Sunday, June 6th, 2010
Issue: 31   Editor: HowlingMadMika


What The HDOs Think FrickOnAStick
On Thursday, 27th May, we all logged on to find the news page updated. The update explained that the Elite Guard as looking for a new Help Desk Operator(s) to add to the Help Desk. This wasn't the biggest surpise, no, as the Elite Guard was asking the Bootleggers public to apply for the position, something that was not allowed before. The Buzz contacted who will be most effected by this decision, the Help Desk Operators, as they will have another person joining their tightly knit team. We contacted all three HDOs.

"In my eyes an HDO should be a kind person who is willing to explain the game to fellow players. He or she should be willing to answer questions and to help out as much as they can. I also think a (potential) HDO should not be afraid to state his or her opinion," said Mika, describing what he thinks an HDO should be like. We asked David (also known as SweetiesLover, more widely known as Kami) the same question, to which he responded, "As an HDO, you should understand that many players first language isn't English. This is where patience and listening to the player come into play."

Next, we asked David what he thought of the Elite Guard deciding to hire new HDOs. He answered, "At certain times of the day, like between 7pm and 1-2am BL time, you will currently find that there are very few, if any, HDO's online, and this is caused by the three of us all working to a European time zone. So by potentially hiring players who can cover this void, it will help ease the pressure on both the Elite Guard (as they do answer HDO level tickets in our absense), as well as stopping any build up of tickets which may occur before one of us logs on in the morning. However, I do believe 5Litre may have wished to reconsider the method of applying due to the higher than expected number of applications he ended up receiving through his inbox." When asked what he wanted to say to all potential candidates, Sean replied, "think long and hard before you decide you want to become an HDO, because it takes a lot of time, and a lot of responsibility is put on you. Those of you who are fine with that shouldn't have to adjust your behaviour, as you should be helpful in the community anyway."

To round off our interviews, we asked all the HDOs to sum up what their job is as an HDO. Mika said that "being an HDO just adds something to the game," with Sean saying that "you need to always be approachable, and you need to use your best judgement when dealing with disputes between different players who expect you to get involved." David said, "As an HDO, you have the ability to help players with game related questions/problems, either via the help desk, or bootmail, and this in itself I personally find extremely satisfying."

It is clear the Help Desk Operators have put thought into who might be joining them, with Sean stating, "I think Altro deserves the role the most, due to the time he has committed to his site and Bootleggers." David also told the Buzz that for all the HDOs new, more than one new addition was a possibility. We will have to wait a while to find out who gets a spot, but rest assured, we'll be seeing a new HDO in the near future.