Call for Volunteers

[Tom]

If you are interested in becoming a Magistrate, you can apply here. Yes, in public.


You must...

   
• be an active player of BattleMaster.
• have a working knowledge of most of the game mechanics.
• been playing for long enough to be familiar with the game. Half a year at least, more is better.
• write a short application detailing in no more than 3-4 sentences why you want to be a Magistrate and why I should pick you.

Bonus points if you...

   
• have a basic understanding of justice, legal systems and trials. Having been in a court-room in real life and watching or participating in trials is a definite plus that you should mention. TV courts don't count.
• know the Inaliable Rights and the summary/abstract of the Social Contract by heart.
• have trust-medals in-game (include a link to your user details page).
• can think of something important that I forgot.

[^ban^]

I've been playing BM for seven years now, and loving it for just as long. I am active to varying degrees in game, and extremely active on both the forums and IRC.

In the seven years I have been playing I have gained two trust medals. I have significant experience with the game both in terms of in-game and out-of-game, having played as the undead GM for Beluaterra's 4th invasion and having recently joined the dev team. During my time in the invasion, I learned that I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to enhance the BM experience for everyone that I could, and feel this would be an excellent opportunity to do it again.

[Bedwyr]

I have been playing for five years, played through many characters in different walks, had established characters on every continent except the Colonies and war islands, and managed to pick up twenty seven trust medals http://battlemaster.org/UserDetails.php?ID=16351 (far outweighing the other medals, amusingly enough).  And I've made enough enemies that a few more aren't going to bother me  :)

[Anaris]

I have played BattleMaster since early Jan 2004, served in every position the game has had during that time (including battlegroup leader when such things existed), and played on every continent.  I have gone from being a primarily strategy-oriented player, through being a primarily roleplay-oriented player, to preferring a careful balance between the two.

I have never been in a real courtroom except for a mock trial, but I know the rules of BattleMaster inside and out (both old and current...). I have...apparently 18 trust medals.

I believe that it is important to prevent people from exploiting the game, and each other, and send the message that such things cannot be tolerated, in order to maintain the friendly atmosphere we strive toward.

I would love the opportunity to help protect the atmosphere and integrity of BattleMaster in a more direct way than I have over the past few years on the dev team.

However, if you want to keep the number of Magistrates limited...I can certainly understand if you'd prefer to give the job to someone who's not already doing a half-dozen other things.

[Tom]

Well... yeah. Three people from the dev team so far, nobody else. I certainly would want to engage a few other people as well.

[Indirik]

Can I make it four dev team volunteers? Out of curiosity, is this forum visible to more than the dev team? I would have expected several more volunteers by now...

I am obviously an active player for 5-1/2 years, active both in-game and on the forums (as well as the now-defunct Discussion List). I think I have the requisite Trust medals. Unfortunately, I have no courtroom experience, even on TV shows. (I hate law dramas, which is probably a bonus, right? My sister is a lawyer though, so I bet that's a few marks against me...  :-\) I've held just about every position in the game, both on testing and stable islands.

I'd like to help implement the community based conflict resolution system. I think it's possible that the players can make a good stab at policing the player base. It's going to be a long, tough road, though. We'll need consistency and clarity to make sure it stars and has some staying power.

[Telrunya]

Yes, everyone can see it, but I'm not sure if I'd be a good one for this.

[Sacha]

Been playing since early 2005, barely missed a turn in over six years. I'm a reformed multi-cheater, so I guess I can think like a BM criminal (the Kevin Mitnick of BM if you will >_>). I've got six trust medals. I've played many characters on all islands, tried every class in the game and have held just about every position there is short of Ambassador. I think I'd make a good Magistrate because despite what my family history might indicate, I don't hold grudges and I'm a good RL diplomat of sorts. I seem to end up as a mediator a lot when two friends get into a fight. If needed, I'll stay out of arguments in which I might be considered an impartial judge (conflicts of interests and such). I've seen a few trials IRL (never as a defendant I might add :P) so I have a fairly good idea of how things work in a courtroom. 

[Chenier]

I have been playing actively since 2006, contributing greatly to the wiki, the d-list, and the forums. I have held all positions at least once, played on all continents at least once (except SWI), and experienced every class and subclass available. I have 8 trust medals. I have good understanding of the legal system following my two law classes (and I'm taking a third in September), and I know the social contract and inalienable rights by heart because I review them every now and then just to make sure my memory doesn't fail me.

I have a critical spirit and always seek the bigger picture. I see (and understand) BM as being a game, that is meant to be fun, so I don't attempt to hold other players back to satisfy my own vanity. Most of my efforts have been made to make things more interesting for others overall. I also volunteer to help the game with side projects whenever time allows me, such as beta testing for the War Islands and the ongoing work to give vector maps via my GIS software.

[Nosferatus]

Been playing since 2005, understand mechanics very well as i played different kind of characters on different islands filling different kind of positions. (I think all by now...)
I have 12 trust medals (http://battlemaster.org/UserDetails.php?ID=7434) and as a player always kept the fun aspect of the game as my main focus.
Most of the concepts i made in BM are efforts to try and enhance the experience of the game, for everyone.

I can also relate to Sasha's description as being a mediator in RL.
Looking from an objective perspective is something i try to pursue in RL constantly, which often places me in a sort of judge role.
Often do i play the devil advocate in many conversations or discussions to show people the other perspectives out there.

I have also experienced big titan cases in the past concerning Avamar, Averoth, FEI with Einar and the EC peace situation where tom personally bolted a few rulers.

But most of all i am very concerned of our newer players starting in some realms out there who even from OOC perspective really want to win there war to the cost of these new players by even breaking the social contract, chasing away many players.

[Geronus]

I have been playing very actively since early 2008, and I would greatly enjoy the opportunity to give something back to the game. I presently have 4 Trust medals:

http://www.battlemaster.org/UserDetails.php?ID=25563

I have held most of the positions in the game and feel that I have a good working knowledge of the game mechanics. I have had characters on every island except the Colonies and played every class there is. I have participated as a juror in an actual criminal trial and I understand how such things work. Most importantly, I want to do this, and I think I will be good at it. I am a natural consensus seeker, possess a strong sense of fairness, and am inclined to try to understand both sides of every issue.

By the way, this post is somewhat hard to find. I had to hunt around for it once I guessed that it existed when I saw Chenier's Magistrate avatar, and could not find it at first. I would expect relatively few people to stumble across it without actively looking for it. You may want to post a link to this thread in Announcements and/or in the Titan System Revelation thread.

[Vellos]

I have been playing BM for almost 6 years now, on every continent currently in existence except the Colonies. I have 19 trust medals, as well as 9 trust and 11 roleplaying.

I do not have court-room experience exactly. I am on the Judicial Board of my university, and also serve as a Resident Advisor. In that capacity, I para-professionally do conflict mediation. Also, when I'm not on the "judging" side of my university's disciplinary process, I am often on the other side. As an RA, I am contractually bound to serve as a testifying witness to any event I document should it be addressed in a judicial hearing. Moreover, I am required to file a formal report concerning any event within 24 hours of my observing it; reports which form the basis of the judicial process.

Outside of the "official" judicial process, I am expected to prevent things from reaching that stage. I oversaw a hall notorious as a party location and epicenter of vandalism. Before me, it averaged $500 of vandalism a year. Under me, it had $50 of vandalism. This was in some part due to my practice of engaging existing hall cliques and communities to re-invest in their physical environment, and also due to my willingness to hunt down any violators.

Which brings me to another point: I am experienced with BM's judicial system. I have filed a fair number of Titan reports. I vigilantly observe the Inalienable Rights, and am frequently "that guy" who sends out OOC messages bugging people about not touching IRs. I believe in detailed research, and so try to do my best to ensure that maximal information conditions are achieved. As an RA, my reports are notorious for their detail and precision: I have a very low acquittal rate on cases I documented precisely because I thoroughly investigate prior to reporting, but, when I do report, I am very thorough.

Finally, I am a believer in new players. Possibly my proudest achievement thus far IG is the realm of Terran. Not because we've prospered (though that's cool too), but because we have a disproportionate number of new players. Whenever new players join the realm, I contact immediately, and follow up at about a week, a month, and 100 days. I actively contact new players and encourage them to run for offices, get involved, etc. While this may seem unrelated, I believe it is, because it demonstrates my attitude towards BM. I do not care about "winning." Look at my list of realms on my family page: Irombrozia, Massillion, Oligarch in it's last days, Meridian Republic... the only realms with which I strongly associate that aren't completely doomed are Riombara and Terran, and my relationship with Riombara is... stormy (observe that I listed Meridian Republic and Irombrozia...). What I care about is making BM a fun place for the players around me, a place where exciting things happen that make you want to log on each day, and a place where new players arrive and get connected to the community.

In sum, I believe I would be a good "Magistrate" because:
1. Abundant experience in BM in general
2. Significant experience in conflict mediation
3. Significant experience in various venues for formal judicial processes within a non-legal community context
4. Significant experience with BM's former conflict resolution system
5. Exceptionally detailed and thorough investigator
6. Community-play driven ethos

Concluding sidenote:
I argued against this system when it was being discussed. But now that it's here, it's here, and I want to help make it work. In my job at uni, I'm not anonymous. Everyone knows it was me who wrote up their friend last weekend, or what have you. I know how vitriolic those environments can be, and I am pleased to say that of the 10 memebers of my building's staff, I was one of only 2 who were re-hired, largely because I "dealt with the public" much better. Having my name associated with a controversial decision just doesn't bother me. Note my tagline on my profile: stodgy old man in training. Damn kids can grumble all they want, but I'll do my job.

Family Page:
http://www.battlemaster.org/UserDetails.php?ID=10403

[Tom]

Great. Thank you all.

I've picked a few magistrates, probably enough to get us started initially.

I'd like to use this opportunity to mention that my decisions are not final. This is an experiment, and part of that is that the magistrates may change, both in number and composition.

Right now, the next step would be to set up the in-game pages.

[Fury]

I'm late too the thread as I'm in a different timezone than most BM players but this would be something I'm passionate enough to apply for.

http://battlemaster.org/UserDetails.php?ID=25315

I'm an active BM player with 4 trust medals and only missing a turn every now and then. Good working knowledge of game mechanics and I know the social contract, IR and SMA. Very logical with an excellent grasp of 'wordings'. Can argue both sides of any issue. I'm older than the average BM player and have played in most roles.

Have made a number of Titan reports and SMA violations. As far as I remember only one was rejected due to certain information not available to me. Another was rejected at first but accepted after I pointed out why it should be. Am also gracious enough not to push an issue (last Titan report).

I am calm and collected and have endurance for any issue.

[Tom]

There is no "too late". :-)