Suggestions

So this is a suggestion that doesn't seem to have been made in a while. But the mods are fairly active on this site, and we know that the deity accounts are controlled by the staff. While they were never terribly active, they used to occasionally appear on certain lore-focused or silly threads, which would always cause a stir. I can't remember the last time this has happened. 2015? But the deities always brought life and excitement into the community, and their presence is very much missed - it would be great if we saw them speak again from time to time, instead of deity posts being a relic of the past.

The staff is very busy, not to mention they're down a member indefinitely. Ideally I'd like to see the deity accounts go to volunteer mods, but I also acknowledge that that would technically be allowing mods (who are still regular players) to break the multiple-account rule.

If the deity accounts were barred from doing anything except posting in the forums, that would guarantee their accounts couldn't be abused. (Yes, that includes gathering food and eating, RIP Boston and Hope). But it would still be awkward.

While I'd figured the deity accounts were controlled by the admins specifically, I don't see why the keys can't be turned over to the moderators - at the very least, the senior ones, if trust is still an issue. I don't believe multiple-accounting is an issue here - part because they make the rules, but mostly because the deities are by no means ordinary accounts and they aren't being used for any of the things that players are tempted to multiple-account for (extra items, lair space, and so on.) It's pure community enrichment.

[quote name="@Laluzi" date="2018-07-09 09:08:10" ] I don't believe multiple-accounting is an issue here - part because they make the rules, [/quote] Just as an FYI, that applies to the admins, but not the volunteer moderators. Mods are regular players like us who happen to have a couple extra responsibilities. They cannot add or change things in the Terms of Service or make up any extra rules. They're mostly here to keep order in the forums. Unless you've actually been in a deity account, you can't really prove that they can't be used for any of the things you mentioned. Please don't spread misinformation. If the admins were to turn over the keys to the mods, it would be a bit hypocritical. It would imply that regular rules don't apply to moderators, and that's just not true. Even if the only thing the deity accounts could do was post, that implication would still be there. We're looking at a situation where the potential for drama outweighs the potential for fun. Again, I personally wouldn't raise a stink, but that doesn't mean stink wouldn't get raised. XD

[quote name="Ridara" date="2018-07-09 09:19:46" ] Unless you've actually been in a deity account, you can't really prove that they can't be used for any of the things you mentioned. Please don't spread misinformation.[/quote] Ah, I think you misunderstood me. I meant that they wouldn't be used for such things, not that they couldn't be used for such things. It's almost certain that they have the exact same functions as any other account. I simply work with the assumption that anyone vetted for the moderator team is trustworthy enough to do what they're told to do, and not swipe an extra one-hundred-sixty-five gathers a day. The same holds for the admins handing over the keys to the deity accounts, because if they were to say it's okay, then it becomes okay. I honestly didn't consider the drama aspect here. I suppose there are [I]those people[/I], if only because there always have to be needless contrarians, but I genuinely didn't think it would have been an issue. It would definitely be a case of 'this is why we can't have nice things.'

My main reason for not wanting the admins to turn over the accounts to mods is that the deities tend to be seen as part of the lore aspect and I feel that should be up to the admins to 'create' lore.

While the staff can monitor the accounts, once something is said, it can't really be taken back. It can be deleted but that doesn't mean that screenshots won't circulate forever around the forums.

It wouldn't even have to be deliberate, but someone gets into the 'role' and accidentally says something contrary to what the admins feel that particular deity would say.

@Jemadar Hm, that's actually a really good point. Even if you were to give everyone a primer or pseudo character sheets, you can't really cover all the minutiae that might come up.

@Lazuli It's really sweet how you trust the mods so completely. ^_^ I don't want to get into the history of the site and some things that have happened in the past, especially since talking about such things is against the rules. But suffice it to say, I understand how someone with a little bit of power can be tempted to skirt the edge of the rules.

@Jemadar The deities broke the fourth wall a few times though. (Lameforgers comes to mind.) I hesitate to refer to their posts as official lore.

@Ridara

Yeah, I wouldn't really consider them to be either, but many users would.

I think my main point is that everyone is human, and for something that is 'official' even if it isn't technically lore, I feel that the reins should be in the Admins hands. As you were saying that not all mods are exactly perfect and temptation and just general bias can take over.

I also wasn't so much talking about them getting into the spirit of jokes but more about other aspects of the site. For instance, referring to Swipp's mate. A deity post referring to Swipp's mate as one thing could be taken as actual fact without the knowledge that the person behind that account doesn't actually know anything happening behind the scenes. Little things like that can easily explode with the various tensions that I have seen even in the little slice of the site that is the suggestions forum.