Title Fairy: Killer App Edition (Swipe Right!)
Posted: Sat May 21, 2016 1:23 pm
Hello everyone! I’m Chevre, and as MafiaScum’s resident Title Fairy I hold dominion over this subforum and the distribution of player titles.
Player titles are the little snippets that are located under each player’s username. For most of us, it’s a pre-determined Mafia role based on post count in Mafia games:
0 posts – Watcher
1 post – Ninja
2 posts – Townie
100 posts – Goon
1000 posts – Mafia Scum
5000 posts – Jack of All Trades
10000 posts - Survivor
However, it is a long-standing tradition on MafiaScum to give out custom titles as gifts to those users who were integral to a notable event or possess notable traits or quirks that make them outstanding members of the community. These titles are often thought of as gifts, and if you understand this basic tenet, you’ll soon see why the long line of Title Fairies haves adopted guidelines to keep this process fair, organized, and running smoothly.
- You cannot and should not nominate yourself for a title. You wouldn’t give yourself a special gift such as this! Nominations from others indicates that you’ve done something notable in the MS community that stands out and makes this site a more enjoyable place to be!
- There’s no hard-and-fast rule on how many posts you need to have or how many months you need to have been on the site to be nominated for a title, but we do want to give users time to develop and grow comfortable with the community before we start handing out titles willy-nilly.
- This thread serves as a place for the nomination and discussion of potential titles. Tangents happen, but don’t get too off-topic; we have a wonderful General Discussion just over there for that sort of thing!
- Joking title nominations and jokes are okay—in moderation. We all want to have fun, but it’s important to know our limits and keep discussion title-centric. I have the ability to ban users from posting in the Title Fairy if their posts are not relevant or useful.
- If you have comments, questions, concerns, or suggestions about the Title Fairy process or titles in general, let me know via PM. If I can’t give you a satisfactory answer, or if the issues are above me, speak to zoraster or Thesp.
- The guidelines in this post are always up for reconsideration and amendment as the site changes. That being said, the Title Fairy’s rulings are final.
SleepyKrew - Did His Job (5/25/2016)
lalaladucks - Best Newcrummer (6/4/2016)
Cheetory6 - MS Painter (6/9/2016)
GreyICE - Fifty Shades (6/18/2016)
Ranger - {Top Tier} (6/18/2016)
Thestatusquo - Shea (6/18/2016)
BROseidon - Expert Marxman (6/28/2016)
JokeExplainBot - The Joke / Your Head (6/28/2016)
Zulfy - was robbed (6/28/2016)
Psyche - mr. personality (7/13/2016)
Equinox - Shot Count (7/16/2016)
ConManMick - Dear Derry (10/16/2016)
Lady Lambdadelta - Nekonfidante (11/5/2016)
CuddlyCaucasian - Professor of Being a Dog (11/5/2016)
Mina - The Shipwright (11/8/2016)
animorpherv1 - Honey Trap (11/13/2016)
Nahdia - Scheherazade (11/13/2016)
Shadoweh - Idol Hands (1/26/2017)
Killthestory - Rap It Up (2/10/2017)
Pine - In Your Head (2/17/2017)
Frozen Angel - Queen Shifty (2/22/2017)
Firebringer - Trail Blazer (2/22/2017)
Previous Title Fairy threads can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Of course, they're all collected in the new Player Titles subforum, so it shouldn't be too hard to go through the archives if you are so inclined. A wiki page which serves to list player titles and their reasonings can be found here.
A special thank you to Sugar, PolarBoy, mathcam, Thok, Oman, TheButtonmen, and SleepyKrew, who held this position before me and made it the wonderful thing it is today!
What are player titles?
Player titles are the little snippets that are located under each player’s username. For most of us, it’s a pre-determined Mafia role based on post count in Mafia games:
0 posts – Watcher
1 post – Ninja
2 posts – Townie
100 posts – Goon
1000 posts – Mafia Scum
5000 posts – Jack of All Trades
10000 posts - Survivor
However, it is a long-standing tradition on MafiaScum to give out custom titles as gifts to those users who were integral to a notable event or possess notable traits or quirks that make them outstanding members of the community. These titles are often thought of as gifts, and if you understand this basic tenet, you’ll soon see why the long line of Title Fairies haves adopted guidelines to keep this process fair, organized, and running smoothly.
How does a user get a title?
1. ANY user can nominate ANY other user for a title. Of course, this comes with caveats:
- You cannot and should not nominate yourself for a title. You wouldn’t give yourself a special gift such as this! Nominations from others indicates that you’ve done something notable in the MS community that stands out and makes this site a more enjoyable place to be!
- There’s no hard-and-fast rule on how many posts you need to have or how many months you need to have been on the site to be nominated for a title, but we do want to give users time to develop and grow comfortable with the community before we start handing out titles willy-nilly.
2. Upon nomination, the title is up for discussion on its merits and weaknesses.
Users can come out in support of a title if they so choose, or suggest amendments to improve the title. (Not sure what makes a good or bad title? Keep reading!)3. If a title nomination gains support from five other users, I’ll give my input, and if I approve, I’ll let the user know of their potential title (if they haven’t clued in to the discussion already!) via PM and make sure they approve.
It’s always important to make sure gifts are actually wanted! Meanwhile, the title will remain up for discussion for about 48 extra hours, to work out any remaining discussions and issues.4. Once the title is approved, I’ll update it! Someone will be the proud owner of a shiny new title that shows their value as a member of MafiaScum.
What makes for a good (or bad) title?
1. Because avatars aren’t permanent, titles related to a user’s avatar are strongly discouraged.
Think of your fellow users as teens constantly going through different fads and stages; you don’t want your gift to get stale in just a few months!2. While usernames
That being said, usernames can lead to clever wordplay or connotation, so they aren’t totally out of the picture. Essentially, usernames can be SOMEthing to consider, but they most definitely should not be the MAIN thing.are
permanent, they shouldn’t be a major reason for any given title.3. Between real-life meetups, Skype, Discord, and other avenues, MafiaScum has a ton of ways for users to interact off-site, and sometimes these interactions generate the best title nomination ideas. However, it’s important that these titles maintain a sense of relevance on MafiaScum beyond the time of the interaction.
If a title isn’t fairly clear from a general read of the user’s posts, there should be a good fraction of users who can explain the reasoning behind a title.4. While nominations stemming from events, incidents or interactions in the Speakeasy and Get to Know a Scummer subforums are fair game, it’s important to remember that not all members have chosen to have access to these subforums and thus they may not have a wide relevance or appeal.
5. Titles shouldn’t insult, harass, or abuse ANY player.
This, after all, is part of the site rules! Users do have to accept a title nomination, so don’t bother suggesting something that isn’t going to get accepted anyway.6. Remember how you shouldn’t nominate yourself for a title? Similarly, try not to involve yourself too much if at all in the discussion, support, and amendment process.
As it has been said so many times, these titles can be thought of gifts, and this is kind of like a surprise party. You’re free to return the gift to the store and reject the title at the end, but we’re not going to let you pick your gift right off the shelf.7. Profanity can be humorous and relevant, but at the moment, it does not have a place in player titles.
8. As with everywhere else on the site, don’t discuss ongoing games and do not use them for title nominations.
Wait until the game has finished—at that point, you may find that the spark-of-the-moment idea you had during the game no longer applies!9. OK, so that’s a lot of NOs, to be honest. So what
There’s no tried-and-true formula, but the best titles combine multiple elements to encapsulate the user in just a few words. They use wordplay in a humorous manner but are by no means forced. If you ask a handful of users why User A has Title Z, at least one should give a solid reason. They have a lasting appeal and accessibility.does
make a good title?10. Branching off the previous point, it is sometimes the case that titles age poorly. In consideration of this, Previously-titled users may be nominated for a new title.
It is important to note, however, that the old title may hold a personal meaning for the user and as such they are free to reject new nominations.So what is going on here?
- This thread serves as a place for the nomination and discussion of potential titles. Tangents happen, but don’t get too off-topic; we have a wonderful General Discussion just over there for that sort of thing!
- Joking title nominations and jokes are okay—in moderation. We all want to have fun, but it’s important to know our limits and keep discussion title-centric. I have the ability to ban users from posting in the Title Fairy if their posts are not relevant or useful.
- If you have comments, questions, concerns, or suggestions about the Title Fairy process or titles in general, let me know via PM. If I can’t give you a satisfactory answer, or if the issues are above me, speak to zoraster or Thesp.
- The guidelines in this post are always up for reconsideration and amendment as the site changes. That being said, the Title Fairy’s rulings are final.
Titles Awarded
SleepyKrew - Did His Job (5/25/2016)
lalaladucks - Best Newcrummer (6/4/2016)
Cheetory6 - MS Painter (6/9/2016)
GreyICE - Fifty Shades (6/18/2016)
Ranger - {Top Tier} (6/18/2016)
Thestatusquo - Shea (6/18/2016)
BROseidon - Expert Marxman (6/28/2016)
JokeExplainBot - The Joke / Your Head (6/28/2016)
Zulfy - was robbed (6/28/2016)
Psyche - mr. personality (7/13/2016)
Equinox - Shot Count (7/16/2016)
ConManMick - Dear Derry (10/16/2016)
Lady Lambdadelta - Nekonfidante (11/5/2016)
CuddlyCaucasian - Professor of Being a Dog (11/5/2016)
Mina - The Shipwright (11/8/2016)
animorpherv1 - Honey Trap (11/13/2016)
Nahdia - Scheherazade (11/13/2016)
Shadoweh - Idol Hands (1/26/2017)
Killthestory - Rap It Up (2/10/2017)
Pine - In Your Head (2/17/2017)
Frozen Angel - Queen Shifty (2/22/2017)
Firebringer - Trail Blazer (2/22/2017)
Previous Title Fairy threads can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Of course, they're all collected in the new Player Titles subforum, so it shouldn't be too hard to go through the archives if you are so inclined. A wiki page which serves to list player titles and their reasonings can be found here.
A special thank you to Sugar, PolarBoy, mathcam, Thok, Oman, TheButtonmen, and SleepyKrew, who held this position before me and made it the wonderful thing it is today!