[AC] Player-Ran-Events Proposal

[SwitchViewz]

Hey their everyone, this is something I have always wanted to do and I intend to push really hard to get this going. I want players to be able to host their own events on the server with staff assistance if needed. When I was a player I always wanted to host official Mob Arenas or Spleef Matches but was turned down by staff because we don't do that. I want to change that and open event hosting to all of the community. I want to do this however without granting any sort of extra perms to players and to do this they will need staff assistance and support. This is what I propose for Player-Ran-Events.

 

Info

Players submit a document following a specific format (that I will write up at a later date) that will include information about the event. Such as what server they want the event to be on, what kind of staff assistance is needed, what the prizes are (if any), and other details regarding the event. The goal here is to have the player completely run the event and only have staff assistance for things they can not do. These are the things that I feel we should offer to players:

• /o and /broadcast usage (announcement on the servers)
• Teleporting short distances
• Prizes
• EasySigns

All of the above would be done by a designated staff member for the event and not done by the player. The player(s) running the event would be in a clanchat to communicate with the designated staff member.

 

The initial launch of PREs would not include players building something on E in Creative and then having it transferred over to P, C, or S. However this is something I would like everyone to comment on as I think it is a neat idea. Essentially a player would submit a idea proposal, let's say a 5K for PvE. They would build it on E, then next rev PvE it would be transferred to the map. How would server admins feel about something like this? If it is on S or P it would not be put in the world, it would be put in a MV World or under spawn where players can not do block damage or bring things back to the overworld.

 

Rules Draft

• Event must be hosted on P, C, S, or E
• Event must not take down any other servers (You can not do something like the fundraiser where all servers are taken down)
• Prizes can include any item that is obtainable through survival gamemode. Can have a custom name or enchantment (such as a fish with Protection 2). Can not be anything to ridiculous if on PvE or S (ex: giving out stacks of diamonds).
• Staff reserve the right to halt an event if problems are to arise

Approval Process

The approval process would work like this:

1. Player posts event submission in the correct format
2. EAdmins overlook it to see if anything seems unusual or a bit extreme (such as huge prizes)
3. If nothing is wrong, it will be overviewed by that servers admin team
4. If all server admins and EAdmins see nothing wrong it is approved
5. Event is built/hosted

This is my initial proposal of Player-Ran-Events to you guys and this is definetly subject to change. Please leave any feedback you have and if you would be okay with something like this.

[c45y]

1) Why would they build it on E? We have a creative server

2) As per IRC conversation, I still think I am missing why admins are the one approving the idea, not simply using the most popular from player nominated events

3) Are there restrictions on event length? should there be?

4) I see no reason we should limit the things we offer to them to the small list provided, what is the justification for doing so? If staff will be helping to run the event we should allow requests for anything within a moderators arsenal.

 

I like the idea, I just really want to understand the driving force behind it I guess. Are we already seeing requests for staff assistance for events? Is this just something we dreamed up that we think they would like, if so should we ask them before putting too much work into the idea?

 

I'm aware that your time is precious with all the other events you're due to run, so if there isn't a big calling for this I feel like it is of a lower priority than those items already tasked to you

[Guest Former Staff]

I feel a bit confused about this proposal, at least in the current format. Player run ideas are generally just that, events that from start to finish, pretty much require no staff intervention other than the assistance that modreqs provide. Throughout recent times, people have created their own spleef events for others to attend which were created directly on their host servers. For other events which people had, they simply created them.

 

Based on these few examples, each individual was ready to go at their own pace. Having a potential panel of up to 6-8 admins (from both the event server and the respective server the event will be hosted upon) having to review each event and detirmine whether it is ok to go ahead means that the player can't start working autonomously on their event, possibly losing motivation especially if there is no response in a quick timeframe. Even on places like Survival, where a new player-run arena has popped up, aside from when Bluuefuzzy asked in chat for people to come test out the arena, no other support has been needed.

 

Supporting player run events is good, with calendar events added (if they provide an info post), recognition through broadcast leading up to the event starting and similar staff support ensures that people really do have player run events, without staff acting as middle-men between their idea starting and when it is running.

 

In summary, I can somewhat see your reasoning behind this proposal but I'm currently seeing the idea as "Player Events Run Through Staff".

 

 

[buzzie71]

Requests for staff assistance in running events has happened before, though very rarely from my point of view - my last query was in May, and someone offered their arena for a server event at least a year or two ago.  Most of the time on P, players will just set up their event and announce on the subreddit.

 

Maybe I'm misreading here, but I think that any event proposed to run on PvE should be reviewed and approved by their admins first regardless of how it passes the initial screening.

 

Other than that I'm a little divided, though maybe I'm being a bit traditionalist.  One of the cool points of PvE is that any player can host an event given enough hard work and determination - FISA has (had?) a proud tradition of being successful this way, for example, and allowing player-run events with staff assistance might diminish similar efforts?

 

On the other hand, something like this could be a boon for S, whose potentially hostile playstyle is not conducive to running player-hosted events and is a major discouraging factor (I know I've had firsthand experience in this).

 

No qualms with hosting on E though; that could be a cool periodic "community spotlight" feature.

[SwitchViewz]

After thinking about this for some time and discussing it with the heads and other staff members I'd like to scrap what I proposed for a different idea. I have 2 ideas that I think would work, both are similar but slightly different. I personally prefer idea B but I am curious of everyone else's thoughts.

 

Idea A:

Instead of doing a lengthy process and having users fill out a form it will be much simpler. Players can approach the server admins or event admins with an event they would like to host, and assuming it isn't anything breaking any rules, we would be happy to supply minimal moderation tools to help them with the event. The tools would be all carried out by staff members.

 

The tools we would provide would be:

Broadcasting: A staff member would give one or two broadcasts in /o or /broadcast before the event starts announcing it to the server. We would then grant a few announcements during the event for information and one for the conclusion. The amount of broadcast uses can be determined by the individual server admin groups.

Teleporting: We would provide very short range teleportation, such as teleporting from a respawn room with beds to a spectator box. The only acception to short range teleports would be if there is a PvP Event, and for some reason a bed was not set, we would teleport them from spawn to the bed. All of this is subject to individual server admins as each server handles this differently, but this is the general idea.

EasySigns: We would place down protected signs for players to use in there event with EasySign features, such as colored text or announcing. The featuers players can use for EasySigns would be determined by the server admins for there server.

 

Idea B: 

A different idea that I had was to introduce a new plugin to the servers for events. This would allow people to schedule an event and have it announced by the plugin a day in advance or a few hours in advance. It would act sort of like a "in game calendar" where people can view all upcoming events, past events, schedule events, designated staff member for the event, and various other things. This idea would incorporate all the things mentioned in Idea A but would have the plugin as an addition to it.

[c45y]

I think it would be best to hold off on proposals and formal event processes until there is sufficient demand that the current process of working with server admins is no longer optimal.

I don't mean to be rude, I get this from my project managers all the time, but There are other things to work on with a higher priority.

[buzzie71]

To be fair, on P there is not even a "process of working with server admins" - if there is a low demand for player-ran events on P it is probably because we currently don't support player-ran events with staff tools and haven't for a very long time.  Should that option be opened to them, I am guessing the players there will put forth quite a few proposals.

[SwitchViewz]

I think it would be best to hold off on proposals and formal event processes until there is sufficient demand that the current process of working with server admins is no longer optimal.

As buzzie71 said, there might not be much demand because it has never been a feature before. With all the events P players host I could definitely see some of them taking advantage of this.

 

"...current process of working with server admins is no longer optimal."

- I am not sure what you mean by this? What current process?

 

I don't mean to be rude, I get this from my project managers all the time, but There are other things to work on with a higher priority.

For tech admins there is most definitely more important things to do, but for just Idea A it would not require your assistance there. I'm not sure what else would be a higher priority besides another fundraiser or getting E up, both of which don't impact this much.

[c45y]

The current process is simply approaching a member of staff with the idea. We're all pretty approachable and in mumble people like to propose things like this while they can discuss the item. I was unaware that wasn't a common thing everyone else experienced?

 

I am all for giving players an easy way to run events, and maybe we just need to advertise that we are happy to receive requests for such things? I simply hesitate to throw a big framework and process around what has traditionally been a task that has required very little planning or staff time. Sorry for having a hard time trying to vocalize how I feel about this.

 

I was not speaking from a tech perspective, but from a concern that these smaller events could distract focus from larger events like CTF and fundraisers which are much more important. If the current 'process' already works for these events don't load up your plate with work that functions okay already.

[SwitchViewz]

c45y and I had a conversation earlier today about this in IRC and it clarifies some things about my proposal. In case anyone missed it, you can read the conversation here: http://pastebin.com/Lyn7vLe3

[SwitchViewz]

Bumping! I would like to get this pushed through and have it be approved/denied by server admins for implementation. This would go live along side E within the next few weeks.

 

Current proposal:

• Players approach either server admins or eadmins saying they would like to use the event tools for an event they are hosting
• The event tools that would be provided would be carried out by a staff member are:
• - Easy Signs: Depending on the server, players can have a mod use certain features of EasySigns for there event (such as colored text). The signs would be removed once the event is completed
• - Broadcasting & Alerts: We would add they player event to the [server] alert list. We would use /o or /broadcast to announce there event 1 hour in advance and at the time it starts. Players can then request to have various things announced throughout the event.
• - Teleportation?: Been debating whether or not we should do this. We would allow a mod to teleport players around the area that the event is being hosted.
• Players can also host an event on E, such as if they want to do a larger event.

[Silversunset01]

could you clarify, as i am just now coming into this

 

- what sort of events are you envisioning players hosting? currently on P there are quite a few spleef and deathmatches hosted that run fine with no intervention at all, so i'm wondering if you're referring to these events or something additional.

 

- event tools:

> easy signs: what would these be used for? are you talking of things like gear or notifications?

> broadcast: would this be to announce the event, or run during the event periodically?

> Teleportation: this would only really be an issue for S and P, as they do not currently have teleportation. where are you envisioning this to happen?

[SwitchViewz]

could you clarify, as i am just now coming into this

 

- what sort of events are you envisioning players hosting? currently on P there are quite a few spleef and deathmatches hosted that run fine with no intervention at all, so i'm wondering if you're referring to these events or something additional.

 

Same thing as players do now, such as spleef or deathmatches. The goal is just to give them more visibility and tools to make there event even better.

 

The only additional thing would players would be able to use E to host large events, such as hide n seek in a castle they made in WE.

 

 

- event tools:

> easy signs: what would these be used for? are you talking of things like gear or notifications?

> broadcast: would this be to announce the event, or run during the event periodically?

> Teleportation: this would only really be an issue for S and P, as they do not currently have teleportation. where are you envisioning this to happen?

 

EasySigns has a ton of features and it would be up to each server admin group what features a player could use. Such as on C, they could use the gear and announce feature, but on PvE they could only use the announce feature.

 

Broadcast would be to announce the event beforehand as well as doing one occasionally during an event. Such as /broadcast Round 3 Start!

 

Teleportation: I'm on the fence with this. It wouldn't really be a issue on C but as you said we don't allow it for S or P. We'd either have to adjust the policy for events or not allow it. This was merely an idea I had.