Now… what I covered above is but a basic overview of what each staff position does… but what about the qualities that ought to be expected? Surely there must be something beyond the call of duty that shape these staff members we know and call upon everyday?
Hence, I present to you… THE STAFF-IN-THE-BOX!
You may question why the name, but bear with me for a moment. Now… in my opinion, there are 6 basic attributes that any staff should possess and/or emulate at any one point in time (similarly to there being six sides of a box). These traits being (but not limited to)…
-Being knowledgeable
-Being just
-Humble
-Having language and communication skills
-Having problem solving skills
-The ability to handle (and tolerate), various kinds of people
So what exactly do these mean? Lets look at each one one by one.
On being knowledgeable
This one ought to speak for itself, but generally this consists of being knowledgeable in all the game and it’s mechanics (like where things are and how they generally work). HOWEVER, this is not enough.
Knowing also where to look when you lack information (thus a keen knowledge of how the forums work and knowing who to ask questions of), is ABSOLUTELY vital. This may mean you have to do your own research from time to time as well to keep up to date and in the know. You cannot be passive and expect knowledge to come to you. You must show some effort and peruse it yourself.
On being just
Undoubtedly, this is one of the key traits for any moderator, but also for any responsible person who sees a wrong being made. It is NOT ENOUGH to just charge in saying what is right and what is wrong, doling out whatever you believe is the proper punishment. Doing that only will make you look like a fool and ensure people to ignore and disrespect you.
Instead I offer you this, a compromise. The great contemporary leaders of the past made great strides and advancements in moral and economical progress with compromises that both sides could live with, and these compromises are still a major factor in our everyday life as it is currently… so why not make use of them when moderating what can be considered a wrong?
You may argue that not all problems can be solved with a compromise though, and to that, I agree with you… not all problems can be solved with a seemingly even result that both sides can agree with. Yet, the very process which you go about analyzing the problem and seeing what really lies at the heart of the problem can be better solved with a compromise-like approach, however… for it to work, you must remain IMPARTIAL to both sides till the end. It works like this…
-Player A and Player B are arguing over some wrong and you intervene.
-You let Player A tell their side of the story, presenting their facts uninterrupted by any other party involved.
-Then you let Player B tell their side of the story, presenting their facts uninterrupted by any other party involved.
-You then recap in whole to both players what you see happening in both player’s stories side by side and let each player clarify if that is what happened. (The clarification could go on for a while, mind you)
-After both players are satisfied with how the story is being represented, then you can make your verdict based on what happened and what the evidence proves.
What this does is it gives both sides the feeling of being properly represented and being fairly treated when a conflict does arise. It also provides for the best compromises as well as a result.
TL;DR: To be just means being IMPARTIAL and WILLING to make compromises. It also means to do the right thing and remain IMPARTIAL, even if a friend of yours is involved.
On being humble
No one likes a braggart, especially if they are in a position of power over someone else (like staff tend to be over players from time to time). Therefore, it is vital if you hope to keep your position of power and the respect of your peers to remain humble about your position or your possessions.
To prove the point home for those that do not understand… (and borrowed from the first line of the article on Wikipedia)
Humility (adjectival form: humble) is the quality of being modest, reverential, even politely submissive, and never being arrogant, contemptuous, rude or even self-abasing. Humility, in various interpretations, is widely seen as a virtue in many religious and philosophical traditions, being connected with notions of transcendent unity with the universe or the divine, and of egolessness.
On having language and communication skills
In order to be able to talk with one another, it’s important to say what you want in a way that the other person understands, no? This especially becomes important when you’re talking over touchy or complex issues, which you have all the more reason to want to be understood in the way you mean.
So in order to do well with communication, you must have good skills in:
-Vocabulary
-Spelling
-Grammar
-Sentence Structure
To miss or lack on one of these makes it much more likely that you misunderstood or your message might be ignored outright because what you’re saying is so muddled up in errors that no one understands it.
However, being able to communicate what you want to say… or understand what others are saying isn’t just limited to communication fundamentals. Oftentimes, different words will have different meanings depending on the context of which the word is used.
An example of this occurrence can be seen when talking with your friends in comparison in talking with your teacher/boss/employer/staff. Among friends, a you’re more likely to be informal and free with what you say. On the other hand, when dealing with a teacher/boss/employer/staff member or in a more formal setting, you’re likely to pick your words more carefully and try to not offend people. In this way, being able to tell the difference is handy when trying to communicate properly.
However, context isn’t so simply black and white. There can be context based on different cultures, or context based on the place itself, or even context based on the different people we talk with. Therefore, if you want to be able to understand and communicate properly with other people, it is important to have good skills in:
- Observing the context of the word
- What the word might mean in that context
While these are skills we use on a daily basis, whether or not we realize it, it’s important to be able to frame what we say in the proper context so that we avoid being reticuled or outright ignored and better communicate what we want to say in the way we intend it.
Having problem solving skills
Undoubtably, there will always be some kind of problem out there that will call upon the person in question to figure out it’s meaning and attempt to solve it to the best of their ability. The most obvious of cases of this would be Math… where everyone knows 1+1=2 or X+Z=Y or any other more complicated string which follows. For the most part… this works when applied against inanimate and measurable objects… but as soon as you put a person… or even a person’s problems into an equation, finding that beloved answer becomes more and more of a complex issue, because if you solve the answer incorrectly or you misrepresent on of the values, you very well could offend someone or make the whole problem even more confusing than it is.
At this point, I’ll steer away from math… as if you want to treat a person properly, you must do it in a dynamic fashion rather than a linear one (trust me on this. No one likes being treated like a robot).
Now I’ve found two ways you can solve a problem. You can either perform it in:
-A question and answer session which you directly keep trying to find out what the problem is and respond to the questions specifically (this is especially good for more personal cases for the person in question but not exclusively so).
-To ask a bunch of various questions until you narrow it down to the core of the problem (especially good for trying to figure out whats wrong in the first place when the person in question doesn’t have a clear idea of what’s going on either)
There is probably others methods too, but generally if someone does not understand the question you’re asking, don’t saying the same question over and over and expect a different result. That’s the definition of insanity. Instead, try either explaining the question in detail or rephrasing the question differently so that it’s not asking the same thing, but still targeting what you want to know specifically.
The ability to handle (and tolerate), various kinds of people
There are so many various kinds of people in the world, many of which can be kind, helpful, friendly, and perhaps even loving. However, the same could be said that there are dishonest, emotional, argumentative, or straight up trollish at times. However, if you intend to be a successful member of any kind of staff or job, it is ABSOLUTELY VITAL that you can work with each different kind of person and treat them with respect, even if they willingly wrong you repeatedly.
This does not mean you should simply let them trounce over you without so much of a finger of opposition. Instead, should the wrong you, do not lash back with verbal insults, striking back, or witty comebacks. That tends to only make the situation worse. Instead, one should try to hold the person accountable to the rules of the place or the chat in question, and when those rules are violated… ONLY then should you take action against the offender in the proper manner of either reporting them to a person whom can do something about it or banning/muting/jailing/flagging them… but NEVER get upset at the person in question or gloat in their face about it, as that generally will only make the situation worse and for things to backlash right back at you.
There’s no simple way to handle people and their antics unfortunately, but being tolerant and fair in your dealings with them generally will help make you a better and more respected person in the community, let alone listened more often when important decisions or requests upon others are to be made.
And there you have it, 6 facets of the Staff-in-the-box what I consider are important attributes that should and must be considered and strives for when working as or applying for any position in the staff. These attributes are unfortunately… quite lofty and intentionally challenging, but with the guidance in this section, it should be considerably easier to realize these traits in yourself so you might be better qualified to be a member of our PMU staff as well as a better person overall.