Hopefully this will sound civil and much more constructive than any of the previous 'drama' posts. In fact, I hope that this isn't going to become a drama post. Rather, I would hope that this becomes a realization to the Polaris staff. A realization that they need to change if they actually want to continue. However, previous experience (such as six staff members leaving staff all for similar reasons that I am going to state here) says otherwise. I want to help you all, but you can't help people who do not want to help themselves.

So, I am going to give my full, unadultered, and hopefully insightful opinion on Polaris staff. This is all that I have seen from the inside of staff, as I am a member of Polaris Lorestaff and have contributed heavily to the Polaris repository. I don't want this to sound biased, but I think we all, as adults, know that it is impossible to completely avoid your personal biases and beliefs. Nevertheless, I am going to attempt to only give what I have seen from my... I believe it is a year now... with Polaris. So, yeah... attempting to, at least, only give my perception of what has been going on around here.

First and foremost, I want to state that I don't... hate any of the Polaris staff, the worst I have is a mild dislike for certain individuals, but I do realize that you are all here to help and even if we have differing opinions, you do care about the server. I do regard most of Polaris staff as friends. However, I have a lot of problems with most of them. Here, I will state my specific problems with everyone. If you are not mentioned here, you can assume that I have no problems whatsoever with you.

Firstly, there is perhaps the most prominent and problematic issue. There is a massive amount of distrust between the staff and the players. I think that a big issue with this is the fact that there is a lack of communication between the staff and the players. Plus, it does not help that many of the staff have an extreme distaste, or even hatred towards our most used medium of communication: Discord. I have heard staff (particularly Woodrat) say on multiple times that 'Discord is shit'. This perpetuates another issue that causes there to be tension between players and staff, cliqueism. Players on multiple occasions have stated that they feel like there is a staff, along with some of their favorite players, clique that goes on on the Polaris TeamSpeak. While staff has never made an effort to hide the ip address to the TeamSpeak, the players still feel like there is a division and a secret cabal going on in the TeamSpeak. Staff deny this vehemently, but if so many players feel like that is the case, it starts to feel like there is an issue. The TeamSpeak does have a quasi-feeling of exclusivity where the staff talk, yuck it up, and ignore the plebs. I for one, can see why they feel that way, and even if the TeamSpeak was created with no ill will, it has an attitude associated with it, which is an obvious problem.

Besides communication mediums, there is the perception that the staff are this big, scary Big Brother figures, watching our every move and looking for the tiniest screw-up. This may be an issue with other servers, I honestly don't know, but I haven't heard complaints about it from, say Bay, although I did feel that way back when I did play on Bay, but I have heard that they cleaned up their act, so *shrug*. Because of this, players on multiple occasions have told me that they are afraid to: 1. Question staff's authority, 2. Put up staff complaints. Honestly, even if that is just perception, it is still a clear issue, and staff should make an effort to change it, but so far, I have seen nothing of the sort, in fact, quite the opposite. No player should be afraid to complain if a staff member is out of line, but I have heard of it all too often on Polaris.

This rift can also be shown in players' fear of talking about real issues with staff. I have seen on multiple occasions where players bring up interesting ideas or controversial topics, and staff will shut down the concept with such responses as 'That's not how it is', 'We don't want that.', 'Code it yourself', or 'Stop salting.' (Note that I have seen all of these responses multiple times.) That is honestly not how you run a community-based game well, and shows badly on your staff, as well as perpetuating the idea that staff does not care about the players' opinions. Not to mention that if a player actually has a good idea, being shot down due to such, frankly, arbitrary reasons does not promote good community health and growth, as well as general improvement of the Polaris codebase. Staff really needs to seem more open about... everything, really. If they keep the way that they are in regards to approaching players and staff complaints, everyone on the server will perceive that the staff don't trust them and that they are untouchable.

Polaris was created by a group of friends who talked on a TeamSpeak server, for that group of friends. As much as the staff of Polaris like to deny it, Polaris separated from Bay. The server was tailored to the whims of this frustrated group of friends. As a result, now the staff has that same underlying idea of what they want for the server (even though they go 'directionless') and refuse to change. The server was meant for always extended lowpop rounds for a small clique of friends, but that changed, and so should have the management style. But it didn't. I was here since before the server went live, I know what it was like. Polaris staff should have been making an effort to change the server in a way that would appeal to more and more players, or at least in a way that their players would enjoy, but instead they decided to dig their heels in and keep going with their less than stellar system. The solution to this is simple: listen to the players more. Don't just go up to every proposition and say 'code it yourself'. Actually take ideas from the community and use them. That's how a community grows and thrives, by working together.

Next, I will talk about toxic attitudes that perpetuate between staff and players. This goes hand-in-hand with a lot of the issues mentioned in the previous paragraphs, but the issue is that the distrust between staff and players is such an overarching issue that it permeates through all aspects of Polaris.

First of all, there is the attitude from staff that the players are not to be trusted and are simple plebs only there to murderbone and greytide. This ties in with the issue of how staff can be viewed as a Big Brother figure who is only out there to judge us. In fact, I would argue that it is the cause of this issue, but that is straying too far into my opinion. The heart of the issue is that staff simply (using this word again, I know) don't trust their players. This is really not how the leaders of a gaming community should be. If you want to have people coming back to your server, you cannot carry this attitude. It does not allow any room for people who are, say, new to RP to improve. It only allows the staff to be condescending to people who are less than stellar players. If all you do is judge people, you are part of the problem. What ever happened to complimenting people for their good RP? Or saying, 'You handled that situation well, Player X'? I have never seen such an event occur in my time on Polaris, and I doubt I ever will, honestly. This mistrust is a clear problem, and ties in with my next issue: the general hatred of non-TeamSpeak communication mediums. There is no real solution to toxic attitudes besides actually enforcing not having them and people having a change of heart. I genuinely wish that people would, but I really don't know.

I have already mentioned that I have heard Woodrat say 'Discord is shit' before on multiple occasions (I do not have logs of this, because it was actually said on the TeamSpeak, but you can ask just about anyone who has been on the TeamSpeak, and they will tell you that Woodrat has said that he hates Discord), but the issue goes much deeper than this. Staff, as a rule, hate Reddit. I mean they simply detest it and ignore just about any content on it. I understand that a lot of the posts on Reddit, such as previous drama posts, are very... memey and frankly, awful content. But the SS13 Reddit really isn't all bad. Sure, the general attitude towards Polaris on Reddit is hatred, but I honestly am starting to feel like that is earned. Look at Bay, for example. They do not get half of the ridicule on the Reddit that Polaris gets. This, combined with the general staff hatred for Reddit really makes a bad concoction of attitudes that is not helpful for either side, especially for Polaris.

I'll elaborate a little bit on the Discord issue. Staff feel like Discord is a circlejerk (actual words from staff) where people go to salt and whine about how Polaris isn't good enough. Any time a serious issue is brought up that may be in the least bit controversial, people on the Discord are hit with 'Move on, this will be handled.' And usually, nothing is done about the issue, or if it's a discussion about a gameplay mechanic, it is usually never bought up again. It's a good way for Staff to keep the server the way that they want, and it does not invite constructive criticism. That is another serious issue with attitudes regarding Discord. Even constructive criticism or good ideas are viewed as heretical salt that must be purged. Is there really so much of a problem with someone suggesting something in the least bit controversial in a channel literally named '#suggestions'? I'll answer that rhetorical question for you: it's not. The problem is, that the staff sit in the TeamSpeak and talk about their ideas, never letting them get out to the public before pushing them. Especially when they are small one-line changes that seriously effect gameplay. This brings me to my next point, TeamSpeak.

TeamSpeak, in my opinion, is a great medium. I love the service. However, the Polaris TeamSpeak is horrible. It is the spot where most of the staff and staff's buddies sit around and talk about (for the most part) games besides SS13. I have already mentioned how exclusive the TeamSpeak feels, and again, it seems like a special little club that the staff and the staff's favorite players go to chew the fat. They may try to *say* that the TeamSpeak is open, but things are never what they seem. Also, in regards to the issue of people talking about non-SS13 things, this is another serious issue. Staff talk for hours and hours about things such as Overwatch, War Thunder, etc., but when you ask them about doing one little thing, you will get hit with the 'I haven't had time'. Not to mention the fact that they use the general channels for their chat when they are playing Overwatch, even though we have an entire channel *devoted* to playing Overwatch in, but that's more of a mild annoyance than anything. Now, it is a mild annoyance that they do talk about Overwatch all of the time, and sometimes play it in the general channels, however, when the TeamSpeak is being used for 'constructive' things, it's being used to brainstorm new ideas, without bouncing them off of the players first, to see if the people it effects approve of the change. Not to mention, there is a lot of shit-talking of players that goes on on the TeamSpeak. It's really a melting pot for most of the toxic attitudes that Staff carries. You'll hear stuff like 'Oooh... I really wish I was a tyrant right now.' (direct quote) from headstaff while in the TeamSpeak and, say some controversial discussion about a change in gameplay is going down in Discord (actual event, multiple people can attest to it). You will always hear staff accusing players of, say Reddit posts on the TeamSpeak, which brings me to my next point: the accusatory nature of a lot of staff.

A lot of staff are quick to jump to conclusions regarding issues, be them in game or out of game. A prime example is after one of the recent Reddit 'drama' threads, a lot of the staff were saying stuff like 'Oh, I know who this is.... that makes it too easy.' (I have proof of it in the form of an audio log, but I am not sharing it for confidentiality reasons.) The staff always accuse people of being quick to judge and quick to anger, but they themselves are no better, and I would argue: worse. I understand that being in a position of moderation can be draining and tiring, but if everyone can tell how angry you are with every word that comes out of your mouth, there is clearly a problem. Honestly, I want there to be no Polaris TeamSpeak server. I know that that is not going to happen, so I would propose this: stop hating official means of communication. It is a bad practice and a medium should not be hated simply because of the people that occupy it.

Lately, I have noticed some serious problems with how lore is generally handled. I used to be very passionate about the lore of Polaris, but I have honestly become indifferent to it due to what has been happening in Polaris lore. We are constantly told that no one is kept out of the lore, but so many people in the Polaris community feel like their opinion isn't valued when it comes to lore. Many people have been completely discouraged from writing lore. I will most likely be told 'but that isn't how it is. People can ask about writing lore at any time.', but people feel that way, multiple people. And if so many people feel that way about something, isn't there something wrong? Any gaming community should want their players to contribute to all aspects of the game. With players being denied etherpads or seriously heckled for the lore that they write, it is honestly surprising that they put up with some of the staff. If there was a more open policy with lore, this would not be a problem, but I have seen players denied access to etherpads before, and that needs to change if Polaris has any hope of being accountable lore-wise.

I constantly see the argument of 'Gameplay vs realism' thrown about. I have gotten tired of this argument because, again, I see it thrown about all of the time. I have seen it used for certain changes with statements such as 'I like this change, because it adds a valuable level of realism to the gameplay.' But I have also seen it used in the reverse argument for changes, 'This is a change that serves just to make things more inconvenient.', in regards to a change to storage that made the size of metal sheets realistic. Frankly, this is hypocritical. Staff as a whole should not be for both sides of this argument. In fact, I would argue that realism can be achieved while still maintaining good gameplay. Hell, good gameplay is a part of realism.

Regardless of gameplay vs realism, I see multiple arguments both for or against changes. 'Let's merge this PR and if it sucks, we can always revert it.', is one perfect example. This happens all of the time, particularly with PR's staff themselves make that effect balance. It silences any people who disagree with the contents of the PR and is honestly a cop-out. However, if a different person tries to propose a change that will effect balance, do we hear 'Let's try this and see if it works'? No, we don't. We just get salt and frankly arbitrary reasons why something should not be merged, usually summed up with the words 'I don't personally like this.' These arguments should really not be in use because honestly, they're cop-outs.

This is something you folks on Reddit are going to particularly not care about, but it is worth saying regardless. I have been seeing a lowering in the roleplay standards on Polaris. This is irritating due to the fact that the server identifies as a high RP server. I have particularly seen it with people who are friends with the staff of Polaris. If you are in on the group of friends, then you can get away with a lot more than, say, a new player. Speaking of which, I may have already mentioned this, but there is very little room on Polaris for new players. If you are new at RP or SS13, it would be very difficult for someone to transition. There is very little room for people who want to improve and legitimately be better at roleplay. Staff tends to have a very passive-aggressive attitude towards players they view as 'incompetent', and this is a seriously toxic attitude. If everyone was punished the same for the same actions, this would not be so much of a problem.

AlabasterTempest

Ala is the Head of Polaris. I respect them as a person, but as a manager, they could do better. They always talk about how much time they spend on stuff for Polaris, but then go on the TeamSpeak for hours about Fallen London, their tabletop campaign or their personal leatherworking projects. I understand that we all have lives and SS13 cannot consume the entirety of our free time. But I'll guarantee you that on average, I spent more time working on Polaris in two days than Ala did most weeks, and that is not saying that I spent insane amounts of time on Polaris, Alabaster was just... never really working save for the occasional forum 'defusing of a situation' that usually chalked up to 'I'm tired of this, move on'.

Speaking of 'I'm tired of this', this is an excuse that AT uses on a regular basis. Now, I get if you are legitimately tired from work or something. However, it has become a cop-out for them. AT will often use the excuse of being tired for:

1. Childish behavior

2. Not wanting to talk about a particular valid issue

3. Not wanting to work on something that would take a miniscule amount of time.

That being said, often when she would use the excuse for something in the second category, the topic would never be brought up again. It's happened to me several times, and players can attest to this as well.

Alabaster also makes a very serious effort to turn the server, Discord, and TeamSpeak into a 'safe space'. I understand the concept completely, and yes, people should not be oppressed for their personal beliefs, creeds, colors, etc. Honestly, the way that Alabaster goes about trying to make her server 'clean' is not good and leaves a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths and causes them to not want to be involved in the Polaris' environment. Plus, attempting to create a 'safe space' on the Internet, is honestly a losing battle. There is so much potential to say whatever you want without fear of any sort of consequence on the Internet. People will say what they will, and that's that. I'm not saying it's okay in the slightest to be homophobic, misogynistic, etc, but when you target just people who disagree with your agenda, you really aren't treating people equally at all.

Woodrat

I don't remember a time when Woodrat wasn't angry. He's very... bitter and condescending. Frankly, I don't think he's well-suited for the position he's in and I think that he would agree. He doesn't like the position he's in, but he continues to stay in it regardless. He has become beyond jaded and is quick to flip his lid at the slightest little thing that bothers him. He also tends to hold grudges against players and talks about them in TeamSpeak, you can ask other players about it. This is not how a Headmin should operate.

He also acts as a sort-of dam for serious discussions. A discussion doesn't even need to get heated before he comes to, say, Discord with his 'Move along, stop being salty.' copy paste. This discourages serious discussion of any kind, especially controversial, game-changing discussion. Again, this is not how a gaming community should operate. Players should feel free to express their opinions about something without an admin breathing down their necks and going down with mutes at the first chance.

Neerti

Neerti has a tendency to avoid situations. Particularly situations that have potential to cause arguments. He is also indecisive. As a Head Developer, you really shouldn't be like that. He will ignore PR's for days while he merges other PR's. He also ignores people. Multiple players have told me how he never replies to them after weeks and weeks. Is that really how a Head Dev should be operating? Not to mention the fact that he is not the best at balance. I will give him the fact that he has created some pretty great stuff such as communicators and technomancer, but technomancer has no teeth. What I mean by this is technomancer cannot fight back. They have a few offensive spells, sure, but when it comes to actually fighting, you'd be better off getting a gun than spending points on any of the offensive spells. This same attitude carries on into many of Neerti's other development decisions. He tends to underpower antagonists while simultaneously giving Security unneeded buffs. Besides that, you have the issue of him being lazy. He has straight-up said that he is lazy before in regards to a change about making changelogs. 'I do not want to take the ten minutes [it takes about two minutes, if that] to make a changelog.... I'm lazy. I'm a coder, that's how coders are.' Being in a family and an environment where I am surrounded by coders, I can tell you with complete and utter certainty that this is not true. Coders are not in general 'lazy', it is just Neerti trying to make excuses, and excuses are not a good thing, especially for a Head Dev. A Head Dev shouldn't be 'lazy' either. Who cares if it *does* take ten minutes to make a changelog? Documentation is important.

But, I digress.

ZekeS

Very similar to Woodrat in the fact that he's *always* angry. Honestly, all he ever really does is push the buttons to update the server. He is also very opinionated and tends to flip his lid at the lightest sign of someone disagreeing with him. Such as, one time when people were discussing how the station needed to be more dangerous, he replied with 'Oh, this circlejerk again' and disconnected. He tends to be worse over TeamSpeak when he can actually talk. Such as when he was discussing Security and another staff member said 'security is always aggressive, lol', to which he replied, 'shut the hell up, staff x'. This is a clear sign that someone has an anger problem and that they either need to learn to handle it, or leave staff.

Anewbe

I dislike Anewbe the least out of anyone on this list, but he has his problems. He's in Neerti's pocket, being the only remaining Development staff. That being said, often his PR's will get merged almost immediately after being put up, since they were discussed beforehand. Even though the entire purpose of PR's is for people to be able to see what's going up and to comment on it. He has created PR's with code that doesn't work (I'm guilty of this as well, but then, I'm not Development staff, so it's different) and they have been merged without question. This also ties into Neerti's laziness. He assumes that code from particular individuals is going to be good, so he jumps for the merge button.

Knowing Polaris staff, they are going to try to find some way to diffuse this entire argument and to ignore every single valid point that I have made. They will say things like 'He's salty' or 'What does he know about staffing?'. However, I am smarter than that. I know how they think and how they operate. The previous 'drama posts' were all relatively memey and dumb, to be honest. But I have written this one with the idea that it is full of well-founded arguments that multiple people agree with. Not to mention the fact that I have not put a single meme in this unless I was arguing against one. Another thing that I'd imagine they are going to try to do is chock all of my arguments up to 'He has a different vision for the server than we have'. However, that's a dumb and pointless argument when you *refuse* to give your server direction and vision. Multiple staff members who have since left have attempted to try to give Polaris an outlined vision and failed because for some reason, the Head likes to go 'directionless', which is a good way to get nothing done. Regardless, I think you can see that this isn't going to be an easy thing for staff to just shake off and dismiss, saying things like 'It's just Reddit'. This is a previously active, passionate member of their staff who cares about the server, but is simply frustrated, worried, and angry about how things have gone down lately, and I'm posting non-anonymously so as to show that I'm not afraid to take a stand for what I believe in. Also note that I have brought up every single one of these issues to staff in the past, but most of these issues were dismissed with 'that is not how it is' or 'we're working to make it better' followed by absolutely no change. Again, I wish that Polaris could change for the better. I really like the server and most of the community members associated with it, but I don't know if I can work with people who do not listen to their community and have all of the issues I mention