Ashin Varanin
Professional Enabler
-Manner
We handle dozens of subs; it's hard to remember how much more work these people put into their subs than we do (for the most part). Let's be less brusque, maybe more apologetic if serious edits or denials are necessary. Which leads into...
-No More One-Shot Denials
We've all done it, and there's nothing explicitly wrong with it, if something is incredibly broken. However, I'm requesting and requiring that from now on every submitter be given the chance to edit. If it's incredibly broken, just write out your reasoning and then say "Without substantive edits, this will be denied." If it breaks Factory rules in a serious way, such as plagiarism or joke submissions, denials without edit requests are appropriate.
-Knowing How to Ask for Nerfs
Many people simply don't know how to nerf their own submissions if asked, and so they dig in their heels. This applies even to the apparently knowledgeable who make noise. I've interviewed They Who Rage and often found that even the most basic, intuitive edit possibilities came as a surprise to them. Things like 'oh, you want a personal cloaking generator that can last for XX hours? Give it a cooldown period of XX minutes after X hours.' Or 'oh, you want a tank with five turbolasers? Switch them to laser cannons like on an AT-AT and that should do fine.' Find edit possibilities that they will like, not that you will like -- preserve the concept unless it's beyond broken.
-Compromise
Yes, you can deny submissions for argument. However, I've made an extensive review of these subs, and in around half of them, the judge was at least partially wrong and refusing to accept an exasperated rationale. This is about privilege and perception as much as it is about knowledge. We are here for them.
-Knowledge and Thoroughness
FJs are expected to be specialists; RPJs and Admins don't have that luxury. Please double-check math and double-check rules. Please be careful of what you approve -- most broken approvals are done by Staff rather than FJ's. I've seen Staff deny straightforward canon stuff, approve undetectable mass-produced TIE Defender knockoffs, allow sixty-metre undetectable luxury yachts that move like a TIE Interceptor, and approve superweapons without looking up what they were. If you are Staff and are unsure about a submission, even though it's within your rights to stamp it, marking it 'Pending Approval' will let me know it needs a closer eye. Don't be embarrassed to do that. Factory is only a small part of your job on SWRP Chaos -- you are not expected to know everything.
-Perception of Privilege
Please do not instantly stamp something, even if it's from an experienced Factory type. There've been a few times when I've made mistakes in my subs, left loopholes, whatever, and people have stamped it because it looks decent and they trust me. Please do not stamp anything from me or from other experienced Factory people without asking for at least one clarification or other edit. This is about image, accountability, and privilege. I recognize that this will slow things down a little, but we're in a good spot for efficiency -- we can handle it.
-The Competitor Clause
We all know not to handle subs that benefit us, and to play it safe around things with connections to us. However, we've become vulnerable to accusations, not that we're approving and submitting broken things for us and our friends, but that we're consciously or subconsciously nerfing ships, tech, corporations and so forth that would be in direct competition with our IC interests -- not making sure our stuff is better, but making sure nobody else gets stuff quite as good as ours. I don't care about the extent to which this is true, as I don't believe it's a systemic problem, but please be aware of perception issues regarding this. If in doubt, pass it on to another judge.
[member="Popo"] [member="HK-36"] @Maria Natalia [member="Ilias Nytrau"] [member="Ayden Cater"] [member="Domino"] [member="Jacen Cavill"] [member="Aaralyn Rekali"] [member="Jared Ovmar"] [member="Danger Arceneau"] [member="Darth Janus"] [member="Alli Wren"] [member="Asterion"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Valeria Aetani"]
We handle dozens of subs; it's hard to remember how much more work these people put into their subs than we do (for the most part). Let's be less brusque, maybe more apologetic if serious edits or denials are necessary. Which leads into...
-No More One-Shot Denials
We've all done it, and there's nothing explicitly wrong with it, if something is incredibly broken. However, I'm requesting and requiring that from now on every submitter be given the chance to edit. If it's incredibly broken, just write out your reasoning and then say "Without substantive edits, this will be denied." If it breaks Factory rules in a serious way, such as plagiarism or joke submissions, denials without edit requests are appropriate.
-Knowing How to Ask for Nerfs
Many people simply don't know how to nerf their own submissions if asked, and so they dig in their heels. This applies even to the apparently knowledgeable who make noise. I've interviewed They Who Rage and often found that even the most basic, intuitive edit possibilities came as a surprise to them. Things like 'oh, you want a personal cloaking generator that can last for XX hours? Give it a cooldown period of XX minutes after X hours.' Or 'oh, you want a tank with five turbolasers? Switch them to laser cannons like on an AT-AT and that should do fine.' Find edit possibilities that they will like, not that you will like -- preserve the concept unless it's beyond broken.
-Compromise
Yes, you can deny submissions for argument. However, I've made an extensive review of these subs, and in around half of them, the judge was at least partially wrong and refusing to accept an exasperated rationale. This is about privilege and perception as much as it is about knowledge. We are here for them.
-Knowledge and Thoroughness
FJs are expected to be specialists; RPJs and Admins don't have that luxury. Please double-check math and double-check rules. Please be careful of what you approve -- most broken approvals are done by Staff rather than FJ's. I've seen Staff deny straightforward canon stuff, approve undetectable mass-produced TIE Defender knockoffs, allow sixty-metre undetectable luxury yachts that move like a TIE Interceptor, and approve superweapons without looking up what they were. If you are Staff and are unsure about a submission, even though it's within your rights to stamp it, marking it 'Pending Approval' will let me know it needs a closer eye. Don't be embarrassed to do that. Factory is only a small part of your job on SWRP Chaos -- you are not expected to know everything.
-Perception of Privilege
Please do not instantly stamp something, even if it's from an experienced Factory type. There've been a few times when I've made mistakes in my subs, left loopholes, whatever, and people have stamped it because it looks decent and they trust me. Please do not stamp anything from me or from other experienced Factory people without asking for at least one clarification or other edit. This is about image, accountability, and privilege. I recognize that this will slow things down a little, but we're in a good spot for efficiency -- we can handle it.
-The Competitor Clause
We all know not to handle subs that benefit us, and to play it safe around things with connections to us. However, we've become vulnerable to accusations, not that we're approving and submitting broken things for us and our friends, but that we're consciously or subconsciously nerfing ships, tech, corporations and so forth that would be in direct competition with our IC interests -- not making sure our stuff is better, but making sure nobody else gets stuff quite as good as ours. I don't care about the extent to which this is true, as I don't believe it's a systemic problem, but please be aware of perception issues regarding this. If in doubt, pass it on to another judge.
[member="Popo"] [member="HK-36"] @Maria Natalia [member="Ilias Nytrau"] [member="Ayden Cater"] [member="Domino"] [member="Jacen Cavill"] [member="Aaralyn Rekali"] [member="Jared Ovmar"] [member="Danger Arceneau"] [member="Darth Janus"] [member="Alli Wren"] [member="Asterion"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Valeria Aetani"]
