Sunday, June 20th, 2010
Issue: 33   Editor: HowlingMadMika


COLUM: Light-hearted Look at HDOs Altro


Staring at the user’s online page, which is void of color, not only because I lack friends but also because it lacks staff members, and for some reason The Departed are dominating the pie, I cast my mind back two weeks. 5litre asked for user applications for those cherished help desk seats. It may not be to long before they are filled, or have they already been filled since the time of writing? Just what can the new operators expect? What is all this mystery behind it? How, where, why, what and when did the current system evolve? We take a light-hearted look at just some of those questions, of which some answers are useful things to know.

Believe it or not but the help desk didn’t always exist. In fact at one point Administrators and Moderators actually answered questions via bootmails (BMs). With more players around, you could have always taken a friendly stroll to the game forum to ask for help from regular players, who were all too willing to help. Alas, now we only have the third incarnation of the help desk to aid the players. A feature originally coded by ex-admin Nohau, later replaced by a very similar version, which was more user friendly. Then the current version came, which gives users a chance to respond, even hold a conversation. You can also rate your experiences and the staff member(s) that helped you.

Since the early days, the questions have been broken into two levels, and now three. The first level of tickets could be answered by regular players (Help Desk Operators), furthermore there were tickets for Moderators and Admins. The latter level was then broken up again in to several levels which exist within the Elite Guard.

These regular players (or HDO’s as we often refer to them,) are players who are (normally) respected and trusted by the staff to help others. There is a long list of some of the most respected players in the game who have been given the yellow coat. While it is not a guarantee, it has been seen as a stepping platform to the Elite Guard. However, this process can in some cases take several years of hard work. It was decided early on that moderators would only be recruited from these special players. In fact it was ex-administrator Sabin who was the last to skip this step. This process weeds out the bad cookies from the barrel, and shows the dedication of the player to the game.

Unfortunately an old tradition has died out. “Tagging a Simpson”, as it was referred to in some circles. A process of killing an HDO every two or three days to show the respect the players had for them. In some cases five or six times a day. The “problem” became so bad that a new rule was instigated, if an HDO died for doing their job, they were either revived, or given equal money and experience to that of which they had lost. Now, HDO’s are rarely cut down due to their color. We as Bootleggers are much more tolerant of a player's color, and while racism is still an issue, it’s not a huge one.

You may, if you are wise to the structure of URLs, have found something called “The High Rollers Forum.” A forum for the HDOs to interact with members of the Elite Guard and their peers, it also contains useful information on the game to help them with their job. Upon joining this group, you will be required to follow very specific privacy rules, rules which forbid disclosure of certain information. Rules which themselves are so secret that the “staff aren’t even allowed to talk about them,” an HDO once told to me while quoting the forum. Scandal has hit bootleggers in the past due to the special information given to these members. Sweetie (now a Moderator) and Browneyes, both of which were HDO’s at the time, were, by players, attacked for having this information. Both of which ranked to State Don shortly after the feature was released, a feature they had known about several days before release. A fact, which players claimed had given them an unfair advantage.

The job involves patrolling the forums, answering tickets, maintaining a high level of professional behavior and in some cases monitoring IRC (internet relay chat or just chat). Like the highly skilled Buzz Writers, this is a voluntary position which is invite only, they get no money or points for the job they do. A position which drives some HDOs in to a life of servitude. Instead of playing the game, they fall in to the trap of just answering tickets and talking on the forum. Unlike other staff positions they have no information on other players, and hence are free to play the game. Some of the more famous HDOs lead bloody reigns. However, they do forfeit one feature of the game: playing underground. They can never just slip into the shadows, never to be seen. A perfect recent example of this is David currently SweetiesPlayThing. While the rest of 1337 Guard have gone to ground or are laying low, he is targeted regularly during the Eternal Labyrinth attacks last week.

Being HDO has its downsides, as well as a few perks, including respect from other players. However, it leads many away from playing, into a life of servitude.