A New Rank

0031benjy

Geek and I earlier came up with the concept of a new rank, one above Architect, more as a sign of status, but coming with a few extra perks and stuff that Jimmy will mention below. As stated it'd be above Architect and thus won't affect any of the lower ranks, only giving the increasing number of Architects a penultimate goal to aim for. The name a lot of people like is "Master" in the colour light yellow (&e), this is merely to discuss, not to push forwards.
To achieve the rank my idea was to have a yearly/semi-yearly competition which requires Architect rank to enter, it'd last a while, and in the end judges will choose from the collossal builds, the winner gets the rank, making it exceedingly rare.

This post is on a few people on the server willing to discuss it. 

Lobstrex

The idea is great, but I don't see it as completely nessecary. Is the overall goal to free up some architect 'places'?

Jimmy

A few things I thought about as good permissions/perks..

-hawkeye
-command block (can be done via a  plugin, can even blacklist commands)
-kittycannon

There could be others, this is just a few id be interested in. 

mtbrgeek

I would see it as a bit of giving the architects something to work towards. 

nebbers

I like the unique way to rank up to this, instead of the standard.

Dark Blue might look good.

Brainstormed with Geek a bit earlier - possibility of a "Benefactor" rank too?  Someone who supported us financially above and beyond.  It might be tricky though- I don't want to alienate anyone just because someone could afford it and others couldn't.  I dont think 'buying ranks' is ever a good idea- it'd almost be ceremonial.  I dont know- I haven't really thought it through, just popped up in conversation.

What other rank ideas do you have? 

nebbers

Something else to consider:  Our criteria for ranking up has slowly gone up and up over the months/years.  For example: /warp stormends.  A year or two ago, Implosion would have been an archduke, easily.  In fact, I think that'd be the case for most current mavens/viceroys.  It wasn't a conscious decision to make it harder, it just sort of crept up over time.  So I think the staff will make an earnest effort to define Archduke from Viceroy, etc - we don't want you to feel stuck at a rank.

0031benjy

Yeah, I'd personally see it as a vanity rank to show you really are "The best of the best" another thing to consider is maybe only having 1-3 of these at a time based on who's won the competition, if they don't come in this criteria the next competition they are returned to normal Architect status.
Kind of like a "King of the Hill" style rank, you have to take it, and keep it. 

mtbrgeek

to keep a given architect (ahem aed) from dominating should it be a rank that is handed down? and then can be earned back?

Lobstrex

I'd like it to be a rank that the current holder gives to another player at the end of his/her six months. The only restiction on this is that the rank is given to a player that is Yeo +.

0031benjy

That's why I thought maybe having a 3 at a time, it retains it's rarity, and no super OP builders (no names(Aed)) will always be the sole possessor, it could have small extra perks (kittycannon, maybe this plugin Jimmy is talking about where non-ops can use command blocks) but it wouldn't come with much more than Architect due to some people being able to build unbeatable builds.
I love the idea of it being able to be passed down though, more of an honour than an aim. 

Sammiches822

I like it. It almost seems like an equivalent to lord, but without staff abilities, since I know some people would rather not hold a staff position.

Morris_h

Unpopular opinion I suppose, but I don't agree with having such a rank. Along with Lobstrex, I would like to ask, well, what's the point? If someone really is the best of the best, well then their projects will demonstrate that, no ranks would be necessary. Also, from how it is, there aren't much more commands for architects that aren't administrative. With the limited amount of available commands for architects and the amount of effort required for the rank, I don't think it would be worthwhile to try to attain such a rank, additional benefits for architects (and any other ranks) should, in my opinion be reserved for building competitions.

As an honor rank, again, why? I personally think the effort put into the projects are way more important than the ranks someone has. Sure, it can be used for showing off, but really, is building for the sake of showing off better than building for fun? Having a new rank would provide something for architects to work towards to, and that's good, but it takes away how architects have the freedom to build just for the sake of relieving boredom, and not be pressured because there's a yearly big competition coming up for a higher rank. 

Also note that a this may be extremely biased because it's based off of my experiences of having the rank. It may be just me, but I was quite happy that I had the rank not only because of the perks, but also having the freedom of not having to work towards another rank. (something I was quite obsessed with for some reason) Though I tried to make this as logically traceable as possible. 

Though I think it'd be cool to fill the gap between mavens/yeoman. 

Any criticism would be appreciated.  

nebbers

Well I think it says something to have two architects saying they don't want a rank above them.  The way I've always seen it is Architect is the pinnacle... congrats, you won the game. 

You're right, there isnt much else we can give architects except admin stuff.

An honor title I can see though... If you are a winner of a competition, maybe you should get a badge of honor.  A whole new rank might be more trouble than it's worth though - it would be a lot simpler to change the persons title and color manually.  

I think the gap between maven/yeoman can be fixed on an administration level - we just need to promote for less.  As I said in the other thread, the things people are getting Vice/Maven for nowadays used to get you Archduke a year or so ago.  Our expectations crept up.

Batman

I know my opinion doesn't really count at the moment, but I just don't see it as necessary. It's just postponing the inevitable "I'm bored now" that comes with being at the top. I'd also be glad to have the guidelines to change for Yeoman to Maven promotion. Not exactly change, but like Nebbers said about being modern lienant. I wanted to have that bridge rank to help ease people up the ranks and keep them entertained enough to keep going, but I think this change of standards could suffice. I'm no Architect, so I couldn't assume what it must be like for you guys, but I would rather fix the situation for the new guys and our future, than to momentarily please our veterans. This award title sounds cool, but I hope it doesn't tear you guys apart. Lol

0031benjy

It's not going to happen anyways as some Architects are against it, which is understandable, this was only a concept, as for the other points I'm pretty neutral either way, and your opinion should count

mtbrgeek

what about a points sytem for ranking? certain ranks can give points. ( archduke and above? architect and above?) someone sees a build that a person is working on.. likes it, gives them a point .. and there are tiers of points associated with different ranks... ( just throwing out ideas)

0031benjy

That's an interesting concept, I however feel this may make it more of a popularity contest too, maybe revoke this right from anyone who's seen as prejudiced and not treating each vote as equal?

CoffeeAndChill

We're all biased to some extent, that wouldn't work effectively. Our current system is fine.

Lord_Drekar

Personally I agree with the idea of having a change of title/colour of the name for someone who's won a BC - that change could either be permanent, or rotate it to whoever next wins a BC. It's not going to affect the balance of what permissions they have, but it still shows that they've put a lot of effort into something, and gives them some recognition of that. Everyone likes to have their builds noticed for being awesome, even if they were built for fun - it's still nice to be recognised. 

As for your idea, Nebbers, about having a Benefactor thing.. it's a good idea. I don't think there would be much risk of alienating people, as long as again, it was just a cosmetic change to their title and colour, and didn't affect their rank permissions. Plus, if people with it caused drama, it can always be revoked.