User blog:JayeMalik'/Going in circles

This blog is not targeting anyone, regardless of what you may think or feel like. Please keep it in mind as you read on, as well as the fact that I do not want to start a fight, so if you decide to leave a comment, you must keep it respectful and try to understand what everyone is trying to get across, whether you like the points made or not. Thank you.

While I'm now known to not enter chat much - if at all, on some weeks - I still make the effort to maintain communication with everyone, which is exactly how I've come to realize that DARP is running in circles. It's not getting better, not in the ways everyone had hoped for. There's still the same problems, such as distrust and accusations of power abuse/manipulation. I'm not going to name who, because I don't want to begin any fights, but I'd like to point out how everyone needs to calm down and back off. Think through your actions and words before you put them into play; however, that's not even a permanent solution. This community needs a reform, and it needs it fast.

I'm not in the admin team anymore, nor do I plan on joining, not until I know the team is willing to make the necessary changes to stabilize it and not argue over anything and everything. It's one of the reasons as to why I pulled out of the running. I have no qualms with letting Sterek have it, because I know he'll do more than good in the team. He can take it. He'll do us proud. I'm not upset over it, because it was my decision, not something someone else decided for me. Plus to be fair, it's not like I'd expected to get the promotion to begin with, so I understand why some people were reluctant to vote for me. Don't worry if you are, I'm not disappointed or annoyed, but rather understanding. By extension, please don't assume I'm posting this blog out of salt, 'cause I'm not.

I personally believe the policies need to be overlooked, reformed and reinforced, or as I like to call it: ORR. Because it's either that, or we witness the wiki begin to decay and fall apart. The ball is in our court now. It may be only me that thinks this, but regardless, I feel I should voice it. They're being overlooked a lot, and I feel the only policy reinforced is the chat one, and even then, it's just every now and then. If we expect the community to thrive, I feel it should be beginning through there. The activity policy, for one, I think should be eyed and reviewed. It's a very important one - the most important one, I'd say. Not many people are keeping their activity up, some roleplaying even teachers. I feel it's a key component in bringing activity back up within Hogwarts and even in the Ministry. It would do us all some good, as a community.

Another thing I wanted to bring up was division of powers. Honestly, I personally believe that departmental duties and responsibilities should be reviewed and, if need be, modify them. But as I'm addressing it in an OOC way, I believe I should also address it in an IC way. What do I mean? Well, I feel positions of powers IC should be kept spread around the admin team and not just on certain users. Some hold more higher positions than others do. I know I was the one to recommend only admin team members hold positions of powers for a while, or at least be one of the people supporting it, so I'm now reiterating it. It should include everyone in the team. Not just some people.

I'm honestly tired of being ignored when I'm acting as the spokesperson for quite the big amount of users in the wiki. If I'm acting as spokeswoman, it's for a reason. They probably don't want their identities revealed and you should respect that. It may seem shady, but they don't want to take the heat for proposing changes, as some have already have. They're afraid, and that annoys the living devil out of me. This is supposed to be a safe haven for hell's sake, not a battlefield. This wiki is also a democracy. We have an admin team for a reason, and it's to make decisions as a whole. To talk with the people working under you - people who are also members of the community and affected by every made decisions - and get their thoughts on any and every matter that may come up. This is a team with many users. This is not a team with two or three users. Lately, only some users are calling all the shots, if what I've been told (and have personally witnessed) is anything to go by. While I understand Crats have the authority to exercise their Crat-ly rights and powers to make executive decisions, the decisions should be taken as a whole. That is exactly why we have the voting forum for the administration team, something I strongly think should be brought back. Even if it wasn't, every crat should discuss the situation, possible options and make decisions as a single entity. While I understand it's just 2/3 of the crats that need to approve to pass something, it's a whole different thing to not even bring it up with the other 1/3. When I was a Crat, at least I discussed every situation with both other crats. Feel free to follow that example, yes?

I may be overstepping boundaries (I probably am), but I'm sick and tired of all this drama and fights. I want it to stop. As George Washington once said: "What a triumph for our enemies…to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves...!" This is disappointing. I don't want to see this wiki fall. It has been my home for so many years, to see it blow up this way... would be not only disappointing and upsetting, but also angering. What is the need for things to go down like this?