Captain's server workload?

[g_e_oos]

I didn't want to steal Hurtme's thread so I'll post it here.

You know, I have gone threw a few hard times related to my video game habits and have never considered leaving my hobby entirely.

When I get into a new online multi player game, it usually isn't long before I am some kind of leader of some kind of clan/group. Usually that adds one thing that most people never have to deal with when you talk about video games: responsibility. Responsibility means that at certain times I have to be available (or find someone else who is available) to do certain things. Also, my actions become more important since other people now depend on me to do things and decide on (relatively) important issues.

This takes video games from something that I can do on my free time and blow off steam into something that I am required to spend time doing. It also leads to situations where someone could need to get ahold of me at any time to do something important (restart the server, change from a broken map, etc.) Because of this, there are times in my week that video games one of the highest priority things in my life. When this happens with a real time MMORPG in a clan of 60+ people and 12 hours of my day is spent being diplomat, posting on forums and organizing raids it has caused major problems in my personal life, especially with my live-in fiance.

For most people this will never become a problem. You may like to play video games and may play them pretty often but the only thing really stopping you from doing something else, spending time with your girlfriend for example, is you. If you cut your time playing video games in half, your in-game friends might miss you but there won't be many real ramifications on your in-game persona. This has the adverse effect of allowing you to enrich your real life. If I cut the time I spend on TF2 in half, the maps on the server wouldn't get updated or I wouldn't hear about server issues and the community would suffer.

I really don't see a time in my personal life where I would quit video games entirely. I have stepped down from an admin position before and I have stopped checking up on clan forums before. I have even quit playing particular games all together. I just don't see why anyone would feel like quitting something, for a woman, that is enjoiable and isn't harming anyone would be a good idea. Quitting drugs or your bad porno habit maybe, but not video games.

I can see why you would want to spend more time with your lady friend and I am not saying that is a bad idea, but if you think changing everything in your life will help your relationship, that only shows how inexperienced with love you are. No matter what she tells you, she has a personal reason for breaking up with you and the fact that she did should tell you that, if nothing else, she has some doubts about spending the rest of her life with you as her significant other.

All this said, I hope everything works out the way you want. What I have found is that life doesn't usually go the way you plan it.

Captain I understand most everything you are saying but there is one thing I don't get. You say that you do this so much it seems like a job. So why aren't you splitting up stuff for different people on here? Do you enjoy doing this a lot? Or is it that you don't really trust us with your server or feel you must do everything yourself? Most of the people on here have been playing together for a long time now and I'm betting everyone is willing to chip in to help you if you want us to.


p.s. maybe this should go in the server suggestions thread go ahead and move it if you want.

[pleasenopouncing]

ya i agree i might not know how to do some stuff but u tell/teach me how and i can do it half the time i am away from my computer so u cant count on me for server restart or a few other things but i might be able to do some stuff.

[captainAngry]

I have been waiting until a time when it becomes too much for me to handle. So far it has been manageable. The post about hard times related to video games doesn't really relate to TF2 so much. If any of you play with me at night, when I all of a sudden say "Sorry guys, I gotta go" that's usually the moment my S/O walks in the door. I have been making a better effort to spend time with Surreal(not her real name) and because of that I have been rewarded by not being nagged all the time.

A few people have volunteered to help with things and I know I could count on you guys to do certain things for me. The only problem I really run into now is that I don't have a lot of time where I am available when the server is empty to test server settings.

I have already setup a few things that help me not spend so much time doing things. I make tools for myself the help me generate map lists (the map ratings page has some hidden functionality to do this). I don't spend a lot of time trying to find new maps, deciding to use that time for other things and let people post new maps on the forum. This is a huge time saver.

I already have plenty of people to moderate the game server so there are definately no problems there.

Uploading maps does take some time but there are a few reasons why it is difficult to pawn this off on someone else. All the maps and other objects (sometimes there are other things map makers need installed on the server) is just as easy as adding a map to your computer. Anyone with FTP knowledge could do this without problems. The web server maps are a bit more involved because all of the files need to be compressed to a proprietary format (bz2) before they are uploaded to my web server. Currently my web server is only accessible via my master log in which has access to all of my websites so in order to give someone else access I would have to copy all the maps to a new directory and make a new FTP user account, which is possible but not necessary now. It's all pretty complicated and I would only feel comfortable letting someone do this if they had done it before. Right now I only have to add maps twice a week (Sunday and Wednesday if there are any new maps) so it isn't really a big deal as long as I am not out of town.

I also spend some time talking to people, finding new members, connecting to the mapping community etc. Talking with people and answering questions/conserns is something that I wouldn't really be able to pass off on someone else. People could definately help with getting the word out about our community by posting about it or telling people about our map ratings.

I spend some time tweaking server settings as well. This is something I am pretty protective over since there are a ton of things that could be changed that would break the server or change things in a way that I wouldn't agree with. This stuff doesn't nessasaraly take up too much of my time anyway, although I know there are more than a few admin panel things that I still need to work out. The only deterant to this is that when I am on the server and others are on I would rather play then tweak settings.

The only other thing I can think of that takes up my time, other than tweaking the site or working on a redesign, is moderating the forum. This is one thing that I definately wouldn't have any problem allowing people to be a part of. I have all the stuff setup to just add people to a moderator group and let them have at it. The only reason we don't have moderators now is because I rarely have to moderate anything. I read all the forum posts anyway so it doesn't really matter now. As the community grows, the need for forum moderators will as well and at that time I will ask for people who want to do it.

That's about it for now. This post is too long

[z0th]

I have been waiting until a time when it becomes too much for me to handle. So far it has been manageable.

i completely understand where you are coming from here...

i managed a high traffic W:ET server for about four or five years, along with all the map and forum management that you mention. for some time it was actually part of my job description -- eventually the company turned the server over to me completely when i moved on. i ran on a *NIX platform on a carrier grade net, so everything (server restarts, backups, etc.) were automated (all hail Paul Vixie!) and pretty heavily secured. i was also lucky to have a pretty savvy co-administrator (Helix), i was good with systems, he was good with code.

i only ever recall it impacting my social life once or twice. usually serious abuse issues (botters, or DoS), or catastrophic server issues.

i dont know if theres anything i can help you with at all -- if there is, just ask.

... is moderating the forum. This is one thing that I definately wouldn't have any problem allowing people to be a part of. I have all the stuff setup to just add people to a moderator group and let them have at it. The only reason we don't have moderators now is because I rarely have to moderate anything.

yep. did phpbb2 as well! I would encourage you to download this task on to some trusted bodies here. it will lower your workload, even if just a little bit. its also a good way to allow the users to give something back to the community.