Admin Activity and Leadership

A week or two ago, I said "Maybe the rules should change." It immediately got shot down, but I still stand by it.

I understand that staff has these rules because they are fair. But everything being fair doesn't make a good experience on it's own. I'll admit, I'm not a very competitive person. So a lot of these rules don't make very much sense to me. Maybe the really competitive people feel differently than I do. But I think it's clear from the roughly 30 people who've been banned for it in the past two and a half years that a lot of people don't agree with or follow those rules.

So what do we do about it? Well, people are going to talk OOC, it's pretty much inevitable. And I think it's clear that not being able to, contributes greatly to burnout and frustrations, for both players and much of staff. So, I'm not gonna suggest to completely get rid of the rules, I know that won't happen. But I think both players and staff need some more freedom.

Make a way for players to have a way to communicate in the same way as local OOC, but without needing to be in the same room together. Also, stop telling people off for using local OOC chat to talk to each other. It's all logged and monitored, I don't care if you want people to be in character instead. People need to talk to each other sometimes. It honestly feels kinda horrible to talk to someone in local OOC and then have some staff member show up and tell you to stop.

There are plenty of other issues to address on top of that, such as the passive metagaming rule, players and staff being discouraged from venting when they need to, the bleed that comes from not having any transparency with IC conflicts, lack of transparency on bans and staff votes, etc. but that can all be dealt with later.

> but I struggle to imagine any OOC comms or code exploitation that could have done

> as much damage as burning out so many star staff and star players

Then you are shy on imagination on how OOC collusions, especially not actively chased, quashed and punished, completely undermine any sort of trust in the game, it's player base, staff and fairness. There were many scandals like that across multitude of RPI muds through decades, and it always eroded population until weeded out.

Notably though it's not against the rules for players to talk to one another OOCly, just leave IC out of it, and for staff it has to be documented thing to do. And while I am not part of either OOC or the discord, I imagine those are places for people to, well, chat OOCly.

I agree with you Svetlana. But I feel like the main point of the original post wasn't about staff not being active, but instead about the policies behind staffing and rules that are contributing to burnout. Misleading thread title but yeah, they said they're not criticizing people being less active, just pointing it out that just about everyone is less active nowadays, and questioning what issues might be contributing to losing good staff members so often.

If anything the OP is commending the recent swing towards fixing long term code-oriented systems and is more or less asking for the same care to be given towards the staffing/rules side of things too. The thought and revision that went into armor also kind of needs to go elsewhere, basically. That's what I took it as. I wouldn't really call that a 'slap' on the face.

While it is true that Sindome is run by a volunteer team, it is important to note also that any roleplay space is similarly invested in and animated by the players who choose to exist here. There is an equilibrium to be met in ensuring both staffers and players feel like their time is being respected.

Without both, Sindome cannot really continue.

I'm going to be honest, I think one thing staff is spending an excess of time on is dealing with posts like this.

0x1mm, as someone who is not and has never been on staff, I struggle to understand how you are bringing the opinions you have to this topic and why you thought it was a good idea to raise it in this way.

Speaking from my personal perspective, it's post like this that make me ask myself "why do I even bother signing in".

(Edited by Slither at 5:57 am on 5/12/2025)

Oh I didn't even notice they mentioned that, lol. But yeah, I won't push it any further. I got my suggestions out. If you read em, thanks.

I won't pretend to know exactly what is happening on Staff side, but I wanted to share my own thoughts from my perspective. First of all, on the points that I agree with:

1-) There is certainly a burnout when it comes to staff and player GMs, but I don't think this is as simple as attributing it to a couple of factors. Some of it can be due to the game, some if it is very much because of IRL/OOC factors stressing people out even further, and so on. I believe it's important to be understanding and not assume that the current state of affairs is the only issue in one's life.

2-) The bureaucracy issue is something I've noticed myself, but I've accepted that it's the way Staff currently manage things, and ultimately it's not something I can consider good or bad. Just differing opinions. I'd much prefer GMs who are independent/have their own domain to run without having to do votes/discussion every time, and more staff autonomy is solmething I'd advocate. Maybe staff are also considering this and they just don't have the numbers for it though, I don't know.

Now onto the parts I disagree with. The rules about OOC communication have been softened a lot in the past couple of years. The Discord was made, staff made it clear that you CAN talk OOCly, just not about Sindome or the game. That being said, I do believe that it is an open secret that people do talk OOCly about the game itself. It's not something easy to enforce, hence why most of the bans come from players reporting on each other, but it is not something I'd ever want to be encouraged as it hurts a game – especially a PvP game like Sindome -- A LOT.

When it comes to local OOC and more in-MUD means of talking OOC, I have no comment other than that it should be very much opt-in. I've had instances and I know other players did too where playing an antagonist vs another player turned into an OOC situation, and it can cause a lot of bleed to be subjected to the OOC emotions of a player you're just antagonizing IC for IC reasons.

When it comes to ban transparency, I understand why staff don't wish to share reasons why. The situation with Macabre was a huge loss for everyone involved, but we also don't know what kind of information was shared and I understand where staff were coming from if it wasn't just the reason for a ban but staff discussions and information that were passed to players to be shared.

Another matter I'd ask staff to consider is when people get banned and then explain their subjective side of events OOCly, which causes it to spread through the grapevine and eventually turn into a game of telephone which leads to a lot of more assumptions happening all across the board.

> I'd much prefer GMs who are independent/have their own domain to run without having to do votes/discussion every time, and more staff autonomy is solmething I'd advocate.

GM's are very much independent in what they do. Staff have autonomy to work on stuff they want to work on. GM's don't require votes to do plots and stuff. We never have, probably never will. Closest thing you get with that is asking the other staff members "We cool if we do this?" to see if it's themely an' stuff.

Folx,

I’m feeling incredibly frustrated with posts like this that are filled with misinformation that I then have to spend time correcting– time that could be spent coding, building, or otherwise contributing positively to the game.

I understand people have strong opinions about how the game is run, but it’s exhausting to keep going through this cycle of players who haven’t been on staff telling staff how to do their jobs and why the game is "bad." It’s draining for me and for everyone else who pours their time and effort into running and improving this game. We’re here because we love it, not to be constantly critiqued and second-guessed by people who don’t have the full picture.

I need to emphasize: This is a labor of love. We have years of experience trying different systems and approaches, and we run the game the way we do based on what has worked and what hasn’t. It’s never going to be perfect, but instead of picking apart our efforts, how about playing the game and letting us focus on making it better without this constant barrage of criticism?

Now, let’s address some of the specific feedback:

0x1mm: You called some policies myopic but you weren’t here when the problems those policies addressed were rampant. We’ve seen significant improvements in player behavior and reduced administrative burden because of these rules. Your post was not only misinformed but also inflammatory and unhelpful. It’s frustrating and disheartening to see this kind of commentary.

Emily: You mentioned the 30 bans over the past couple of years as evidence that people disagree with the rules. Yes, some people don’t agree and have been banned. They either adjusted their behavior or moved on. These rules exist because we’ve seen the damage that OOC collusion and metagaming can do to the game. If that’s the kind of game you’re looking for, there are plenty of other places to play. This is not that game.

Regarding OOC communication systems, we already have OOC-Chat, BGBB, and Discord. We are not a chat service. We’re a roleplaying game, and the systems we have are there to encourage IC interaction, not OOC chatter that undermines interaction with the game world.

As for transparency and venting, staff are not allowed to vent TO PLAYERS about OTHER PLAYERS or staff decisions. It’s a matter of fairness and avoiding unnecessary drama. We’ve been clear about that. You wouldn't want me talking to players or former players about you, behind your back, nor would I think, any player or former player want that. That is unprofessional. Staff can vent to each other about their frustrations. That means they are venting to people who have the full context, and do not need it explained (which would be a violation of the rules in and of itself). And players absolutely can vent, just look at the BGBB. It’s full of players expressing their frustrations.

Transparency on IC conflicts is a non-starter. Revealing IC conflict details OOCly undermines authenticity and opens the door to metagaming. Regarding bans, we post the reasons after the fact without naming names to avoid poisoning the well against someone who may return to the game. This has been explained multiple times.

Aida: Completely agree with you regarding OOC collusion. It’s a poison that can erode player trust and fairness, which is exactly why we’re strict about it.

Ameliorative: I understand your point about investing in both code systems and staff training. We do, and we have been for literal decades. We've spent hundreds and hundreds of hours on the staffing/rules side of things. It's constantly being worked on. Our training is always under refinement. We have training videos. We have a staff wiki which Logic actively maintains, and other admin contribute to. We leave hundreds of notes a week. We have discussions about the rules, and how to reinforce them on a weekly if not daily basis. The staff meet on voice comms once a week in a weekly staff meeting to discuss what is going on with the game, discuss plots/builds, discuss issues cropping up and how to deal with them. We have 2 town halls a year which take a ton of planning. We have refined our rules over, and over, and over, and over, based on staff and player feedback, we investigate meta gaming allegations and other rules violations regularly, we enforce the rules via xhelp dozens of times a week as we see infractions, and much more.

Emily: Posting the count of votes would be misleading and potentially create unnecessary division. Once a vote is concluded, we’re all expected to align with the outcome, regardless of how we initially voted. The focus is on unity, not tallying who voted for or against something.

Cowbell: Staff burnout is real and it comes from a lot of directions: IRL stress, player issues, trolls, criticism, not taking enough breaks, and the constant need to defend decisions.

Cowbell, regarding bureaucracy, GMs already have a lot of independence. We don’t vote on plots. We vote on rule changes, bans, and staff decisions. That’s it. The rest is handled through ongoing communication, not micromanagement. It’s not bureaucracy; it’s coordination to ensure consistency and fairness.

I’m not saying people shouldn’t have opinions or offer feedback, but consider the tone and approach. There’s a constructive way to do it that doesn’t make staff feel like punching bags.

Let’s keep that in mind moving forward.

(Edited by Slither at 7:20 am on 5/12/2025)

I don't have any complaints, one does not need to complain about things every single month, week and day, just because it dosn't go however you want it to go.

The staff does what they can, when they can.

In the end this is a game, A GAME. A unpaid, volunteered game.

And honestly the crew is getting smaller, maybe it's time to take a step back

and see this for what it is, instead of constantly trying to tell staff how they feel or what they do is not 'up to standard', honestly this post feels 'hey you aren't doing enough, do more.' maybe chill?

Sindome is amazing, has been amazing for the 4 years I've been here. From losing everything my char has ever had, multiple times. Do I agree with being sometimes unfair punished, no. But I still can play the game, still can roleplay, and build myself up again. Shit happens. I like local OOC and ingame OOC. I do not like outside collision of OOC. Because of the nature of the game.

I did my share of staff duty in Sindome so I can speak from personal experience.

Staffing in Sindome is hard. This is especially true the "higher" you go, where what might seem like more power is actually more responsibility. There is less time for this "engagement" and OOC-Chat circlejerk when you are running GM plots, reading @notes, writing @notes (out of which 80% are a "necessary evil" aka boilerplate and paperwork), responding to XHELPs (out of which 80% are complaining and bitching and unjustified lashing out at staff), just to name a few.

When I became a SGM I was starry-eyed for a bit but after a few months I could feel some things grinding at me and making me realize this is actually a labor of love.

Players are like little kids in a massive kindergarten, honestly. And players can be assholes too.

Anyone can apply to be support GM. Admin don't go around enlisting people. You either want to do it or you don't. I would love to staff again but honestly I prefer to play the game with the "curtains" still on. You can join staff and see how things work and see if you can make any changes, from constructive feedback and by doing your part, but it comes across as pretentious when you do backseat moderation and say "this is wrong" (without offering any practical constructive criticism) when you don't really understand the reason why things are the way they are.

This idea of "control", bureaucracy, etc., stems not from some power trip but from accumulated history. Admins and GMs have abused their powers in the past. Players have, too. People come and go, with their own standards and unspoken rules, and if you want any kind of long-term sustainability, you need structure. There is process. There is a lot of documentation and onboarding guides (just like your regular corporate job). There are guardrails and there is, honestly, a culture of "trust but verify", but it's only because of the history the game has.

I get that some policies feel clunky or excessive, but you can't just throw out the scaffolding because a few beams feel uncomfortable. The alternative is chaos, favoritism, and burnout. People don't realize how things would fall apart without the systems in place.

It's easy to idealize some mythical past where everything was looser and better and cooler, but it's a false nostalgia. A lot of those better times also had way more mess, drama, and unchecked abuse.

That doesn't mean the current system is perfect, actually far from it. But it is maintained, and that in itself is a massive effort. If people want more representation or fresher energy in staff, that's valid.

But the path forward isn't throwing stones from the sidelines. It's stepping up, offering tangible help, and learning how the sausage is made before you burn down the kitchen.

I have developed a mental technique for dealing with posts like this, and so I will share it with the community.

BgBB and PubSIC have very similar energies.

The similarity is that a very few, very vocal minority monopolize most of the bandwidth.

There are maybe a half dozen of us, a dozen at most, who post with any regular frequency here on BgBB.

There are maybe 10 to 15 people who are regularly visible on PubSIC.

There are certain personality types that need to share opinions. We need to speak out and feel seen / heard. When that need is taken to an extreme, we need to be in control. We need not only to be heard. We need to be agreed with. We need to be affirmed.

Before I go any deeper down that rabbit hole, take a quick glance at the @who count. Or glance at WHO in game.

Consider how many people there AREN'T active on PubSIC every day. Consider how many players aren't here on the BgBB shouting into the void.

What I have realized is that the majority of the player base is content. We are out here, playing the game. We are interacting with the people who we enjoy interacting with. We are participating the community as we want to. And, we are finding that it is rewarding. That the world we have been given to play in is amazing. It's amazing because we want it to be. And it is amazing because it's has grown, and matured, and shrunk, and transformed and morphed into what it currently is over 30 years.

This game has been around longer than some of the people playing it have been alive.

If this game isn't everything for everyone, well… welcome to life. There are parts of it that I want to change. *cough*MCGUFFINS*COUGH* There are portions of the player base that I'd probably jettison, all the while believing that I was making the game "stronger, better, faster, more efficient, blah blah blah."

While I want to wrap this up in a unifying way, I'm going to acknowledge that I'm in an exclusionary mindset.

Sindome is a game where adults come to play make believe in a dark, uncomfortable, imperfect future.

It is A GAME.

It is not, a social club to make OOC friendships in.

It is not, a utopian, democratic exercise in collaborative governance and game design.

It is not what any one player, or any small clique of players thinks that it should / could be.

It is a standing testament, proven by it's 30+ year history, to what a group of passionate volunteers can do in their free time.

Very few things will inevitably destroy something more thoroughly and completely than trying to be everything, for everybody.

I'll end with a few real world examples.

If you've owned a business or developed a product, you understand that you don't make "The thing that does everything for everyone all the time." You develop something that fulfills a purpose. Or maybe a couple of purposes.

If you're a human being in the world, you don't get along equally, with everyone, all the time, doing all the things. You maybe if you're lucky, find a solid partner for life and a couple of good friendships. Maybe you decide to bring another life, or a few lives into the world. You don't decide to repopulate the entire planet and run it as your family.

Growing up and growing into the world ultimately means making decisions. And one of the most important decisions is determining whether or not something is working for YOU. And being mature, being a grown adult is accepting that just because something does not work for YOU, does not mean that it is not working for a large number of other people.

So, I will wrap up near where I started. WHO , @who. The silent majority.

The game is fine. It's not perfect, but it's "good enough". I'm a bit biased. I think it's better than good enough. I think it's the best RP GAME (coded systems and administrative frameworks) I've ever played in since I started playing text based games in 1993.

I would just like to take a moment to counter that incredibly long unnecessary critique of a group of volunteers who spend hours every week to make a game happen for our enjoyment out of the goodness of their hearts and just say:

Staffers? You guys FUCKING RULE!

Thank you for everything you do. Thank you for continually updating a game this old and niche. Thank you for the puppets, the changes, the cool plots, the rule enforcement, for banning cheaters, thank you for all of it.

Thank you for vehicle combat! Thank you for armor updates! Thank you for chrome changes and expansions! Thank you for random ganger hour explosions and fun scenes! Thank you for your leadership Slither, and to all the other staffers for everything they do when they have time and energy to do it.

To the haters: stop complaining on boards and go get into some CRIMEZ! Any time spent crafting manifestos on the boards would be much better spent crafting molotovs and throwing them at your enemies in the GAME.

Yep, I didn't mean to seem overly criticizing either, just adding my points on what some other people said. I know what game I'm in, I enjoy it. Few people will like EVERYTHING about something as vast as Sindome, and that's okay, if we can accept that it's trying to cater to a big group.

Thank you all for your hard work. This past month has had so many huge updates in the new features/bug fix thread I actually couldn't read all of it for the first time in a long while. ADHD. And I usually read all of it. It's incredible.

It literally was…

Bruh it was posted with explaniation in the ban logs thats public to us. What are you on about?

Yeah. I legitimately didn't see the post because I've been taking time off from the game and don't see every update. Also not on xooc so I'm blind to any sort of ooc community.

And yeah, I legitimately don't know who's on staff most of the time. The less I have to interact with the yellow text the more overall positive experience I have with Sindome.