mehtastic
GDB Superstar
Armers Anonymous sponsor
Posts: 1,328
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Post by mehtastic on Mar 4, 2023 13:02:55 GMT -5
Transcript below for those using screen readers, since on the Arm Discord Halaster said that he only learned a few days ago that VI people play MUDs. So a couple of takeways I get from this post. 1) Halaster knew about Shalooonsh targeting Delirium, but Shalooonsh was hired and kept on anyway, and then Halaster went on to try to ban Delirium from that other feedback thread a few months back (but quickly walked it back after being called out). 2) They're so reluctant to get rid of staff but when a staffer does bad behavior for years and it's actionable, the staff still cede the public messaging to the staff member not conducting themselves properly. Uhh... why? Why give Shalooonsh the opportunity to write what you want to say about his departure when he uses communication to hurt people?
Granted, I'm not inclined to read it charitably in the first place. But even trying to read this neutrally, it reads to me as an admission of incompetence that should be resignation-worthy, if players gave a shit about the quality of leadership at Arm.
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Post by jcarter on Mar 4, 2023 13:12:02 GMT -5
every halaster post i read, it's always about him. he never addresses the victims or shows empathy. it's just all about him and excuses for him. he complains there's no guide book to dealing with sexual harassment (lol), he was totally going to remove shalooonsh, he didn't know, blah blah blah. he must always be in control of the conversation -- any criticism against him will be moderated and banned. if you're not going to play a game where he can ban you, he doesn't want to hear what you say.
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Post by miscreant on Mar 4, 2023 13:38:00 GMT -5
Over the last year (I'm thinking since Delirium quit) Halaster has made some bad decisions but he has also reversed himself a couple times rather than doubling down. Maybe that's weaksauce but its an improvement over historical staff behavior.
I don't know if the game can truly be fixed but I sure didn't expect to see Shalooonsh called out by staff, even for "rudeness".
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Post by Azerbanjani on Mar 4, 2023 13:40:35 GMT -5
I really do not buy this.
So staff saw that Shalooonsh was a pest. They agree he's a pest (Or at least Halaster does)
So the minute someone has allegations against Shalooonsh they, logically of course they all hate Shalooonsh and always have!, ban Bebop for the allegations and Hestia doubts her victim-hood on discord.
How the fuck does anyone believe this?
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Post by minmaxer on Mar 4, 2023 13:47:32 GMT -5
Krath here! Glad this community is growing and visibility to what has been done to bebop, delirium and others are being brought to light and hopefully bringing change in the culture. As someone who has dealt and led change management, specifically dealing with cultural shifts, this is going to be no small undertaking if the current staffing team truly want to make the changes necessary. It will literally take close to a year to see the initial rewards cultural shifts, and that is once everything on the action plan has been implemented. I just do not know if they are ready to stick it out.
I read Halaster's post as him trying to take responsibility the best way he knows how, which clearly shows he is inexperienced with such messaging. I think Laura's post was well written, and as delirium said, gave them a full on blue print of what needs to be done. So at this point, I want to see what their plan of action is, and how they are going to report out it's progress and if it is successful or not. I am not a staff sympathizer, as I have had my karma removed from almost max to zero, multiple times, some deserved, some not. That being said, I am going to wait and see if anything changes before calling the game dead. Maybe I am delusional, and overly optimistic, and I am alright with that because I have seen cultures changes, but those folks were being paid to do it because it was their job. I do not know if the same level of urgency will come here because of the difference.
I would pose the question to the shadowboard members that I posed myself before I wrote my post in support of Bebop, What do I want to see at the end of all this, what is the expected outcome I want. My answer was: Full transparency and accountability from the staffing team with regards to all the rules.
Anyways, Love each and everyone of you, especially Delerak. I remember when staff let you (I believe this was you) make a gith PC, that died and would automatically come back to life. That shit was fun, because I remember you kept running back and OOCLY i was like WTF is going on.
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mehtastic
GDB Superstar
Armers Anonymous sponsor
Posts: 1,328
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Post by mehtastic on Mar 4, 2023 13:56:25 GMT -5
Full transparency and accountability for every single person on the staff team would be great. Failing that, the game should close. There is no reason to keep the game running with a staff team that seems to exist to hurt people and/or take advantage of them.
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bebop
Clueless newb
Posts: 106
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Post by bebop on Mar 4, 2023 14:07:08 GMT -5
It's a step in the right direction, and unfortunately I do empathize that he's under pressure from his fellow staff members. However, weird shit still abounds, in particular the bans of anyone outing the cheating and the abuse they sustained.
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Post by jcarter on Mar 4, 2023 14:19:58 GMT -5
no one is hating on halaster for inexperience. although tbh the claim for inexperience is circumspect considering he has a year+ experience in a producer role and has staffed the game for a long time, and i imagine he as a 45+ year old person probably has some experience dealing with interpersonal conflict.
the issue is that all moves are covering for him, his cronies, and blocking out players. bebop was banned, instead of talking with her. a staff that has been onboarded has been directly trying to undermine any complaints across multiple forums. halaster 'covered' for shalooonsh. he censored and locked down as much discourse as possible among players. these are not the actions of a good-faith but inexperienced person. it's the actions of someone who is trying to shut down and avoid as much criticism as possible because it's uncomfortable for them. there's no interest in the feelings of victims or making amends. it's 'me me me'.
'under pressure from fellow staff members' is laughable. as likes to get pointed out all the time, it's a volunteer system to run a text-based game.
we're outside the realm of dealing with IG complaints. real people have been hurt and are being preyed by an infamous sex pest. show some moral fiber instead of being a sniveling worm trying to not offend rape apologists. it's pathetic to watch someone who tries so hard to intimidate players fold like a piece of paper when he can't just hammer a ban button to make people he disagrees with him go away. he's a stereotypical nerd with napoleon syndrome.
you'd think that these people were covering for their battle buddy that saved their life during vietnam or something. lol no, it's some dude on the internet they have no connection with except a mutually shared interest.
fuck those dudes.
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Post by Azerbanjani on Mar 4, 2023 14:32:17 GMT -5
Arm staff are literally braver than the marines
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gibb
staff puppet account
Posts: 15
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Post by gibb on Mar 4, 2023 14:44:54 GMT -5
Arm staff are literally braver than the marines As a veteran who who has deployed and who served in a unit where we had to jump out of planes on a regular basis, I really hope that this is sarcastic. The way that staff have handled this issue is very cowardly. The brave path was to take responsibility, keep the official forum open, remove bad actors, apologize, and work with players on how to create a system that will prevent this issue from occurring in the future. Closing the forum, banning players for naming specific bad actors, and creating a forum where players aren't allowed to rebuttal and debate shows insecurity, denial, and cowardice.
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Post by Azerbanjani on Mar 4, 2023 14:48:05 GMT -5
Gibb I beg you, I'm on my hands and knees, please figure out it's sarcasm.
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Post by nottriste on Mar 4, 2023 14:51:32 GMT -5
I am sure there isn't a single staffer fit for military service of any kind. All too old, cross eyed, fat, and lazy from birth.
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gibb
staff puppet account
Posts: 15
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Post by gibb on Mar 4, 2023 14:54:49 GMT -5
Gibb I beg you, I'm on my hands and knees, please figure out it's sarcasm. Haha. Okay, sorry Azerbanjani!
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mehtastic
GDB Superstar
Armers Anonymous sponsor
Posts: 1,328
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Post by mehtastic on Mar 4, 2023 15:15:20 GMT -5
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Post by eukelade on Mar 4, 2023 15:37:28 GMT -5
It will literally take close to a year to see the initial rewards cultural shifts, and that is once everything on the action plan has been implemented. I just do not know if they are ready to stick it out. this is accurate and this is my thought too. It will be a slog. I would be happy to step in and at least talk about some kind of consulting/auditing help for this if they ask, but I am afraid to directly offer that kind of thing (also again so much work??? and bebop's stories all leave a bitter taste in my mouth and make me wonder if it is even ethical of me to consider that.) My memory is a lot of easily insulted people who you can't say anything negative to/about without dreadful consequences to yourself/your character. So far though since I've been poking around this corner of the internet again I've been saying a lot of really critical things on the discord and all the staff people I have spoken to have been receptive. I told Brokkr in front of the whole general channel he's the reason I don't play anymore and hated everything he ever did with me and all he did was apologize profusely a bunch of times. idk man this is a weird place to be in. i wonder if we're all just collectively re-traumatizing each other by continuing to discuss the endeavor.
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