User blog:Ursuul/A Crossroads

Staff positions are soon to become much more…competitive. User-Rights exist to be used, & although Non-Staff can be just a respected community members as Staff, Staff are given their extra tools for a reason. Staff are basically normal users with a mop & bucket, but it makes no sense for them to have these tools if they are not being used. Therefore, from now on Staff positions may only be retained through use; neglect will be cracked down upon much more harshly in the future via demotion, & high-quality service will be rewarded much more readily with easier promotions. Active Staff will find the Staff ladder much easier to climb, while inactive Staff will find that the ground upon which they stand is much less stable than once it was. Admittance to Staff will be allowed via Internships as is usual, but they will be much more standard. No longer will Interns be able to remain as Interns for months at a time; from now on, the previously established term limits for Interns will actually be enforced. Internship exists as a way for users to show the Administration that they will use their User-Rights for the good of the Wiki, & not neglect them.

What does this mean for the immediate future?
Although the above paragraphs mostly pertained to how things will operate in the coming future, some things will begin instantly. Now, I’m not going to outright fire existing Junior Moderators right away, although Kuro (our last Sentinel) was demoted, but know there will be demotions. I am deadly serious, & to make sure everyone knows this fact, there are likely to be many new Sentinels to replace Kuro, & trust me when I say that they will all be reaped from existing Staff.

But you didn’t give us fair warning!
This is a warning. The demotions that occur now should indicate to everyone that the tides are changing. The only person who has legitimate grievance is Kuro, who lost all of his rights instead of just some of them, & for that I am sorry.

Not all is dark
As I said above; it will be much easier for existing Staff to keep climbing, through activity. Consider this to be a wakeup call, or perhaps an alarm that goes off in the morning; it should wake you up, & though it sucks to get out of bed, once you’re up you can shake off your weariness easily. In the same fashion, though many have been demoted, it will be easy for everyone to regain their old ranks & more if they prove themselves to be useful. I am not attacking anyone, nor am I meaning to demean anyone’s contributions; I am simply raising the bar.

Disclaimer
Again, this change occurred through no fault of anyone. Most did not anticipate this change, & it is 100% understandable that some people are shocked or unready. I am still the same Ursuul, & I will be accommodative where I can, but the water is rising, & at the end of the day you can only sink or swim. Unlike water however, there is no shame in sinking; no one should ever feel ashamed of failing to keep up. Every single person currently on Staff are shining members of our Diep.io Community, all of whom I respect greatly & most of whom I consider to be my good friends. Each & every one of you will always be respected members of the Community, whose contributions shall be praised as the lifeblood of the whole Wiki; nothing would be possible without you. However, that does not change what must be done in regards to user rights.

Your input
Never let it be said that I don’t listen to anyone. I want to hear what everyone has to say about this; post in the comments your thoughts, your frustrations, your suggestions, I want to hear it all. Your feedback will guide the direction in which this Wiki moves, & to get you started, I have two propositions that I want everyone’s thoughts on.

Standardization
Specifically, color standardization for Staff. Once upon a time each Staff Rank had it’s own, easily identifiable color that was obvious to everyone. I propose that we begin to move toward that again. This is not a dictate, this is a suggestion. What do you think would be best? Should colors be standardized, but fonts left alone? Should fonts be standardized, but colors remain unique? Should gradients be removed? Should each rank have a font & color? The reason why I bring this up is because it’s hard to tell who has what rights unless you go to their profile. Their colors are all unique, & there is no standardization to let people know who can do what. My own colors are unique, & hideously vain; but I am willing to remove my font & colors to go along with whatever standardization we go with.

Mother Of Ships
has proposed that Mos be relieved of their Staff position. If you would like to voice your opinion on this, you should do so here.

TL;DR
If you value your Staff position, you will read the entire blog. If not, then this is the gist:
 * Staff Standards rising; easier to climb the Staff Ladder but also easier to be demoted.
 * Several demotions will occur after the post of this blog, but no one will be outright fired.
 * I want to hear your input.
 * Should Staff Rank have standard colors?
 * Should Mos be fired?