Individual Staff Training Rules!

The staff and I have been talking about the influx of those who are going to require training in a specific area; either Master/Grandmaster ranking or dealing with a particular subspec (since many are locked to having to be trained by a teacher). Now, while I will allow each member of staff to speak of their own ways of handling training requests I will speak my mind on it now when it comes to people learning from me. Now please, before I begin, understand that this is the 3rd forum I have been a member of staff on, the second of which I have been a founding admin; this means that I have done this all before many times again. So, there are things that have stuck with me from past experiences that come across as annoying - including feeling used (such as when people RP with me simply to learn something and then once they have it I never hear/see/RP with them again). So, I have devised my own personal rules that follow because of such experiences. 

I am NOT the type of RPer to take OOC requests, agree to them, and automatically implement them in to RP's. This means simply: DO NOT ASK ME IN THE CHATBOX TO TEACH YOU ANYTHING. Because even if /I/ as the person behind the character am willing does not automatically mean that my character is. Avery is a character I have had for a very long period of time (4+ years in fact, going on 5 years very, very soon); I was brought into the RP (the site history) as it was unfolding by Houjin and Arawn. So my character was there towards the end of all of that chaos with the school, the confusion, the death, ect., and as such isn't trusting of just anyone who happens to come by. It's a rare occurrence for her to be willing to train someone off-rip so to speak - and only when she can see them honestly proving themselves. So, it's going to take some patience and trying to get her to be willing to accept your character as a student in anything.

To have me train you you must follow a few specific rules:

1. No metagaming. This means that if you wish to learn something from me you have to find out in character that I have that ability or particular rank to be able to do so (such as with Spiritbending and Chi Blocking).

2. I am not going to train you IC just because you ask IC. I expect at least some role-play between our characters beforehand; some sort of IC acquaintance-ship, friendship, or whatever to be formed between our characters before my character will be willing to teach yours anything (let alone allow you to know she has the ability to teach you in the first place).

3. When it comes to Master/Grandmaster training I will only do so in a group. This means that when there is more than one person (usually 3, though I reserve the right to change that number at any given time) who need the training will I then start the thread (which will have certain rules that have to be abide by to keep the thread moving smoothly which will be announced at that time). Pestering me to do so otherwise will have you booted out of the chatbox and automatically told no. This particular rule is to keep me from being overwhelmed with a bazillion (exaggeration, yes, but you get what I mean) requests to be trained and then being so bogged down with mass training threads that I'm incapable of doing my own RP's, or even staff word.

Now, I'm sure that this has likely pissed some of you off, and I'm sure you have arguments against it. So, let me say this now. No matter how much complaining you do to the other staff members, no matter how many different ways to Sunday you say "Well that's not fair!" guess what? It doesn't matter. You will be ignored; by me and by the staff members (or booted if you continue to complain and moan about it). 

The other staff are all in agreement on us having different (or the same) things that we expect. We're not robots. We're not mules to be whipped and abused just because you want to be God when you want to be God. We are constantly busy on here trying to keep the site working so that everyone else can enjoy it; so you can deal with the rules we place down when it comes to training. We are by no way mean or nasty; we just simply have been there and done that enough times already (over the course of going on 2+ years for me) on forums with being staff to realize what we are and are not willing to put up with anymore.

Much of what Avery has said is in total agreement with me. This is the third RP forum I've staffed, and in each instance before, I've been too busy being everyone's pack mule to actually enjoy my own site. Now, if this was a canon Avatar site, it wouldn't be an issue; or rather, as big of one.

However. The history of this site, the premise, and many of the official canon are my personal creations. My personal headcanon, that others have been brought into, and that I was willing to allow to be shared freely. Avery might be the owner of the site itself, but when it comes to overall histories and all that, the stuff is mine. So you can see, I can't afford to be tied up as a pack mule; at the beg and whim of everyone that wants to learn something just because they want it. That's not how things work; series canon or otherwise. You have to train, you have to earn your place with the masters. Aang and Katara had to earn Pakku's favor. Sokka had to earn Piandou's to be taught swordsmenship. You don't just get what you want because you want it.

If /anyone/ actually reads the character history of Houjin, they will see that he has every right to be distrustful and almost afraid of his skills. He hates to use them. Redirection? He'll teach anyone that, it's a life saving skill that he believes should be freely taught. But lightning generation? Well, that's a different story. He's lost and killed too many people with lightning; he's ashamed of the ability; he hates that he can do it so easily, when needed. Learning lightning from him is going to require work. IC work. You must prove to him that you are worthy, that you can be trusted not to abuse the skill. Asking me OOC to teach you? Enjoy the no.

I'm not a mean person. In fact, anyone that knows me will back up that I am one of the kindest, fair, and accommodating people you will ever meet. At the same time, I do NOT take well to being used. So, if you wish to learn Lightning Generation? Get started forming some sort of IC acquaintanceship with me. Otherwise? Get ready to wait for another solution, or new elements to be released.

As for Metalbending. We have a staff controlled NPC currently set as the metalbending teacher. 2, in fact. Kei and Orran. Kei is... mistrustful, but he will teach anyone that is willing to go through his tests. Orran is a child, highly protected by both his twin sister Alexei and Kei. He will teach anyone that can make him laugh, or befriend him. The NPC account for Orran will appear fairly soon; Kei already exists. Histories for both will be written as I have time; but again, the staff is busy juggling lives outside RP, the events, fielding complains , job modding, and character applications.

All we ask is patience. Patience and some common sense. Some of you have been, or are mods on other sites. That's awesome for you; but leave the staff attitudes there. You're regular players here, and you will be treated exactly the same as everyone else.

Please don't throw us attitude just because you don't want to do the work. That's your hiccup, not us.