Should Admin family members be permitted to be GMs?

[fate]

Hi,

This question is a clarification of the previous poll which I didn't fully understand: should family members of an administator ever be permitted in a GM position? The principal problem here is (of course) that the admin may be biased in picking that GM, but (on the other hand) presumably already has some amount of basic trust to the GM that may not be present with an anonymous applicant.

In all instances, it is assumed that GM actions are reversible, i.e., that GM mistakes can be fixed when exposed.

Feel free to discuss.

-- fate

[Crush]

I am pretty neutral on this subject.

I can understand when people consider this kind of nepotism unfair because people who might be equally or even more competent have a lower chance of getting into an influential position because they lack the personal connections.

But on the other hand appointing someone you have regular contact with has the advantage that you already trust the person and that you can easily solve problems with the person through your personal contacts. Communication from person to person is always more efficient than chatting on IRC.


But the real question is: What other criterias could be used to decide who should be a GM instead of personal trust? Asking the community to vote game masters just shifts the trust-based decision from the administrators to the players. And I am pretty sure that people with many personal contacts in the community would have a great advantage over those who don't.


By the way: The two new GMs, Katze and Vink, currently only have limited GM powers. They can do moderation commands like ban and unban people but they can not cause irreversible interference with the gameplay (like spawning items or money). We also try to make the game moderation as transparent as possible by reporting every gm action on the abuse forum and we are also working on technical measures to make it impossible to hide any gm power abuse from the administration.

[Platyna]

It is not about powers, certain persons or if Katze will abuse powers or not. I expresed my opinion and further discussion is pointless IMHO.

And I made a poll to check if I am the only person having such opinions about this phenomena.

Regards.

[octalot]

Say G is a GM going out with X.

I'm in favour of a committee review first being a hard and fast rule. Not because G's views might be biased; but because X might be used to having access to anything of G's. If the rest of the GMs aren't happy with X, X's annoyance will then be directed at the committee, not G.

[Platyna]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepotism

Regards.

[Black Don]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepotism

Regards.

I know what Nepotism is and I don't see what wrong with a system that spawned all our cultures. If my dad was a shoe maker I became a shoe maker, or if he was a carpenter I became a carpenter. Sons inheriting the family business happens all the time and is not frown on. Nepotism happens every were whether we like it or we don't. And the whole point is how much damage is it causing? Since the new GMs came in spamming is down, botting is at an all time low. The way I see it one person might not be able to Moderate 140 people on their own. I mean before with just spamming I had over 50+ accounts on my ignore list, I could goto ether bat cave in the evening and find at least 5 bots in each cave. I'm a very practical person, I judge people by how they act.

[yasha]

This poll miss one opinion: if family member or relative is good as player and trusted, why not? But if he's spamer and not good for his job, no reason for him to come on that place.

[fate]

Hi,

nepotism assumes that there is some advantage to be gained by being a GM-- it's about getting money or power by family connections, without being qualified for a job. GMing does not give you any advantages-- it's a painful, thankless job, and if you seriously slip up even once, you risk being despised by players and developers alike. (Due to our approach to transparency and eyes being everywhere, it's hard for such slip-ups to go unnoticed.) I have the greatest respect for our new GMs and their willingness to take up this burden-- and I am simultaneously very glad that I don't have to do that.

-- fate

[z0ro]

I honestly love having Katze and Vink as our GM's they have done a great job watching the community making sure it stays clean, making sure nobody is breaking the rules. At first I really thought they were abusing their powers by banning so much people but then I realized they are just doing their jobs much better than old GM's (no offense anyone ) They are willing to take up some time to sit and watch the community, making ban reports and such. I think the decision here is a very good one.

[Wombat]

I agree z0ro. Botting seems to be done for