Staff

The most formalized expression of this strength is PernMUSH Staff. These are players who have formally volunteered to take on the task of helping players consistently and responsibly. New staff members are chosen by the current staff and the wizards for their involvement in and knowledge of PernMUSH, and their ability and willingness to help others. You can list those connected by typing '+swho'.

The role of staff is to answer basic and frequently asked questions at a level that is useful to the average player, or to help a player find the correct forum for his or her questions and concerns. Staff are not 'junior wizards;' they are not responsible for decisions or changes in code or policy. Their job is to answer the questions that they can, and to refer players to the appropriate person for other questions, not to represent wizards or players in any disputes.

PernMUSH Staff members take on a highly visible role within the PernMUSH community. For this reason, there are some guidelines for staff behavior, as outlined below.

1. General Staff Conduct.
   Because staff are often a new player's introduction to the MUSH, Staff are expected to be reasonably polite towards those who page them with questions. This does not mean that staff members have to allow themselves to be treated rudely, however, and they may end a discussion at any time. When Staff are Off Duty, they are not responsible for answering questions at all.
2. 'On Duty' - @doings, and the &stf_status attribute.
   When a Staff member is not on duty, his or her 'Status' column on the +swho should read 'Off Duty.' Sometimes, a staff member may not be able to answer a question despite being 'on duty,' in this case he or she will probably refer you to someone who can.
3. Complaints about staff members.
   There are wizards responsible for leading Staff (See: Game Admins). Any complaints about staff members' behaviour should go to those wizards.
4. Selection of new staff.
   The selection of new staff works in the following way: those who are interested +mail staff-appls. A list of those people is then sent to the staff emailing list, where current staff may nominate as many of the players as they wish. All players who get 2 nominations are then sent an email application, which is read by the wizards, who make the final decision. The entire process should take no longer than one month.
5. Minimum eligibility requirements for staff.
   The minimum requirements for a PernMUSH staff member are as follows.
   • Should have played PernMUSH for a period longer than 4 months.
   • Should spend a minimum average of four hours online a week.
   • Should have read at least 3 of the Pern novels, and have a good basic understanding of the theme.
   • Should feel competent in basic MUSH and global commands, and have a basic grasp of 'everyday' coding (basic puppet controllers, 'nested' descriptions, flags, @listen/@ahear/monitor, @switch), as well as some building competence (@dig, @open, @link).
   • Should enjoy dealing with other players, particularly new or confused ones.