Transparency

[Rosey]

This is in no way of a demand or looking for some answers in the light of recent events.

Sometime in the past, years ago, a (retired?)staff member member said they would try to be more transparent with us in regards to knowing who each of them were. It was nice, I felt like we were closer as a community over all. I know they did not promise us to continue to be transparent, and as you can see I personally do not know half the staff (before recent new ones and before some had quit) because I don't try to snoop around or pry them directly of their identification or knew them before they became staff.

It would be lovely if we can see the transparency once more after so many years, and I guess maybe after more staff are hired and including the recent retired staff. They did it before, why not again?

This is just a suggestion and do not expect anything in the future.

 

[riddleguy]

In the announcement post for the game closing for a week it was said the staff would try to be more transparent with us. I too would love to see this transparency not just in knowing who the staff member are but also with new features. Lately, i feel like i have to find out about stuff like jungle cruise coming back and ombre hair word of mouth,would be nice if staff would make announcements about these sorts of things.

 

[VMK_Perdita]

Hey there, hi there hello there!

First and foremost, I would like to thank you for bringing your concerns and wishes forward in the most respectful way. Not many people are willing to be as polite, and I personally respect that more than anything. May you never lose your sense of compassion.

I know it may not mean too much coming from a new staff member, but for what it's worth, I wanted to say that we have heard you and we understand your position. We've all been there before. We've all seen what happens when a community goes sour. I can assure you, though, that through the very short amount of time the other new staff and I have been here, we've seen nothing but positive teamwork. I really do think that this team of staff members is confident in their ability to work together.

On transparency - the staff have a rule book just like the normal players do. There is a lot of stuff we can't just run out into the world talking about, and that's just to protect the integrity of the magic we are trying to spread. Promise is a big word, and we have very large shoes to fill (especially with these small doggy paws!) but we will try our best to inform everyone what's going on, and admit when we have made mistakes. Mistakes are sure to happen, as none of us are perfect, but I do hope that you all will be willing to work with us along the way. What the community needs more now than ever is to stop trying to fight each other. We're all in this together. Trust each other, trust your staff, and I promise everything will be okay.

We're a family, and like all families, we have our problems too. We're working things out, thanks for sticking with us.

I hope you all have a magical day, and I’ll see you real soon. Love you, pups.

-VMK_Perdita


We thought it’s only fair to include a masterpost of everyone so no one is confused.

Spoiler: Staff Member List

Amy
HOST_Nala
HOST_Jessie
HOST_Ariel
HOST_Hatter
HOST_Morph
HOST_Crash
HOST_Genie
QA_Rufus
VMK_Perdita
VMK_HeiHei
VMK_Kida
VMK_Oogie
VMK_Aladdin
VMK_Schweetz
VMK_Vader
GA_Boo
GA_Cheshire
GA_Silvermist
GA_Thorn
GA_Blu
GA_Hogie
GA_Yensid

 

[StargirlV]

We thought it’s only fair to include a masterpost of everyone so no one is confused.

Can I suggest in your master-post of staff list, you also list loosely the nature of each members job. For example, it seems that some hosts are required to do more than just host events. I think this will help people know who to contact directly if they feel the have a particular issue or question and do not feel that contact@myvmk is always the best option. For example: GA's design so if it's a design question ask a GA perhaps. The VMK's moderate but honestly that is very vague... is it segregated? Are some are in control of monitoring the chat, cfh, bullying, inappropriate language, off-game issues like emails or other outside issues... etc and of course Amy codes and has final say? I don't think this information will compromise staff in any way but if it does then nvm, I just think it would help.

 

[riddleguy]

Hey there, hi there hello there!

First and foremost, I would like to thank you for bringing your concerns and wishes forward in the most respectful way. Not many people are willing to be as polite, and I personally respect that more than anything. May you never lose your sense of compassion.

I know it may not mean too much coming from a new staff member, but for what it's worth, I wanted to say that we have heard you and we understand your position. We've all been there before. We've all seen what happens when a community goes sour. I can assure you, though, that through the very short amount of time the other new staff and I have been here, we've seen nothing but positive teamwork. I really do think that this team of staff members is confident in their ability to work together.

On transparency - the staff have a rule book just like the normal players do. There is a lot of stuff we can't just run out into the world talking about, and that's just to protect the integrity of the magic we are trying to spread. Promise is a big word, and we have very large shoes to fill (especially with these small doggy paws!) but we will try our best to inform everyone what's going on, and admit when we have made mistakes. Mistakes are sure to happen, as none of us are perfect, but I do hope that you all will be willing to work with us along the way. What the community needs more now than ever is to stop trying to fight each other. We're all in this together. Trust each other, trust your staff, and I promise everything will be okay.

We're a family, and like all families, we have our problems too. We're working things out, thanks for sticking with us.

I hope you all have a magical day, and I’ll see you real soon.

-VMK_Perdita


We thought it’s only fair to include a masterpost of everyone so no one is confused.

Spoiler: Staff Member List

Amy
VMK_Schweetz
HOST_Nala
HOST_Duchess
HOST_Ariel
HOST_Morph
HOST_Mushu
HOST_Aurora (break)
HOST_Rafiki (break)
HOST_Thanos
HOST_Karru
VMK_HoneyLemon
VMK_Dormouse
VMK_Lilo
VMK_Perdita
VMK_HeiHei
VMK_Rey (break)
GA_Alice
GA_Sonny
GA_Blu
GA_Boo
GA_Thorn (break)
GA_Tefiti
QA_Poe

I understand that theres stuff staff can't talk about. But i see no reason why we cant be informed of new features,additions and major bug fixes when they are released via forum announcments or the twitter feed plus its a great way to get not as active players back in game. Not everyone plays the game daily and people go an vacation and such. So if you release a major new feature like the recent ombre hair addition or add back in jungle cruise, it would be nice if we didnt have to find out from solely member posts which is how i found out about those 2 things.

EDIT: on a side note, i feel the staff could be better at keeping the newsletter up to date. It seems some weekly/host prize releases always get missed.

 

[Rosey]

@VMK_Perdita I too also understand some things can't be talked about; which is why I made note of that in the beginning.
Thank you for replying and for the kinds words. I'm extremely grateful that you put down a master list (it was hard keeping up hehe) of the staff in general.

 

[VMK_Lilo]

Can I suggest in your master-post of staff list, you also list loosely the nature of each members job. For example, it seems that some hosts are required to do more than just host events. I think this will help people know who to contact directly if they feel the have a particular issue or question and do not feel that contact@myvmk is always the best option. For example: GA's design so if it's a design question ask a GA perhaps. The VMK's moderate but honestly that is very vague... is it segregated? Are some are in control of monitoring the chat, cfh, bullying, inappropriate language, off-game issues like emails or other outside issues... etc and of course Amy codes and has final say? I don't think this information will compromise staff in any way but if it does then nvm, I just think it would help.

Aloha!
I will break it down here and then edit the original post but wanted it to notify you that we responded!
Graphic Artists are the one's who design the items (rooms, furniture, pins, clothing, etc) so anything designing related you can comment on their Design Feedback post which I will link here and you can ask what programs we use or just rave at what an awesome job they do (because come on, did you see the Staff Ghost Pet?)

Moderators are the ones who handle most of the behind the scenes work which includes but not limited to: Calls for Help, the contact@myvmk.com email, and name approvals just to name a few!
We do monitor the chat as well but we DO NOT go through chat-logs looking for issues. We also DO NOT want anyone to feel like we're spying on them or that they can't feel comfortable talking in the game. We encourage anyone who is feeling harassed, threatened, bullied, or uncomfortable to send us a call for help so we can investigate the issue and get it taken care of the proper way.

Hosts are, of course, required to host events! As hosts, they are required to host a certain amount of events and maintain and enhance community involvement! This includes but again not limited to: building their own rooms, planning their own events from idea to implementation, and distributing prizes! Some also help maintain the forums!

Something I want to stress is, yes, Amy is our LEADER(and a great coder)- but in the end we are all a team and make decisions together. All of the staff members listed about don't just do what they were hired to do. They go above and beyond. Hosts will help moderate, moderators will help design, designers will help host; we are all a family as Perdita stated above.
I hope I answered your question and gives you a little insight on how we do things and paints a picture of the joint effort that takes place to make the game as amazing as it is!​

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I understand that theres stuff staff can't talk about. But i see no reason why we cant be informed of new features,additions and major bug fixes when they are released via forum announcments or the twitter feed plus its a great way to get not as active players back in game. Not everyone plays the game daily and people go an vacation and such. So if you release a major new feature like the recent ombre hair addition or add back in jungle cruise, it would be nice if we didnt have to find out from solely member posts which is how i found out about those 2 things.

EDIT: on a side note, i feel the staff could be better at keeping the newsletter up to date. It seems some weekly/host prize releases always get missed.

We almost always post any updates on twitter, forums, or as in game alerts. I will make sure going forward we are more vocal about everything that is being done to better the game! ​