EdgeGamers Community “Ask Me Anything” Round 2

Legend

Councilman Polamalu
Executive
See original thread here: https://www.edgegamers.com/threads/370565/


No, I don't want you to ask me what my favorite color is or what my favorite food is.

What are you wanting to know about EdgeGamers as a Community? What is something you're curious about but feel you haven't received the answer to? Want to know what the Community Management team has been working on? Post it here and I will reply back.

Serious replies only. Memes will be deleted.
 
Legend Legend

Is there a timeframe on when this thread will be implemented? I would like a straight answer and not for it to be beaten around the bush. There are a lot of good ideas and inputs in this thread specifically (I am also aware that there is at least 2 other threads regarding similar content that also haven't been fully addressed to my knowledge).
 
There was a long discussion in another thread about the idea that having a separate Discord for each game is causing a fractured community where members stick to their one game and never venture outside of it.

Personally I don't think having separate discord servers is the cause of this. The discord servers are needed by those supported games.

I do however agree with the sentiment of people sticking with their supported game and nothing else. While this might not be a huge "problem", I do think it's a point of interest that we should address as a community. Ideally we'd want our members to be active across all the games they have an interest in, or at least try out some new games as well. This also goes hand in hand with the idea of creating a unified community and not divided individual games that never interact with each other.

Is this an "issue" that community management has on their radar? If so, is there anything that can be shared as to thoughts on it or ideas for potential solutions. If this is not currently on the radar, would you be open to having a more at length discussion about it?


I might not be as active on the game servers as I used to be, but I still care deeply for this community and take a great interest in seeing it succeed for as long as humanly possible.
 
What’s going on with the community manager position for CS?
As an executive, what contributions, decisions, and day to day overseeing do you do? Is there anything specific that you are proud of achieving?
How are Manager promotions handled? Who has a say and how often are they considered?
EdgeGamers didn’t have a dark mode for many months, from my perspective it took another member creating a substitute for Tech to actually focus on it, and they were able to make it within a week. I‘m not calling anyone out, but what are your thoughts on the delay, timeframe, and reaction from Tech?

Thank you for doing these, it’s always a pleasure to read these.
 
When can we stop promoting people to EC, a team (I cannot see this as a division or anything more, -with all the respect to the people that are joining it-) that might be making nice events, but as it seems/feels, most admins shortly disappear/step down after a tad bit? There are other teams that are rather empty and would really need reinforcements.

Also about CS and/or TTT:

Considering the departure/step down of Custom, TTT and CS in a sense, feel like they are completely abandoned. TTT is empty about half day on the weekends (its even worse on weekdays), with more and more of the older admins stepping down along with everything. Is there any real plan on the horizon about reviving CS or what's the conclusion with the CS Division? I wanted to ask about what's the situation with Managers and stuff, but it's been asked above.

Let it be a reminder, that TTT is amongst the top two servers for CS (as well as CS is a major part of eGO's community, that feels like its fading away)

Also TTT>JB
 
Legend Legend

Is there a timeframe on when this thread will be implemented? I would like a straight answer and not for it to be beaten around the bush. There are a lot of good ideas and inputs in this thread specifically (I am also aware that there is at least 2 other threads regarding similar content that also haven't been fully addressed to my knowledge).
I don’t think I’ve ever “beaten around the bush” as you say in the previous thread, so I’m sure you’re not going to need to worry about that.

What I will need is some more clarity what you’re specifically looking for. That thread in particular went in three different directions and frankly I’m not sure what specifically you want me to address. Give me some better direction and I’d be happy to answer.
 
There was a long discussion in another thread about the idea that having a separate Discord for each game is causing a fractured community where members stick to their one game and never venture outside of it.

Personally I don't think having separate discord servers is the cause of this. The discord servers are needed by those supported games.

I do however agree with the sentiment of people sticking with their supported game and nothing else. While this might not be a huge "problem", I do think it's a point of interest that we should address as a community. Ideally we'd want our members to be active across all the games they have an interest in, or at least try out some new games as well. This also goes hand in hand with the idea of creating a unified community and not divided individual games that never interact with each other.

Is this an "issue" that community management has on their radar? If so, is there anything that can be shared as to thoughts on it or ideas for potential solutions. If this is not currently on the radar, would you be open to having a more at length discussion about it?


I might not be as active on the game servers as I used to be, but I still care deeply for this community and take a great interest in seeing it succeed for as long as humanly possible.
This is convenient as I was just sharing thoughts with an admin about the clear disconnect of some members and them not being rooted to how EdgeGamers actually works. I think it plays into what you’re speaking about here.

I find myself scratching my head that some people sincerely have no idea who the Managers, Sr Managers or Community Managers are. I actually heard the other day that Custom Stats was the CEO of the community (congratulations Custom on the promotion) and the person was 100% serious. Some members sincerely just aren’t rooted to who we are and our history and that’s something that needs to change.

Last year was a tough year for us. It was a game of keeping the train on the tracks and at least moving. There were many areas that we just plateaued in and didn’t excel. This year that’s going to change. We need to continue to chug along but pick up some steam. To do that it’s implementing better processes that make us more proactive as leadership, not reactive and being more communicative to our member base. There’s many ideas brewing on how this happens and there’s not enough for it to truly take shape right now, but we should see more on this soon.

One of the big initiatives that I feel will allow members to be more rooted is a commitment to transitioning to Discord as our primary communication platform. An overhaul of our main server needs to occur to drive interactions and discussions. We should see more leaders present in our main Discord server and an increase in frequency of events occurring there as well. From there, a consistent look and feel needs to be built out across our other Discord servers. It’s a lot of work but it has a good lead at the head as @Wish is spearheading most of these efforts.

I hate to say “more to come” but that’s the best I can provide to your post above. Last year wasn’t my favorite year in EdgeGamers as CEO. This year I’ll accept nothing but crushing last year and accomplishing so much more.
 
what kind of car do you drive


edit: i misunderstood the topic of this discussion, but i still want to know
 
What’s going on with the community manager position for CS?
As an executive, what contributions, decisions, and day to day overseeing do you do? Is there anything specific that you are proud of achieving?
How are Manager promotions handled? Who has a say and how often are they considered?
EdgeGamers didn’t have a dark mode for many months, from my perspective it took another member creating a substitute for Tech to actually focus on it, and they were able to make it within a week. I‘m not calling anyone out, but what are your thoughts on the delay, timeframe, and reaction from Tech?

Thank you for doing these, it’s always a pleasure to read these.
What’s going on with the community manager position for CS?

Stability. Being a Community Manager is a significant jump in responsibility. Not only are you the one who is ultimately accountable for your area of responsibility, you're expected to pick up additional projects that help EdgeGamers grow outside of your specific game or team. You're expected to juggle at a rapid pace all while having a player base point their fingers at you because they want things done their way and they feel you're not delivering. It's one of those thankless jobs where you've reached the top and no matter what you do there will always be more people who want to gripe to you rather than express their appreciation. What I am getting at is this - we've learned it is never a good idea to throw anyone to the wolves. When selecting a Community Manager we need to make sure that our selection is not only an expert of their field of responsibility (like Counter-Strike) but is also ready to contribute on an even larger level looking at full community growth. We don't want to select someone just to fill a spot and say we've got someone at the table. We want to make sure we have the right person, at the right time, not only for EdgeGamers benefit but that persons individual benefit as well.

Counter-Strike is going through a transitional period where we are seeing the movement from a Leader who had served in the role of Sr Manager and Community Manager for a longer period of time to a Leadership team who needs to get their footing and start to run. I can say - they're doing a fantastic job of doing that right now. The team continues to evolve and the Sr Managers become more comfortable with their new responsibilities as well as them potentially seeking to add new faces to the team. In time, we (the Community Management team) will land on an individual who fits the responsibilities while it being right for them personally and right for their team for them to step up to the CM team. We're fortunate that we don't have to make hasty decisions, especially when we have Community Managers (and the Director of Operations) assisting the CS team daily.

As an executive, what contributions, decisions, and day to day overseeing do you do? Is there anything specific that you are proud of achieving?

In my post as CEO I find myself being deferred the work the rest of the team doesn't want to do. Like announcing the Leadership Member of the Year last night. I asked everyone who wanted to announce it and they all said "defer." Bunch of jerks.

Jokes aside, I mainly focus on the business front of EdgeGamers while Adam, Don and FirezFury typically focus on the day-to-day. The business front being monitoring our financial situation, exchanging emails with potential partners, identifying global initiatives that need immediate or long term attention, and providing out goals to our Community Management team. While I try to be an "influencer" and steer our leaders in the right direction, I definitely still find myself in the "doer" mode where I am involved (sometimes too deep) in some of the regular happenings across the community. If I see something that I can jump into and resolve, or assist, I typically wont hesitate.

The best achievement is when people express appreciation for what the community is about. I've received many messages from our members on what this community has done for them personally and professionally and it's extremely rewarding to see the power our community has to promote good for people. Whether they were helped through a tough time by our member base's positivity or people were offered professional real-life opportunities because of their administrative, leadership, or technical experiences they gained here, it's always amazing to hear these stories. When someone reaches out and says they're thankful for EdgeGamers, it keeps me going.

How are Manager promotions handled? Who has a say and how often are they considered?

Managers are selected by the Leaders who will have to work along side them on a daily basis. Team cohesiveness is important and finding the emerging leader that can rock the responsibilities they are giving while being a team player that fits in well with the other leaders is something that is looked for. Typically, Sr. Managers will express that there are gaps that need to be filled seeking insight from the other Managers who would be the best to fill the gap. From there, the Sr. Managers will bring the candidate to the Community Management team for awareness and end approval. All candidates are posted in the Community Management forum so we have eyes on who our leaders are, how they will represent us, and what they will be doing to help EdgeGamers grow. Typically, after 48 hours in the Community Management forum the Sr Managers are informed they've got the green light to promote the candidate to Manager.

Along the way are there people who don't make the cut? Yes. We need to make sure we have the right players on the field representing our team. Sometimes, there's concerns that are brought forward from the Sr Managers or the Community Managers that will hold an individual back. It's the responsibility of the Community Management team and the Sr Managers to work with that person and develop a plan that gets them to where they need to be. If they've made it to the Community Management forum they've got talent. We need to work with those people to get them what they need to eliminate any doubt from the higher levels of Leadership.

EdgeGamers didn’t have a dark mode for many months, from my perspective it took another member creating a substitute for Tech to actually focus on it, and they were able to make it within a week. I‘m not calling anyone out, but what are your thoughts on the delay, timeframe, and reaction from Tech?

Tech is reliant on people resources. Very limited people resources. The work they do requires someone to step up and volunteer to take on some significant responsibility. Sometimes, it takes a public stunt to get someone new to step up and do the work. It would be great to have a week turn around on most projects in the community. What would help with that is some of the individuals who sit in the bleachers observing the game to have the willingness to try out, throw on a uniform, and join the team. Tech is the most important aspect of our community and they're significantly under staffed for the workload they have. Until we get more personnel, things will take time.

I am fine with the delay, time frame and reaction from tech, as long as there is communication from our tech team makes it to the Leadership team on what they're doing and what that time frame is.
 
Did you ever expect to get to where you are now in eGO? Did you want to get to the position you're currently in?
 
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What does the CM team hope to accomplish this year
  • Develop better reporting allowing the Community Management team to have better clarity and insight to EdgeGamers growth quicker.
  • Overhaul Discord and promote it as EdgeGamers primary communication platform.
  • Institute better communication channels from operations leaders such as Adam and FirezFury to provide Leaders the "need to know" items happening at a Leadership level in the community.
  • Build a more robust team of Tech leaders who can implement better processes to eliminate technical debt in the community.
  • Recognize those who contribute towards the growth of EdgeGamers more regularly and consistently.
  • All of the things we didn't accomplish last year.
 
When can we stop promoting people to EC, a team (I cannot see this as a division or anything more, -with all the respect to the people that are joining it-) that might be making nice events, but as it seems/feels, most admins shortly disappear/step down after a tad bit? There are other teams that are rather empty and would really need reinforcements.

Also about CS and/or TTT:

Considering the departure/step down of Custom, TTT and CS in a sense, feel like they are completely abandoned. TTT is empty about half day on the weekends (its even worse on weekdays), with more and more of the older admins stepping down along with everything. Is there any real plan on the horizon about reviving CS or what's the conclusion with the CS Division? I wanted to ask about what's the situation with Managers and stuff, but it's been asked above.

Let it be a reminder, that TTT is amongst the top two servers for CS (as well as CS is a major part of eGO's community, that feels like its fading away)

Also TTT>JB
When can we stop promoting people to EC, a team (I cannot see this as a division or anything more, -with all the respect to the people that are joining it-) that might be making nice events, but as it seems/feels, most admins shortly disappear/step down after a tad bit? There are other teams that are rather empty and would really need reinforcements.

I am not sure I am able to answer this as it seems to be extremely specific to some feelings you have regarding something occurring in the events team in Counter-Strike. I would recommend you sit down with @santa and air some of your concerns with him and allow him to respond to you in a clear CS form.

PSA- I'll take this as an opportunity to say these are the types of discussions that need to happen more frequently instead of people stewing in their own thoughts and emotions on how EdgeGamers should function. Take some time to pull up with your Leadership and have a voice conversation with them. [Public Service Announcement Over]

Considering the departure/step down of Custom, TTT and CS in a sense, feel like they are completely abandoned. TTT is empty about half day on the weekends (its even worse on weekdays), with more and more of the older admins stepping down along with everything. Is there any real plan on the horizon about reviving CS or what's the conclusion with the CS Division? I wanted to ask about what's the situation with Managers and stuff, but it's been asked above.

Read above where I spoke to the progress in Counter-Strike and current progress with the Leadership team. I'll say this though, I don't think that a "revival" of CS needs to occur. What is with everyone always saying things are dying. We've been here for 15 years and I don't think we're going to die any time soon.

PS: I prefer Jail over TTT.
 
I've noticed recently that members feel as though reporting certain players who hold a higher position in the community find it useless, as they think these players will get a pass for poor behaviour. Is this something that leaders are concerned about? What can be done to eradicate this notion?
 
When will we receive out DS for the csgo 5v5 tournament? :D
What advice do you have for a new eG?
When will we receive out DS for the csgo 5v5 tournament?

Tomorrow.

What advice do you have for a new eG?

Become as involved in the community as possible, outside of the game you play most. There's great people in the community and you should take the time to get to know them. The more you get to know every area of the community, the best it will set you up to be the most informed and reliable admin possible. It would also set you up well for being a Leader. In other words - chill, play games, meet as many people as possible.
 
Did you ever expect to get to where you are now in eGO? Did you want to get to the position you're currently in?
I joined the community just to be a part of something. I don't think I really knew what I was getting myself into when I joined. Time for a history lesson.

I started in TeamFortress 2 joining from the original Goldrush server. There was a sale on Counter-Strike: Source so I decided to pick it up. Around the same time, the leaders in Counter-Strike: Source opened the very first Jail server when one of our members ported a map from HL2DM and I joined it and no-lifed it for probably two weeks straight. I was later promoted to eG and eGO in CS:S and spent most of my time in CS rather than TF2. I earned opportunities to lead CS as an Advisor, Division Leader and later Council Member building some of the best and top ranked Counter-Strike: Source servers and bringing in a staggering 300-400 recruits a month. It was a crazy time and an amazing opportunity for someone my age to gain some pretty good experience that would help me in my life.

I joined EdgeGamers at a young age to be a part of something fun and exciting. It was cool to see a gaming community that was having huge events and giving away hundreds of dollars of prizes regularly. I quickly took opportunities to express my creative talents, building some graphic design experience and also start to build a leader mentality that would translate to professional opportunities later in life. I'd say I wouldn't be where I am today in my career if it wasn't for getting the opportunities to lead Counter-Strike and later join the Community Management team (which was originally the Council team).

Did I want to get to the position I am in now? Sure thing. I wanted to continue to see this community grow and offer people the same opportunities I was offered. I knew that when the time was right, I would be put in positions by those above me to accomplish that. Artimus was a great mentor to me through my time in the Community Management team and I am fortunate that he saw the potential in me and gave me a shot.

Bonus Story:

When I was promoted to Council (Community Manager) there was an age restriction on 18 years or older. At the time of my promotion to I was only 15. They neglected to ever ask me what my age was through the whole promotion process. One night I was swiftly pulled into a Ventrilo room with Dominion, Artimus and Mostly Harmless where they asked me what my age was. My response was "I was waiting for this moment..." They kept me on board and a few days later Artimus called my cell phone and asked me to put my mom on the phone (omegalul). Pretty comical moment. They talked for 15-20 minutes and Artimus spent the time making sure my parents knew what I was doing in EdgeGamers and the responsibilities I had. From then, my parents were extremely supportive of the time I spent on the computer knowing I was doing something important, and helped gain some great skills that translate to life outside of gaming.

Strange to think that you can get so much from a gaming community. Some people will meme and laugh about it. This is a pretty amazing place.
 
When will we receive out DS for the csgo 5v5 tournament?

Tomorrow.

What advice do you have for a new eG?

Become as involved in the community as possible, outside of the game you play most. There's great people in the community and you should take the time to get to know them. The more you get to know every area of the community, the best it will set you up to be the most informed and reliable admin possible. It would also set you up well for being a Leader. In other words - chill, play games, meet as many people as possible.
Sweet thanks for the advice legend!
 
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