The Interview
1. Can you tell us what the BEST part and the WORST part of being a CS Liaison is?Oooo~ A tricky one to cut down. Anyway, let’s give it a go.
The BEST part of being a CS Liaison - for me at least - is being able to help and assist players in their creation of their CSs; the information they have that raw, pure and untainted imagination turned into something that can be both unique to them and sits comfortably within the Mizahar lore. To which then it’s also the ability to say hands-down that, “Yes that is indeed a truly fine CS. Good job!” Because to me it isn’t just peace of mind that all is well, but it is also knowing that the player themselves are happy. Thus, all round general feel good and happiness.
The WORST part is - although perhaps it isn’t bad but instead more of a pet peeve – is when time is put into reviewing a CS, an intervention is put down and then… silence. You hear neither hide nor hair from the PC, leaving you left always wondering and always waiting if one day they will return to look at it.
2. If you had the ability to change one or two things on Mizahar, either attitude wise or system wise, what would those one or two things be?I doubt the Mizahar is able to be re-programmed deliver coffee directly to our chairs, so let’s look at something other than personal beverage wants. In honesty I’m not sure on how to answer that. Mizahar as a whole is a good system, and for the most part has a lovely friendly player base (most of us don’t bite either). And that is something I would like to try and maintain as much as possible, it’s what draws people in the most I feel. System wise however, well… again I simply don’t know!
It is safe to say that I don’t see anything I would change; it works in all the little nice places, it has room for expansion and relatively user friendly – once you’ve got your head around navigating the forum and the wiki itself.
3. What brought you to Mizahar originally? Well originally I was finding myself wasting away time after classes without any focus and often would simply sit around trying to write my novel (to which I had zero inspiration to do). I had also managed to just fail NaNo that year so I was down a little about that too. Then, I just had that flash of thought simply of, “Why not try forum Role Play?” From there I went to the mighty search engine, begun my search, came across Mizahar and promptly never looked back. Of course, the novel is
still nowhere near done but at least I’m still writing and improving!
4. You are always very active and for most of us its hard for us to remember a time you weren’t here. Talk about your adjustment period and how you got used to the site and began to integrate into Mizahar’s world as a familiar face.Is it bad that I find my adjustment period and getting used to the site hard to remember?
To me it was little more than a wild blur, though if I slowed it down I can start to pick out details and points. Back then with my first (way back on December 1st – yes, it’s been an entire year already!) I spent more time trying to filter through the lore, popping into chat, simply being present and asking questions or listening in on others when they came in and on occasion I would try to join in with the occasional bout of silliness - who doesn’t? But, for the most part I would simply just be present, exploring, writing and not being afraid to ask things. Of course I played through, took a firm grasp of the ropes – even I admit there was times when I just wanted to throw it all to the wind and ditch it – but I still held on. I think it was just pure stubbornness of wanting to get it right that made me stay.
And then, of course, my now main PC came about in January. It pretty much just exploded into life after that, everything took on a shiny glow and for the most part I just picked up the lore and ran with it, then before I knew it I was the one answering questions or finding things out – I even remember being nicknamed “Eye and Ears” at one point simply because I could just suddenly and spontaneously pull links and wiki quotes out of nowhere. And yes, of course, the silliness continued to grow and I simply took the mighty leap and joined in with it all. I think the main part that I do distinctly remember is finally just turning round and going, “You know what? I’m just going to go for it! If it goes wrong then never mind!”
A few months of careful thinking after that came the time of being a Liaison. My niche had been successfully found, the community had accepted me and although I would even say I’m still not a pro on everything or a know it all off the top of my head (I know where to find it though), I’m still here now - and no, you’re not getting rid of me just yet!
5. What is your most common question you are asked as a liaison? Do you feel there is a way to make this question’s answer more apparent to the new folks before they need to come ask you?There are several questions that come to mind that are frequently asked, the most common one I find though is, “I can’t start role playing until my CS is checked can I?” In honesty, I’m not sure exactly how we can make the answer to this more apparent other than continuously repeat it to players in some mass chant on chat, or leave it somewhere obvious in big bold letters for us to stare upon with awe.
So, to all the new players out there… Sweeties and Sunshines; yes you can start role playing as soon as your CS is finished. However when one of the CS Liaisons or another Storyteller places an intervention down you must stop all role play and correct the issues and contact the storyteller before continuing. Now let us repeat that once more with feeling!
6. Not only are you a CS Liaison, but you are the unofficial version of the CS Liaison mentor, meaning you’ve mothered more than one Liaison through the process by a combination of babysitting and leadership. Do you enjoy that role and what have you learned from it?Hah, babysitting! I like that one.
I think, if I had to describe what I enjoyed most about it, was that I could actually sit down (or at least as best I could with PMs) and actually discuss and explain things to the best of my ability. Sure, I admit, I had to run off and dig through the lore on several occasions to find an answer to begin with, but in the end I more often than not brought one to the table for the pair of us to try and dissect as best we could. This in turn was part of the learning experience and helped in ensuring we were all singing from the same song sheet. There is nothing worse I find than miscommunication between people, it creates so many ties and trips for us all to stumble into – not only for the player we’re trying to help but also for us staff as well.
I also found it helped (personally) in boosting my confidence in giving an answer to the best of my abilities, but also being able to put both my hands up and go “I really don’t know, but I will go find out for you” when I truly do not know or was stumped. There is nothing worse than trying to give a confident answer to a subject you know little about. Plus, there was also the ability of being able to relay information about when I did finally know the answer. So, simply, I discovered how to work in a team, communicate with my peers confidently, learn new ways of approaching issues and to lore scour to the best of my ability.
7. Let’s switch gears for a moment and talk about your PC. What was your inspiration for her and what motivated you to create her?My LARP was my background for the most part was the biggest inspiration - for those who know my PC will also know that I run around at events and play her there too. I had a concept already made in the back of my mind and something that was slowly being formed out and moulded from a simple starter character running around the woods with fake weapons into something a bit more 3D. Things were changing; I could feel myself really into the feel of what she was like and how she acted in the year before her Mizahar creation. And, for the most part it was an understanding I enjoyed.
However, as time went on with Mizahar I began toying with the idea on and off to make her into a player character – there were always the thoughts of real world playing in my mind the most common being “But what if she dies at an event? What if this happens? Or that happens?” Even with the days leading up to her creation I still found myself a bit apprehensive to – even when I managed to finally make a CS for her offsite. I was still hovering on the idea as to whether or not I should go for it right up until the last minute, I even convinced myself to just treat it as an experiment at one point. So, upon asking the opinion of a select few the general consensus came back to me as, “Do it. It will be awesome!”
And here we are now!
8. Can you summarize briefly what you think a good CS consists of? What are your favorite things to see in CS’s and what do you cringe when you see or don’t see?To me, a good CS has to have all the points covered, so starting with the obvious; Name, age, race, gender/sex, languages, appearance (it doesn’t have to be massive!), concept (likes, dislikes and so on), history (even a simple A to B), Skills, Lores, Kit, Heirloom (if you want one), housing and ledger. If you have those down, regardless of all the span-dangly you can have going on I would be a happy teddy.
My favourite thing however is simply words. Or more specifically players who are not afraid to write out a concept and a history. Just information that is not vague, but is enough for me to sink my teeth into and obtain an image and understanding of what a player is trying to achieve. If you know what they’re trying to achieve you can at least then try and gently coax them in the right direction to allow them to let their story unfold into a potentially amazing character.
My real cringer though is when players have obviously taken no regard for the lore what so ever. As in they just taken perhaps a character from another site and just dumped it straight into the Mizahar world. From little girls with machine guns to angels, demons and cat people. And when I say this, I mean the ones where you simply have to say, “Look I know you like anthro’s with cat ears and tails but it really doesn’t fit in with the lore. I’m sorry! Please go read the lore. Pretty please?”
9. You recently started contributing by making premade CS’s and taking requests for CS’s the same way most people do box codes for others. What was your inspiration for that and what has been the greatest lesson in this form of giving to the community.I think my biggest inspiration for this is that I like pretty shiny stuff, plus other people also having a like for it too. And that in turn allows me to release my artistic flare and help out the community at the same time. It’s constructive; I find it relaxing and also fun at the same time. It also allows me to think differently instead of trying to throw down words if not as a player then as a CSL. I think we can all accept that we can’t always get words out or face some form of mental block that refuses to budge no matter how hard we push against it – so I just run off and find another way to get all the creative out of me.
Biggest lesson about this form? Personally it’s being good at maths and knowing your spacing limits. Although CS templates have a lot of shiny stuff, images and what not, also understanding the numbers that go into it is also vital to get the spacing just right, or getting the colour shade just perfect. But most importantly I feel the biggest lesson is allowing yourself time and to not rush. If you’re pushing yourself to do it and it’s not at a comfortable speed then you’ll be at risk of facing all sorts of errors. However, if you take your time and think carefully, you’ll be able to frame it all just right and appreciate it.
I suppose really it’s just like making a new character sheet or being a new player – you need to take things at your own pace so you fully understand the tools you’re working with and how to make the best of your time here. Because if you rush and skim over things, who knows how many errors you could make?
10. Speaking of giving, what do you feel is the best ways a new player or a player who has been shy about helping out could give to the site? Mizahar is driven and remains free of charge because we have so many volunteer helpers. In your opinion, what area really needs additional helpers? This could be a position we offer as a volunteer one already or it could be something we haven’t thought of yet. We ask this question because you have unique insights into the game coming from a LARP background where most LARPing events 100% thrive on volunteerism to make them work.Okay, I’m going to break this one down into two halfs.
Shy about helping? Personally, taking from when I first started on this site, I would simply listen to things being asked and wait out for the answer, or better yet simply just raising your hand and saying that you want to help out but don’t know how. You generally find that when people are aware that you want to help the community that suggestions may come your way on how you could do this. Looking at your own personal skills and knowing what you yourself are capable of also helps. For example if you’re an amazing grammar and spelling wizard why not go to the lore making areas and peer review articles for errors or things that just don't make sense grammatically? Or on the other end, if you really love coding why not put up a little art thread somewhere offering to make simple pieces? There is lots of ways in which Mizahar can grow and thrive, but it’s simply plucking up the courage to not only ask but also being able to say that you are really struggling with things when you are.
Taking this more from a LARPer perspective, I found it was easier to try and get into volunteering and helping out simply by voicing it. And quickly I discovered you don’t always have to be an angry-monster-NPC that gets hit a few times, falls over and then respawns at the clearing entrance once more; there are lots of other jobs that are going on behind the scenes. Even if you’re half blinded by migraines and have a broken arm you can still be a photo taker or water monitor!
Which area needs additional helpers? Where doesn’t? As more people join, the more people we are going to need to step up and volunteer across the board; from artists to Storytellers, we will always need more helpers (it’s a simple fact I feel). It would be impossible for me to say where exactly (though I can very easily say CS Liaisons) because we have such a fluid and constantly changing player base, but if I could I would most definitely be pointing at it right now. But if I could sum up volunteering as a whole, I think a quote the ref team from my main LARP group would suffice, “The more the merrier!”
11. Would you like to add anything else to this interview? It’s your time to have the soap box and speak to the masses!Speak to the masses eh? Well, first off I would like to say thank you for having me. It’s a blast and a half, it gives me a point to focus down upon and keeps me ticking over – be it IC in threads or OOC in chat and elsewhere on the forums. My next would be thank you for putting up with me for all this time and allowing me the opportunity to grow to where I am today. Thirdly, okay I admit it I never even thought I would be where I am today on Mizahar – it was a pleasant shock to the system to say the least. Then finally it’s that bears are all kinds of super awesome. Like totally.
And now for something completely different…
WOO HOO! Soap box! And it’s mine all! *takes and runs*
by Wrenmae on December 1st, 2013, 10:37 am 
