January 2019 GSM Results

Hey everyone, happy new year! We were happy to have great attendance at the January 2019 GSM, and we have some announcements we’d like to share. Apologies for the delay in getting these announcements posted. The video stream from the staff meeting is available on YouTube here.

Some expectations around airports are changing

We spent a good amount of time discussing a proposal to add expectations of realism to airports and airfields, similar to how these expectations are in force for other transportation types. While we haven’t come to a consensus on the extent these expectations should cover, we did agree on one new restriction that airports need to comply with as soon as possible:

Runways must be free of gates and active warps.

“Gates” are any area where aircraft park to allow for the loading and unloading of passengers and cargo. Gates can be attached directly to the terminal, or they can be a remote stand elsewhere on the apron. Under no circumstances should passengers board an aircraft on a runway.

We will be discussing additional expectations in coming GSMs and will be in communication with airport owners if there are obvious items that should be addressed. Old World airports will be exempt from further realism improvements, as bringing them up to standards would not fall under “minor changes” as we defined a few months ago, and the Old World is so much of a mess that we’d rather not try to start applying standards to it.

Changes to Discord announcements and pings

We’ve heard from members that there are times when there are too many announcements in the #announcements Discord channel with an @everyone ping attached to them. To help alleviate the number of times you need to clear your Discord notifications, staff are being asked to limit the use of @everyone to announcements that affect all members, and are time-sensitive. Staff are also being asked to consolidate announcements to a single post wherever possible. Additionally, with the exception of GSMs and other official server business, all announcements of streams and staff-run events will be moved to the #events channel.

We are also aware that some players keep #announcements muted due to the frequency of announcements. While muting #announcements is your own choice, know that we strongly discourage doing so. Players are expected to read #announcements, so if you have the channel muted, you’re responsible for checking it manually every so often to ensure you’re up to date. “I didn’t see the announcement because I have #announcements muted” is not an acceptable excuse to ask staff questions that are addressed in recent announcements.

Finally, we are expanding the availability of @everyone mentions to include more server-wide events. While non-staff won’t be able to actually make the ping directly in the message, staff will be happy to add the mention to let everyone know. Events wishing to use @everyone pings must be on the events calendar and announcements must meet the same criteria as those made by staff (affecting everyone and time-sensitive). Generally we will alert everyone for large events upon availability of signups, and shortly before the event begins. If you’re organizing an event, be sure to use all of the available promotion channels to ensure that your event is a success.

Additional community issues

• Starcubed proposed adjusting the requirements to building an airport. This proposal was denied as it created additional workload and could result in too much of the world being taken up by airports.
• godzilltrain proposed adding convenience methods to bed spawns. This proposal was approved for Members and above. Members can now right-click a bed to set their bed spawn, and teleport to it at any time, free of charge, with the command /home (or /home bed, for players with multiple homes).
• We did not consider any moderator nominations, though we did announce that AstroSlurp was the official sponsor of drinks for the January 2019 GSM.

Roads

• We discussed a possible extension to the A8, and an extension of the B820. These projects were denied as the A8 extension was not formally proposed, and the B820 was contingent upon the approval of the A8 extension.
• _Mossie proposed extending the A2 northwards past Verdantium and up to Secunda, along with the A269, a spur that will serve portions of Secunda as development progresses in the area. As long as the bridge going over the bay is of sufficient height, these roads are approved.
• Wutev proposed building the B57 between Palestropol and Southport. This road was approved, however the number B57 is already in use (for a road going between New Oakley and Segville), so Wutev will need to use a different road number.
• time2makemymove proposed upgrading Venceslo Parkway’s designation to a B-road with the number B59, and extended to Urbisan where it will interchange with the A5. The extension has been approved on the condition that MaxStewartS claims ownership of Urbisan (as he is the Deputy Mayor), while the renaming of the road and usage of B59 has been approved.
• Majatho3 and imperial_block proposed the B355 to run parallel to the Jungle South Line between JS2 and JS4. This has been denied due to the extensive terraforming activity that would be required in the jungle biome and the uncertainty that staff have around past build quality from these players.
• GrumpyGoomba9 proposed the B229, running from Peaslake to Jaikrunda via New Bakersville. This road has been approved.
• CodyHM proposed the B139 from Seoland to Quiris. This has been conditionally approved depending on the southern interchange and location of the A1, as these roads do run parallel for a significant distance.

Projects and funding proposals

• KittyCat11231 proposed building an IntraRail line between Waterville and Larkspur, passing under Armada, Lancaster, and Cicero. This has been conditionally approved depending on the status of Lancaster.
• Frosty_Creeper10 and frogggggg proposed the Winter Games event (which is different from the Winter Olympics) and a total grant of $3,825. This has been funded in full.

Property auctions

• XW21 has been transferred to Cynra.
• BernCow requested ZS23 and ZS24, however these were denied as he needs to build closer to them to claim them.
• Similarly, Wutev requested V15, however this was denied as he also needs to build closer to them to claim them.
• Aldranster50 requested V23, however this was denied as cookiesareedible has a town at the station (coming over from V24).

New MRT lines!

At the GSM we opened the Island and Valley Line Extensions (ILX/VLX), running from Fort Yaxier and SummerVille to the southern border. We awarded V41 to CaptainObi and V43 to Majatho3, and all other stations on the lines are available on a first-come, first-served basis. As always, please remember the following when claiming new MRT stations:

• Once you claim a station, you have two weeks to add significant development to it (usually a couple buildings is fine), otherwise your claim can be invalidated.
• You need the permission of anyone within 300 blocks of new developments, and you need to be in communication with anyone within 500 blocks.

The Savannah Line is still in the works and we hope to open it in the next few months, and sesese9 will start work on another Zephyr Line South extension (ZSX2) which will run from Zaquar to the southern border. Please note that claiming stations along new lines is prohibited until the lines officially open at a GSM.

Upcoming meetings & events

Staff will be having a rules revamp discussion on Sunday, February 3, 2019 at 7pm UTC, and there will be a press conference afterwards.

Our next GSM will then be a week later, on Sunday, February 10, 2019 at 7pm UTC; topics need to be on the agenda by 7pm UTC on February 8.

With regards to member-hosted events: the second sessions of the Winter Games and Game X: The Portals of Hell will occur on January 26, and the Mini-Golf Building Competition is in full swing and course building is open through January 31.

Thanks all!