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Demipharaoh Debates/2014 07 2014
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Results: TBA
Debate occurred on Friday, July 25th at 1:00 GMT (Thursday, July 24th 21:00 Eastern Time (US))
Debate between atomadam2 and Darkfyre from July 25, 2014
GHawkins: *Cue intro music*
GHawkins: Hello fine people of Egypt, welcome to the latest Demipharaoh debate between atomadam2 and Darkfyre!
GHawkins: For the duration of the debate, normal Worship Station deadair will be halted (you can use L2PBS for worship station related posts during this period).
GHawkins: If you have questions that you would like to submit during the debate, just submit them to Worship Station or via /chat to GHawkins but please note that comments, discussion, personal attacks, and redundant questions will be tabled or asked to be rephrased. Also, I will do my best to also reframe any candidate-specific questions so that all candidates can answer them (though your original question will remain intact for the person you specified.)
Darkfyre: I've player T1 for a while, most of T4 and T5...I came back about two months ago. I love the social and crafting aspect of the game.
atomadam2: Yes! So I am currently a graduate student in the states finishing up and planning to graduate at the end of this year. I've been playing ATITD for 82 days at the suggestion of my roommate, Blueshift. I really like puzzles so I thought it would be fun to play a game where you could make your own puzzles!
atomadam2: Additionally, I like very much how this game lets people work together, and community has definitely made me feel better about the world.
SECOND QUESTION: If you win this election you will pass the test of the Demi-Pharaoh and be our 34th DP of this tale. There are a variety of points of view on what the role of DP should and shouldn't be, what is yours, especially now that we're in an unprecedented free to play era.
Darkfyre: I think first and foremost that a Demi-Pharaoh should be a leader, regardless of whether or not the game is F2P. Granted, there are enough active DP's to police griefers. BUt even during F2P the griefers are rare. DP
Darkfyre: DP's should be leaders and mentors, but still have the courage to take action when necessary.
atomadam2: So the role of DP is simple: to take care of the magic "kick people out" button. Basically, you want to elect someone who you believe won't abuse that power. But in this free to play era, the DP sort of takes on a new role. With the potential for so many new players, we need leaders in this game who will go out their way to help new people interested in the game, and get them involved and interested, especially with the confusing nature many aspects of this game has.
THIRD QUESTION from ph47f3: Do you think there is a role in ATITD for disruptive players? How should DPs interact with players that intentionally buck community norms?
atomadam2: I think they need to confront them to see if why they are being disruptive. But usually, truly bad griefers make themselves known quickly (although our recent griefer a month ago, I did help out the day before, and he seemed nice, had no idea). But as to people who play the game differently than others; I feel like that's just part of the game. We can all work together socially, but part of life is accepting that some people don't all think the same. And I get people who want to just make an obelisk regardles of the wiki (though I wouldn't do that, hate to get on someone's bad side).
Darkfyre: In past Tales, there have been intentional disruptions, evil-doers if you will, as part of a greater storyline within the game. That made the game more interesting, but it was a controled disrupition with a distinct purpose. Unintentional disruption is not conducive to this gameing model and will probably cause more harm than good in the long run. Those that would intentionally disrupt players for nothing more than pure pleasure are not part of the community and can either join us as a peacful productive member or they can leave. DP's should be able to confront these players and get to any root causes if there are any and fix them.
atomadam2: I guess I didn't answer the question. I think DP should get involved with people who are not following standard unwritten rules of ettiquete. But the issue is certainly complicated and awkward, and there shoudn't ever be a situation of kicking people out just because they play differently. But naturally, I would look to the other DPs for advice if I really didn't know how best to handle the situation.
GHawkins: Thank you ph47f3 for the question. As a reminder, audience members are welcome to /chat me with questions they'd like to see raised during the debate.
atomadam2: In the first situation, I would just kick them out. No I'm kidding, but I would obviously try to work it out in a civil way, but more likely ask someone to mediate, likely another competant DP. As to if a friend were in an issue with someone else, i would try to be objective. I'm pretty good at being objective even if friends are involved, but telling a friend they are in the wrong is always difficult. I would probably ask to not get in the middle, and have another DP take control, but if that weren't an option, I know that I could mediate objectively.
Darkfyre: As a DP I would expect to stay neutral as far as personal involvement. If it's too personal, I would ask the help of the other DP's to make the right decision as a group of leaders. A ban is a serious action, not to be used lightly. If my guildmates or friends have problems, I would hope they wouldn't ask me to ban simply on their merit. If I was involved directly with another player, I would definitely get other DP's involved to handle the dispute. Sometimes people act rash without thought only to regret it later. We should be adult enough to handle it without getting irrational.
FIFTH QUESTION: Under what circumstances would you consider utilizing the tools created by the Anti-Griefer's Act (AGA) law? What do you consider 'griefing'? Do you feel the AGA has been used well so far?
Darkfyre: I would consider griefing as any action against another player that is not a positive experience. Overloading another players CP area with bonfires or wood planes to increase crowding (which we've already seen this Tale) and prevent additional building is a prime example of griefing. If the situation called for the use of the AGA and the griefer was dealt with either by ban or removing the conflict between the players, I think they were well used. I would only use AGA as a means to an end if all other avenues failed.
atomadam2: Griefing is just any activity that makes playing this game unpleasant, beyond normal game frustrations. I think Justice Potter Stewart said, I can't define it, but I know it when I see it. I think we can all recognize griefing. So far in the game, I think it has definitely been used well, and should not be used flippantly. Basically, we should continue to use it to get rid of trolls, but not active players.
SIXTH QUESTION: The AGA is one power that the DPs have in their toolkit, what other powers would you like to see DPs hold, in the interests of improving game play and making you more effective in meeting your vision of the role?
Darkfyre: We've recently seen a new player join and start spouting obsenities in regional chat. While we had DP's online, they could not find him to confront him. I think that a "warp to player" function is a needed to deal with disruptions quicly.
atomadam2: I would really like to see the DP serve a greater role as a leader to get more people interested in the game. I think as surveys, petitions, and laws get put forth buy citizens it would be great if the DP had a closer connection with Pluribus to get some of these requests through. As an example, I want to start a petition, that may just be anext telling request, to just have regular Pyro shows in the game. Pyro is a cool test because it gets people together, it's fun, people acro and chat, plus there are pretty lights. If I made this petition, people might sign it, but otherwise probably never hear anything again. If the DP had the ability to see all laws and petitions, and choose some to send to Pluribus for priority, that would make the power of the DP much more aligned to a role of president (like in the states).
SEVENTH QUESTION: Does anyone have access to login to your account? (i.e., would any person other than yourself ever have access to your ban powers)? Note: spouselog does not allow access to ban powers.
Darkfyre: No, my account is accessed only by me.
atomadam2: Yes, Blueshift has my account because we are roommates and I wrte really easy passwords (and I dont have access to his account because I can't remember random letters and numbers)
EIGHTH QUESTION: If the general consensus of the rest of the DPs were that a person should not be banned, but you felt strongly that they should, what would you do?
atomadam2: Nothing. You can always ban someone later, but you can't un-ban someone. And who am I to go over 33 other people's heads. And face the wrath of kuupid, no way.
Darkfyre: We're a group of leaders that the comminuty depend on to make the right choices. We're a Democracy and the majority rule should stand whether I like it or not. I can plead my case for banning, but in the end it's a group choice.
Darkfyre: And yeah...kuupid scares me too! ;-)
atomadam2: haha
NINTH QUESTION: Select a question that you wish had been asked during this debate and answer it for yourself. Also, answer the question from the other candidate.
Question 9A: Darkfyre: How do you feel about players abusing the free-to-play model and creating an abnormal amount of alts?
Darkfyre: I feel that some players are abusing the free-to-play to further the main avatar through offline chores and travel time or to hinder other players progression.
Darkfyre: I would consider the later a form of griefing in some respects.
atomadam2: To Darkfyre's questions, I find it odd, hard to police, and an issue Pluribus created by making the game F2P. The only way to stop it is to get rid of F2P.
Question 9B: atomadam2: What do you think of situations where a DP was elected un-contentionally (as in, there were no other consenus DP groups except the one)?
atomadam2: I think this is a strange flaw in the test, and DPs should not be elected without an egypt-wide vote.
atomadam2: And that vote should always be between 2 people at least, or else it makes the test weaker (because the likelihood is low that someone would vote no confidence)
Darkfyre: I don't agree that a single DP election should be allowed. Any single candidate should automatically roll over to the next election where there are at least two candidates to vote for. Or there should be a Yes/No available at the voting booths to still allow the candidate to be in an election, but the ability to not be elected still be there.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT: We're running about an hour and I'm sure people are getting tired of my blathering, so I would like each of you to wrap up now and tell Egypt what they will get in a DP by voting for you. And if you do indeed want them to vote for you, please include why you would like them to.
Darkfyre: If I'm elected will do my best to make the rest of this Tale an enjoyable one. I'm usually available for any problems that arise or if anyone needs help. I do my best to help out where ever I can. Thaks for your consideration! :-)
atomadam2: As DP, I would definitely treat the role very seriously. I think the DP is more than just a police person for griefers. They serve as mediators and leaders, roles not specifically in the job description. I would like to see a DP that helps make the game more fun for people. Why are there still so many tests with no passes each week? It's because the older players have already passed or aren;t playing, and new players are intimidated or dont have the resources. But if we can get the new players through the early game challenges, then when the new telling starts, they will be in a much better position to contribute to this game in a fun way. Thanks!
Darkfyre: Thanks atomadam2 for a great debate!
GHawkins: Thanks to both candidates for taking part in this debate. You've still got a few days left in the election cycle if you'd like to contact the candidates with further questions.
GHawkins: Thank you also for those who listen in or read up on this debate on the wiki (soon) to make an informed decision.
GHawkins: Be informed, vote early, and vote as often as you like since only your latest vote counts anyways. Good luck to both candidates.
