MidWest [Retiring Midwest RSA] Passing of the bansaber

******************************UPDATE*************************

Now the reigns are fully back in mirax80's hands. I'm moving out of the region and she's taking over everything I've been doing in addition to what she's been doing. So long!

******************************ORIGINAL FIRST POST************

Long long ago, in a
galaxy far, far away?


PINK
FIVE

The Rebel Alliance?s destruction of the
DEATH STAR? made Luke Skywalker?
a hero throughout the galaxy?

But many other untrained pilots also
risked their lives in that fateful battle?

[The screen suddenly cuts from the ship scene to an announcer desk with a shiny protocol droid making an announcement]

We interrupt this regularly scheduled fan film to bring you an important announcement. The MidWest Region is experiencing a change in officers on patrol. mirax80 and Drk Father1 have been mysteriously replaced by Earwen_Lightrider and jedi_runya. These two will be taking on the duties as your Regional RSAs. So please pester them with any board issues you may have.

[scene cuts to a reporter standing next to the two new RSAs]

I?m here with Natalie [Earwen_Lightrider] and Christina [jedi_runya] to give you more details on this breaking news.

Seems Natalie was previously the RSA in the Pacific and has recently moved into our region. Her Fan Force experience dates back to 2004 when she helped found the Spokantina, a great group of people in Spokane, WA. She enjoys working with all sorts of people, likes making new friends, and is proud to be called a geek. She now resides in Madison, WI and is getting to know the patrons of the Mad Ison Cantina.

Christina is the current CR from St. Louis, MO. She has been involved with Fan Force for 4 years and has worked hard gathering other obsessed SW fans together since moving to St. Louis in 2003. She loves meeting new people, working on computers and playing on the net all through the night.

We now open up our broadcast to questions and comments from those standing by.

 

Congratulations to the both of you! And let's show a little love for mirax and Drkfather. You guys did A-OK!

Just out of curiosity, how were the RSAs decided? Because I had no idea this was even in talk. Last year I got to nominate for someone, and this time I didn't even know that mirax and Drkfather were passing the reigns. I guess what I'm asking is, who decided who got to be the new Midwest RSAs? For all any of us without manager permissions know, mirax and Drkfather could have been forced out. Again, I'm not saying that was the case, but it's hard to tell because the whole shift of management happened behind closed doors (i.e. on a private board), so I'm just wondering why there weren't nominations this time. Thanks guys, and congrats again.

 

Mirax's real life has cut in on the time she could devote to RSA duties so she is stepping down to handle life. She loved being RSA and it is possible we may see her back in the position again someday when real life isn't as hectic. She announced her stepping down right as I announced that I was moving from the Pacific to this area. The RSAs figured it was easier to have someone familiar with the position step in, so they asked me if I would take her place.

 

In my case, I know my name was submitted and I had to fill out a survey that was voted on by all RSAs/GMs... I am not sure who does the nominating or how that process actually works(having only gotten in). But I do know it is handled by the staff. I hope that helps. If you need futher answers I would suggest talking to either a RSA of longer standing or talking with jedi_dajuan.

 

No that's okay, I'm glad to have you both. I was just afraid that something else was at work here.

I'm sure it was quite apparent from my "peaked curiosity", but I was more than a little surprised to see that we had two new RSAs. Krash had been our RSA since as long as my FanForce had existed, and then about this time last year, he made his resignment public. Then there was mirax80 and Drk Father1, who were only RSAs for about a year. It was just a little weird that this management change happened so soon, and I'm still not certain why Drk Father1 is no longer an RSA. (Although, if it's for personal reasons, I shouldn't and wouldn't press the matter.)

What I mean to say is (and maybe I should pass this down to Jurist or Dajuan), it seems to me that when only the RSAs and admins are picking promotions, there could tend to be a lot of favoratism involved. I realize how forums work, and I know it's the management that always has -- and rightfully so -- the final say on who gets bumped into a moderation position. However, I think that extra carefull attention should be taken when selecting from the FanForce base. It's easy to say, "Well I know such-and-such in real life, so let's promote them." It's a natural bias that's going to come up no matter how carefully you try to select a new manager in a FanForce, but it's one that I think we all need to be aware of.

Maybe I'm just shooting the breeze, and everyone is already aware of the point I'm trying to make here. It's just that... well, look at this board, for example. No one ever posts in the MidWest Discussion board. The Fanforces -- or at least the MidWest ones -- seem to keep to themselves for the most part. And nominations that are open to all fanforce members are very important for just that reason: Someone who would be perfectly suited for the job might get overlooked, just because they don't cross paths with the current management. That is the only thing I'm worried about.

Still, I think both of you are more than well qualified for the job, and I'm honestly not trying to cause an uproar or anything. I just wanted to share my two trugets with everyone involved with the RSA nomination/voting process. I trust my message will be taken under serious consideration.

 

I didn't want to make my stepping down all that public because I didn't want to try to answer alot of questions. My real life is pretty hectic right now to where I just can't do the job I'm suppose to be doing on here. When I first announced that I was having to step back for a while I was asked (and so was DrkFather1) for name suggestions. So we first threw out a handfull of name, but at the same time, Earwen pipped in that she was moving to Wisconsin. So everything just got handed over to her.

I haven't had a chance to talk to DrkFather in a month or 2, but I think his was personal issues too. He hasn't logged on in a while, and that causes security conserns (on the FanForce side and the JC side of everything). So he got demoted, so the names I originally put out there were looked at again. We talked about them, we had several we were looking at. Bascially the CRs (and groups) get asked IF there is not a good selection (or to few) of names out there for the position.

Basically:
First the local RSAs are asked for names, if none or little are produced, then it goes out to the CRs for names.
If same result, posts are made in all regional forums for names.


Hope this helps (and hope I was able to explain that correctly).


Dajuan, feel free to pipe in if you have anything more to add.

 

Ahhh, I see. Thanks mirax, I think I understand now.

 

Nope, you three pretty much got it. We're not trying to pull a fast on one anyone.

 

...But if you ever did, now you know I'd be here to stop you!

 

And it's always good to know that there is someone here to keep us in line

 

Thanks for all the great times! I'm moving back to my hometown next week. I'll catch you all if I am ever in the area again (or just see you all on the boards in general).

*hires a Smuggler to get her back to the Spokantina*