(I am using myself as an example, and "I" can be substituted with "we", and "me" can be substituted with "us" in most cases). These are my personal views, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the other staff of Excelsior.) Although, we do have a wiki guide for paging the staff...
First, if you are asking for anything to be done - BE SPECIFIC with what you want. Give me all the information so i can do it without having to contact you if possible. Then if you happen to be afk, I can just do what you requested, without having to wait for you to get back to the keyboard. If you are paying for something, please have GOLD and ED in your BANK and TOKENS in your TOKEN LEDGER.These transactions get recorded for easy tracking in case of an error (for example, charging you 5000k instead of 500k gold). Checks in a bag in your backpack, in your backpack, in exex, or at your friends house don't count, and I won't take them, or perform the service you wanted.
An example of a bad page is: "I would like to change my title when you have a moment" - great... but it doesn't tell me to what, or anything else...? Am I supposed to guess? Make something up? Are you aware there is a fee?
A better page would be: "I would like to change my title to "The Warrior of Excelsior", 500k in bank."
Another is: "I would like to purchase guild hue 1234, and i have a check in my backpack". Ok awesome! Except when i run the command to pull the money, and it says you don't have the funds available. While I can go into your backpack to find and move the check to the bank, I shouldn't have to, and usually won't. This particular page also doesn't say which tub(s) the pager is interested in.
(note: only a Seer or Administrator can perform this service, a GM can not)
A better version of this would be: "I would like to purchase guild hue 1234, with the leather dye tub. I'm aware of the fee.*"
*do actually be aware of the fee, don't just say you are.
One last one: "Is <insert staff name here> online?" One of my personal favorites. It doesn't tell me anything at all. Why do you need to talk with a particular staffer? I'm not going to go out of my way to try to message them, or otherwise alert them about a potential issue if I don't know what it's about beforehand. I don't know if it is a time sensitive matter, or you just want to say hi, or you are trying to figure out why they didn't get back to you about a question you asked a week ago. Say WHY you want to talk to them, or what its about. Maybe it's something someone else can help you with, and you don't need to wait for that specific person. Or maybe it is, and I can send them a message to let them know there is a page waiting that needs their specific attention, in case they aren't in game at that moment in time.
A better version: "I was looking to speak to +Nyx, about what we talked about last week". or "I was wondering if +Colibri could merge my houses".
In the first, I would send Nyx a message letting her know you were waiting on her, for something previously talked about. This likely says its not an emergency (since you've already been waiting a week), and she doesn't need to stress out about getting back to you right this second. It may mean she had a question, and sends +C a message to remind him she needs an answer. Or it may be important, and she asks me to relay a message to you because she can't get to a computer right away.
In the second, I could most likely perform that service myself, and you don't need to wait for +C at all. In the event you do need to wait for +C, I could send him a message, letting him know why he specifically was needed for this. I try not to send messages like: "Hey, SoandSo wants you." - because when I get asked why, and I respond "I don't know", we are essentially just wasting time. So, instead they get no message, and your page sits in the que until someone else maybe looks at it later on.
note: just because I send a message, doesn't mean that staffer is available right then and there to answer it. Remember, we are all volunteers with real life responsibilities.
If I was just checking in, I'll check back at some point in the future, but your page won't get priority from me if it is not in the proper format. Sometimes I have just a couple minutes to check things real quick before I have something else I need to do, and if everything is laid out properly i can get to it before I need to not be in front of my computer again.
If I need more information, I will either come to you, or send you a pm. If I send you a pm, I am most likely multi-tasking, or attempting to, or just trying to figure out if its an emergency or can wait. Please do not ask me to go there so you can explain it in person. I sent you a pm, because I probably don't have a ton of time, and don't want to be rude and have to leave in the middle of your explanation. Do your best to explain it in pm, and if I need to go to you, i will, when i have time.
If you see me talking in world chat and not answering your page, this could be one reason why. Another is I am in the middle of something else, or not logged into the game at all, and chatting via portal.
As a reminder:
[/quote]
If you are paying for something, please have GOLD and ED in your BANK and TOKENS in your TOKEN LEDGER.[/quote]
And review the wiki:
