Graffiti: Staff Accountability

Corrupt. Biased. Unfair.

These three words have something in common: they have all been used to describe staff members at some point in time.

On some rare occasions, the claims ring true. However, these words are often part of outbursts by emotional players who do not understand the weight of their (commonly baseless) accusations.


So, what is Staff Accountability, anyway?

Staff Accountability can be loosely defined as holding each staff member responsible for his/her actions or, as the case may be, inactions. In addition, if a particular staff member is supervises other staff, s/he is responsible for the actions of his/her subordinate(s). The staff operates as a team, and ultimately each team member bears a measure of responsibility for his/her teammates because of that.

Sure, you can define it. But can you actually implement it?

The main way that accountability is implemented in practice is by placing limitations on the staff.

• Limitation Of Power & Access: The range of powers each staff member has is dictated by the needs of his or her position. However, powers and access are earned, not given lightly. In general, Sub GMs have fewer in-game powers, less access to sensitive information, and limited forum abilities. High GMs have a larger number of powers, both in-game and on the forums. They also have access to more sensitive information than a Sub GM. However, a Sub GM who has not proven him or herself may not get complete access to all the standard Sub GM abilities, much less the High GM ones. The same thing applies to the High GMs, as well. These limitations serve as a safeguard against power abuse, privacy violations, and general misuse.
  
• Limitation Of Responsibility: The different positions each have different responsibilities. The Sub GMs answer quicker tickets, help players in-game, mute street chatters and other rule violators, and forward item recovery cases to the High GMs. The High GMs have the responsibilities of handling item recovery cases, checking botters, punishing other rule-breakers, among a handful of lesser responsibilities.
  
• System Limitations: During our time as staff here, we have strived to alter the system so that rulings can be as objective as possible. We created the Punishment Guidelines and the Item Recovery Fees table from scratch. These are two posts that clearly outline what you can expect from us (punishment-wise, recovery-wise, and fee-wise) in the given situations. This is yet another layer of protection against subjective judgments.
  

However, here's a bit of behind-the-scenes information you may find interesting:

Each staff member is reviewed every month to two months in a process called "evaluation." In the review, every single ticket response and forum post is read by another staff member from an objective perspective. Their work is critiqued in a number of ways, including grammar and professionalism. The reviewed staff member then receives an overall score for the timeframe. However, we do hold staff members to a certain standard. Staff members with overall scores or pieces of work that do not meet this standard are penalized. Even staff members who meet this standard are given advice and constructive criticism.

What you should remember is that no matter how "great" a staff member may be, he or she is always evaluated and always held accountable for any mistakes.

So what does this have to do with me?

You, the players, often bring up the subject of staff accountability. I've seen it mentioned in multiple forum posts, which is what inspired me to write this article in the first place. Accountability is a valid concern because it affects your opinions of the staff, your interactions with the staff, and ultimately, your gaming experience here at AnimaRO.

Here's some food for thought: Why is it that players who praise GMs often get called derogatory terms like "ass kissers," while the people who flame the staff are placed on pedestals?

The staff does expect a measure of respect from the players. However, we recognize that there is always room for improvement. However, many people take whatever failings they see (sometimes imaginary) and use it as material in their latest GM flamefest. There is a world of difference between "GMs power abuse!!/GMs can't do their jobs!!!/GMs (insert punishment here) my friend for no reason! Corrupt!" and "I believe the ruling on Case X was wrong because of reasons A, B, and C." You can give civil, constructive criticism about our performance without resorting to flaming, disrespect, or the general state I like to call "being an asshole."

If you see a way the staff can improve, I'd love to hear it, either as a PM to my forum box, in a support ticket, or as a post in the Feedback forum. Just remember that even GMs are held accountable for their actions, so each decision made by the team is made with the utmost of care.

*Note: Parts of this blog entry were taken/edited from a post by GM Laeryn on the AnimaRO forums.