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Saturday, 08 September 2007 |
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 "A few weeks ago, I was sifting through data on an old hard drive when I came across a file titled Operator.txt, sent to me when I got my first O:line. Then it struck me: I appeared on SorceryNet in the summer of 1998, and I have been here for almost 10 years.
If my memory serves me right, after doing time in #help and #sorcery, I first oper’d up on in the summer of 2001.
It was rather obvious then that I lacked knowledge of the technical side of things-- I remember scrawling the correct syntaxes for OperServ functions on Post-Its stuck to my monitor. But in my opinion, I made up for the areas where I fell short with enthusiasm, people skills, and sarcasm.
The first project I undertook was polling other Opers on who spoke which languages (like French and Spanish, not perl or C), to find out who would be available to translate for users with questions. As pointless as that task might seem now, I remember feeling like that’s all I could do to involve myself here, where skillsets other than mine reigned supreme. I was never completely clueless, but I did have a lot to learn, and still do.
To make a 9-year story short, SorceryNet has been an integral part of my life. The friends I’ve made have proven to be the most loyal I’ve ever had; people to talk to and commiserate with. StarThorn even sent me flowers after I had a particularly bad breakup with an ex. I even met my husband-to-be, here; we were engaged last July.
As I see it, my history here gives me a particularly vested interest in keeping it alive. I’ve been here through major network upheavals, and I’ve seen how staff conflicts can tear a network apart. I pride myself on my even-handedness, dedication and willingness to listen and mediate.
An effective leader makes efficient use of the people around them. As Network Director, I realize that my role would be one of vision, coordination and conflict resolution. I won’t feign a deep understanding of things like Services overhauls; what we need is to clearly define our problems so we can negotiate steps to solution, and reach our goal with maximum transparency and minimal micromanagement. We each have job descriptions, let’s use them. And if they’re a bad fit, let’s adjust them.
I understand that we need to boost our user numbers; I would like to have an all-hands-on-deck staff/user meeting, like when Charybdis was launched, to brainstorm. I would like to see the charter revamped—the task as I undertook it a few months back proved larger than I’d anticipated. And, as I’m sure every Network Director has said, our users are the reason we’re here: Feeling important and looking busy mean naught without them.
Those of you who know me understand my sincerity as I ask you to trust me with this job, and I hope I can prove my worth to those who don’t know me yet."
I look forward to living up to my promises. See you in #sorcery!
-egypt
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 08 September 2007 )
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