Post by Galen on Jul 7, 2012 16:06:42 GMT -8
Hello,
Staff has been in discussion regarding both the matter that sparked off this series of posts as well as the posts themselves during the week. The matter that these posts referred to is still being resolved by the Staff and Player Advocates and is not an issue appropriate for public discussion at this time. Should you feel that you have a concern or questions on that matter, please approach a Player Advocate or e-mail the staff directly and we will work with you as best we can while respecting the privileged nature of the information.
Regarding the matter of this series of posts, here are the facts of the matter.
First, as the issue was a private matter between players and staff being discussed over e-mail, the players involved had a reasonable expectation that the discussion would not be made public, especially as part of a post originating from a 3rd party (Rob). Rob received the information he reacted to from Joe Meyer, who had been an Assistant Storyteller this year but who was taking a break to sort out some personal issues between himself and a fellow staff member. Due to an open line of communication between staff and Joe, he was still looped in on staff e-mails until such time as he finalized which direction he wished to take.
Joe's decision to take a disagreement with the way that staff was working to resolve this matter to anyone outside of the ST and PA team for Vampire was, in the view of the staff and PAs involved, ethically wrong. The choice to do so has resulted in further interpersonal drama, hurt feelings and above all, chaos that will need to be resolved to allow players to continue enjoying the game. Continuing discussion with the staff, sharing concerns regarding the matter with one or more Player Advocates or even contacting the players involved directly to voice any issues or correct any misinterpretations all would have been acceptable and appropriate courses of action.
To this end, the staff feels that it is necessary for the player base to know that in this instance of personal frustration, Joe was unable to maintain the privileged and private nature of player-staff communications and to illustrate to the player base that the staff regrets and is sorry this matter has been made so public, Joe will need to see a consequence for this behavior at the Vampire game. After long discussion among staff and several Player Advocates, the following disciplinary action has been chosen and been explained to Joe personally by me:
Joe will be suspended from playing the Vampire sphere for a five week period constituting the remainder of this staff's term. This action is outlined in the Code of Conduct as a 'severe' infraction of the rules, a level of offense the staff feels is appropriate for taking a matter reasonably expected to remain in resolution in a professional manner between the elected HST, his chosen ASTs and PAs and the players involved and instead acting on personal emotion to turn it into a public spectacle.
This staff is committed to completing our next five weeks, including supporting the election process, in a professional and fair manner. We welcome player questions and concerns as well as using the Player Advocate members to assist in resolving any conflicts that may come up.
As of now, this thread is locked and the matter is considered resolved.
Thank you all,
Galen and the 2012 EC Vampire Staff
Staff has been in discussion regarding both the matter that sparked off this series of posts as well as the posts themselves during the week. The matter that these posts referred to is still being resolved by the Staff and Player Advocates and is not an issue appropriate for public discussion at this time. Should you feel that you have a concern or questions on that matter, please approach a Player Advocate or e-mail the staff directly and we will work with you as best we can while respecting the privileged nature of the information.
Regarding the matter of this series of posts, here are the facts of the matter.
First, as the issue was a private matter between players and staff being discussed over e-mail, the players involved had a reasonable expectation that the discussion would not be made public, especially as part of a post originating from a 3rd party (Rob). Rob received the information he reacted to from Joe Meyer, who had been an Assistant Storyteller this year but who was taking a break to sort out some personal issues between himself and a fellow staff member. Due to an open line of communication between staff and Joe, he was still looped in on staff e-mails until such time as he finalized which direction he wished to take.
Joe's decision to take a disagreement with the way that staff was working to resolve this matter to anyone outside of the ST and PA team for Vampire was, in the view of the staff and PAs involved, ethically wrong. The choice to do so has resulted in further interpersonal drama, hurt feelings and above all, chaos that will need to be resolved to allow players to continue enjoying the game. Continuing discussion with the staff, sharing concerns regarding the matter with one or more Player Advocates or even contacting the players involved directly to voice any issues or correct any misinterpretations all would have been acceptable and appropriate courses of action.
To this end, the staff feels that it is necessary for the player base to know that in this instance of personal frustration, Joe was unable to maintain the privileged and private nature of player-staff communications and to illustrate to the player base that the staff regrets and is sorry this matter has been made so public, Joe will need to see a consequence for this behavior at the Vampire game. After long discussion among staff and several Player Advocates, the following disciplinary action has been chosen and been explained to Joe personally by me:
Joe will be suspended from playing the Vampire sphere for a five week period constituting the remainder of this staff's term. This action is outlined in the Code of Conduct as a 'severe' infraction of the rules, a level of offense the staff feels is appropriate for taking a matter reasonably expected to remain in resolution in a professional manner between the elected HST, his chosen ASTs and PAs and the players involved and instead acting on personal emotion to turn it into a public spectacle.
This staff is committed to completing our next five weeks, including supporting the election process, in a professional and fair manner. We welcome player questions and concerns as well as using the Player Advocate members to assist in resolving any conflicts that may come up.
As of now, this thread is locked and the matter is considered resolved.
Thank you all,
Galen and the 2012 EC Vampire Staff