A Layonara Ombudsman

[Wintersheart]

It is with some sadness I write this post and I can only hope you will all appreciate that it is neither an attack nor an opening of a discussion. It is simply a statement from one from whom the magic has gone.

When I stepped down as a GM and stopped as an active player I quoted an impossible RL situation. That was true in the simple sense of the word, my RL was (and is) too hectic and stressed for me to be able to play the part in Layonara I wanted to. It was, however, only one side of the truth. I was also immensely frustrated with Layonara and those frustrations spread into real life. Had Layonara still been what it was when I joined - a relief from a stressed life, a place to unwind - I would have stayed. I then faced the choice of whether I should stay and fight to resolve my frustrations or leave quietly with a sad goodbye to my friends. Slamming the door and venting my frustrations would certainly have felt good, but at the same time I could fully appreciate the situation of Leanthar (I have done a ton of volunteer work at university - unpaid and ungrateful such as the world is). Layonara is his dream and it is through his sweat and tears it has come to life. Without Leanthar none of this, including the many happy hours, would not be. Neither then nor now would it give me any real pleasure to spoil his dream. Looking back I am not sure I made the right choice. Perhaps I should have been more open, more forward with my concerns, but I know why I made it and I stand by it. The way I left meant the least disturbances in my real life.

I know Meizter has commented many of the issues in depth and as such I will only cover a few specific issues. Namely the personality of Harloff, the attacks on Pan & Storm, the stake of players and the twin issues of fear and distance. Finally I will make one suggestion which I believe can help resolve those issues.

Concerning Harloff
Because of the language he used some of you may have gotten the impression that Harloff is a small-minded vindictive person. Far from it, he is frank and outspoken (blunt some would say), but he is also honest and courageous. For those of us who know him, the outburst reflects an immense frustration. I do not agree with nor condone such language. I hope this evident from the record of my postings.  I am certain Leanthar knows this about Harloff as well, for in his reply he wrote “but because I know you are a good person”.

Harloff wasn’t “just” another player who grumbled in the background and then one day exploded. He was (and still is) an excellent roleplayer and active in the forums making numerous suggestions, mainly concerning balancing and crafting. Maybe you didn’t agree with all of his suggestions (I know for certain I didn’t), but they have consistently been valid points requiring full answers. If Harloff was frustrated, perhaps we should ask ourselves if not part of that frustration arose because of the dismissive attitude towards some of his suggestions.

Concerning the language and personal attacks on Pan and Storm
I do not and I never have condoned such language. As I previously stated I hope this is evident from the many postings I made both as a player and GM. For those of you who know me, it can come to no surprise that I greatly respect Rhizome and it was his consistently respectful tone I hoped to emulate.  Neither do I condone personal attacks, because, especially in disagreement, it is important maintain a minimum standard. We are a virtual community comprised of members from many different cultural backgrounds. How we use language and humour varies across the board, but, from my experience from living abroad, when dealing with multiple cultures respect becomes paramount; doubly so when we are a virtual community, where no softening with smiles or laughter can take place.

Respect is a mutual process and it runs both ways. Without reciprocity no respect can exist, merely deference. Therefore in my experience, when it comes to personal attacks and derogative language, it is as the saying goes: what goes around comes around! It may be unfair to the victims, but in most cases people are judged by the standards they set themselves. Please note, however, that even in cases where one could say he had it coming, I still do not condone personal attacks. In my book, to resort to personal sniping is to demean yourself.


Players as stakeholders
It has been stated ad nausea by both players and GMs that Layonara belongs to Leanthar and is free charge; hence players can therefore take it or leave it. I find this is a grave misunderstanding and to explain myself I will use the term stakeholder.

Layonara is, as I stated, Leanthar’s dream. The servers are his, the world is his and should he so choose he could close it down today. That would fall within his prerogative and hence clearly Leanthar’s position is unique. I do not question Leanthar’s position and his decision will always be final.

The GM and Project Team put in more work than most imagine. Indeed it is hard to appreciate the effort it takes to run and serve this community, if you haven’t taken part yourself. I easily spent 20 hours a week on various GM duties when I was active and this is by no means unusual. Through their effort and time the team members all hold a stake in Layonara.

What then of the players? Most veteran players spend hundreds (if not thousands) of hours bringing their characters alive. The process is enjoyable for sure, but it also represents the commitment of time and effort that will be effectively lost if they leave. It is through the players’ actions that Layonara comes alive and without them the efforts of both Leanthar and the team would be for naught. In other words, because of their time and efforts the players are not only committed to Layonara, but bringing it alive. They are therefore stakeholders in every meaning of the word. To suggest that they can just pack up and leave if unsatisfied is to disregard both their effort and place in Layonara.

Layonara is free charge, but does this mean that Leanthar receives nothing in return? No, he sees his dream come alive and to a lesser extend this goes for all GMs. They are unpaid, but not unrewarded. I can assure you the personal rewards, from seeing a quest unfold before your eyes through the great roleplay of players, are substantial.  



The twin issues of distance and fear
From my experience as a player, a GM and in particular from doing grievance work I would say that the two greatest problems of Layonara are fear and distance.

Layonara has grown dramatically in size and with size comes distance. The old familiarity between the active players and the Team is gone. The old familiarity between the players is gone. Even before, when I was very active, I would scan the server pages and not know half. When the distance between the leaders and the community increases, so does the space for rumours. The very top is put into an exalted position from which they inspire awe; awe with an equal emphasis on both fear and admiration. This schism between the player base and the team is highly damaging.  

One reason, why players are afraid, is because GM’s hold power over their future, leaving many unwilling or too scared to speak up. They are - and now you must excuse me for I know of no other way of expressing this - afraid of ending up on someone’s s*** list. Another reason for fear is the way in which GMs exercise power in NWN. No player knows when a GM is present, but if he is present then he is all seeing. Such as system, under which players are “subject to scrutiny both collectively and individually by an observer who remains unseen”, is know as Panopticon. Panopticon was suggested as a means of surveillance, but what it institutes is fear.  

Many of you will remember I used to handle the Grievance forum; and I know both Rhizome and I would have liked to emphasize grievance work. The forum was there to help players resolve conflicts, help players raise their concerns and so reduce the frustrations of the community. Unfortunately it drowned in requests for lost items and complaints about unfair deaths. Sadly, as it functions today, it appears more to be the complaints department in shoe shop than a forum for resolving problems. This leads me to believe that the dispute forum, with the GM administration, cannot resolve those problems and hence we need another institution.


The Layonara Ombudsman
Layonara has grown from a small community to a minor MMO. To believe that the structure evolved for tight knit community will hold in one of Layonara’s size is naïve at best. We should therefore look for new institutions to overcome or limit the problems arising from Layonara’s growth. Layonara is often, in discussions, compared to a company or organization with the emphasis on leadership. I suggest this is wrong and that we know implicitly, from our own language, that it is wrong. Layonara is a community and as such we are, in a very basic sense, a political entity.  In politics one institution evolved specifically to limit the distance between citizens and the government, the Ombudsman (for those of you unfamiliar with the term you can think of it as a combined spokesman & guardian). Hence my final suggestion is this; institute an official Layonara Ombudsman.

His role would be watchdog and a mediator. He would be charged with ensuring that players are treated fairly and that their concerns are given due consideration. As someone who knows what the Team knows, but stands outside it, he could alleviate the fears and rumours in the community. Should players fear retribution, he would present their case.

An ombudsman would need have administrator rights on the forum and be able to login as a GM in game (though never under any circumstances run quests or perform any GM duties). As such Leanthar will need to be able to veto the choice of ombudsman, but only in extreme cases. If he exercised his veto it would only be fair to present his reasoning.

How he would be chosen is a matter of debate, but the ombudsman should be elected by the player base. The finest qualities of an ombudsman are maturity and fairness in decisions. It is a position of great responsibility and few would be able to perform it. Those qualities only show through time and therefore he should as a minimum have been a player for more than 6 months. Likewise, only players who have been active for defined amount of time would be able to vote. To stand for election a player would need to be nominated by at least 5 other players. No GM’s should be able to apply, though retired GM’s could be nominated as all other players.


Respectfully
Wintersheart

References:
The institution did originate in Sweden, it is however the Danish model which has been implemented in most countries outside Scandinavia -

From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ombudsman
"An ombudsman is an official, usually (but not always) appointed by the government or by parliament, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens. In some jurisdictions, the Ombudsman is referred to, at least officially, as the 'Parliamentary Commissioner' (e.g., the West Australian state Ombudsman). The term arose from its use in Sweden, with the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman instituted in 1809, to safeguard the rights of citizens by establishing a supervisory agency independent of the executive branch. The word ombudsman and its specific meaning has since been adopted in to English as well as other languages, and ombudsmen have been instituted by other governments and organizations such as the European Union.
An ombudsman need not be appointed by government; they may work for a corporation, a newspaper, an NGO, or even for the general public. Such an ombudsman obviously does not carry any governmental powers or sanction abilities."



"Many private companies, universities and government agencies also have an ombudsman (or an ombudsman department) which serve internal employees or other constituencies. These ombudsman roles are structured to function independently, by reporting to the board of directors, and do not serve any other role in the organization. Organizational ombudsmen are sometimes called "ombuds" or "ombuds officers" or "ombudsperson" or "ombud". They are beginning to appear around the world within organizations, sometimes as an alternative to anonymous hot lines, in countries where the latter are illegal or considered inappropriate.
Recently, since the 1960s, the profession has grown in the United States, particularly in corporations, universities and government agencies. This current model, sometimes referred to as an organizational ombudsman, works as a designated neutral party, one who is high ranking in an organization, but who is not considered management. Using an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) sensibility, an organizational ombudsman can provide options to whistleblowers or employees with ethics concerns, provide mediation for conflicts, track problem areas, and make recommendations for changes to policies or procedures in support of orderly systems change. One particularly important function is to pick up "new things" -- that is, issues new to the organization. This is particularly important if the "new thing" is "disruptive" in the sense of requiring the organization to review and possibly improve its policies, procedures and/or structures.
An organizational ombudsman who is practicing to "standards of practice" in the US is neutral, and is visibly outside ordinary line and staff structures. An organizational ombudsman will practice informally (with no management decisionmaking power, and without accepting "notice" for the organization). An organizational ombudsman typically keeps no case records for an employer and keeps near absolute confidentiality. The only exception is where there appears to be an imminent risk of serious harm, and an ombudsman can see no responsible option other than breaking confidence -- but organizational ombuds programs report that they can almost always find "other responsible options," such as helping a visitor to make an anonymous report about whatever appears to be the problem. from 1552. It is also used in the other Scandinavian languages such as the Icelandic "umboðsmaður", the Norwegian "ombudsmann" and the Danish "ombudsmand"."

[Nibor21]

A great concept and a good idea, however if the idea is adopted, the choosen individual will need to work hard to ensure that have both real independance from the current team, and also and this is most important, is percieved by the player base to be independant.

The real issue is that while the idea of ombudsmen or 'employee director' is good, it will be very hard to work out and make real.

The current team works very hard to ensure fairness/balance etc (I have been a lead scripter for another PW and I am truly in awe of the Layo team). The existing team is friendly and approachable, generally very reasonable and always willing to help. My fear would be that adding another layer between the team and the players iwould actually have an overall negative effect and further distance the team from players.

[Aurhinius]

Speaking as an ancient original layonara player I understand where you come from when you speak about Layonara evolving into something much larger than it was when you first stepped into the world. I remember when it was one module and a couple of zones and wasn't even called layonara ;-)  It has grown and it continues to grow and in many respects that is a good thing as you quite rightly stated.  However it often out grows you and how you see yourself within it.  Even when it was samller and I was a GM there was accusations all the time that as you say came from the players perception of distance and fear. I don't forsee that EVER changing. If you go to any MMO players always feel the GM teams are out to get them or the company behind it is.  There will always be distance there will always be suggestion of favoritisim. I can see that hasn't changed.

You raise an interesting idea of an Ombudsman however as I saw it the Player Grievence GM was such an individual.  As all GM's are players I imagine they act with the best interest of the players in mind whether the players themselves appreciate that or not.  In MMO's players needs to realise they can actually vote with their feet. If you don't like something then stand up and say so.  Of all the MMO's I think the layonara GM Team are most communicative here in the forums.  If players want changes etc then they only need to post here on the forum. The problem tends to arise that most people just don't care about an individual. They come here to play a game and if the incidents around them do not DIRECTLY effect them they have no care about it.  I guess that is where the community isn't a community after all. Perhaps that is something people should think about?

I think everyone is aware that there is no layonara without the players themselves and I wouldn't say that it is ever taken forgranted. Now granted it has been a long time since I was active but I know Leanthar despite his position and other demands upon his life was always very active in listening to EVERY single voice that wished to speak.  As he would tell you himself the number of changes that went ahead I absolutely hated were quite a few ;-)

Does the community need a voice outside of the GM team.... well I guess that is something you should ask the community, sounds like a poll to me :-)

[Leanthar]

"....His role would be watchdog and a mediator. He would be charged with ensuring that players are treated fairly and that their concerns are given due consideration. As someone who knows what the Team knows, but stands outside it, he could alleviate the fears and rumours in the community. Should players fear retribution, he would present their case...."
  We had that. It was Rhizome. He burned out because it is a very thankless and tiring job and it will kill the love and desire of any person in a volunteer situation. It is where the disputes forum came from after all. We even had you in that position Winter but you grew tired of it and bowed out after a very short period of time. It is in that position that you started getting tired of the world and such....so we had it...it does not work because in a volunteer situation it can't work and we have proven it. Out of all the possible people that could have proven it to work it is Rhizome, the guy is awesome at so many levels. If he grew tired and worn out and frustrated then well, it is a no win situation. Then Winter you tried it for a short period of time and even quit the gm team and the world and your friends went with you. Talk about burn out. That is exactly what happens in that sort of position and I think the proof is right here and right now what you guys are doing.

[Harlas Ravelkione]

Good suggestions there Wintersheart. Constructive and well formulated post. Just so you know it your concerns are being discussed on the GM forum, together with those of Meizter, Harloff and others.

Harlas

[Wintersheart]

Leanthar - 6/23/2006  5:38 PM    Then Winter you tried it for a short period of time and even quit the gm team and the world and your friends went with you. Talk about burn out. That is exactly what happens in that sort of position and I think the proof is right here and right now what you guys are doing.

 One point of clarification, I enjoyed the grievance work and it probably kept me in longer if anything.  So, please don’t talk burnout on behalf of other people.

[Filatus]

I guess the problem of the current system, if there is any, is that the grievance person is needed for too many types of approvals, that is if you would like him in this ombudsman position. A lot of things like changing deity, name changing are more a part of character approvals. But the grievance forum is probably used because GM's in-game can quickly check it. This is handy, but it does clog the system a bit.

EDIT: Added.

[Acacea]

Concerning Harloff, I had and have no real problems with him as a player or a character (I actually have had few interactions at all with his character). How he chose to leave though, was the way of the flame-and-wait-to-be-banned, the martyr's approach, and that I don't think a whole lot of. A thread was opened up to discuss the points he made, with an acknowledgement that despite the way they were approached, there were ones that needed to be addressed. It was intended to allow constructive discussion about valid points brought to light (or rehashed).

Regarding Pan and Storm, I imagine it gets somewhat tiring to be the black sheep of the DM team when a great deal of the discontent springs from misunderstandings that are not personally handled. I don't disagree that in some cases they drop the hammer on their feet in their responses when perceived to be speaking as DMs, but I can certainly understand the frustration. They run fantastic quests and get most praise from player to DM directly. There are few of the "Great quest, x" threads regarding theirs, because it's just said and discussed to them.

The only threads I ever actually see regarding either of them seem to be complaints from people who have never even attended one, or spoken to them directly--or are friends with friends with friends who have... I am not suggesting more of the former sort of threads (I hate them), just less of the latter. If someone has a problem, I have felt and still feel that the problem should just be approached directly. Don't keep whispering and muttering to friends and then having it circulate around and building upon itself.

I understand the need for care in attitude directed towards the players when doing anything as a DM, and to be honest it's one of the reasons I have never desired to be one. I don't want my replies representing anything but what I think of the matter, and being a part of the team would make each word have a different slant to it than I intended. So, with them being a part of "The Team", it is yes, necessary to be careful with personal feelings and attitudes towards people, even when something is being corrected for the hundredth time or it is personally known that everything is based on a vague rumor.

I'm sure there have been some frustrations at some point for you, and yet your GM time before stepping down was little in comparison to theirs or Rhizome's. The latter has managed to have a huge reputation of civility despite everything he had to deal with and kept himself above most of the junk that naturally gets flung at positions of authority, where the former are pretty well slandered either on forums or in the shadows because of rumors, lack of factual information to correct them, and what amounts to public faux pas.

I have also seen a lot of progress with this, in simple tone with replies, responding to questions on IRC and handling players well. And I think you really might as well have said "they had it coming," or nothing at all, instead of the slightly vague, "one might say they had it coming if one believed in personal attacks, which I don't!" as it is perceived as a way to snipe without getting blamed for it.

On Players as Stakeholders: I can understand this view. "If you don't like it, then leave," is not a satisfactory answer to a genuine concern for a problem, and would rapidly diminish both quantity of players and the quality of enjoyment in working with them. However, I think it's rarely intended so harshly. Instead, it's just a reminder that since no one is getting paid for it, there is the Layo work and then there is the work they do get paid for. In the end I think it mostly comes down to meaning, "We're trying, and no one is intending to ruin your fun--quite the opposite." Or maybe just, "Cut us some slack, man."

Distance and Fear: This is something that will likely always exist. I am not trying to write this off as "not a real problem," just acknowledging the fact that this will never be completely alleviated. The most anyone can do is try to make the problems, misperceptions, and accusations that will inevitably come up, as unjustified as possible. Do I feel that it is being handled in the best manner it possibly can? No, not on all fronts, not really. Do I feel that this is really the best way of mending a perceived rift? Not at all. I'm not saying it can't be improved, but this IS something that I feel would need to be worked on by the players just as much as the team. If someone can feel intimidated by something as silly as a font color, then perhaps there is not all that much one can do about it--or at least that's how it feels.

Ombudsman: Pretty much one word--Rhizome.



Conclusion: This was a well worded and thought out post. But lastly, and I feel far more importantly than a simple addressing of points, I would like to add that I don't believe that this is the best method of handling concerns, either. Ultimately, I am a fan of simplicity, and efficiency. I don't think the last couple days of rants, however polite or maturely responded to, have really qualified as either.

Instead, it has been somewhat draining and frustrating, and I am not even the target of these posts, as far as I know. You and others have stepped down or left completely because of your own frustrations, and yet you have made them everyone's, right or wrong. Some really are genuine suggestions for the world that should be brought up and discussed, but everything personal--whether to player or character--is mixed along with it.

The time set aside to respond to what is now a slew of posts can be spent actually doing something, and instead there is back patting and correcting of assumptions that could have been handled person-to-person. In the end, people are here to enjoy themselves, and because some have ceased to do so, there has been a lot less enjoyment for many more people, team and player alike. When speaking of problems, is that really the best way of handling things? I don't think so, though obviously some disagree.

[Dorganath]

Well actually very few "disputes" are actually being brought forth, and that's the problem with the reality of the grievance forum. It's mostly item/XP/Soul Strand reimbursements, a few deity, house and name changes.  That's 99% of it.  The deity changes are such a small part of things that it wouldn't really affect the work that goes in at all, and it just makes it harder for those of us who actually have to make those changes to keep track of it all.
  I've been working on the grievances a lot lately.  A LOT.  And that's in addition to my other responsibilities on the forums, for the modules and in RL.  To make things doubly painful, I'm also the one who has been handling name changes, house changes and whatever else required character/database editing.  I can easily see how someone could burn out...not so much that these things are hard or frustrating, but that there are so many requests that it's all busy work and a fair amount of effort to benefit one, single person.
  I personally wish people would use the disputes/grievances forum for things other than simple reimbursements.  That was part of the original goal, and it just isn't used as such.  Am I saying the idea of an Ombudsman isn't a good one? Absolutely not. I think it's an important function and it's my understanding that even to have such a thing is unusual in itself among the NWN PW community.  But at the same time, we had one effectively, and though Rhizome is on the GM team, he is one of the most fair-minded and objective people I've known.  It's a shame that the drudgery that comes from the reality caused a distance and abandonment of the ideal.
  Due to the burnout issue, we decided to remove the dedicated grievance position, allowing whoever had the time and inclination to handle them...in effect, flattening out the heirarchy a bit, removing a title and the perception of a singular authority.  The result?  Not much has changed.  The forum is still used for relatively small issues in most cases.
  Since I have been spending time handling grievances, only ONE potential rule infraction has been brought forth, there have been no instances where someone has brought forth a concern, expressed an opinion or otherwise requested something where an Ombudsman would be appropriate.
  Perhaps that's due to fear, or distance, or whatever.  I guess we could repeat ourselves until our fingers fall off, but if you don't speak up, we can't help.  If we don't work together to dispel rumors of "knee-jerk" bannings, the Us vs. Them mindset and whatever else is perceived among the community as a whole, then it will never get better.  Ever.
  It's been commented that Layonara is more than what Leanthar has made it, more than what the dev. teams have made it, more than what the GM teams have made it....Players too have helped to shape the world into what it is today.  So to, however, do the answers to some of the problems that this community faces rest partially with the player base...and we're all players here, whether we're GMs or not.