Here are some of my reasons for why I think both CCVIPS, NTR and magistrate, should be removed from the game.
Constant (and routinely unmet) need for admin intervention.
I play Funky a lot, in my experience about 50% of NTRs and/or magis do one or more blatantly ahelpable things in a round. Most common are over escalations without due cause, skipping class ones in favor of immediate class 2s, magistrates overriding the need for evidence (and often being wrong) and just saying random charges to warden that are often a degree above the crimes actually committed, NTRs who do their entire jobs in sec and don't give a fuck about sop. Ive been executed by NTRS and magis, demoted with no prior interaction for illegitimate reasons, ive hardly met and NTR that even pretends they care about sop and see nearly every class-# form listed with arbitrary reasons for punishment instead of actual breaches of SOP. All of this would be fine if admins did intervene when a player goes to far, but in my experience a frankly inexcusable number of ahelps over this have gone unanswered. When I was executed for nothing I got no help, demoted for nothing I got no help, I dont get responses when I ahelp for CCVIPS affecting other people, there just isn't a system in place that effectually reigns in theses behaviors.Jobs are redundant and fictive
On the surface NTR should care about SOP and Magi should care about laws, in practice both does whatever they feel. Its hard to blame them, their job only exists are long as it is humored to matter. NTR handles demotions and punishments, something to be done by department heads and captain already and they cant do anything without direct sec intervention, making their entire job calling someone else for help. What results is that NTR can do as much as they are allowed to do. Ironically tho they are more equipped to do any job other than their own. They have all comns and all access and I see nearly every NTR abuse that, they pass orders to whoever, channel information, make alerts and announcements, grab whatever they want from whatever department. More often than I see an NTR punish anyone for an actual breach of SOP I see them stand around sec and advise them of metashield topics to just fuck over ever antag under the sun, call sec a thousand times to ever little issue on the station like they are dispatch and threaten everyone, all the time, for any reason. NTR and magi don't actually have a job, their role is to punish mistakes that are already outlawed and they run wild because of it.Unpunishable, endless reinforcement
My last and biggest complaint is that NTR and magistrate are mediated by a single person, HOS. Security is the only method through which either can do their job and officers tend to follow HOS orders in regards to these situations. What results is a weird symbiosis of blamelessness. A wide array of HOS's ive seen (roughly 40%) obey and enforce NTR and magi decisions with essentially zero oversight, feeling detached from the decision making process these HOSes reinforce the NTR and magistrates ability to cause mass harm, the only voice that can actually prevent these orders so often times doesn't. This is because most NTRs and magis never question security either. Sec searching random people on green, shooting complying perps, escalating charges far beyond the crime deserves, charging without evidence. Ive had plenty of issues of HOSs alone authorizing perma on a prisoner well bellow qualification that require ahelping, with NTR and magis blatantly taunting prisoners and seeming bloodthirsty for any amount of suffering they can cause I have seen the very jobs meant to restrict and punish sec reinforce its constant abuses with a blissful refusal to hold them remotely compatible.
Additional argument: Roleplay conflict vs harmful, gameplay damaging conflict
I am not shitting on the few good interactions ive had with NTRs and magis, ive had some magis actually enforce space law and some NTRs give a shit about SOP, in doing so these roles can often be at odds with various people on the station. It is one thing for an NTR start with issuing a class one taking something reasonable for a legitimate reason and escalating at a normal rate from there, I have zero issue with this behavior. Being an antagonistic force as NTR and magi is natural, but when they senselessly demote, imprison, harass or otherwise materially impact someones ability to enjoy the game, the themes and vibes of the game become unimportant. I don't care about funky having a serious environment where command is kinda the bad guy, couldn't care less, but when my syndicate run is ruined because NTR demoted the clown for things explicitly protected in clown SOP and then retroactively had me arrested for trespasses committed while I was a clown and then my ahelp goes unanswered I care quite a bit about that. Overall I just think these roles should only be enabled while an admin is online or removed entirely.
(1)
