Pig demotion

[Khaviv]

Am also pretty sure we're all aware of the dynamic that can (might not always) happen when a man thinks there's a girl on the internet.

The internet... where men are men.. and women are men.. and 14y old girls are federal agents

[Doughboygaming]

I miss him

[Denin]

I miss him

I miss him too though i wont mix up in whatever the drama was. Not been around long enough to be aware of more than the edges around it, i am happy about that. Not interested.

He created a lot of fun activities on the server, most of it fluff but good fluff. And i've noticed less chat moderation since he is gone.

While I guess he probably deserved his demotion or it wouldnt have happend i still think he was mostly good for the community. He created positivity far more than negativity, that was at least my impression of him.

Wish he was still around as a GM.

[Arlian]

Am also pretty sure we're all aware of the dynamic that can (might not always) happen when a man thinks there's a girl on the internet.

The internet... where men are men.. and women are men.. and 14y old girls are federal agents

You forgot "men are women" xD

[Derektm99]

The majority of my memories of Pig are of him picking fights with random people in world chat and going back and forth with them for way longer than necessary instead of just doing his job. When you consider that fact that he was getting way too friendly with certain players/guilds on top of everything else, it's clear they were not mature enough for a player-facing position.

[Montery]

Hi, let's go straight to the point
as someone that dislikes "yappers" and usually disables world chat
imho, demoting Pig is the wrong move (obviously without knowing what was internally discussed)

Maybe he yapped a little too much sometimes or even mistakenly presented his own opinions as the ones of the Dev team
but

a GM that likes to talk and interacts with the player base is something that brings back memories
and shouldn't be voided from the community

Ok, he made some wrong decisions, but it's obvious that he is passionate and loves what he is doing
Personally, i prefer a "human" GM with his mistakes, than a "robot" replying "thank u for your patronage" and zero interaction

Apart from that, as a GM, he gonna be criticized for his actions, even if they were 100% justified
The bloodthirsty crowd was asking for his head, but let's not forget, that among those critisizing him are also the salty-jealous players (who were muted by him for example) and found the opportunity to harm his popularity

Don't let the trolls win, GM Pig should learn from his mistakes and should be given a second chance (if he desires it though)
Peace out!

Hear, hear!

Pig's infraction is far from worthy of dismissal, especially considering the good he brings to the server.

GM Pig has, by far, been the most enthusiastic GM in supporting roleplayers, which is something this server's catatonic RP community desperately needs.

GM Pig has also demonstrated a deep knowledge of Classic Warcraft lore that is no doubt invaluable to the server's world-building efforts. Few people can distinguish between what was canon in the original game and what was added later, but GM Pig certainly can.

He also wrote the Nautilus News Network, which was a wonderful way to keep us up to date on server developments in an in-character fashion.

GM Pig is part of OctoWoW's culture, full stop.

He didn't help anyone cheat, and he didn't dox anyone or do anything that put the server at risk. Do we want an OctoWoW with GM Pig, or an OctoWoW shaped by the trolls who want him gone?

I urge Kestrel and the rest of the team to consider that this is a cultural turning point for OctoWoW. If they want this server to thrive as a Classic+ successor to Turtle with a vibrant RP community someday, then firing Pig is the wrong move.

[Tassetasse]

Pig's infraction is far from worthy of dismissal, especially considering the good he brings to the server.

According to whom? Your opinion? In a professional environment, that would have been a dismissal for gross misconduct.
Anecdote: I was reported by a player for misconduct once. My line manager pulled my logs, personal and GM characters, read everything, checked every action, didn't find the reported misconduct, but found an occasion where I whispered my girlfriend that I'd be home soon, I just finished writing my daily report.
My line manager gave me an official warning for disclosing to a player that GMs write daily reports.

GM Pig has, by far, been the most enthusiastic GM in supporting roleplayers, which is something this server's catatonic RP community desperately needs.

If they want this server to thrive as a Classic+ successor to Turtle with a vibrant RP community someday, then firing Pig is the wrong move.

Pig is not integral to the RP scene. The RP scene is what the RPers make it. If you want a scene, build it. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for GMs supporting player events in some way from the shadows. But they do not need to be server celebrities that make world chat unusable, overshare their personal life and cause upset in the playerbase with poorly phrased announcement previews, or the like.

GM Pig has also demonstrated a deep knowledge of Classic Warcraft lore that is no doubt invaluable to the server's world-building efforts. Few people can distinguish between what was canon in the original game and what was added later, but GM Pig certainly can.

You're describing a Writer or Quest Designer, not a GM.

He also wrote the Nautilus News Network, which was a wonderful way to keep us up to date on server developments in an in-character fashion.

You're describing a Community Manager, not a GM.

GMs are not Community Managers. GMs are not Devs.
GMs are invisible helpers who intervene when something goes awry.
GMs are entrusted with power over your account and character.
That is their purpose.

GM Pig is part of OctoWoW's culture, full stop.

The same way a wart is part of your foot, yes.

He didn't help anyone cheat, and he didn't dox anyone or do anything that put the server at risk. Do we want an OctoWoW with GM Pig, or an OctoWoW shaped by the trolls who want him gone?

Are there "trolls" who dislike Pig? Yes. Are there people who dislike Pig and aren't "trolls"? Yes. One does not need to be a troll to dislike Pig. I shall refrain from making assumptions about your world view.

I urge Kestrel and the rest of the team to consider that this is a cultural turning point for OctoWoW.

I'm sure they have. I find the server culture has much improved since he was shut up. Some remnants remain, but they will erode with time, God willing.

[Ravel]

If people do enjoy talking with the person, I do not neccessarily see the point in arguing against the demotion? If they are especially knowledgeable in the lore or particularly sociable that's all good and nice, but those are things that do not require a GM role?

Having friendly GM's that help make entertaining events on Turtle was nice, but those aren't the qualities described here. On the contrary from my personal opinion, in dealing with people having "GM Robots" is a blessing: for the GMs.

There is a bias of players that want sociable GMs to interact with, because "Hey I am a nice person, I deserve my jokey/cuddly/whatever GM." but I assume that isn't the reality across tickets and interactions. I assume GMs talk with a lot of difficult players that neither warrant or make that kind of behavior easy. So its a lot easier to maintain motivation and mood if all GMs act 'professional'.

Simply because that expecatation of living up to a standard isn't there anymore, without that expecatation I assume the job is easier. Players won't have favorites. A GM can have a bad day and do a few tickets without feeling the need to conform to expectations. The situation that led to the demotion itself is a good example in how social factors muddy the decisions of a GM.

But again, does that mean the role of GM is required for a person to participate? No writing independent journals, help organising events, advise on lore those things don't have to be done by a GM or a Dev. To add to what Tassetasse just wrote, I do not belief that Community Manager is an appropriate role in that case. Those still hold responsibility.

[Gother]

He didn't do anything that put the server at risk.

He demanded a GM account for his wife lmao. I fail to see how behavior like this doesn’t put the server at massive risk.

You people are willing to defend all of his shortcomings just because he was personally nice to you.

[Dwarfwarrior]

Yea especially given the anonymous factor that kestrel intended on using to protect them. Staff being as personable as he was alone completely puts them at risk of having a hole in the team large enough for someone like blizzard to potentially get more info. The second blizzard gets the name of someone in a western country to send a cease and desist to its basically over so that’s kind of a big deal