The Ambassador Team (AT) is responsible for ensuring that the English-speaking SCP Wiki (SCP-EN) is able to work in partnership with our translation branches. This includes diplomatically mediating disputes between community members and staff from various branches. Members of the Ambassador Team are expected to abide by the following principles while carrying out their duties.
The AT will have a captain and vice captain, to provide accountability and leadership. However, the team should fundamentally see itself and conduct itself as a flat organization. Decisions should arise from consensus, which arises from discussion. With the exception of unusual emergency situations, the team should make decisions based on the consensus of the relevant parties, and not by declarations based on its own authority.
The AT must be highly cognizant of the fact that it effectively represents SCP-EN to other bodies, and should maintain a high standard of conduct. Likewise, it can effectively represent other branches of the SCP Wiki to SCP-EN users, and should likewise be professional, accurate, and helpful.
The AT should seek to involve the relevant parties affected by an issue, and work with them to produce an acceptable outcome. It should provide communication resources during this process, including assistance with translation and creating appropriate venues for inter-party discussion.
The AT understands that it should convey information and the consensus of a body (e.g. SCP-EN staff, an INT branch, a group of users) faithfully and accurately, and not distort information, even if individual members of the Ambassador Team personally disagree with some or all of that group's stance. AT members should avoid bringing personal biases or views into matters, and be aware of how they can negatively affect a proper resolution to a situation.
The AT also understands that some information is sensitive and should not be disclosed. Internal SCP-EN deliberations are generally not made known to other branches or the public, so that staff members can speak frankly while discussing important issues. If an issue is relevant to other branches, the AT can request that it be communicated to their staff, but should wait for permission and not do this prematurely. Likewise, many details of INT deliberation do not need to be exhaustively shared with SCP-EN staff, unless very relevant to the case. Sometimes matters are sensitive for other reasons (e.g. licensing, technical matters) and must be retained in certain bounds, and in these cases the AT must communicate what these bounds are, to avoid improper disclosure by members of other branches.
The AT must be accountable. It should be possible to follow the chain of communication to understand where certain ideas came from, how they were conveyed and to whom, and to disclose backchannels when that information is needed to properly assess a situation or perform oversight. Any secrets kept (see above) should have a clear and obvious reason, and should be made available to the relevant parties. The AT is a means of assisting communication, and should not become a repository of secret information for the sake of it.
The AT must be proactive in its awareness of community happenings. For emerging problems on SCP-EN that are relevant to another branch, the team should be aware of the issue and its potential effects on INT relations. Likewise, for emerging issues within another branch, the team should be properly aware and able to assist, especially with regards to how SCP-EN is involved. In either of these cases, the team should seek to intervene in an issue before it escalates and causes complications. By assisting communication between the various parties, clarifying to avoid misinformation, and seeking to find a resolution which satisfies all the involved parties.
Additionally, the Ambassador Team should help provide translation assistance for official communications to SCP-EN from non-native English speakers, and must have the ability to slow discourse to ensure that messages are sufficiently clarified and not liable to be misunderstood. If misunderstandings do occur, follow-up clarification must be undertaken.
To summarise the duties of an Ambassador:
- When engaging with INT, accurately represent the views of SCP-EN staff, the SCP-EN community, or other relevant bodies, and reasonably advocate for them. Avoid inappropriately disparage these groups during discussions.
- When engaging with SCP-EN, accurately represent the views of INT, other translation branches' staff, their communities, or other relevant bodies, and reasonably advocate for them. again, avoid inappropriately disparaging these groups during discussions.
- Identify brewing conflicts, and to seek early intervention to resolve the matter before it worsens. The AT should act as both facilitators and negotiators to ensure that matters are resolved peacefully, and ensure that complaints and proposals are accurately conveyed and not impeded or distorted by language barriers.