Reports: what should we expect?

[Captain Larraq]

I've been on this board for a while now. In that time, I can only remember ever submitting six reports. It may have been more than that, but I feel kinda good about how low that number is. Typically, when I have an issue, I talk to the other writer directly about it. Either in a PM or in an OOC chat.

So... Six reports. Four involved the Factory, Three involved roleplay, and One included both.

For two of those reports, a member of staff pulled me into a PM and discussed the issue with me. For the most part, this typically gives a sense of closure and helps resolve issues. For two reports, I never heard a direct response, but I saw the actions taken by staff after the fact and knew that the issue had been handled. But for three of the reports, I never heard a word in response. And on two of the occasions where I failed to hear a response from staff, I was left more upset by not hearing back from staff than I was by the original offense. Not hearing back about one of which (was not a fun issue to be involved with) was demoralizing enough that I abandoned the board for 6 months. Not because of the actions that had originally been reported, but because of what took place with staff within the report's PM chain and not being spoken to by an admin about the issues that had come up. Not even a "We're sorry about what happened here, and we will be taking care of it."


Today the issues that my latest report were about were brought up in chat, which reminded me that it has been two weeks since I filed the report and I have still not heard back from a member of staff. The thread in question is over and done with, but a great deal of issues involved in the report remain unaddressed.

Which brings me to my question.

What should a writer on this website expect when they file a report?

I've no doubt that each issue will be looked into by a member of staff, but what should the writer that submits the report be expecting from staff? In the past, each issue I brought up had either been dealt with in a way that could be directly witnessed in the factory, or I had been spoken to about it on Skype, or I had been PM'd by a member of staff and given a direct resolution to the issue. But lately... nothing.

 

[sabrina]

I have to say it last state of call to press report button, though in some case unavoidable
[member="Captain Larraq"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Six!? And that's low? Jeez.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

As for what to expect, it is unreasonable to anticipate a response to every report (I think -- especially if there are people who have reported six times and it's considered a low amount). Sometimes a problem is a them problem and sometime's it's a you problem, as in a problem with your perception. In that case, taking no action is perfectly appropriate and I'd like to think the staff have better things to do than reply to every little thing that comes through.

 

[Jsc]

Six!? And that's low? Jeez.

*Reports Avadreia*

[member="Captain Larraq"] I've asked this question before and my reply was: "We'll call you if we think there is anything you need to know. Otherwise, carry on. Thanks for the report." Just fyi.

 

[Raiz]

As for what to expect, it is unreasonable to anticipate a response to every report (I think -- especially if there are people who have reported six times and it's considered a low amount). Sometimes a problem is a them problem and sometime's it's a you problem, as in a problem with your perception. In that case, taking no action is perfectly appropriate and I'd like to think the staff have better things to do than reply to every little thing that comes through.

Originally I was going to avoid these sorts of threads, mostly because I came here with the intent to role-play and nothing more but this caught my attention. I would say that it is not unreasonable to expect a simply response from a staff member when creating a report, considering in a past life when I was part of a staff team that would get hundreds of reports a day that responding was an expectation of the staff member and part of the reason they have signed up.

A response can be as little as simply saying that the issue is being dealt with to something complicated as a step-by-step on how to move from this point but either way, I would have some sort of expectation for a small response with a reporting system like this. Also having six reports up is quite small considering other factors, myself I have not reported a single person and personally prefer to deal with situations differently but just because that's how I deal with the situation doesn't make six reports in one year anything bigger than it is. (Which is small)

Like you said, "sometimes it is a them problem and then it sometimes is a you problem" but regardless if there has been action made or not, a proper response should still be given. If a staff member cannot give a reason to why they didn't perform an action, do you want that member on the staff? Not really, cause it should be easy to explain why you didn't perform the action and why it wasn't needed.

 

[Jsc]

...a proper response should still be given. If a staff member cannot give a reason to why they didn't perform an action, do you want that member on the staff?

You have really high expectations for a fan site and a very strange way of expressing them. Lulz. I have a feeling the board owner is going to run his website anyway he wants to. Our expectations of what-is and what-is-not, "should be" ...probably don't matter much in the back room. Especially given how much we Members pay to play and how much he pays his Admins every month. Lol.

Also, you just quoted Avadreia. So, ...You're doomed. Pls run. Faster. FASTER! ...Too late.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Originally I was going to avoid these sorts of threads, mostly because I came here with the intent to role-play and nothing more but this caught my attention. I would say that it is not unreasonable to expect a simply response from a staff member when creating a report, considering in a past life when I was part of a staff team that would get hundreds of reports a day that responding was an expectation of the staff member and part of the reason they have signed up.

A response can be as little as simply saying that the issue is being dealt with to something complicated as a step-by-step on how to move from this point but either way, I would have some sort of expectation for a small response with a reporting system like this. Also having six reports up is quite small considering other factors, myself I have not reported a single person and personally prefer to deal with situations differently but just because that's how I deal with the situation doesn't make six reports in one year anything bigger than it is. (Which is small)

Like you said, "sometimes it is a them problem and then it sometimes is a you problem" but regardless if there has been action made or not, a proper response should still be given. If a staff member cannot give a reason to why they didn't perform an action, do you want that member on the staff? Not really, cause it should be easy to explain why you didn't perform the action and why it wasn't needed.

You're operating under the assumption that every report is worth a response, which is manifestly not the case. Sometimes no answer is better than "Good God, that is literally the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Please go away and stop bothering me and never, ever abuse the report function with your inanity again. Ever." Not that any of our staff would say anything like that; they'd probably just... not answer

 

[Asemir]

[member="Captain Larraq"]

Looking into this for you.

 

[Vexen]

They're probably still on chapter 2

 

[Hydrocus Venetia]

IMO, six reports in little over a year is a little high. I would suggest you find different a group of players to associate with or re-evaluate how you look at things. To quote my 8 year old, "snitches end up in ditches." Take that how you want, but if your going to the staff with an issue once a month, it's going to be seen as a 'you' problem more than a board issue.

On the flipside, from the owner down to the player, we're all contributing something more precious than money. Time. If a staffer can't afford the time for a simple response then the staff should be re-evaluated. It might not seem like a problem to you, but it is to the player and it's the player that keeps the board alive. Not the staff. You said yes to taking that badge and fulfilling the duties it required. Wear it, do it, or let someone else takeover.

 

[Tefka]

What should we expect when we file reports?

Your Official Answer:

Whatever we give you.

Not as heartwarming of an answer, but it's the truth. We're not a support desk. We're not a company. We're volunteers that I've established over the last two years. I make no guarantee of conflict resolution. But we do our best.

Furthermore, I'm not treating this thread very seriously because I coached the OP specifically in how to make reports and was promptly ignored. Here's a snippet of our conversation on Skype to help reveal exactly what I expected from a report, and how to kark it up.

---

[7/7/15, 9:22:01 AM] Tefka: have someone who's not you report it
[7/7/15, 9:22:51 AM] Tefka: cite all people, defending and offending, and numerically list out the issues
[7/7/15, 9:23:09 AM] Tefka: no more than a short sentence per issue
[7/7/15, 9:23:42 AM] Tefka: and no long winded explanations
[7/7/15, 9:23:54 AM] Tefka: short. as. possible.

The result of this advice?


[7/13/15, 10:23:04 PM] Tefka: your report is 7 pages in Microsoft Word.

Do you even know how many people I coach in writing reports? There's only been maybe 2-3 total in 2 years, and it could or will be seen as favoritism - so to do so is to risk my own neck. Maybe you should've listened a little more intently, because what you and the other Mandalorians did via reporting caused this edict to pass in Staff chat.



[7/13/15, 10:06:02 AM] Illie: So do we just tell the ones who made reports that are asking the status of them that staff is waiting for the invasion to end?
[7/13/15, 10:07:30 AM] Illie: Anija has asked me what is the status of her report.
[7/13/15, 10:07:37 AM] Illie: And what's going on.
[7/13/15, 11:05:37 AM] Caitlin: That would make the most sense
[7/13/15, 11:13:01 AM] Grumpy Nuggs: Yeah do that

[7/13/15, 11:34:09 AM] Tefka: How about this
[7/13/15, 11:34:45 AM] Tefka: We let an RPJ who's disassociated from the Invasion judge it, as per the norm
[7/13/15, 11:35:07 AM] Tefka: and we collectively ignore these reports.

So what should you expect from Staff? If it concerns your botched "Reportathon" invasion, then you should continue to expect silence because of an edict I passed. Staff loves handling reports. But they didn't handle yours because I told them not to - as it was grouped in with 4 other reports that hadn't been filed until the very end of the Invasion that ya'll were dragging into the mud and making an absurd mockery of this system with.




And it was a mockery. You had an entire group of people filibustering the Invasion while you waited on Staff's decision. My reaction to that, as the leader of the Staff team, will always be inaction. Try to force Staff's hand and we'll fold it. We don't need to get involved. We're not required to get involved. I prefer we don't get involved.

Stop trying to win through reports.

We're not here to fix your every problem.

We're here to keep the site from falling apart.

 

[LaoTzu]

I was expecting cookies. Aedan lied to me. I'm okay that. Apparently I've got post.

 

[Isar]

Genuine question:

[7/7/15, 9:22:01 AM] Tefka: have someone who's not you report it [7/7/15, 9:22:51 AM] Tefka: cite all people, defending and offending, and numerically list out the issues

Do you still prefer reports to be done this way and does it make a significant difference?

 

[Natasi Fortan]

What should we expect when we file reports?

Your Official Answer:

Whatever we give you.

Not as heartwarming of an answer, but it's the truth. We're not a support desk. We're not a company. We're volunteers that I've established over the last two years. I make no guarantee of conflict resolution. But we do our best.

Furthermore, I'm not treating this thread very seriously because I coached the OP specifically in how to make reports and was promptly ignored. Here's a snippet of our conversation on Skype to help reveal exactly what I expected from a report, and how to kark it up.

---

[7/7/15, 9:22:01 AM] Tefka: have someone who's not you report it
[7/7/15, 9:22:51 AM] Tefka: cite all people, defending and offending, and numerically list out the issues
[7/7/15, 9:23:09 AM] Tefka: no more than a short sentence per issue
[7/7/15, 9:23:42 AM] Tefka: and no long winded explanations
[7/7/15, 9:23:54 AM] Tefka: short. as. possible.

The result of this advice?


[7/13/15, 10:23:04 PM] Tefka: your report is 7 pages in Microsoft Word.

Do you even know how many people I coach in writing reports? There's only been maybe 2-3 total in 2 years, and it could or will be seen as favoritism - so to do so is to risk my own neck. Maybe you should've listened a little more intently, because what you and the other Mandalorians did via reporting caused this edict to pass in Staff chat.



[7/13/15, 10:06:02 AM] Illie: So do we just tell the ones who made reports that are asking the status of them that staff is waiting for the invasion to end?
[7/13/15, 10:07:30 AM] Illie: Anija has asked me what is the status of her report.
[7/13/15, 10:07:37 AM] Illie: And what's going on.
[7/13/15, 11:05:37 AM] Caitlin: That would make the most sense
[7/13/15, 11:13:01 AM] Grumpy Nuggs: Yeah do that

[7/13/15, 11:34:09 AM] Tefka: How about this
[7/13/15, 11:34:45 AM] Tefka: We let an RPJ who's disassociated from the Invasion judge it, as per the norm
[7/13/15, 11:35:07 AM] Tefka: and we collectively ignore these reports.

So what should you expect from Staff? If it concerns your botched "Reportathon" invasion, then you should continue to expect silence because of an edict I passed. Staff loves handling reports. But they didn't handle yours because I told them not to - as it was grouped in with 4 other reports that hadn't been filed until the very end of the Invasion that ya'll were dragging into the mud and making an absurd mockery of this system with.




And it was a mockery. You had an entire group of people filibustering the Invasion while you waited on Staff's decision. My reaction to that, as the leader of the Staff team, will always be inaction. Try to force Staff's hand and we'll fold it. We don't need to get involved. We're not required to get involved. I prefer we don't get involved.

Stop trying to win through reports.

We're not here to fix your every problem.

We're here to keep the site from falling apart.

And you say I wouldn't be good on staff A few colored headers and what I wrote is basically identical to what you wrote!

 

[Jsc]

[member="Avadreia Lacroix"] You would ban me would you Ava bby? *bambie eyes*

 

[Darth Carnifex]

You would ban me

I totes would.

 

[Jsc]

U would.

 

[Vexen]

Look at this label. Broken down into topics, short and to the point and with neat little diagrams you can understand at a glance.

The morale of the story?

When you need to sell your whine, be succinct, or else your customer may get bored before they get to the point.