Aerineth(OD)

A name is what one makes it out to be. Though admittingly, Overdosed usually gets tied with negativity. A while back we used to be called Clan Overdosed, but that was changed. I think that was about 4 years ago? The timing may be a little off. It was then that we rebranded (sort of) to be called just Overdosed Gaming. It could have drove off some people, but I don't think the name in and of itself has caused our decline or attractiveness to prospective members. I'd like to think that after they went through their trial phase, there were enough good experiences that kept them here and they put aside the negative name of Overdosed and looked at it as more of a community and not a drug relation. Sometimes no, I don't. But the same can be said for work. Sometimes you're just not feeling it that day. And I think that's ok, because at the end of the day, we're still human. I have never 100% dreaded it, but there are some days where I'd rather just relax. As far as the rest of your questions, yea, I absolutely still get excitement with people.. when I play. I used to play a lot of Ark with Terra, Altros, Bahafresh, and Remsen. And I've played in many other divisions. And Terra and I have had our differences in the past, that has led to some falling out on occaision, but playing with people you call your friend is some of the most rewarding times. I will be weighing my options though in my IA status. Nothing is for certain. I will, thank you for your criticism. I hope to really address a lot of them with my time away and focusing on healing. I have years and years and years of conditioning to think that way. Since way back before I was in this community. It's not something you break overnight. Sure, logically I'm well aware of that. But logic and reality are two very different things sometimes. And here, you and I both agree. I've always been better at figuring out everyone else's problems than my own. I suppose it's what made me such a good listener.

Mm, increasingly more. In fact, I'll be taking an IA due to real life immediately after my posts and voting. There are some things I need to take care of before I can return to being the Aerineth everyone know's. I do not speak about my personal problems to a lot of people.. and frankly even when I do, it's a very glossed over summary. Talking never achieves anything in my history and only serves to fuel aggravation. So yea, I just deal with it alone and present everyone else with the smile they know. Nobody likes to talk about unhappy subjects, so I strive to always be that happy person. It's been increasingly difficult though as time goes on. I kind of answered the first two questions in these responses. But there's always things that can come up to force you to put other responsibilities on the back burner. It's just part of life. Sometimes it's more prominent than others though. Website re-design is and should be one of our number one priorities, and if that was available then sure, I'd throw it at the one thing that I think most of the community wants above all else. Thanks for the vote of approval. :) I'm sure I'll be getting in touch with you actually in the coming months for Starcraft Tournament stuff! I shall take your full post here and throughout my evaluation to heart as I move forward to regain and refuel my capabilities. I thank you for the thorough yet brutal critique. Ever the savage :P Thanks Dabomb. :) I look forward to keeping better in touch with the community, and refocusing myself. I promise it wasn't intentional. See to the post in the Generals forum after I vote to perhaps explain. I don't right now. Admittingly, I've struggled pretty hard lately to continue to do what I feel is right while constantly being shut down in everything I do (in and out of OD). After I return from IA though, I'll present some ideas if it's not already done so. I would, if on the other side of the table, vote for my demotion. But I would only vote that way because I've done it a few times int he past. I do not think Commanders should be inactive at all. And I think it reflects poorly on the community. See to the demotion of Corgur, Darkness, and even Newbcrack. I don't think I was a General at the time of the first two, but I still held the same opinion. As far as wanting to remain a Commander, more than anything do I wish to remain a Commander. I love being in this community and representing. I love being able to do what needs to be done for the members of the community. It's brought me great joy over the past 7 years of my time here. I'll look for any additional posts tonight to see if I need to answer anything else before going to bed, but I'll likely be IA for a little while afterwards if it's granted. Thanks everyone who's posted on my evaluation so far!

Snickers, you'll also be short and sweet.. and again I apologize for the brevity. There's been a lot of points made to you based on your activity levels and contributions. And I really don't think you've utilized the Brigadier General position to it's fullest extent.. nor do I think you've come close to the minimum level of contributions we expect from a Brigadier General. I've known you for a long time and I think that over the years of you being here, you've done some really great things. But I think recently, they haven't been your best. You're definitely capable.. as is clearly evident in your evaluation here. But I don't think you've retained enough to hold the rank of Brigadier General. I apologize, but I'm voting for your demotion to Colonel at this time. I do think that you can regain the rank should you find yourself capable of contributing again on the level that I know you're capable of.

Frank, I'll keep yours short and sweet as well and again apologize for it's brevity. You're far more active than I've been the past year and your contributions have always been solid. You approach every issue completely unbiased and with a clear head. I'm glad you were able to recover and not remain burnt out so long ago. You've turned into quite the fine leader. :) I of course am voting for you to remain at Commander. We need you where you are. :)

Hey there Compfreak, I'll keep my evaluation of you short and sweet but apologize for it's brevity. I don't have any questions after reviewing the activity in this thread. There's been a lot of good points made to you about where you stand. And if there's one thing I know about you, you take them all to heart and use them to better yourself. I think it would be a huge disservice to you to vote for your demotion. You're quite possibly the most active General we have right now by a long shot. There is so much good I see in your future. And it is for these reasons I'm also voting for you to have a chance to go to that coveted 4th star. Best of luck Compfreak.

I'll be up front, I was the one who initially nominated you for demotion due to the reasons provided to you. Just in case that wasn't clear or you hadn't listened to the recording. I'm going to jump right into a question because unless it was asked and I'm missing it, then I need to know the answer. And I'm going to be very direct about it too. Do you even want to be a General with all the other commitments you have outside of OD and the minor contributions you've made since you rejoined over a year ago? If so, prove to me you want to keep acting in the capacity as General and it's something you need above the rank of Colonel. Furthermore, give me concrete steps you will be taking to ensure you deserve the rank of Brigadier General and become more of a prevalent figure.

It's true, we do say you shouldn't drink and perform admin duties. Like I said, it wasn't my best performance. And I wouldn't have been drinking yet if I remembered there was a meeting. But I'm not just going to sit out a meeting when I had valid concerns to bring up. I didn't abuse my power, and I didn't affect anyone directly beyond seemingly wasting peoples time. I'm sorry you felt the discussion about how each of our Generals feel regarding the current standing of the clan wasn't productive. I'll finish utilizing the data that was gathered from the Generals opinions that evening and post it. I'm not sure what more you want me to say than I wish I wasn't drinking. I forgot the meeting was happening, and planned to have a relaxing evening till Purplez reminded me there was a meeting. It was a mistake that I didn't plan on happening. It doesn't excuse me having been a bit tipsy and I'm well aware of that. It was a topic I intended on bringing up regardless when we had our next meeting, whether it was a Generals After Party or an Eval meeting. The only thing it seemed to do for you at least, is irritate you and waste your time. Sorry it turned out that way for you. Unless I'm not remembering a specific situation you're referring to, it hasn't been my intention to ever personally attack anyone. I have had many frustrations that I've dealt with recently, some from personal health problems, some from complications here in OD, some from work. To be honest, I'm not sure if I can comfortably answer this question publicly to the effect that it deserves. After some consideration, I feel that it delves a bit too far into a personal reasoning than I'm ok with to divulge publicly. I would be happy to speak with you one on one though. I apologize. I understand if this is viewed negatively and accept it. But I will say this. Recently (the past 3 months) I know there have been a few instances where I either strongly disagreed with something in the Generals Forum, or when I'm speaking about something someone presented (@MooMoo(OD) you're coming to mind specifically right now) and I may have been a little to strong with a disagreement. If this is what Badboi's referring to, I want to perhaps have a second to clear it up: It was never my intention to attack you or your character, only the ideas that were presented within the thread, and not just from you.. even though you seemed to be the one on the receiving end. And if you felt I was, then I am deeply sorry for that. I promise you it wasn't my intention. If anything, it helped me get to know you better, and perhaps even respect you more than prior. It's easy to get a little carried away when you disagree with something, so overall I apologize, even if it didn't actually offend or bother you. In a broader answer that I think I can state publicly, there are some stances and opinions that I do not agree or think are a good direction to proceed in. But even if I don't agree with it, this isn't my clan. This isn't 'everyone will do as Aerineth says'. Administration especially are a team. We vote and decide things democratically. And even if I don't agree with something, if it were to pass, I would still support it going forward after having said my piece on the matter. What I don't like is feeling like sometimes I have to censure myself or feel like 'oh I've said too much'. And I get that feeling a lot lately. Perhaps it's the disconnect leading me to part of my response to Sunset in my first answer that I lightly alluded to but didn't state. Being part of what feels like the minority all the time does lead me to considering whether or not my usefulness in the position is actually needed. Even topics or things that happen verbally and not written down, (I won't name a name) but there's always someone staunchly on the other side refusing put themselves in my shoes and consider what I've presented. And that wears on you. There's no question I love this community and have sacrificed a lot for this community. So I suppose in a short and sweet response, I get frustrated and take things personal sometimes when perhaps I shouldn't. @R.agnarok(OD) is my favorite. Every time I've ever come to him for advice in my time here, he's always a resolute clear headed individual who's supported me from day one. If I'm to be honest, there's only a handful of people I trust to this degree and hold this much respect for. Thanks for being there all this time R.ag :) Enders Game, excellent book. Second one confuses the shit out of me cuz Ender's not in it (least so far). Don't know how I feel about it and still debating (1 month later) whether or not I want to actually read it. When I was leading the Diablo 2 division. I had purpose. Not being as connected as I used to be with the community as a whole. And I can tell you, it's actually a pretty lonely place. Sure I show up and provide input on topics (usually an unpopular opinion and in the minority lately), but there's little else tying me here beyond responsibility, honor, and duty of being a Commander in this community. I still love the administration side and providing what I do, don't get me wrong. But it's not as much as say 5 years ago while I was still in D2.

Admittingly, it wasn't my best performance. But the discussion that took place was nonetheless important to have regarding our current state of affairs in the community, such as our decline in members and most of us expressing concern for where we are. Further, it's one of the few meetings that I forgot about, and had I remembered I wouldn't have begun drinking before the meeting took place and would have waited till afterwards. Thanks Dabomb :) I don't see any point in lying or not addressing what's on my mind. As far as your question, we all know about the state of opinion with the website. Many have had a distaste for our archaic website, and many have claimed it drives them away. To ignore it would be foolish on our part. Part of my attempt to help activity increase is getting back into developing and pick up where the current Lauravel project is. It's not something that can be completed overnight.. and I can't stress that enough to those who are struggling with the look of the website. It takes time to develop the website. Now, a fair counterargument is, we've been working on it something website related for a long time, but there's still nothing that's come of it. I would love nothing more than to dedicate every waking minute to get it done as fast as possible. But that's not going to happen. Now that I'm working myself back into development, it is my full intention to begin developing the website redesign into something much more modern. It's just going to take some time. Also, it should be an effort of all of us to start being more active and more visible to the community. We should lead by example in that regard. Thanks for the questions guys! Keep them coming.

Relax. I'm aware. I posted in the shoutbox that stated I would address all questions today. It's been a rough unexpected week for me. To everyone else, I apologize for not getting back to you all until today. I had some personal problems to take care of. I shall endeavor throughout the course of today to make up for that, so please keep the questions coming if you have them. Technically a replacement for me would be impossible. Anytime I've trained anyone, I don't train them to be me, I train them with knowledge so that they can make the decisions in their own manner. It doesn't have to be the way I would do it, but it does need to reflect the community in a positive light. It's important to remember when looking towards the future, everyone is their own individual person. As far a specific person, I have a few that I would love to fill in for me. As to who those are, I won't announce them to prevent rumors of favoritism, or perhaps derailing progress towards their own individual progress. Rest assured I have a few I would liked to see eventually take my place when that time comes. For me, it's difficult to determine when a Commander has outlived their position. Commanders are a little different than 'just' a General. There are responsibilities that we posses that no other rank does. Though in my eyes, a Commander needs to be primarily administration and less gaming. That said, if the Commander is very active in the gaming field, then that's a bonus. The reason for this is, administration is not a job people like to do. But someone has to do it. And with the dilution of power from the Generals over the course of my time down to officer, the expectation to live up to a responsibility seems.. less expected. We have many expectations of Officers and Senior Officers, but few of them live up to those expectations 100% with nothing left to be desired. Even among the Generals, we have those who prefer to game and not look at Administration. And we've allowed that to happen for 1*'s but as you go to 2* and above it's more expected to participate in discussions regarding the community as a whole, not just a division. Case in point, there must always be someone who must be dedicated to getting the administration done, and while some of the Generals do that, we are there to ensure it gets done. We of course also have the responsibility of the continuity of the community, which is a huge responsibility. Sure, you can argue that it's part of all of our jobs, from Enlisted to Commander to contribute to this, but being that it's required for a Commander to look at every division, look at the ins and outs of ever decision made, and look to the future to mitigate challenges that are coming or shift to move towards something that benefits the community, it can be said that's our biggest responsibility above all else. As far as whether I feel I've outlived my position, perhaps. Ultimately it's up to feedback of individuals on my work contributed to the community. But speaking personally, I don't believe that I have yet. While I'm not at the forefront of the community, I still believe I play an integral part of it's continuity and ensuring we remain here for many of the reasons I've mentioned and my contributions to behind the scenes to ensure we remain here. As I mentioned above, it is the responsibility of the Commanders to ensure continuity and in smaller parts, the leadership team as a whole. And to be honest, it's something I've been vocal about noticing for the past year and a half. Early Summer of 2018 I voiced a concern I felt the community was beginning a decline. At the time, the response was essentially 'I think you're worried about nothing' or 'it's not a problem yet'. I continued commenting on it whenever I felt it was appropriate while I tried to find ways to mitigate some of that. I did not come up with anything that could help. In a recent Generals After Meeting, it was brought up again the decline.. to which even Badboi commented that 'Aerineth brought this up a few months ago' but I corrected him saying I brought it up last summer. If I'm to be candid, it's frustrating we're just know truly acknowledging it in some part that it's been in a slow decline. If anyone would like to meet with me to discuss options or your opinions regarding the community or the future, I'm 100% open to listen to them. You can pm me on either the website or in the forums, send me a message on Discord or Teamspeak and when I see it, I'll get back with you to set up a time to meet with you, or even contact me via email.. I check it every day. aerineth@overdosed.net. Part of my recent real life obligations are because of work, but that's not entirely. I don't have many relationships outside of work, no significant other or girlfriend atm, and outside of work, the only real time I spend with people is Friday nights. Primarily I will either game after coming home from work or work on Accounting homework, so I don't have much to jeopardize to be honest. Yes and no? It's somewhat a loaded question with a tumultuous answer. In the past, it's been stated we've been top heavy at times, when our member count was low, much like we are now. And personally speaking, I don't think of administration as a number. I consider the Administration team as those who are contributing to the community in some form, whether it's in the form of managing divisions, helping members, helping Commanders (or being a Commander) look towards the future. I don't believe just because you're rank # 15 that you're only allowed to contribute in this small niche. And on the flip side of that coin, I don't think that just because you're rank # 24, that you're actively contributing to the contributions of the community. (Disclaimer, I'm using these rank numbers as an example and not a representation of actual people). So, those contributing to the community, I 100% welcome to administration, but those who aren't actually contributing I take issue with. It's probably not really the answer you were looking for, but I feel this to be the appropriate answer. It is my belief in the coming evaluations to be on the lookout for inactivity and non-contributions so that we can address them, and improve them or deal with them with potential evaluations/demotions. I consider it alarming and frustrating. I believe there's been whispers over the past few years, that either we've chosen to ignore, or didn't address them properly. And I think that's probably a big reason why we're at where we are now. Some whispers made it to me, but I don't believe many of them did. I take a lot of the decline because of hearing some of the whispers as even somewhat of a personal failure. For the past 7 years, I've contributed so much time, energy, love, pain, and tears to this community, and I'm not really very happy with the state we're in now. I think partly that since we're really beginning to acknowledge the issue.. I have hope that we can come out of this slump and recover back to the community we were meant to be, and be one that people are happy with again. I do not believe that I am a Gaming leader. At least not anymore. I firmly embrace the idea of being part of the Administration side of leadership. Though I will admit, I do miss the daily gaming with members. And I've tried to go back to play D2, or pop in to D3 or other games from time to time, but they don't hold my interest anymore. I've played D2 so much in my life.. I'll get the inkling to go back to it.. then remember all the time I sunk to it, and it's the same thing over and over. It got stale for me a while back.. and it's a big reason I passed the reigns for Diablo 2 off many years ago after leading it for 2.5 years. I've always felt more comfortable after making this switch to administration.. with deal with administration as a whole and not so much on the gaming level. I like to look at the bigger picture, and I like to be involved in or at least aware of everything, not just what I'm tasked with. I'm happy you all enjoyed my company. :) I wish I hadn't played it so much so that I could really spend a lot of time in it again.. just so that I could play with the members again. Members willingness to participate in change and the mindset to know that 'it's ok to propose a change' and see it followed through. All this without fear of repercussion or 'I know someone's going to hate it' or 'someone's going to attack me for my idea' or get discouraged that there is some resistance. It sucks getting shut down or potentially ignored for contributing an idea. It's happened to me a lot more lately than it used to and it is somewhat disheartening. I don't let them get to me as easily, but everyone else is not me. I strongly appreciate anyone who contributes ideas, suggestions, opinions on topics that are brought up. I like hearing different perspectives. It's something I look for when I want to train someone. Look for someone who can bring a new perspective with new ideas from the members. We need the 'new' to keep things fresh. Without new, it just gets old and boring. No, actually. Not within the past year. In my time here, definitely. But within the past year, and within the time spent since my last evaluation, my role has been more focused on management of the community and the backend side of things, such as discussions brought up, discord management(lately), or other such responsibilities that are primarily behind closed doors. Perhaps that would be what I would have to say I'm not satisfied with. I used to champion myself as a speaker of the people. You can look back to many of my evaluations in the past and I'd always brought this up. I've focused on the administration side of it for so long, many people don't actually know who I am anymore outside of the Generals and a few officers. I need to spend more time getting around Teamspeak and introducing myself to all of the members again. Thanks everyone for the questions.. I'm here all day today to answer any more that come in so if you would like to ask anymore, I'm happy to do so. :) Keep the questions coming in! I appreciate them all!

Hello everyone, It's been quite a while since I put one of these up, so I wanted to take the time to provide input on what I do for the community in relation to the duties and expectations laid out before me for the rank of Commander. Primarily, I work with the Generals and other Commanders to come up with ideas and work though the issues we see in the community. These issues are much broader than divisional, though it's not limited to the broad spectrum. Whenever there's a need for me to be somewhere, I have made every effort to do so. For instance, last week, I was asked to attend a meeting for the WoW Classic squad, and I did so, despite the turnout being very negligible. Along with Terra, I provide support through management of the Teamspeak 3 server, so if there's ever a wonky setting with a permission, Terra and I are usually the ones who look into this. I provide ownership of the Discord server and out of the Generals and Commanders, am one of the few who does any management the server. I've recently bestowed MelodicRose the ability to help manage the channels of Discord as I've tasked her with bringing Discord into the light so that more people are aware of it and use it (as it's my opinion it's superior to Teamspeak, but that's just my opinion). Along with R.agnarok and Compfreak, I'm the primary individual behind management of Donations. While R.ag is the only one who has any access to the money of Overdosed Gaming, I manage everything else regarding the donations, and have granted Compfreak the ability to help me manage this aspect. This includes, but is not solely limited too, adding donations to the website, managing VIP channels on the website, providing emails to members who have donated certain amounts of money, I have been trying to get myself back into the groove of developing for the website again. This is still a work in progress, so there's nothing really to report beyond my intention of getting back into it (and perhaps providing something to call me out on later?) While most if not all of my work for the community has been on the backend, I'm still available daily for members who need me. For instance, I try to be connected to Teamspeak and Discord both 24/7 so that if anyone has a question, they're free to message me and I'll get back to them as soon as I'm able, if not immediately. As far as the gaming side of my activity, I don't do as much gaming as I used to. Lately I've been playing WoW with a few of my coworkers, but that's really been the extent of my gaming. I was playing Ark for a while, but have since fallen out of that. I encourage anyone who has any questions for me, to please ask. I'm not afraid to answer any question thrown at me. If you'd like to know anything at all, if it's in my power to do so, I'll be happy to provide an answer! I hope to see some good discussion here! Just a reminder to those not familiar with the current Eval Process, posts are limited to 2 question posts (can have multiple questions per post), and 1 opinion and/or statement post, per person.

How does this Saturday sound at 5 central?

While I can't speak for the active members on Fearlina, I've been playing on Bloodsail Buccaneer's with some guys from work. (They're not interested in changing servers.) I should have started WoW a long time ago. :/ Although, I did receive a whisper earlier (I'll leave the source anonymous as I don't know if they wish to be made public) that stated they didn't know why we chose Fearlina. They felt the choice of server was poor and could have been better. I don't really know the specifics, but I figured I'd at least share the concern.

When Doves Cry (Cover) - Sam Perry (Thanks @CompFreak(OD) for introducing me to this guy)

I've been dealing with my own personal problems this week that I will not make public and haven't been as available. You do not need me to hold your hand to determine if a bait should be followed through or not. Now, if you would like to continue this discussion, we can move it to another location. But lets just wish him well and everyone can wash their hands of frustrations, irritations, pain, and problems, from all sides. Let's all just move on.

And that's earned you a week suspension from the forums. Blatant BM isn't tolerated by anyone for any reason. Everyone else needs to take a step back. Sassy, you rose to the bait. I know you're going through a very difficult time right now, but you shouldn't have risen up to cause such a scene, regardless of the situation. This is a resignation thread, and that means that the thread will be designed to wish the individual well and see them off, not lash back or strike out against them. This goes for you too Ghostdog. Lashing out or making one final quip on your way out isn't fair either Ghostdog. Resign with the dignity you have, and don't burn every bridge you have on your way out. The only posts following mine here, will be to wish him well in his endeavors. That's it. Any other post to further aggravate this further, will receive further punishments. Leave it as it is. If there's a problem, take it private, not in a public resignation thread. Ghostdog, I wish you well in your endeavors, and I'm sorry things couldn't work out in the end. Lieutenant General PoPs(OD) disabled Chief Warrant Officer CWO4 GhostDog(OD) for Asked to resign...gl to you sir and goodbye on Fri Sep 13th, 2019 at 01:11:03 PM GMT.