                  ^HR** PinWHeeLs New Level Structure **^

As I'm sure many of you have noticed, PinWHeeLs no longer has an 
8 level structure.  There are now 5 levels, from lowest to highest: Newbie,
Wheeler, Wizard, Manager, and Admin. Here's a brief description and what's
expected at each level.

^HBNewbie^:  Exactly as it says ;)  Anyone that's new to the talker.  If you are at
         this level, and are familiar with talkers in general, you can easily
         get promoted by setting your desc, entpro, and gender.  Once these
         attributes are set, the talker will automatically promote you to the
         next level. You need not wait around for a manager or higher to promote
         you :)

^HGWheeler^: The equivalant of a regular user.  Most everyone will be at this level 
         unless it's found necessary to bring up someone up to wizard.  Users 
         that are helpful and courteous to all users regardless of their rank
         are the ones that will be considered for further promotion.

^HYWizard^:  These people are here to help police the talker and help new users.
         They have a working knowledge of the commands and have the ability to 
         handle prohibited behavior.  These are the ones that are most likely 
         to bust your butt if you don't play nice ;)

^HRManager^: These people are the backbone of the talker, handling administrative 
         decisions. These are the ones that handle user complaints, deal with 
         repeated troublesome users, decide possible promotions/demotions and 
         handle other misc PW business.

^HMAdmin^:   This is reserved for owners only.


                        ^HR** Promotions **^

Like mentioned in the .faq, we do *not* discourage asking for a 
promotion.  However, please do not be offended if the answer is "no".  
99.9% of the time, a "no" answer is simply because we have no need
for more people at those levels.  Promotions to levels above Wheeler are
decided by mutual discussion among all Managers with input from other 
users.  Remember that repeated asking about a promotion not only causes
problems for the Managers, but can seriously reduce your chances of becoming
a Wizard.  Taken too far (continued asking after being asked to stop asking)
can result in demotion.  

Managers and higher are the only levels that can promote. So, if you feel a 
need to inquire about a promotion, please either ask someone at these levels,
or leave a message on the .gripe board.  The .gripe board will no longer be 
anonymous, so there is no need to sign your name and only Managers and higher 
can read it.


                         ^HR** Explanation **^

The level structure was changed for a couple reasons...

1)  ^HGTo make it easier for the talker to be run by the Managers and Wizards.^ 
    By only having 5 levels to deal with, it is now much easier for the Wizards
    and Managers to make decisions regarding promotions.  Spending time 
    deciding who will or will not be made an Elder, or App.Wiz became very
    time consuming and took these people away from their main priority, to
    keep PinWHeeLs a nice place to chat.

2)  ^HGTo bring PinWHeeLs back to it's purpose.^  By having 8 levels, many
    users saw promotions as a means of achieving status rather than truely
    wanting to help or care about PW (note I said many, not all).  People 
    were getting upset about promotions to Elder, when Elder only had 4 more  
    commands than the Leader level.  The main purpose in making PW five 
    levels was to reduce the importance placed on rank and to bring PW back
    to it's original purpose, to be a nice, fun place for people to chat 
    (This was also the deciding factor in disabling the .wlist). It's 
    shouldn't really matter what level you are, just that you're happy 
    here. :)

We're sorry if this change has upset anyone.  We don't want anyone to feel 
that we're purposely trying to deprive them of a rank that they felt they 
had earned.  We appreciate every one of our users, and our purpose in making
the changes is to make things more enjoyable for all at PW.  

Please don't assume that because there are now fewer levels that you are 
"just another face in the crowd".  Promotions to Wizard will still take 
place. Those that show repeatedly that they know what they're doing, are 
willing to help regardless of their level, and just plain show that they 
care about PW and it's users, are the ones that will advance :)

I hope this answers any questions anyone has about the changes. :)

- Cygnus

