People on Kidsnet
From Kidsnet Support Wiki
Although a lot of hardware and software are used to make Kidsnet what it is, the people involved are its most important asset. This page will help you understand the roles of the various people you may encounter when working in a Kidsnet lab.
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Types of people on Kidsnet
Some of the most common types of people involved with Kidsnet include patrons/lusers, staff members, consultants, volunteers, management, and guests.
Patrons / Lusers
Patrons are, in short, any member of the general public who participates in the Host agency's program(s). Patrons comprise the largest group of people involved with Kidsnet. A patron can come and go as they wish, engaging in whatever activities interest them. Patrons of most agencies are generally between the ages of eight and twenty.
When is a patron a luser?
If a patron merely comes to the agency to hang out, read, eat, play board games, or what-have-you, they are just a patron and play no part in the Kidsnet system. But as soon as they are given an account on the system, they become a luser (contraction of "loser" and "user", considered humorous by most support people). By virtue of their newly-created [l]user account, the luser is entitled to use all the publicly-accessible portions of Kidsnet, including the lab terminals, personal storage space, mail, etc.
Before being granted an account, prospecitve lusers (and their parents, if under 18) are expected to sign an agreement and follow all the rules therein. Lusers who do not follow the rules may be subject to a variety of punishments, ranging from deletion of offending content and loss of access to abused features, to LARTings and Permanent Bannination.
Staff Members
Staff members are paid employees of the host agency. Most often, staff members are not support people, and are only vaguely aware of the inner workings of their labs. Some staff members are trained to oversee some basic lab operations.
When is a staff member a luser?
Some staff members hold accounts on Kidsnet; when they are using said accounts, support people consider them to be plain old lusers like everyone else on the system. If the staff member is using a staff computer, however, they are not considered a luser to Kidsnet support people - but they would be considered a luser to whoever administers and supports the host agency's systems.
Volunteers
Volunteers are like staff members, only with more work restrictions and substancially smaller paychecks. They typically come and go as they please, and show up for only a few hours per week or month, unlike staff members who must report per a schedule. Volunteers are often used to perform menial tasks and as extra hands for special events, but occasionally are recruited for their expertise and used to perform specific, skilled tasks.
Consultants / Contractors
Consultants and contractors are also like staff members, only they appear on a much more infrequent basis, and generally command much higher rates of pay. Typical consultants are hired on an hourly or per-project basis, and have no relationship with the host agency after they have finished working and been paid. Consultants usually do very specific, skilled work.
Support People
Support people are those who maintain Kidsnet and its labs, answer luser questions, guide staff members toward good decisions regarding the labs, and generally just make things work. They are driven by the pursuit of fortune, fame, and the incurable desire to make their systems work the Right Way. Many support people also enjoy odd work-related humor, as is evidenced by their office decorations, email signatures, wise-cracks at lusers, and other such means of expression. Support people are known to travel from lab to lab when a host agency doesn't have the need, want, or ability to place a tech at each of their POPs.
Support people may be staff members, volunteers, or consultants.
Outsiders
Occasionally, members of the general public pay a visit to a Kidsnet lab. They typically don't play any role in the system, unless they have come for a tour or to complain (usually in that order).
It is taboo to LART an outsider unless they are interfering with Kidsnet equipment and have ignored repeated requests to stop messing around.
See Also
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