Goonhub
05-14-2025, 06:32 PM
Security can be a stressful position. You have a lot of eyes on you, your actions can have a heavy impact on the pacing of the round, and security (especially on the RP servers) has its own culture and community. These things make Security Officer an intimidating role to get into. A common sentiment I hear from players is that they would like to try security, but they're afraid of "x". X could be anything; they're afraid of messing up, that they might not fit in, or that they worry they're not good/robust enough.
Security Assistant serves two very important purposes: It creates a space where learning and mistakes are encouraged, and it helps foster a welcoming community.
On the former point, if you are new to security, people are much more forgiving of a security assistant's actions relative to a security officer. If you make a mistake, you are given a much greater amount of understanding and patience from friend and foe alike. People will use IC and OOC chat to help guide you. You get the opportunity to observe, take part, and grow from the experience. You don't have a lot of responsibility and are given the freedom to pursue what you are curious about. You can spend an entire round just learning how to use a barrier and flash effectively, all within the confines of the security department.
On the latter point, this game already has a bit of a sink or swim barrier and the security department used to have this problem the worst out of all other departments. I have seen people play security officer for the first time and quit the role for good because of a bad experience. I have seen fellow security officers give someone newer to the role a hard time for not being on their A-game, and I've seen crew/antags berate a security officer for a bad call. People get upset, and try as we might to temper our emotions, a heated moment from just one of us can sour someone's experience of the role for good. By having this introductory role, we're reminded that this may be someone who is learning. It gives us that little reminder that there is a person playing that character and what they might need more than anything is patience. It encourages veterans of the role to step back, lend a hand, and welcome new people into the community (the security department or the server).
It's for these reasons that I think allowing security assistant to roll antag is a bad idea. It ruins that trust and removes a space where players are encouraged to make mistakes and learn from them.
Security Assistant serves two very important purposes: It creates a space where learning and mistakes are encouraged, and it helps foster a welcoming community.
On the former point, if you are new to security, people are much more forgiving of a security assistant's actions relative to a security officer. If you make a mistake, you are given a much greater amount of understanding and patience from friend and foe alike. People will use IC and OOC chat to help guide you. You get the opportunity to observe, take part, and grow from the experience. You don't have a lot of responsibility and are given the freedom to pursue what you are curious about. You can spend an entire round just learning how to use a barrier and flash effectively, all within the confines of the security department.
On the latter point, this game already has a bit of a sink or swim barrier and the security department used to have this problem the worst out of all other departments. I have seen people play security officer for the first time and quit the role for good because of a bad experience. I have seen fellow security officers give someone newer to the role a hard time for not being on their A-game, and I've seen crew/antags berate a security officer for a bad call. People get upset, and try as we might to temper our emotions, a heated moment from just one of us can sour someone's experience of the role for good. By having this introductory role, we're reminded that this may be someone who is learning. It gives us that little reminder that there is a person playing that character and what they might need more than anything is patience. It encourages veterans of the role to step back, lend a hand, and welcome new people into the community (the security department or the server).
It's for these reasons that I think allowing security assistant to roll antag is a bad idea. It ruins that trust and removes a space where players are encouraged to make mistakes and learn from them.