Seriously. Enough is enough. What started off, for me, as a fun contest to go from forum poster to potential moderator has devolved into another entity altogether. I feel this entire process has gotten out of control. Normally, I would stick to my guns and stay out of the negative discussion going on, but it's been more then my posting and potential moderating ability that's being discussed. My personal character has also been under fire, and while I mostly like to stay out of such discussion, I feel I have no choice but to take a stand. There are several things that I need to address.
Homophobia
I am not, nor have I ever been, homophobic. I have friends who are straight, bi, and homosexual. The gender that someone is interested in is none of my business and I have no problem with people dating someone who is the same gender as them. The post which both Jose and Coco quoted in their sigs was dealing with a "what if" scenario involving myself as a parent, and hypothetical children. Were I to have children, I would want to pass on my personal values that I believe in to them. What parent wouldn't? Id never force a value upon my child, I'd simply guide them in their decision making, ones that would depend both on genetics and their own choices. I wouldn't disown my child, nor would I love them less. If they came home with someone of the same sex, I would want more then anything for them to be happy. If their partner was doing that for them, I would be supportive.
I do not force my beliefs on others. I believe every opinion on an issue has a right to be heard. I might not agree with what someone says or does, but to dismiss my own personal disagreement with same gender relationships as homophobia is ridiculous. I respect them but I have a right to my own opinion as well.
Oh, and one more thing. This truly has nothing to do with the election. I'm sure many of the staff share vastly different beliefs, and I'd guess those beliefs had nothing to do with their appointment as Moderator. There are people trying to make this an issue and use this as a "further reason" why I shouldn't be a Moderator, but it's entirely irrelevant.
SIDIOUS
I have been compared to Lord Sidious. A former mod who was not well-liked, and constantly caused problems while he was on staff. I assure each of you that I am nothing like Sidious. He was power hungry, and told others how to do their job. All I want is the opportunity to be part of the team, and help improve the forum. I have no preconceived notions of what others should do, and I will gladly do what is asked of me.
Personally, I have a lot of respect for the forum staff in the things they do for us and what they have to put up with on a daily basis. The common I made was completely misunderstood. People are taking it as an ultimatum when it really was nothing of the sort. However, I do understand how it could have worded better.
I have absolutely no intention of breaking down the doors to the Board Room on my first day on staff saying "ok guys this is how it's gonna be done and if you don't like it you can get out!". Nothing could be further from the truth. I am a firm believer in following protocol. The G-Mods and Admins would outrank me in power, with the entire staff would have seniority over me. Much like in a real job, I might offer suggestions along the way, but ultimately, will do what I am asked to do.
What did I mean then? There are certain members of the staff who have been vocal in how they would do anything to make sure I never join the team. I am a team player and would still be willing to work with them despite their dislike of me. I didn't mean, "If you don't like me, quit" either. I simply was trying to say I was hoping that everyone would be willing to work with me, and I said it poorly. I have no problem with leaving personal issues at the door when it is time to get the job done, and I hope that these individuals would as well.
Dagger takes everything personally!
I feel as if people are viewing me as if I'm the only one whose ever gotten upset with other posters. Please, put yourself in my shoes. My entire expectation for this election was for it to be an enjoyable experience. Instead, I've seen page after page of people attacking my personal character, possibly more then they have my ability to become a Moderator. Most of these people know next to nothing about me, yet who I'm perceived to be as a person is more important then my ability to be a Moderator, to some.
My video game has been brought up numerous times throughout this. Yes, it needs quite a bit of revision, and I'm man enough to admit that. What people apparently do not know is that the version of the game they played is not intended to be the final version. There were, and are, plans to upgrade it. Yes, my disagreements with Mozz over it was seen as me taking it too personally. Again, I ask you put yourself in my shoes. If you worked hard on something for many years and poured out a lot of effort to complete something you are very passionate about and someone responded in the fashion he did, would you be hurt? Would you be able to refrain from standing up for yourself in such a situation? Further, this is something else that's in the past. Everything Doc and the others offered as criticsm, I took to heart and fully intend to revamp the game. And I got over any problem I had with Mozz as well, as I'm not one to hold grudges.
Then there's the inevitable event of people I infract getting upset with me. If they make "I hate Dagger he is a nazi mod" threads, it's not going to be me writing a word fort about how wrong they are, or me flaming them. Instead, I'd make every attempt to discuss the rules with them in a private message. This avoids drama, angry responses, and more often then not, problem solved.
What's happening in the election now is an extreme version of that scenario. Countless posts of people coming after me, followed by them questioning why it's taken him so long to get mad at them and attack in return. I've yet to single out or attack have anyone, even those who have most vigorously opposing me during this election. For someone who has been attacked in several directions for many days now, I feel I have handled the situation quite maturely.
He doesn't understand the rules!"
I do understand the rules, and believe this has been taken out of context. I made a mistake when I had reported some posts incorrectly and people act like I abuse the report button for the hell of it. I was informed that I was reporting incorrectly, and I stopped. I believe people deserve a second chance, rather than to constantly be reminded of something that happened quite a while ago.
When a post in a non-spam section does not include a reason for why they think what they posted, it's spam. If an identical topic exists in another thread, it needs to be merged. If a spoiler is posted, that poster needs to know that they broke the rules. If a prejudiced remark is made outside of The Bar Room, it's not to be tolerated. If I didn't understand the rules then I wouldn't know any of what I just listed.
I was eager to prove myself to the staff, and I made mistakes in reporting. It's been almost two years since I've been warned or infracted, which shows a good understanding of the rules, considering I post daily.
Dagger is a terrible poster
Here we go. The big Quality VS Quantity argument, the argument I disagree with the most. I do make quality posts and try to ensure that each non-spam post is worth posting before I submit it. Otherwise I close the tab and move on to the next thread. If it truly was all about my post count then I would jump into every thread and post the bare minimum, such as "I like Ted Dibiase because he is a good wrestler and he has a good look". Granted, I may not be the top authority on most topics at our forum, but I do post quality and to say otherwise is simply false.
Inevitably, someone is going to bring up the Video Game tournament, so let me beat you to it. I admit I goofed around in there when I could have come up with stronger arguments, and was arrogant in my Final Fantasy defenses. However, that tournament represents, at best, a few dozen posts of mine. Take a look at my post count. I have 4,300+ non-spam posts. To judge me on a few dozen lazy posts when I have thousands of solid posts is asinine.
He's stubborn and not very smart
What some call being stubborn, I call determination. When I set my sights on a goal, I make it a point to accomplish said goal, within reason. When I make a promise, I intend to be loyal and keep it by remaining true to my words. As for me not being smart, I have two business administration degrees. I can speak multiple languages, made a video game from scratch with no training or help, and post about a multitude of topics that I have knowledge on. I'm not trying to puff myself up here, but I'm proud of what I've accomplished in life, and thankful for the intelligence I've been blessed with that's allowed me to do so.
All of the mods hate him
Yet another falsehood needing to be proven wrong. Even those who claim to be "vehemently against me" have come out and said they don't hate me. The mod staff is a TEAM. I know that if they truly hated me, I likely wouldn't have been allowed the nomination for this election. I also know that I have supporters who are on staff.
His threads suck
Last but certainly not least, my threads in the video game section have been criticized heavily. "They only get one page of responses".... Well, low response rate or not, I am providing discussion for a section that is in dire need of it. I don't see too many others making topics in there, especially by those criticisizing my own threads. If nobody posts in a section, it dies. I have helped keep it alive.
Homophobia
I am not, nor have I ever been, homophobic. I have friends who are straight, bi, and homosexual. The gender that someone is interested in is none of my business and I have no problem with people dating someone who is the same gender as them. The post which both Jose and Coco quoted in their sigs was dealing with a "what if" scenario involving myself as a parent, and hypothetical children. Were I to have children, I would want to pass on my personal values that I believe in to them. What parent wouldn't? Id never force a value upon my child, I'd simply guide them in their decision making, ones that would depend both on genetics and their own choices. I wouldn't disown my child, nor would I love them less. If they came home with someone of the same sex, I would want more then anything for them to be happy. If their partner was doing that for them, I would be supportive.
I do not force my beliefs on others. I believe every opinion on an issue has a right to be heard. I might not agree with what someone says or does, but to dismiss my own personal disagreement with same gender relationships as homophobia is ridiculous. I respect them but I have a right to my own opinion as well.
Oh, and one more thing. This truly has nothing to do with the election. I'm sure many of the staff share vastly different beliefs, and I'd guess those beliefs had nothing to do with their appointment as Moderator. There are people trying to make this an issue and use this as a "further reason" why I shouldn't be a Moderator, but it's entirely irrelevant.
SIDIOUS
I have been compared to Lord Sidious. A former mod who was not well-liked, and constantly caused problems while he was on staff. I assure each of you that I am nothing like Sidious. He was power hungry, and told others how to do their job. All I want is the opportunity to be part of the team, and help improve the forum. I have no preconceived notions of what others should do, and I will gladly do what is asked of me.
Personally, I have a lot of respect for the forum staff in the things they do for us and what they have to put up with on a daily basis. The common I made was completely misunderstood. People are taking it as an ultimatum when it really was nothing of the sort. However, I do understand how it could have worded better.
I have absolutely no intention of breaking down the doors to the Board Room on my first day on staff saying "ok guys this is how it's gonna be done and if you don't like it you can get out!". Nothing could be further from the truth. I am a firm believer in following protocol. The G-Mods and Admins would outrank me in power, with the entire staff would have seniority over me. Much like in a real job, I might offer suggestions along the way, but ultimately, will do what I am asked to do.
What did I mean then? There are certain members of the staff who have been vocal in how they would do anything to make sure I never join the team. I am a team player and would still be willing to work with them despite their dislike of me. I didn't mean, "If you don't like me, quit" either. I simply was trying to say I was hoping that everyone would be willing to work with me, and I said it poorly. I have no problem with leaving personal issues at the door when it is time to get the job done, and I hope that these individuals would as well.
Dagger takes everything personally!
I feel as if people are viewing me as if I'm the only one whose ever gotten upset with other posters. Please, put yourself in my shoes. My entire expectation for this election was for it to be an enjoyable experience. Instead, I've seen page after page of people attacking my personal character, possibly more then they have my ability to become a Moderator. Most of these people know next to nothing about me, yet who I'm perceived to be as a person is more important then my ability to be a Moderator, to some.
My video game has been brought up numerous times throughout this. Yes, it needs quite a bit of revision, and I'm man enough to admit that. What people apparently do not know is that the version of the game they played is not intended to be the final version. There were, and are, plans to upgrade it. Yes, my disagreements with Mozz over it was seen as me taking it too personally. Again, I ask you put yourself in my shoes. If you worked hard on something for many years and poured out a lot of effort to complete something you are very passionate about and someone responded in the fashion he did, would you be hurt? Would you be able to refrain from standing up for yourself in such a situation? Further, this is something else that's in the past. Everything Doc and the others offered as criticsm, I took to heart and fully intend to revamp the game. And I got over any problem I had with Mozz as well, as I'm not one to hold grudges.
Then there's the inevitable event of people I infract getting upset with me. If they make "I hate Dagger he is a nazi mod" threads, it's not going to be me writing a word fort about how wrong they are, or me flaming them. Instead, I'd make every attempt to discuss the rules with them in a private message. This avoids drama, angry responses, and more often then not, problem solved.
What's happening in the election now is an extreme version of that scenario. Countless posts of people coming after me, followed by them questioning why it's taken him so long to get mad at them and attack in return. I've yet to single out or attack have anyone, even those who have most vigorously opposing me during this election. For someone who has been attacked in several directions for many days now, I feel I have handled the situation quite maturely.
He doesn't understand the rules!"
I do understand the rules, and believe this has been taken out of context. I made a mistake when I had reported some posts incorrectly and people act like I abuse the report button for the hell of it. I was informed that I was reporting incorrectly, and I stopped. I believe people deserve a second chance, rather than to constantly be reminded of something that happened quite a while ago.
When a post in a non-spam section does not include a reason for why they think what they posted, it's spam. If an identical topic exists in another thread, it needs to be merged. If a spoiler is posted, that poster needs to know that they broke the rules. If a prejudiced remark is made outside of The Bar Room, it's not to be tolerated. If I didn't understand the rules then I wouldn't know any of what I just listed.
I was eager to prove myself to the staff, and I made mistakes in reporting. It's been almost two years since I've been warned or infracted, which shows a good understanding of the rules, considering I post daily.
Dagger is a terrible poster
Here we go. The big Quality VS Quantity argument, the argument I disagree with the most. I do make quality posts and try to ensure that each non-spam post is worth posting before I submit it. Otherwise I close the tab and move on to the next thread. If it truly was all about my post count then I would jump into every thread and post the bare minimum, such as "I like Ted Dibiase because he is a good wrestler and he has a good look". Granted, I may not be the top authority on most topics at our forum, but I do post quality and to say otherwise is simply false.
Inevitably, someone is going to bring up the Video Game tournament, so let me beat you to it. I admit I goofed around in there when I could have come up with stronger arguments, and was arrogant in my Final Fantasy defenses. However, that tournament represents, at best, a few dozen posts of mine. Take a look at my post count. I have 4,300+ non-spam posts. To judge me on a few dozen lazy posts when I have thousands of solid posts is asinine.
He's stubborn and not very smart
What some call being stubborn, I call determination. When I set my sights on a goal, I make it a point to accomplish said goal, within reason. When I make a promise, I intend to be loyal and keep it by remaining true to my words. As for me not being smart, I have two business administration degrees. I can speak multiple languages, made a video game from scratch with no training or help, and post about a multitude of topics that I have knowledge on. I'm not trying to puff myself up here, but I'm proud of what I've accomplished in life, and thankful for the intelligence I've been blessed with that's allowed me to do so.
All of the mods hate him
Yet another falsehood needing to be proven wrong. Even those who claim to be "vehemently against me" have come out and said they don't hate me. The mod staff is a TEAM. I know that if they truly hated me, I likely wouldn't have been allowed the nomination for this election. I also know that I have supporters who are on staff.
His threads suck
Last but certainly not least, my threads in the video game section have been criticized heavily. "They only get one page of responses".... Well, low response rate or not, I am providing discussion for a section that is in dire need of it. I don't see too many others making topics in there, especially by those criticisizing my own threads. If nobody posts in a section, it dies. I have helped keep it alive.
