The Elite Forum
The Big Three Plus One => GoldenEye 007 => Topic started by: RWG on March 06, 2020, 11:12:46 pm
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I just wanted to make this thread to celebrate the best proof moderator this community has ever had; Troubleclef92.
Being a proof moderator is an absolutely thankless job. Generally, things go swimmingly, and you don't notice the proof mods. So proof mods only show up in people's lives when something is wrong. This is an unenviable position to be in, and in a way, can cause a bit of fear or anxiety in that people are concerned the epic speedruns they worked hard for won't be accepted on the rankings.
But having proof moderators is very important. And not only must they pass runs of acceptable quality; they must also reject runs that do not meet acceptable quality. There is a line you have to draw somewhere. And in 2020 speedrunning, we've drawn the line at things like dropped frames, ghosted frames, and audible audio.
If you don't have proof moderators, or if you start making exceptions, or letting things slide, you end up with runs like these;
Is it a coincidence that these are the two Longest Standing Untied WRs in the history of GoldenEye and Perfect Dark? I think not. The reason these records became their respective games' LSU's is because they benefited from poor quality. The runs could not be studied or understood at a reasonable level, because there is so much data missing from the run. I guarantee you, if Attack Ship 2:06 was captured in a standard, passable video quality, it would have been tied by now. We'd have more data to pull from, more to interpret, and it'd be easier to learn just how Chuya got Attack Ship Agent 2:06. And, should the run have been faked; it'd be easier to determine that the run was indeed fake.
Let me be very clear about this. It is a competitive advantage to obscure your speedruns behind poor video and audio capture quality. Very minor strategies used are harder to detect & interpret. And fakes are harder to notice. You could argue that poor video & audio capture quality is a mild form of cheating.
Imagine if Runway Agent 0:21 was recorded in Chuya style video... would anyone have ever been able to determine that Berg passed away the 2 key-hut guards to save 0.15 seconds? Probably not. Surely something like this lies undetected in Chuya's 206, and this is why it's remained untied ever since.
Troubleclef has consistently acted in the best interests of the community ever since he has become proof mod, 4-5 years ago. The Runway 21 ghosted frames thing was a perfect example. Troubleclef made a one time exception based on the gravity of the record itself, and his own mistake in not catching Berg's ghosted frames earlier. He acted in a way that everyone agreed with; and he set the tone that no more records will be accepted with ghosted frames.
Troubleclef is respectful in how he deals with proof issues, generally gives runners the benefit of the doubt, empathizes with those struggling to meet proof standards, and handles his authority in the community with the utmost respect it deserves. He isn't lazy, like proof moderators have been in the past, and whenever an issue arises, he is sure to discuss it freely and openly. In the dark days of the elite, the players would literally have to BEG the proof moderators to stop watching football and check out a sketchy run. But today, Troubleclef is proactive, listens to the opinions of the speedrunners, and acts in a way to uphold the standards set by the community.
Troubleclef, we love and respect you. You're a good mate, and your hard work has helped make this community the best place it's ever been.
Thank you!