Latest revision as of 07:26, 19 February 2021

Cantr II is run by a large group of people, who all voluntarily dedicate their time to make this game as interesting and pleasant as possible. Under the policy leadership of the Game Administration Board, different departments concentrate on different aspects of running the game. There is also a Player Board for contributing players to decide on game changes.

For more details, see the following:

• Staff and Department Definitions
• Staff and Department Decisions

Joining Staff

You can apply to any staff team using this form.

If approved, you will be emailed a Volunteer Agreement to sign electronically. This is only shared with the Game Owner (Joshua Mathias). You can view the agreement here.

Staff Job Descriptions

See also the official staff requirements and approval process.

Any staff position

Most common activities:

• Discussing with other staff members (mostly on Discord; also on the forum).
• Voting on decisions (on Discord).
• Proposing ideas (on Trello).
• Using technical tools to manage or improve the game.

Qualifications:

• Seeks the good of Cantr more than the benefit of one’s characters.
• Understands Cantr's mission, and makes staff decisions in line with this mission, guided by the Game Principles.
• Respectful and appreciative of the ideas and efforts of other staff members.
• Values feedback by players and other staff members.

Benefits:

• Access to staff information.
• A @cantr.org email address.
• The right to vote on team decisions and propose changes to be voted on.
• A position on the Player Board.

Player Experience (PD)

The Player Experience Department exists to help all players play fairly. This includes helping players understand and follow the Capital Rule and other policies in regards to the Cantr game or roleplay. In order for players at large to enjoy Cantr’s niche experience (see Cantr’s mission), the Player Experience Department investigates reports of rule breaking by players and ensures that the Capital Rule is followed.

Most common activities:

• Accepting new player accounts.
• Investigating reports by players of Capital Rule violations.
• Reviewing automated reports on possible cooperation among players.

Qualifications:

• Understands and adheres to the Capital Rule.
• Has research skills (organizing information to make a decision in accordance with policies).
• Is kind and sincere in communications with players.
• Doesn’t often talk about in-game events outside of Cantr with other players.

Benefits:

• The ability to directly help resolve problems in the game and improve the experience of players.
• Training in PD policies and details regarding the Capital Rule.

Game Mechanics (RD)

The Game Mechanics Department is responsible for the mechanics of the Cantr game, including materials, objects, machines, animals, combat, etc. Game Mechanics members need to consider game balance and seek to uphold Cantr’s mission in their decisions.

Most common activities:

• Voting on proposed changes to the game, or implementation details about new items.
• Determining how approved items or changes should be implemented (may involve math).

Qualifications:

• Applies an understanding of Cantr’s mission and game balance to decide game changes.
• Analyzes ideas for complex side-effects or exploitation by players.
• Respects staff priorities (determined by the elected Product Owner and player feedback).

Benefits:

• A vote on changes to the mechanics of the Cantr game.
• May propose changes that must be voted on by the team or department.
• Access to non-public details of the mechanics of Cantr.

Programming Department (ProgD)

The Programming Department concentrates on the development and maintenance of the source code of Cantr. Anything involving the code, files, databases, and servers of Cantr (including the forum, Webzine, wiki, etc.) is the responsibility of the Programming Department.

Most common activities:

• Coding in PHP.
• Using the database to solve problems of specific players or characters.
• Discussing or informing other departments whether a particular idea is reasonable to implement, or how it might be implemented.

Qualifications (note: you only need one of these qualifications, not all):

• Has experience writing code and executing it (preferably using PHP or Javascript).
• Can write SQL queries (preferably MySQL).
• Is proficient in organizing technical tasks (Project Manager).
• Has technical writing skills.
• Can perform necessary server administration (Linux, Apache (LAMP)).
• Can design a nice looking website (web design).

Benefits:

• Technical experience (e.g. web development) developing a website with users.
• Technical training.

Public Relations Department (PR)

The Public Relations Department focuses on the external or public aspects of Cantr and consists of the Marketing and Communications teams.

Marketing Team (MD)

The Marketing team focuses on strategies for Cantr’s growth, including attracting new players, retaining current players, increasing donations, and advertisements. Marketing team members analyze data (e.g. Google Analytics, new player statistics) and use these to determine how best to accomplish Cantr’s goals as an organization.

Most common activities:

• Creating and analyzing player surveys.
• Determining strategies to attract more players to Cantr.
• Sharing Cantr on other sites, possibly communicating with other organizations.
• Creating and managing paid advertisements.

Qualifications (note: you only need one of these qualifications):

• Is interested in analysing data from Google Analytics, new players statistics, etc.
• Is interested in planning and encouraging marketing initiatives.
• Has experience in User Experience (UX) Design.
• Has graphic design skills.

Benefits:

• Access to statistics about users of Cantr.
• Experience in marketing or user experience design.

Communications Team (CD)

The Communications team speaks for Cantr and is responsible for Cantr’s messages to players and the public. This includes announcements, Cantr’s blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. The Communications team leads the way in moderating, organizing, and editing the wiki, or encouraging and helping other players to edit the wiki. The Communications team also manages Cantr’s discussion channels such as the forum and Discord server.

Most common activities:

• Posting on Cantr’s social media accounts.
• Monitoring Cantr’s Discord and forum.
• Writing announcements to Cantr’s players.

Qualifications:

• Speaks respectfully to others.
• Has sufficient writing skills in any language.

Benefits:

• Training and experience in managing an online community (and access to Discord and forum moderation tools).
• Serving as a voice for Cantr, or writing Cantr’s official messages.

Languages (LD)

The Languages Department is responsible for any translating needed by Cantr or Cantr staff. This includes texts on Cantr’s website, texts as part of the game, announcements and marketing messages, and communications between Cantr staff and other players.

Most common activities:

• Translating announcements.
• Translating new items or messages in the game.
• Updating previous translations in the game (when the original changes).

Qualifications:

• Has advanced writing skills in a target language (if not native in the target language, translations should be reviewed by another person).
• Understands English or another common Cantr language from which to translate (such as Polish or Spanish).

Benefits:

• Experience in website translation.
• The privilege of representing Cantr staff for their language group.

Human Resources (HR)

The Human Resources Department is responsible for helping Cantr staff members have a positive experience in staff. This includes processing new hires, recruiting staff members, ensuring the staff code of conduct is followed, analyzing and improving staff work and processes, and overseeing collaboration between departments.

Most common activities:

• Organizing staff tasks on Trello.
• Sending reminders and encouraging staff activity.
• Processing new staff hires.
• Ensuring that staff policies are followed.

Qualifications:

• Speaks respectfully to other staff members and staff applicants.
• Understands staff policies and can apply them in new situations.
• Is reasonably active (preferably weekly) on Cantr staff’s Discord.
• Is willing to use Trello (no previous experience expected).

Benefits:

• Access to view the discussions of almost all staff departments.
• Experience in managing people and tasks.
• A vote on whether new staff applicants meet requirements.