What is the DM and Enforcer and what do they do?
Originally posted on the Clan [uBp] Forums by Birdman076:
I get that question from time to time on the servers, or in a PM
or email. Some people think we are here to give them a hard time, or ruin their
fun. While others think we are here to be at their service. Below is a partial
summarization written by a few others and myself to kind of sum up our role. The
problem is, what we do is so multifaceted that we can't just stick a label on it
and call it this. That is why I call this a partial summary, it could never be
complete because we are ever evolving, changing, and always doing different
things to ensure everyone is having a fun time.
The role of a DM/Enforcer:
We as DM's and Enforcer's have never had an official set of rules that govern
our actions. It has always been at the DM's or Enforcer's discretion to punish
or reward players for their behavior or not to intervene. As DM's and
Enforcer's, we have the right, authority, and burden of keeping the players of
the game in line, and to keep the original intent of the game in the forefront.
That is to make the game fun, enjoyable, and a good time for all. However, we
apply stringent rules to the game. Some people don't like them or test the
boundaries. And some people step over the boundaries and end up outside of our
world. The DM's and Enforcer's in this division interact with everyone on the
forums, they help add people to the database who are new, restore characters,
answer questions, play along side many of us, as well as many other tasks. To
some degree this is detrimental to the one task a DM or Enforcer must do and
that is interact with people without bias and impartially. A lot of you are my
friends, but you also know don't ask Birdman for anything because he won't
budge. Or we better not linger in this area because Birdman is on as DM and he
doesn't like that. And for the most part things go off without a hitch and we
all get along because people understand the rules. From our humble beginnings as
the leaders of this division there has been a feeling or implication that we are
somehow slaves or here to serve everyone's beck and call. This has been pointed
out by various people over the months at various times and it always left a bad
taste in my mouth. We are here to get things sorted out and help people. But we
are also here to keep order and make sure everyone obeys the rules of the
servers and the clan from the top of the division to the bottom. This is the
dirty part that not many people like to deal with or are cut out for. This is
the part I deal with and this is why we get people flaming me from time to time
on the forums or in game. Ask anybody who knows me, I'm good at what I do and it
is not because I'm over confident or because I enjoy it. Its because it has to
be done and I am impartial about it, I can also take any BS that gets slung and
not worry about my feelings being hurt. I deal with these types of people so you
don't have to. Everyone is here for the same reason, to have fun. The DM's and
Enforcer's are here to ensure everyone is afforded that luxury with minimal fuss
and interference. Its a fine balancing act we do in trying to keep everyone
happy, civil, and enjoying themselves. Not to mention the hardware maintenance
or programming end of it. In keeping this balance sometimes people get upset
with decisions made, interaction, treatment, time frame on things getting done,
etc. All I can say about that is its nothing personal and to please work through
it or talk to someone.
A little history:
We came into our positions from being players; we love this server, this
community and everything about it. And we wanted to improve it by taking a
different approach, more hands on if you will. One of the improvements we wanted
to see is more player interaction, more player involvement with the decisions
being made about content and what direction the servers will go in. That in
itself presents a full time job for a few people what with damage control
because people aren't happy with things not being done their way. People
offended that their idea was not well received; things submitted were changed,
things being misinterpreted or not implied in the manner which was intended,
people getting totally miffed and leaving for whatever reason, etc. On a given
day I will receive 3-10 PMs with various questions, issues, concerns, or just a
hey wassup. I wish the number were three times that, if it were we wouldn't have
issues. They would be dealt with and solved and things would not get to the
point of people leaving or blowing their top about something or someone as much.
Venting is good, talking to someone is good; keeping stuff bottled up is bad for
you and everyone. The one division meeting we had was in my opinion productive.
It was an open forum meeting and people could talk about what was bugging them
at the time. We want to have those on a regular basis, but vent attendance has
its ups and downs, scheduling and far too many things going on have prevented
further division meetings from taking place.
In lieu of that perhaps it is time to implement an idea I had at
the start of everything. The concept was a meet and greet in the form of a "Get
to know you" post, and some in game question and answer sessions via shout or
perhaps a closed session in the DM office with whoever would like to attend. The
"Get to know you" post will essentially be the DMs and Enforcers telling a bit
about themselves and if anyone else wanted to chime in they could.
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