2017 Server Changes (Announcement)

by OsgaTharp 4/1/2017, 1:55 am

Oasis Server Changes 2017

Hey everyone,

As you may or may not know, the staff are always trying to improve the server, and are constantly discussing potential changes. The following are the most recent changes we have discussed and accepted, initially proposed at our annual Honolulu Oasis Staff Retreat***.

New Rank System:

We’ve noticed recently that our current system of staff promotion has some problems. While we are easily able to choose new staff members from the pool of Oasians and Artisans, we have no way of easily promoting guests or members directly to staff. Months of time are potentially wasted when we should be promoting those special guests and members immediately! No application necessary.
To address this glaring oversight in our rank system, the following rank system has been proposed and adopted by near-unanimous vote (abstaining vote: Emna*):

Guest (Remains the same as before**)
JrJrJrJrJrJrJrMod (Replaces Member)
JrJrJrJrJrJrMod (Replaces Trusted)
JrJrJrJrJrJrMod+ (Replaces Trusted+)
JrJrJrJrJrMod (Replaces Artisan)
JrJrJrJrMod (Replaces Oasian)
JrJrJrMod (Replaces Architect)
JrJrMod (Replaces Veteran)

We understand that some of these changes may be subtle. So, the biggest thing to take away is that the entire player-base is now part of the staff. So let me be the first to say: congratulations! You’ve sure worked hard for this :)
I understand that for many of you reading this, this thought immediately came to mind:

“Wow! I’m a JrJrJrJrJrJrMod now! But how do I become a JrJrJrJrJrJrMod+?”

And that brings me to the next new change: Revamped Promotion System

New Promotion System:

Congratulations! You are now part of the staff! But how do you get promoted to a more senior staff position?
It turns out this was a big problem for us. We’ve noticed that the current promotion structure is extremely unfair. Most of the promotions are decided on directly by the staff, with no input whatsoever from the general player-base. Unfortunately, now that every member of the player-base is part of the staff, there is no fair way to decide on promotions without having the same problem as before! With that in mind, we are excited to announce the newly perfected and perfectly egalitarian promotion system: The Staff Aptitude Test! (SAT).
The Staff Aptitude Test (SAT) shall be administered once per month for a small fee of $10. Your registration fees will be used solely for the development of new SAT tests (and for the annual Honolulu Staff Retreat***). The SAT shall be a three hour exam scored out of 1600 points assessing your ability to abuse power and play favorites. Only those JrJrJrJrJrJrJrMods, JrJrJrJrJrJrMods, JrJrJrJrJrJrMod+s, JrJrJrJrJrMods, JrJrJrJrMods, JrJrJrMods, and JrJrMods who have shown exceptional favoritism and power abuse can hope to be promoted! The top scorers on the SAT will be added to the monthly PSATPR (Post Staff Aptitude Test Promotion Race), where every member of the staff team can send their vote to Madscientist032 on the forums, as usual ($5 voting fee).

Miscellaneous Changes:

Under our new rank system, the size of the staff team may cause bureaucracy to become a problem. To address this, staff members holding at least the JrMod rank will be given a new /coup command, which authorizes a drone strike on Madscientist032’s house in Massachusetts. After successful confirmation of the objective, an "Owner Race" will be held on the forums, where the remaining staff select of subset of players (rank JrJrJrJrJrJrMod+ and above) to sit a special version of the SAT (special registration fee: $50) to determine the next Owner of Oasis SMP!
The name Magazine has become such a welcome one on the server that any nicknames including the word Magazine will be encouraged. However there is a slight admin fee ($19.95 + shipping and handling) to help our staff with the difficult process of assigning nicknames.
We are adding a JrJrJrJrJrJrJrMod[youtube] rank, given out to anyone with more than 3 subscribers. This rank will get op, so that the video creators will have room to let their creativity flourish!
Want to write your praises to everyone's favorite European Admin? (Sorry maxi…) Do /Revilo in game to write all about him! After all, the UK is the most integrated of all the EU countries right now!
The antiquated ban appeal system has been streamlined. Rather than posting an appeal on the forums, banned players may now directly contact the staff member responsible for their case to work out a small, one-time reinstatement fee.
To account for the skill gap in mcmmo ranks, we’ve added new skills more appropriate for every player.
Due to people complaining about the lack of engagement in chat recently, we've enabled 'Chest-talk' to simulate the average chat experience.

*Emna has since been demoted to Guest for her insubordination
**A small one-time additional account registration fee of $15 is required of Guests to be considered for promotion to JrJrJrJrJrJrJrMod.
***the annual Oasis SMP Honolulu Staff Retreat is only open to staff members holding the rank JrMod and above.