Serious Staff motivations question

[Hudson]

Just out of interest for what the replies might be like - I thought I'd post this. It's just a general question for anyone that was staff in a Gmod community. This was made with the intention to archive the replies, but since a couple of weeks have passed I've finished looking for new ones to archive. You're still welcome to post in the thread though even if I'm not archiving them from now on.

What were your motivations for being staff? Are any parts of it fun or rewarding? What are they?

 

[Kafe]

I've got a bit of a DIY mentality, when there is something I need to get done or someone needs something done, I like having the ability to do it myself rather than depend on others.
Plus I generally enjoy myself here, so contributing seemed like a nice idea.

Distinctly remember applying for the first time because a POW in WW3RP convinced me to do it, since then I've been every staff rank under the sun, but now sit cozy with an administrator rank, although I do hope at some point to get dev tags, but I don't think the whole mapping side of stuff is what that tag is for (or just because I don't really ask)

 

[Tzula]

Now that I do think about it, I don't remember why I really became staff outside of my interest in running some rebelrp stuff during the days of Lambda and wanting to be a BMD lead too.

Eventually, it went from that to trying to become a HC and now I'm back to doing rebelrp stuff with harry and Jaydawg after I just told axid to come back lol.
funny how time goes full circle like that.

 

[john]

What were your motivations for being staff? Are any parts of it fun or rewarding? What are they?

I've got a bit of a DIY mentality, when there is something I need to get done or someone needs something done, I like having the ability to do it myself rather than depend on others.

Pretty much this word for word. I also enjoy helping people out when they need it, there's some kind of gratification In being there to assist someone elses schtick in running along smoothly and just generally wanting people to enjoy an experience I've gotten to enjoy before - on top of that it also provides you with a lot of the tools necessary for events and other shit that you can't really do otherwise.

 

[Deleted member 61]

So I could not only discipline idiots I took out on patrol for IC reasons, but also for OOC rule breaks and mingery/memery. :)

 

[Oxy[Morons]]

I originally only became staff because I had managed to become an integral part of faction leadership. Before that, and even through a lot of it, I had no intention to ever apply until someone on the staff team suggested that I should. (@Mendel )
I ended up staying around and continuing to be staff because I actually felt like I was making good change, and a reasonable force of quality control in places that most other people on the staff team were not, or just weren’t willing. In the end, staff became a serious part of my motivation for actually playing the server, because I enjoyed taking on projects other people weren’t willing, and making something good out of it up until the very end where I went full retard for a lot of reasons, most of which I’m still unsure about to this day outside of general immaturity.
I started off feeling like staff was something I wouldn’t be able to enjoy while playing the server, but it turned to a side where I couldn’t enjoy a server and not be staff, as I had genuinely enjoyed helping the server and it’s players in any way I could. This mindset hasn’t changed for me either, it’s become a part of how I actually am as a person over time.

(edit to continue)
I don’t bring up anything staff related too often anymore because of my previous, sour attitude after my graceful exit when I was once much more immature than I am now, but the reply above has been poking at me as you’ve literally asked for me to draw out my former motivations. It’s not weird for me to say that I still have a heavy interest in staff, sometimes I think that I actually enjoy it more than playing the server itself which I believe really shows how much I actually just really enjoy helping people, and improving aspects of a server where my abilities shine. I basically made this edit to say that I wish my former, biggest opportunity wasn’t squandered by myself and my own immaturity, as it was a big aspiration of mine. But I think that’s also what made me rush into the decision despite overlying life issues I knew I had, and I suffered alongside everyone around me on the team and it’s something I regret.
I know it’s just a ~roleplay~ server, but I lost some friends over it that I wish I still had, and I now put a heavy price on reputation, so it pains me to think of the once positive one I had, ruined by what was once an aspiration of mine, even if this was all so long ago.
I just hope, in the end, I can both turn it back around, and that I’m given a proper chance to.

 

[bubblegum]

I was staff on a few servers. I thought it was extremely rewarding. I really liked to help people and be recognized as someone who was kind and trustworthy. I like doing things in service of others.

 

[Isuckatgaming]

When I first got staff on nebulous some soon-to-be three years ago, I didn't actually apply. I don't think I had an intention of being staff at the time, due to handling my exams and the like, but Blackquill convinced me to apart of the team.

Being staff was really enjoyable once I got put on the team. Seeing some pm you with a thank you and telling you in looc how they appreciate your help makes you feel all fuzzy and warm inside, it was cool. Bantering with other members of staff felt nice, and it was at that point I really embedded myself in the community and made a lot of the friends I still have today.

I'd say the reason I stayed staff was because I really enjoyed helping people, and it was the thing which really got me into the actual community side of the community.

 

[Whilt]

I like being able to help the Civil Authority do more interesting and complex things, as well as helping to resolve more difficult scenarios quickly.

 

[STUCK IN A CAKE]

I first became staff on ww3rp because literally no one at the time could be arsed to help you - or the ones who would help were not on or were on other time zones, so for most of the day, I had to deal with ww3rp staff being lazy - so as an engineer attempting to place mines (Before JI Defensive Solutions) and Sandbag props, I got frustrated. So I became staff myself. It also helped when I became the engineering Co-Lead and was authorising/spawning in vehicles.

I applied for staff on hl2rp because of similar reasons, too many !Helps were going unnoticed, and within UM we would encounter plenty of minges, which as you can guess, went pretty unnoticed despite our !Helps. So I then became staff to sort out the new players, with the experience I had as the drill instructor from ww3rp with helping new players.

This video also helped a lot

 

[dallahan]

applied for staff all the way back in 2016 because i always thought id never get to be an admin on a big community

two years later I became SA. Kinda regret having resigned nowadays

these days i find the lack of motivation and actual help in the server lacking, so i hope to be back soon

 

['77 East]

Became staff on another community because the situation then demanded it; the then-roster was half-empty and struggling to stop a bunch of mingery and general mayhem that kept happening.

Didn't have much of a problem with keeping the playerbase/scenarios in check, and once things improved I stepped down.

 

[cns - he/him/his]

I got staff to make events. I made events at Frundtech and every other community they've given me staff on it. I just like it.

 

[Rabid]

I enjoyed staff because at the time it was something new for me. I wanted to help people and to see the other side beyond being a normal player and I had a lot of fun for the year I was staff and ended up SD across two communities. I enjoyed building stories and watching people explore the world and RP with one another. My dynamic with @Blackquill was very much that he was the one who knew what he was doing - it isn't an exaggeration in that I couldn't have kept it going myself - while I was the one who mingled with the playerbase and played like anyone else. I didn't ever give myself an advantage and I like to think I built up a good reputation because of that.

I enjoyed the team, too - some of my closest friends and a lot of people I got to know who I had poor views of came through me joining staff. Folks like @Dallas are the reason I got into writing lore with as much passion as I did.

I'm going to be blunt though and say the higher you get the more shit you get from the playerbase and the larger the expectations on you are from them and this can get draining. I came to realise a lot of people don't look at the wider picture - so when you do, you get called out for stopping unique ideas and whatever else. On top of this if you aren't liked as a member of staff or even personally people have a nasty habit of using it. Less so now, but it was rife on CW and LP.

Ultimately staff can be very rewarding and I don't regret any of it but I personally wouldn't join back up - at least not here. It isn't anything against the community as it is a different beast to the one I stepped away from and is far better now but I don't have the time or motivation to commit to it now.

 

[Mendel]

/give

@2stronk

at first, it was because of my "if you want it done right, do it yourself (superiority lol)" complex but after i got promoted, my interest was carried on by certain things such as creating interesting events for players, developing the server's characters and lore, etc etc. at one point i didnt even have a character that i roleplayed with, id just hop on my staff gnome modeled character and fly around either responding to any requests or creating unique mini events

then i got staff reviewer and became a cuck

 

[Deleted member 93]

I quite enjoy being the cogwheels of a community, sorta like working behind the scenes to present a playable environment for the player base? Sounds hella trippy. I guess it was demotivating in the sense that I'd sacrifice immersion to be a staff member, however, it came with benefits such as being able to make events, and being able to solve quarrels as an official figure, which was pretty fun.

 

[Deleted member 1381]

because I would much rather do admin duties and respond to help requests rather than be a regular player with the added privilege of being able to view logs and see upcoming changes to the server before everyone else in the staff section

I enjoy helping people and that's all there is to it. No ulterior motive. I'm aware that not receiving an answer to a !help is a tough situation because you either A) keep asking and feel like you're bugging staff, or B) leave the issue and end up losing out. I'd much rather put staff duties infront of the success of my character

 

[SpaceInvader]

To be honest when you have played a gamemode like ww3rp for as much hours as I did back in the day. You'll find yourself getting bored rather quick to doing the same thing over and over again. So I signed up for staff to get another thing to do when these moments of boredom hit me. Rather quickly I found out from myself that I had taken a liking to my staff position more then to the positions I had gained on the server. It felt fresh and new to me. Op chat was always fun to chat with other admins and stuff. I know a promotion from operator or admin doesn't mean that much in regard of actual power gained but for me it was a very happy and proud moment to be apart of a team of players and what I focused on most was player experience. I did stuff like creating events helping new players or starting discussions. The hardest time I had with stuff was punishing people. Now these people I played with daily I had to be strict sometimes and make sure that I banned and PKed the people who actually deserved it. I have always been a person who is really scared to make mistakes but I think that mistakes as a staff member aren't that bad anymore. Sure stuff happens that you don't agree with or you feel they have done you unjust but I guarantee that for a staff member it's never fun to deny somebody access to playing the thing you like to play as well.

I had been kind off hoping in and out of the staff team. I really liked my time under people like Toasty. I also gotta say that i didn't know what I was doing at first when I actually got accepted for the first time. I made sure I knew the rules out of my head and actually had them printed out next to me for the longest time back then. Thinking back I don't think being scared of making mistakes is a good thing as a staff member. I'd rather see a staff member make a giant blunder then not doing anything at all.

Because if there is one thing I regret even now is if I ask myself the question if I could have done more or better. I would have to say "Yes." I was a pretty invisible staff member. Lately I have been thinking of giving it another shot when WW3RP comes out but do better. Do note I was 17 at the time and not that mature. I have changed a lot in terms of motivation and in terms of being able to deal with making mistakes.

Anyway hope this answers some of your questions. For any current staff members reading this right now. Cheers for making the gamemodes I and a lot of people love to play and making sure they keep existing. I have always been very thank full towards this community as it goes way further then just playing gmod with some mates. Some people here gave me a helping hand in some dark as times where people that I actually talk to in real life didn't give a shit. I genuinely enjoyed my time as a staff member but also as a member of the community. Hope to see you all again when WW3RP comes out. Old and new.

 

[Deleted member 374]

was staff for a time. i really enjoyed creating events and rp for others and also answering random /helps and whatnot. made me fell aLl W Arm iNSi De helping fellow gamers.

 

[Señor Jaggles]

What were your motivations for being staff? Are any parts of it fun or rewarding? What are they?

I'll keep it... Short, simple.

My motivations were clear, I wanted to help. I've had fun in this community so I wanted to give something back to it. I'm not a creative guy but I've been involved in organization and administration for ages now. That's why I applied for staff. I wanted to help to the best of my ability.

Parts fun? I guess I've got good colleagues, and you always end up making good acquaintances and people to play other games with. It's some sort of comradeship. You can make acquaintances in many ways, but when you work alongside others you share the efforts and learn valuable things on the way to your goal. I cherish those little things in life, be it with my family, my friends, or on a roleplay community. I feel we all should be thankful we're able to find good people from all around the world in milliseconds.

Rewarding? Well, not always, it's true you're not going to receive any money or prizes for this. But, aside from the aforementioned, I guess this is more of a personal thing, but when I see people enjoy something I've worked hard to prepare, or when someone is grateful for something I've done, I feel good. It's rewarding for me, I like it. To have others happy because I did this or that. I'm that one guy who said he doesn't believe pure altruism exists, but even so I'm glad my selfishness is fulfilled through helping others.