a screenshot of the question, but I had pressed 'Next' already)

where is eviltoade? him and matheus are the best

Senior staffers are not on the list. Only moderators

How come?

Well, it's in the OP but I agree that's a rather long read...

In short: Senior Staff are no longer part of the economy and don't really play the game anymore, while regular staff members are.

The idea behind this event (this dates back 3 years) was basically to give staff members a fair chance at a spotlight because I feel that they are always at a disadvantage.

For example... A player helps another player. Many will pick this up as a helping player who went out of their way to help another, and that's often appreciated. Then we have a staff member helping another player. Sure the player(s) might be appreciative of the help, but I know that several would pick this up as something to expect from a staff member.

Although I don't think they're totally wrong I also think that this puts staff members a little bit at a disadvantage. Especially with appreciation events. Even though moderators are to be considered regular players like you and me whenever they're not performing staff duties.

That's why I came up with all this. And that's also why I've always excluded senior staffers; they no longer really play the game, they more or less make and design the game

Oh. That's understandable... But I still wanted to vote for Eviltoade, if only I had the option (which is why I put JohnKid first instead of second, and crystaldragon13 second, but they're very sweet and open-minded too)...

Also, just curious (I wouldn't have voted for one, but still curious), why did you not include devs either? Like moderators, they (except chicken and of course Aikar) also are regular players with some extra powers/responsibilities, a fifth res, and diamond supporter perks. Also, while devs don't usually perform moderation duties, they are required to go through checkup and moderation training periodically, the option for them to be a moderator too is there, and BreezyMan and MrSocks75 used their mod powers back when they were devs (although they did both become mods before devs, and Breezy still is a mod).

Well, because although they are classified as staff their main role is that of being a developer and not necessarily someone who performs staff duties.

The other reason, one not mentioned in the OP, is because the devs have a platform (and a 'spotlight') of their own. Whenever new features get announced we usually also get to hear who did what which is basically their spotlight so to speak. That's the other reason why I eventually chose to limit this to regular staff ("moderators") only.

Is there an option to vote for Krysyy because she is the best out of everyone?

I sent mine in.

Staff who breed horses are obviously the best. Horse-lovers rule.

True, but this is only while they're new to the team.

And a small bump with also a small status update. I finally managed to work out a good location (and reserve some items) to make a donation section, and this weekend (with possible delay to next week) I'll sort out some more event details.

Last week hasn't been too great for me, although I had less work on my plate I got to enjoy a few migraine issues which.. isn't fun. Fortunately for me I only have to cope with these once every so many years (I don't even remember the last time) so that's positive. The down side is that I usually also get sick a bit, which ruins my concentration and my mood.

Anyway, that's almost behind us. For now... this is still a thing.

Please consider filling out this Google form to vote for your favorite staff member(s):

https://tinyurl.com/emcstaffapp2018

And thanks in advance!

No I haven't forgotten about this. In 2 hours this event will come to a close and we'll crown the most appreciated staff of 2018. So this is your last chance if you want to get a vote in

And the winners are...

I didn't actively follow up on that and that's because of 2 reasons. First is the heatwave that passed over the Netherlands in the past weeks. Using an airco all day doesn't work for me so I restricted my PC usage to work only and spent the rest of my time on the couch or on my balcony.

The second reason is because of someone trying to start something like this "elsewhere" (on another Minecraft forum). The idea got somewhat shut down because the people over there were worried that this could set a wrong example; getting rewarded shouldn't really be on the staffs (other staff!) priority list, according to "other Minecraft forum".

It did make me think so eventually I decided that it might be a better idea to keep the prize pure symbolic.

We've had 17 entries. A few less than last year but that's also because I didn't bump the post as much as I'd like. We've had some really bad weather here (heatwave) and in the past weeks I actually avoided the computer room after I finished my work.

But quantity doesn't make quality!

#1 Who is your first favorite staff member?

As always, some random quotes about the winner (I did make sure not to pick quotes which could reveal the voters identity. I take privacy very seriously, even in a game).

"He is very nice, sweet, and open-minded, and while he may not always be active, he isn't inactive either, and he does try to be active both in the EMC community and at the <snip>." (edited)

"Johnny Boy is a very nice, helpful staff member. Some staff have a pressuring presence, but John is very calming."

The Staff appreciation award for 2018 goes to: JohnKid.

#2 Who is your second favorite staff member?

It's a triple mod match!

• "Again, she is extremely nice, sweet, and open-minded, and tries to be active with the EMC community (including other staff)."
• "For dedicating at least a year if not more to keeping NHG running prior to grief protection for PWU. Tower is quiet but awesome."
• "He also is very helpful"
• "Horse breeder"

And the second favorite staff members are (in alphabetic order):

• AncientTower
• CrystalDragon
• JohnKid

#3 How do we get into contact with staff?

52% simply uses /staff and then contacts to ask for help.

#4 So why did we need staff?

• 17.6%: "Someone griefed me (stealing stuff or destroying builds)".
• 17.6%: "I didn't understand some things, so asked staff about it".
• 11.8%: "Road edits".

#5 How did we rate staff performance?

So, on a scale from 1 to 10. One person voted 6, six people voted 8, six more people voted 9 and four people voted 10.

(6 + 8 + 9 + 10) / 4 = 8 average.

And why?

• "well i send a PM that never got answered"
• "I don't have much experience with staff being staff but overall staff are extremely friendly and helpful whenever i have questions!"
• "just not staff on when I need"
• "Because they actually care about the players here."
• "when they are there, they're very helpful. but when nobody's online, like at 4pm when i get on, it's kinda annoying."
• "Because they are doing a great job"

And there you have it!

Prizes?!

The (in?)famous books will be sent to all three winning staff members: Crystal, John and Tower.

I'm also going to be giving away a few vault vouchers to a few random voters.

This will be sorted out tomorrow, maybe today but just expect tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for voting and participating, and hope to see you again next year!

Cool.

The books have been sent, all that's left to do is the player prizes. I said I was planning on giving away vault vouchers but unfortunately I can't do that because Aya "stole" (naah!) the whole lot. So I'm going to replace those with stable vouchers. To my knowledge these are usually the same value anyway.

And the winners are....

#10 - TheRedstoneShop => Wins a stable voucher + a diamond block.
#14 - Thefriedmans => Wins a stable voucher + a gold block.
#17 - raayn => Wins a stable voucher + an iron block.

I'm online while writing this message so the prizes are going to be sent by /mail within 30 minutes or so minutes after posting this message.

Also: this marks the official end of the event so I'll also be asking staff to lock it.

Thanks again for voting, and hope to see you all next year!

Closing per request of OP....