Staff Positions

In order to govern and operate BDI and its peripheral channels on an ongoing basis, we have established several levels of staff positions. Some will bear visible status in the channel or on the forums for better recognition by players for support questions, help, or setting expertise. These guidelines are meant to better detail what is expected of each position, both for those that wish to contribute and those who seek assistance.

Current Staff

• Administrators: Nymphetamine (Margo), Kylus
• Operators: Suzthulhu
• Storytellers: Luemnus, Nicci, Ravynetti
• Reporters: Verianne
• Setting Nerds: Allie, Stygian (Dan), Karras (Stu)

This list will be kept as up to date as possible.

Common Goals

While many of our staff positions differ greatly from each other, each one shares the same goals. They are to:

• protect the channel and its patrons from any attack (ie, spammers, trolls, malicious players).
• provide an environment that is welcoming and fun to everyone who visits, both in and out of character, new and old alike.
• support newbies so that they can feel comfortable and educated about the setting.
• foster a sense of community within the channel by acting with and encouraging respect for all members, no matter their contribution level.
• place the channel's future above petty arguments and personal issues.
• encourage growth and change as well as the future development of our evolving world.

Volunteer

Volunteers are BDI's weekend warriors; these are players that are generous with their time and commit to short term projects as needed. Volunteer projects are considered extracurricular and are not expected to meet deadlines. In the event a deadline is necessary, an operator will make this clear at the beginning of the project and work with the volunteer to determine a schedule that works.

All volunteers are considered equal, unless a project requires a leader. If a volunteer needs to stop work on a project before completion, they should inform an operator so that the next best step can be determined.

Volunteers should be creative, focused, communicative and team-oriented. Since many of our projects are so collaborative, it's important that a volunteer knows how to take constructive criticism. Please remember to be adaptable and even-tempered whenever possible.

Reporter

Reporters work primarily on the Rumor Mill, which is an in-character tabloid posted on the forums. This role provides access to post on the Rumor Mill's behalf and communicate privately with other reporters to brainstorm and plan out the next issue.

Reporters should have strong writing skills, a good imagination and an eye for detail. They should be able to follow the guidelines and templates for the Rumor Mill, as well as adhere to a basic posting schedule of at least once a month, although greater frequency is of course appreciated. Because the Rumor Mill is based on in-character activities and breaking news stories, reporters need to be able to be proactive about finding (or inventing) and pursuing leads. Reporters are given a good deal of freedom regarding their articles, and do not need approval before sending an article to post.

Storyteller

Storytellers are the Dungeon Masters of BDI and are allowed to run setting-wide story lines or events at their own discretion. Traditionally, storytellers are long-time members of the BDI community who are in good standing in the community and are trusted by the ops to adhere to basic, loose guidelines regarding their plans. They may act without supervision, but are required to keep in contact with the ops and other storytellers regarding the current events both in channel and on the forums.

A storyteller's job is a highly creative one. To be a good storyteller, you must be able to combine intense imagination with crisp setting knowledge, as well as the flexibility to adapt to the unexpected as players begin to contribute. The storyteller job is about providing an experience for the players, so the ability to place one's ego aside is a must. You should be a strong writer who can read comprehensively and have the time and focus to respond quickly. Teamwork is also essential to this position as the storytellers work closely with each other and the operators to keep events, channel topics and announcements current.

Setting Nerd

Setting nerds are considered the "experts" of the BDI setting. Many have been here since the setting's creation, have contributed in large part, have spent hours poring over the website and setting notes to learn about it, or any combination of the three. If a setting nerd doesn't know something, they can tell you where to find it or, if it doesn't at all, help you figure out how to create it yourself.

Setting nerds are marked with a green name and staff title on the forums, and in the channel with a +voice symbol beside their nick so that they are easy to find. All positions are likely to consult with setting nerds because they are recognized and trusted authorities on the BDI-verse, so it's important that a person in this role be friendly, patient with random questions and able to communicate well.

Operator

Operators are the most visible members of staff and speak with authority in areas of the BDI channel and site. They are responsible for the day to day maintenance of the channel and/or site, and charged with the protection of both against spam, vandalism and other abuse. Operators are also responsible for the continuation of the channel, upholding the rules and policies in all areas, protecting its legacy and are expected to participate in regular play. They are given moderator access in all areas of the channel and site, as well as have access to nearly all areas of the forums.

As the most conspicuous representatives of the channel, ops are expected to be on good behavior at all times, not only within the BDI community, but elsewhere in the greater DarkMyst community, such as in #RPG-Hub and during the Multiverse event DarkMyst hosts semi annually. Ops should show the following characteristics:

• Leadership skills
• Strong communication skills
• Ability to adhere to guidelines
• Ability to work within a team
• Ability to work autonomously
• Patience
• Able to perform in a professional manner
• Desire to protect and further the spirit and legacy of BDI
• Desire to contribute to whatever work needs to be done
• Basic understanding of their preferred IRC client
• Willingness to learn:
  • How to use the Eggdrop botnet in BDI (setting and removing bans, RPing, changing and setting the weather, etc)
  • Rules & Policies that govern BDI
  • Operator policy

Operators are also expected to contribute equally to the staff work load, and to pick up the slack from volunteers as the need arises.

Administrator

An Administrator is an Operator who has administrator rights to the various areas of the channel, site, semi-defunct mailing list, and bots. Administrators will be few and far between, and given access to various "back end" areas of the site and channel with the intention of maintenance and ensuring the smooth operation of all parts of BDI. As some of the admin passwords are shared, you must be trusted by the other Administrators, and will need to spend a good deal of time as an Operator before becoming an Administrator. Due to the risk of unintentional corruption or damage by someone unskilled or uneducated, an Administrator needs to be familiar with the following:

• Content Management Software we use on the site:
  • MediaWiki
  • Wordpress
  • phpBB
• Basic IRC commands & channel modes
• DarkMyst's services
• Eggdrop commands

Some understanding of web design principles and code will go a long way in tweaking the CSS, PHP, HTML and Javascript used on the site. Administrators should be comfortable working in these environments, or willing to learn and educate themselves. Scripting in Eggdrop TCL is always a massive plus.

Administrators should be able to work autonomously to fix minor or technical problems on the site or channel. Major changes to setting content or guides, templates, site design, color schemes, skins, etc must be decided on as a group, and should not be carried out without a consensus. All custom changes made to the hard code of the site must be documented in the case of an update breaking them. There is a thread on the Administrator forums for this, and Administrators are expected to use it.

It should be noted that access to the site's cPanel and FTP, and the shells on which the bots are hosted may still be restricted to their respective owners, ie: Kylus or Nymphetamine.

Lead Admin

This position is basically the same as an Administrator, and holds all of the same access to all areas of the channel and site as an Administrator. However, the Lead Admin will be responsible for guiding the growth of the channel, and the organization and delegation of other staff members. Subject to all of the same rules as a regular player and other members of staff, the Lead Admin should have leadership and communication skills, and a staunch dedication to the channel and its continuation as a whole. There should ultimately only be one person holding the position of Lead Admin at a time, to avoid conflict. It is the Head Admin's responsibility to mediate staff disputes or problems as they arise, and to enforce staff rules when needed.