Franky [1529693] —
Original article
Find out what it takes to be a member of Torn's staff team as we interview our city's six newest helpers.
Last month our Community Manager Bogie announced that six new faces would join the Torn City staff team as helpers; PrincessJulie, Kayla, Stewie, Rhino, Apnea and MarlonBrando. Just kidding. The last one is Ampheromine. Jesus, can you imagine? Anyway, I was recently afforded the opportunity of doing an exclusive interview with these new staff members, so if you'd like to know the skills and commitment required to be a helper, then read on!
The first thing I did was to grill my subjects on their motivations for becoming a staffer. Some citizens are understandably suspicious as to why anyone would want to help other people, but that's because some of Torn's citizens are cold, heartless bastards. Thankfully, our staff's motivations are pure, with most citing the ability to give back to the community and help new players as the reasons they applied.
PrincessJulie: "I started playing Torn over 14 years ago when I was just a little teenager, and it has been in and out of my life ever since. I knew if Bogie gave me the chance to prove myself that I'd be an amazing staff member, and I wanted to give back what I could to the community that has been in my life for so long. Plus I heard that staff can embed gifs and pictures on discord and I'm all about those gif reactions."
Maybe we should've hired Marlon the gif-lord after all! Our new staffers were chosen because they have a proven track record of helping players and generally being good eggs. Stewie, for example, is a well known face in the Bugs and Issues forum, and he co-writes the weekly Patch Notes column for the newspaper with Proxima. Kayla is another who is known for her helpful responses on the forums, and she's looking forward to doing even more now she's got her fancy new staff uniform.
Kayla: "I've aspired to be staff since pretty much day one. My main motivation was helping new players and getting to guide them along their first days in Torn, hopefully trying to show them how great the game is and why we all love it so much. I spent most of my time in Q&A trying to answer peoples questions, so helping people is just something I always wanted to do, and now in a staff position I'm able to do it even more."
Apnea jokingly suggested the staff hax button was her motivation for joining, whereas Ampheromine mentioned that she was passionate about Torn and therefore online often anyway as a reason. This last trait is key, with staffers expected to be logged into Torn regularly to perform their duties. There seems to be no specific time or duration demanded, though, with some logging in for several hours a day, and others reporting for duty as and when they can.
Apnea: "I generally commit 3+ hours per weekday and 4+ hours at the weekend. It's probably generally thought that you have to be online 20 hours a day for staff work - but I like to think it's more quality, not quantity. If we all do our own little bit well then we have it covered between us."
Bogie told the Times that new helpers are trained in all areas and are expected to work in as many of them as possible to ensure they have a suitably broad knowledge of the game. That being said, some helpers do have specialties which mean they are often called upon for their expertise. Stewie, for example, often heads straight to Bugs & Issues out of instinct, proceeding to solve, research and replicate any new bugs which have arrived overnight. But in addition to their specific interests, everyone is expected to do their share of moderating and answering questions.
Ampheromine: "I answer such things as "Where to find ammo" and "How do I search the streets" by now with the efficiency and speed of a Google engine. Then I go over to Global. Usually less to be said there but I always scroll up to see if there's a question I may have missed, then I'll PM the person if they haven't been answered."
It is gratifying to know that all of the staffers seem to genuinely enjoy the tasks they are given. Kayla says that helping out "the younglings" is a rewarding part of the job for her, and PrincessJulie described checking through the personal ads looking for rule breakers as a particularly interesting job. Rhino, on the other hand, likes to see what the new people have to say.
Rhino: "The welcome mails [are my favourite], you get some interesting replies, I think most of them think that it's a bot they're messaging."
Ampheromine loves getting to know new people by educating them about Torn life. For her, answering questions she receives is genuinely enjoyable, as "you never know when a question will lead to a gamelong friend." Apnea added to this by describing the enjoyment she gets from creating an environment that is fun and friendly for all players, but she did have one criticism regarding her new role.
Apnea: "The forums are more fun now the rules are more lenient - I enjoy keeping up with the local torn superstars foolery. We could do with an update to the staff room though - the coffee maker (Hoy) is definitely broken as the coffee it makes is rubbish!"
In all seriousness, new staff members will always find a few things difficult in their first few weeks of work. Kayla says the staff tools are a little tricky to handle, and Ampheromine feels people can't be themselves with her anymore due to her new red name scaring them. Stewie also thinks he needs to adjust to Chat as its a little out of his comfort zone, but that would be true for anyone with a brain, conscience or working moral compass. We've all seen what global has to "offer".
All of the issues faced by new Torn staffers are things that time and practice will fix. Stewie says that if something needs doing that he isn't capable of, there is a network of others higher up whom the task can be passed to. Kayla added that "we do our jobs the way Bogie wants us to, so if he's hindering me doing it, then it's something I shouldn't be doing in the first place."
However, one thing Apnea does take issue with is Tiller, who apparently sports a rather questionable mankini as his staff uniform. And as for Rhino, he just feels as though he can no longer be his true self while working as a staffer.
Rhino: "I suppose I have to be less of an arse now... [Also] work, that damn thing we all must do. Really gets in the way."
Real life responsibilities will always take priority over a voluntary position, but our staff seem to balance their commitments very well in this respect. The impact of friendships, on the other hand, can prove tricky when it comes to doling out punishments and advice. Having been active in Torn for many years, it is inevitable that our new helpers will have to deal with one of their friends sooner rather than later.
Ampheromine: "Because I know a lot of people, I have to be extra attentive when dealing with these individuals to ensure I deliver a fair and unbiased moderation. I always defer to my colleagues if I feel impartiality may be a potential or perceived issue."
This is where the experience of our existing staff members comes in handy. Grif and Hoy have been overseeing much of the helpers' training schedule, with 787thWarDog, Poptop and LDP also offering support and help along the way. All of the staff trainers were described as welcoming and patient by the helpers, with their expertise in the application of the staff's tools proving especially useful.
Stewie: "Grif, Hoy, and LDP have all played a vital part in helping me get started. I really couldn't thank them enough. They've been very supportive, and the amount of help they've provided is almost hard to believe."
Apnea: "We have a great team here and everyone pitches in to help out if we have any questions or concerns. There are nominated "trainers" but I've actually found Bogie himself to be really helpful in steering us all towards a friendly, helpful, customer focused approach to being staff members."
Bogie is a prime example of what Torn's staff can achieve if they are dedicated enough - and we're not just talking about his outstanding karma score. Our Community Manager was himself a staffer once, and even after his years of service had finished, he continued to make a name for himself as someone dedicated to the betterment of the Torn experience for everyone.
Our new helpers also aspire to bigger and better things, with each hoping to achieve the rank of Officer or Moderator one day. But they all seem acutely aware of the need to develop their skill sets first, with PrincessJulie wanting to prove herself an asset at this role before she thinks about any kind of promotion, and Apnea hoping to progress to the point where she is able to train the next batch of new recruits.
Ampheromine: "I'd love to be an officer at some point. I'm still learning every single day and for now, I'm content to stay a helper until I feel like I've gotten things down, but I'm always looking over the horizon. I'm coming for you, Stretch."
Ambition is a fine quality indeed, but our new recruits have many great attributes which should stand them in good stead in their time as helpers. Patience seems to be one quality which all of our helpers possess. But they all come with their own specific skills too. For example, Stewie, Torn's resident bug swatter, uses his encyclopedic memory to reduce the time it takes to attend to people's bug reports.
Stewie: "I have a great memory when it comes to remembering bug reports I've seen in the past, and remembering specific keywords that help to find them using the forums search... This is all quite odd, however, as more often than not I forget why I walked into a room."
PrincessJulie: "There are instances where at first glance, an offence might seem a lot worse than it really is, and it is a lot worse to retract a punishment than it is to take a couple of minutes and think about the best course of action."
Kayla: "People can be jerks sometimes, or slow to understand... no matter what happens you can't ever lose your rag with someone. To try and be professional at all times takes a lot of patience. The Social Guidelines are often not black and white. They take a lot of thought sometimes."
Rhino: "I can pretend to be patient extremely well."
Apnea says her Torn life has prepared her well for a staff position, as her laid back demeanour means she can be quite detached from Torn in an emotional sense. She is rarely irritated by muggings, attacks or when people criticise the staff, as she sees Torn as about having fun, adding "it's a hobby - I'm not out to ruin that for anyone by being quick on the trigger or by having a high opinion of myself."
If more people took a leaf out of Apnea's book, perhaps the Torn forums wouldn't require as much moderation as they currently do. I guess that would mean we wouldn't need all these new helpers, though, so keep on flaming you incessant trolls!
Nevertheless, I hope it has proven eye-opening to read these responses from Torn's new batch of dedicated helpers. It is easy for some to forget that there are real humans behind these online accounts, especially when it comes to staff. So to end this article, let's try to humanise our latest staff recruits in the best way possible; by asking them to tell us an unusual personal fact!
PrincessJulie: "I have lived on three continents in my life, I grew up in Canada, I currently live in Europe, and when I was in university, I spent a summer teaching English in Vietnam."
Kayla: "Put in a single eggplant emoji as my quote."
Rhino: "I keep buying geese, and they keep s***ting all over my car, seriously, it's all over the roof and I don't know how they did it."
Apnea: "I'm hypermobile (double jointed). I can put my legs behind my head, move my toes independently, bend my thumb back to my wrist, etc. It's not all glamorous bendiness though - I dislocated my shoulder for the umpteenth time recently by picking up a bottle of coke and a doctor but his sweaty foot in my armpit to pull it back into place."
Ampheromine: "If you send me a Vine or other funny video (under one minute) I've never seen and I laugh at it, I will give you a Xanax. I love Vines."
Stewie: "I occasionally, spend time doing Origami (Japanese Art of folding paper). Here is an example of one of the things I managed to follow along with and make - something I've (almost) mastered the instructions for - but I'm not always as successful"
The first thing I did was to grill my subjects on their motivations for becoming a staffer. Some citizens are understandably suspicious as to why anyone would want to help other people, but that's because some of Torn's citizens are cold, heartless bastards. Thankfully, our staff's motivations are pure, with most citing the ability to give back to the community and help new players as the reasons they applied.
PrincessJulie: "I started playing Torn over 14 years ago when I was just a little teenager, and it has been in and out of my life ever since. I knew if Bogie gave me the chance to prove myself that I'd be an amazing staff member, and I wanted to give back what I could to the community that has been in my life for so long. Plus I heard that staff can embed gifs and pictures on discord and I'm all about those gif reactions."
Maybe we should've hired Marlon the gif-lord after all! Our new staffers were chosen because they have a proven track record of helping players and generally being good eggs. Stewie, for example, is a well known face in the Bugs and Issues forum, and he co-writes the weekly Patch Notes column for the newspaper with Proxima. Kayla is another who is known for her helpful responses on the forums, and she's looking forward to doing even more now she's got her fancy new staff uniform.
Kayla: "I've aspired to be staff since pretty much day one. My main motivation was helping new players and getting to guide them along their first days in Torn, hopefully trying to show them how great the game is and why we all love it so much. I spent most of my time in Q&A trying to answer peoples questions, so helping people is just something I always wanted to do, and now in a staff position I'm able to do it even more."
Apnea jokingly suggested the staff hax button was her motivation for joining, whereas Ampheromine mentioned that she was passionate about Torn and therefore online often anyway as a reason. This last trait is key, with staffers expected to be logged into Torn regularly to perform their duties. There seems to be no specific time or duration demanded, though, with some logging in for several hours a day, and others reporting for duty as and when they can.
Apnea: "I generally commit 3+ hours per weekday and 4+ hours at the weekend. It's probably generally thought that you have to be online 20 hours a day for staff work - but I like to think it's more quality, not quantity. If we all do our own little bit well then we have it covered between us."
Bogie told the Times that new helpers are trained in all areas and are expected to work in as many of them as possible to ensure they have a suitably broad knowledge of the game. That being said, some helpers do have specialties which mean they are often called upon for their expertise. Stewie, for example, often heads straight to Bugs & Issues out of instinct, proceeding to solve, research and replicate any new bugs which have arrived overnight. But in addition to their specific interests, everyone is expected to do their share of moderating and answering questions.
Ampheromine: "I answer such things as "Where to find ammo" and "How do I search the streets" by now with the efficiency and speed of a Google engine. Then I go over to Global. Usually less to be said there but I always scroll up to see if there's a question I may have missed, then I'll PM the person if they haven't been answered."
It is gratifying to know that all of the staffers seem to genuinely enjoy the tasks they are given. Kayla says that helping out "the younglings" is a rewarding part of the job for her, and PrincessJulie described checking through the personal ads looking for rule breakers as a particularly interesting job. Rhino, on the other hand, likes to see what the new people have to say.
Rhino: "The welcome mails [are my favourite], you get some interesting replies, I think most of them think that it's a bot they're messaging."
Ampheromine loves getting to know new people by educating them about Torn life. For her, answering questions she receives is genuinely enjoyable, as "you never know when a question will lead to a gamelong friend." Apnea added to this by describing the enjoyment she gets from creating an environment that is fun and friendly for all players, but she did have one criticism regarding her new role.
Apnea: "The forums are more fun now the rules are more lenient - I enjoy keeping up with the local torn superstars foolery. We could do with an update to the staff room though - the coffee maker (Hoy) is definitely broken as the coffee it makes is rubbish!"
In all seriousness, new staff members will always find a few things difficult in their first few weeks of work. Kayla says the staff tools are a little tricky to handle, and Ampheromine feels people can't be themselves with her anymore due to her new red name scaring them. Stewie also thinks he needs to adjust to Chat as its a little out of his comfort zone, but that would be true for anyone with a brain, conscience or working moral compass. We've all seen what global has to "offer".
All of the issues faced by new Torn staffers are things that time and practice will fix. Stewie says that if something needs doing that he isn't capable of, there is a network of others higher up whom the task can be passed to. Kayla added that "we do our jobs the way Bogie wants us to, so if he's hindering me doing it, then it's something I shouldn't be doing in the first place."
However, one thing Apnea does take issue with is Tiller, who apparently sports a rather questionable mankini as his staff uniform. And as for Rhino, he just feels as though he can no longer be his true self while working as a staffer.
Rhino: "I suppose I have to be less of an arse now... [Also] work, that damn thing we all must do. Really gets in the way."
Real life responsibilities will always take priority over a voluntary position, but our staff seem to balance their commitments very well in this respect. The impact of friendships, on the other hand, can prove tricky when it comes to doling out punishments and advice. Having been active in Torn for many years, it is inevitable that our new helpers will have to deal with one of their friends sooner rather than later.
Ampheromine: "Because I know a lot of people, I have to be extra attentive when dealing with these individuals to ensure I deliver a fair and unbiased moderation. I always defer to my colleagues if I feel impartiality may be a potential or perceived issue."
This is where the experience of our existing staff members comes in handy. Grif and Hoy have been overseeing much of the helpers' training schedule, with 787thWarDog, Poptop and LDP also offering support and help along the way. All of the staff trainers were described as welcoming and patient by the helpers, with their expertise in the application of the staff's tools proving especially useful.
Stewie: "Grif, Hoy, and LDP have all played a vital part in helping me get started. I really couldn't thank them enough. They've been very supportive, and the amount of help they've provided is almost hard to believe."
Apnea: "We have a great team here and everyone pitches in to help out if we have any questions or concerns. There are nominated "trainers" but I've actually found Bogie himself to be really helpful in steering us all towards a friendly, helpful, customer focused approach to being staff members."
Bogie is a prime example of what Torn's staff can achieve if they are dedicated enough - and we're not just talking about his outstanding karma score. Our Community Manager was himself a staffer once, and even after his years of service had finished, he continued to make a name for himself as someone dedicated to the betterment of the Torn experience for everyone.
Our new helpers also aspire to bigger and better things, with each hoping to achieve the rank of Officer or Moderator one day. But they all seem acutely aware of the need to develop their skill sets first, with PrincessJulie wanting to prove herself an asset at this role before she thinks about any kind of promotion, and Apnea hoping to progress to the point where she is able to train the next batch of new recruits.
Ampheromine: "I'd love to be an officer at some point. I'm still learning every single day and for now, I'm content to stay a helper until I feel like I've gotten things down, but I'm always looking over the horizon. I'm coming for you, Stretch."
Ambition is a fine quality indeed, but our new recruits have many great attributes which should stand them in good stead in their time as helpers. Patience seems to be one quality which all of our helpers possess. But they all come with their own specific skills too. For example, Stewie, Torn's resident bug swatter, uses his encyclopedic memory to reduce the time it takes to attend to people's bug reports.
Stewie: "I have a great memory when it comes to remembering bug reports I've seen in the past, and remembering specific keywords that help to find them using the forums search... This is all quite odd, however, as more often than not I forget why I walked into a room."
PrincessJulie: "There are instances where at first glance, an offence might seem a lot worse than it really is, and it is a lot worse to retract a punishment than it is to take a couple of minutes and think about the best course of action."
Kayla: "People can be jerks sometimes, or slow to understand... no matter what happens you can't ever lose your rag with someone. To try and be professional at all times takes a lot of patience. The Social Guidelines are often not black and white. They take a lot of thought sometimes."
Rhino: "I can pretend to be patient extremely well."
Apnea says her Torn life has prepared her well for a staff position, as her laid back demeanour means she can be quite detached from Torn in an emotional sense. She is rarely irritated by muggings, attacks or when people criticise the staff, as she sees Torn as about having fun, adding "it's a hobby - I'm not out to ruin that for anyone by being quick on the trigger or by having a high opinion of myself."
If more people took a leaf out of Apnea's book, perhaps the Torn forums wouldn't require as much moderation as they currently do. I guess that would mean we wouldn't need all these new helpers, though, so keep on flaming you incessant trolls!
Nevertheless, I hope it has proven eye-opening to read these responses from Torn's new batch of dedicated helpers. It is easy for some to forget that there are real humans behind these online accounts, especially when it comes to staff. So to end this article, let's try to humanise our latest staff recruits in the best way possible; by asking them to tell us an unusual personal fact!
PrincessJulie: "I have lived on three continents in my life, I grew up in Canada, I currently live in Europe, and when I was in university, I spent a summer teaching English in Vietnam."
Kayla: "Put in a single eggplant emoji as my quote."
Rhino: "I keep buying geese, and they keep s***ting all over my car, seriously, it's all over the roof and I don't know how they did it."
Apnea: "I'm hypermobile (double jointed). I can put my legs behind my head, move my toes independently, bend my thumb back to my wrist, etc. It's not all glamorous bendiness though - I dislocated my shoulder for the umpteenth time recently by picking up a bottle of coke and a doctor but his sweaty foot in my armpit to pull it back into place."
Ampheromine: "If you send me a Vine or other funny video (under one minute) I've never seen and I laugh at it, I will give you a Xanax. I love Vines."
Stewie: "I occasionally, spend time doing Origami (Japanese Art of folding paper). Here is an example of one of the things I managed to follow along with and make - something I've (almost) mastered the instructions for - but I'm not always as successful"
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