Should Staff have two accounts?

C

crotanite

Programmer
Should staff members (such as Moderators) have an account they use for personal-use and then a separate account for staff use?

Examples:
Lioden doesn't require staff to have a separate account. Furvilla allows staff members to have a separate account (usually prefixed such as MOD-Username).

 
I suppose it could be useful in some cases, but I don't personally see a point in it. The way my sites work, staff can operate moderation/back-end stuff and use the site like a regular user, so they don't need a second account (second accounts aren't allowed on my sites anyway, to avoid abuse)

 
My husband and I have multiple accounts on our own games. I have my main admin account that I utilize for handling any game issues and some testing. That account has all kinds of money not earned and just generally isn't meant for a play account. Then I also have a main standard account I use for playing, and the same with my husband. We also have a couple other random test accounts, they aren't utilized a ton, but can come in handy. 

In my case having a separate account is pretty important to get the real game experience for play testing, and just for fun. I don't think it would be as necessary for general staff such as moderators. But can be if you just want staff to have generic non game accounts.

 
I think either way is fine. Some staff don't want their personal accounts tagged as staff to lessen their achievements (i.e. staff favourtism, has the inside knowledge etc). It also allows them to play the game in their spare time and not do staff duties if they aren't in the mood :)

 
@crotanite
For me it honestly depends on what kind of role they have.
Though in most cases I'd say that staff should have personal accounts that can have staff permissions added to them, that way if they quit/get removed then they'll be able to still play the game. I think the only instance is if there was a competition and it was centered around a certain NPC then I'd have a specific account for that NPC and it would be classed as staff.

 
I agree with a lot of the above. It depends on the role, but I'd personally be open to secondary accounts for staff so long as they don't abuse it (i.e., item farming, point transfers, etc.) Sometimes a staff member might just want to play as a regular user to avoid being seen as an "authority," or like HeroKnight mentioned with staff favouritism.

 
For paid staff, yes I think so. Just look at what happened during the Thrage episode of Flight Rising, or the admin who wrote #AllLivesMatter on his Facebook profile after his friend got shot. 

Of course, if someone is going to work with people you need them to be tolerant enough to actually do a good job at it. Having staff with good ethics is very important. But on the other hand, no game owner can be expected to actually micro-manage every opinion held by their staff. Even something well intended, but poorly worded, can really hurt someone's reputation in this day and age of Facebook screenshots. I'd prefer making sure the admins and developers had anonymous accounts specifically for the task, not to be used for chit-chatting in the forums or to be obviously linked to a real name or Facebook profile (except for stuff like portfolio purposes). 

For something small, like a volunteer mod, I think it's great if they can use the same account! Having respected, older members of the community step up and take responsibility for it is a great thing. But, if it's someone like a programmer or head artist that the site can not afford to just replace like that? Best cut your risks. I'm pretty sure no developer team has time for dealing with player riots every time a co-worker said something really stupid. 

 
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I was wondering about this. I do feel it can cut down on any drama issue that can arise unexpectedly. But allowing staff to use their personal account can also help establish a nice staff to members relationship. It seems like a tough call. Would it be best to leave it up to the staff member?

But I do agree with test accounts. I always make some right away.

 
I have mixed feelings on this.

Volunteer mods are discouraged from it in my company. I feel their entire job is to be WITH the community, and it is kinda important that they truly be a part of it at all times.

Paid mods get two, a mod account and a plain one. They cannot use the second to moderate, but I do find their moderation and regular accounts are quickly linked. If I need to suspend a paid mod, I lock the mod account for a few days, which generally solves the problem during investigations.

I have four. My admin one, my mod one (allowing me a strictly moderator view) and a tester “member” account with no privileges are the main three.

I also have a fourth that is just for me to play on and has no permissions, though in the past this one was quietly and nonvisibly an admin account that was used to check up on members. After a security breach a year or so ago I removed permissions from my private account (nothing was compromised but I instantly realized just how bad that could have been). I don’t talk on that account, I lurk and occasionally trade with others only. It’s just for me to chill on without people asking me stuff. It also allows me to gauge the feel of the community when other staff aren’t around...

Overall, it can be a useful tool! Just one that can easily be abused.

Our revamp next year allows two accounts... not sure how this will change things, but one of the paid staff perks has always been an extra account, so mods will get three and I will probably have four or five. I’ll probably link my admin account with one of my two player accounts, so the other doesn’t attract attention and can continue to lurk. Trust me... lurking within my own community had taught me a lot!

 
The Dark Lord said:
If I have paid staff, I would make them use a separate account for staff duties as that way, when they leave the business, it's easy to just disable or delete the account and you're not intermingling personal achievements, rare items, etc. stored on that account. However, for volunteers, they can just use the one account (assuming that their powers are limited to things like forum moderation; nothing game-influencing or breaking) as for them, I want to make it as easy as possible for them to do their volunteering activities.
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This, If it is a paid staff member (paid by actual money) they should have a work account (for there work duties) and a personal account (if they plan on spending time on the actual site as a member). 
Most Mods , are volunteer, and should only be having certain powers that can be added or removed at any time (meaning the account doesnt need to be deleted or disabled, just the features would). 

 
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