With Riserva logging in about as often as you see a pig flying and there being clear communication issues between the red-jacketed BSF2000 and the rest of the Elite Guard, what is it like in current times to be one of the games Moderators? How motivated can one remain when the people whom you are meant to be lead by are so lax? Are we likely to see an Elite Guard reshuffle similar to that of round five? All questions we put to Moderator Sky in a home truths interview.
Communication, many would say is key to any success of a group within any game. The same can surely be said of the Elite Guard. But as past interviews have alluded to, it seems to be far from adequate. We asked Sky what he thought of current communication levels between BSF2000, Riserva and the rest of the Elite Guard team. He left little to the imagination, as he told us, "It's not great, to be honest. I last spoke to BSF2000 on the 23rd of February, and Riserva on the 18th. That's almost two months ago now which isn't really good for team morale." I think many would be shocked, myself included, to know that the games leading public Moderator was himself so lacking in contact with the powers that be. Sky went on to say, "However constant contact with them is not vital for what needs to be done. I can still make the small updates that I'm here to provide, Mika can continue to wave his banstick, and Aldarion can still fantasise about Emma Watson. The only reason we NEED to talk to them is to know how future updates are progressing, or in my case to get permission to release the bigger updates I've got waiting." So contact may not be vital, but surely motivation of the team cannot be good if regular contact is not maintained. This may add to the feeling of many users that BSF2000 is distinctly out of touch with the game in current times.
Despite this apparent lack of contact, Sky spoke highly of the games current Head Moderator Riserva when asked if he felt his performance in this round justified the position. As he told us, "He certainly does. He and BSF2000 have developed quite a friendship and Riserva is able to encourage BSF2000 to get online and have a talk with the rest of us so we can all catch up." So despite a lack of activity, it appears Riserva is still an important cog in the machine that is the Elite Guard, as Sky went on to tell us, "Obviously he has his real life issues, his job has truly taken over his life, and that's fair. Without him pushing for me I doubt BSF2000 would've allowed me the ability to make updates so that's another thing we can all thank/curse Riserva for." So, Riserva may of come in for heavy criticism in the Moderator Perceptions article, an understandable viewpoint from the users who are unable to see this contribution, however with the highly regarded Sky perhaps being a feature in effect created by Riserva, his rating in the opinion polls may increase.
We broke away from the subject of Riserva to consider the past and future. Round five of Bootleggers saw an Elite Guard reshuffle as never seen before. Sabin, a Moderator at the time, was promoted to Administrator. Alongside this promotion came several new Moderators in a bit to better control the game, coming off the back of infamous hacking scandals and exploitation. We asked if Sky felt a similar bumper edition of promotion stickers was a realistic prospect for future rounds. He was not convinced by the idea, saying, "I think the current Elite Guard is the most stable it's been in years. Other than me it's the same as it was toward the end of the last round and there's no sign of anyone leaving in the near future. As for additions I don't think more are needed, but BSF2000 or Riserva may think differently. There are some very promising candidates currently in yellow jackets, though, so who knows." So we are unlikely, it would seem, to see any changed on the Elite Guard front any time soon. But who do you think the most promising yellow-jacketed candidates are?
Most recent updates to the game seem to have come via Sky. But what has the secretive green-jacketed man got planned next? He was as we expected not going to blow the lid on all his plans at once, but told us, "Well I'm feeling guilty about the Uno update taking over the Off Topic Forum, so I've got a two step plan to reclaiming the forums for which I'll need BSF2000's approval. Beyond that I don't really have public updates. I'll still be making cosmetic ones and bug fixes, but nothing major." All sounding positive for the users on the Sky update front then! We did push him for more information on potential releases, but he was honest in his reply as he said, "Not really, just in case he says no." Fair enough.
But what could Sky tell us about the long awaited updates, or perhaps fantasies of BSF2000? It seemed the interview would continue in its positive nature, as he told us, "By the looks of it Achievements is either done or nearly done. I've not heard anything about it yet but the code is there. Blackjack I've not yet seen though we are promised a screenshot and a test of it. The Crew update won't be until after both of those are done." The presence of a code will provide little consolation for the users who have been craving these updates like pregnant women since their proposal. But to know that progress is being made will surely provide hope.
To finish off our time with Sky, we revisited an old interview where he had suggested that overhauls and updates to the Crew feature could tie in with a Reset, a word not commonly found in the Forums of this round yet, but that will surely provide a talking point at some time in the future. With the Crew update potentially coming after proposals are met on Blackjack, does Sky still feel that the updates could tie in with hitting the big red controversial button? Perhaps not. He told us, "It won't necessarily lead straight into one, nor be introduced at the start of a new round, but Crews will I imagine be the final big update of this round before we consider the timing of a reset. If all goes as planned a reset could be upon us before years end." Panic! A potential reset in as little as eight months could see the end of what is considered by many an already dead-in-the-water round.
But what is your opinion on a potential Reset? Do you still Riserva is undeserving of his Head Moderator position? Should we see an Elite Guard reshuffle? Who is the most deserving yellow-jacket for a promotion? We want to hear your views on these questions and any others you'd like to throw into the had. For now however, we would like to that Sky once again for his time, in what we feel is a very interesting interview for you readers!
