This is going to be long, so I'll start with the official format and then elaborate.
A brief description of why you'd like to become a VFM.
I would like to become a VFM in order to be able to communicate to Nexon, with one less middleman, the concerns of the community.
What do you hope to accomplish as a VFM??
I hope to get Nexon to understand, and act on, the concerns of the community, and to communicate better and more openly with us.
Do you have any experience moderating for other communities?
I have been a moderator for a Maplestory fan forum for the past 5.5 years. It's not particularly active anymore.
Regarding the expectations:
- 18 Years or older. -
I am.
- Must be active and on the official MapleStory forums & Discord. -
I am.
- No history of using exploits or illegitimate programs. -
I have none.
- Moderate and participate on the Maple community forums &Discord. -
I can do that.
- Be courteous and kind towards other forum members. -
I try.
- Uphold the Forum Code of Conduct and enforce the rules fairly. -
I can do that.
- Assist planning ideas for creative and fun contests. -
Not really my strong suit.
- Provide a helping hand on community temperature reports. -
I will.
- Must be levelheaded when addressing difficult situations. -
I believe I am. Others may disagree.
- Must possess excellent written and communication skills. -
I believe I do. Others may disagree.
- Value providing constructive suggestions & feedback -
I do.
- Must not be a supporter of the Black Mage. -
Would you take my word for it?
- Must be in REBOOT or have a strong understanding of the server's unique setting –
I played in Reboot from shortly after it was released, until V patch. I did not, however, play the “meta”. I didn't meso farm (with Kanna or otherwise), join a guild, or get otherwise carried. I do not play Reboot anymore but I do keep up with its mood and concerns via the subreddit.
So much for the short and formal part. Now for the long story, for those who have the patience:
In the past, people have told me “you should be a VFM” after I gave them (or others) a good solution to a problem with the game, or helped them some other way, or when they noticed my level of activity on the forums.
I have always laughed the suggestion off, because VFMs have traditionally been - how shall I put it politely? - people who exhibit faith in Nexon. They've always represented Nexon to the players. And I, well, my negative opinion of Nexon is well-documented in thousands of forum posts.
However, last October, Arwoo wrote [url=”
https://www.reddit.com/r/Maplestory/comments/76g6xn/datamined_content_will_no_longer_be_allowed_on/dogjuqe/”]on the subreddit[/url]:
there is a reason why I kept the VFM application public and open to the community. I'd like this community to have a voice and a choice in the individuals that represents them.
To see the very VFMs chosen by this community in the recent application to be accused of white knighting or making that their purpose of posting is quite disheartening.
This puzzled me, because I did not remember the “How to apply” post saying anything about representation or the community choosing anything. But I had no proof, since the post had been hidden. I did make some comments on the last round of applicants, but it never occurred to me that “this person is too much of a Nexon fan to properly represent me” would be a valid objection. Because, as I wrote above, VFMs have always been “Nexon fans”. It seemed to be a requirement of the job.
Now the post has been made public again, and I see my memory did not deceive me. It still says nothing about VFMs representing the community or the community choosing them.
But if VFM are now also a sort of new MLC, who represent the players to Nexon, then I believe I do have a place on this council. I think there are quite a few players who feel the way I do about Nexon, and I wish to represent them.
And if VFMs are not required to white-knight for Nexon, as Arwoo wrote on reddit, then I could be one while still speaking my mind as I have all these years. That would let me skip one layer of middlemen in my neverending quest to get Nexon to understand our concerns and communicate their intentions to us.
Should I be (s)elected, I intend to:
- Continue my forum and Discord activity as before, including:
- Answering such player questions as I am able to;
- Posting Bug Reports and Feedback/Suggestions as called for;
- Criticizing Nexon decisions, actions, and inactions that I disagree with, both in public (as before) and internally;
- Thank/praise Nexon when they do something exceptionally right.
- Press Nexon to be more open and communicative, as promised repeatedly and only rarely carried out;
- Press Nexon to be more professional in their handling of bugs and suggestions from the community;
- Perform such moderation/housekeeping tasks as I may be assigned on the forums or discord.
I do NOT intend to:
- Defend Nexon against unhappy players, when I believe the players are in the right;
- Allow users to break the CoC of the forums or Discord;
- Break NDA (Note: I currently post “speculations” about how things are done at Nexon. I would not like an NDA to become a gag order on those. This would need discussion.)
That's all I can think of for now. If I think of anything else I'll add it in a response post, because I
still, months later, can't edit my own posts on these forums. Maybe as a moderator I'll finally be able to?
and 19 others.
and 19 others.
Comments
Given the entire incentive for this round of VFM applications is to look for an individual with a substantial knowledge of Reboot, the individual should be someone who currently mains Reboot, and is knowledgeable regarding the overall process. If not, that defeats the entire purpose of looking for a new VFM, given the existing VFMs generally have varying degrees of basic knowledge pertaining to Reboot already.
Anyways Good Luck!
"I love Nexon!"
I would say the purpose of the application is so that AKradian can communicate directly so things won't get lost in translation.
As the game mechanic between the normal worlds and Reboot aren't largely different, I don't believe it will make much negative impact. The candidate shows they are very knowledgeable in terms of game mechanic as well as what the user base wants, as proven by his post history.
last round of applications, i believe 2-3 were chosen