Five Question Interviews: Zack the Mod, Technical Support and Forum Mod

Sorry for the delayed release – I’ve been very sick this week!

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Name: Zack the Mod.

Occupation: Tech support for an intracontinental company.

Hobbies: Zack enjoys video games, movies, and reading.

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Zack the Mod and Jack the Dog.

Joseph: Welcome to Five Question Interviews! I hope you enjoy your time here, as we delve deep into the burning questions on everyone’s minds.

Zack: Ditto that.

J: As you know, Five Question Interviews is a unique interview format in which you will only be asked five questions (excluding follow-up questions), derived from your own interests and fan suggestions. I have compiled some good questions, so prepare yourself!

Z: Alright!

Question #1: In a nutshell, how would you describe your job?

Z: My job is supporting the technical aspects of a school yearbook picture company, we support the schools that use our software as well as the employees across the company that are working with the schools to sell our product. we tackle everything under the sun. I also moonlight as an on call person supporting the systems that might crash. I am on call 24/7 when I have the phone, willing to reach out to the technicians that are able to fix the issue.

J: How many schools do you serve in a given year?

Z: We are a national company across the US and Canada, with over 100 offices probably, that is just a guess. It’s a far reaching company… I don’t even know a specific number of schools, but in the corporate office alone there are at least 700 employees to give you an idea of the size of it.

J: And your company deals primarily in a yearbook picture software. Who uses the software, and what does it do?

Z: The most used software is used by the schools, they use it to get their pictures out of our CD and into their database. Also it can print ID cards and certificates, etc.

J: So the software comes with the CD?

Z: Yes along with the pictures and names of the kids, along with any other data they provided us before the CD creation.

J: That’s pretty cool that the software can also print ID cards and certificates. How often do school utilize that function?

Z: Once a year unless our photographers go back to retake pictures which is common. But it can vary school to school.

J: How many schools do you think print ID cards with your software? Most of them, or just a handful?

Z: I would say a few, because we have yet another software that prints them for the schools. We also print them ourselves if the school pays for it.

J: You said that your company has its own photographers. So the photographers, the software and all its features, the tech support… all a package deal?

Z: Yep, although we typically don’t support the photographers unless it’s their work email account having issues.

J: But the photographers are employed by your company?

Z: Yes. They are seasonal based on the school year.

Adding in the photographers, the office employees all around, and the corporate office, I actually have no idea how big the company is, but I imagine it’s huge!

J: Interesting. I always had this idea that photographers were guys with cameras who went from school to school, and the software they had was given to them by a company they weren’t connected to.

You know, freelance.

Z: That probably happens with smaller companies.

Question #2: What is the worst tech support incident you’ve ever encountered?

Z: Hmmm.

The one I felt most horrible about was when we had to process a request for a child that died in a school shooting. As a courtesy, my company pushes those kinds of… what we call “jobs” to the head of the line and make sure they ship pronto, all for free. I took the call from the representative that worked with the school to pass this to our shipping team.

J: What was the request exactly?

Z: This particular student’s parents wanted the pictures so they could use them at the funeral/memorial service for the child.

J: Seems like your company views such requests as a no-brainer. Bravo to all of you.

What is the most interesting problem, but not necessarily bad, you’ve ever had to deal with?

Z: I was hoping you would ask this question, as I had an answer lined up.

J: Sweet!

Z: One time I had a call from a school that had a student in… what’s the name of it… where the government protects the identity of people for safety…

J: Witness protection.

Z: That’s it.

Yeah, I had someone with a request for a person in witness protection. They could not have their name printed on the picture, which is a feature we offer.

It was so crazy! I had never even thought of the minutia of witness protection and all the aspects it would affect.

J: Oh definitely. One slip-up and your life is in danger.

Z: Exactly.

There was another time I had a call with a deaf person. It wasn’t actually that interesting, since they had a translator. But how many people can say they talked to a deaf person on the phone?

J: I know I can’t!

Question #3: What are you currently reading?

Z: I am currently reading the third book in the Ender’s Game series, Xenocide.

J: For the first time?

Z: Yep. I read Ender’s Game for the first time before the movie came out, and kept going.

J: What’s your overall opinion so far?

Z: I would go back in time and just stick to reading the first book in the series. The others seem like he’s trying to recapture the feeling of the first and failing. The second book was a serious chore to get through, I don’t know how I did it. The third isn’t as bad, but I do not pick it up every day. It takes a while to pick up, but overall not a bad read. Although one gripe I have is that he has shoehorned a lot of religious aspects into it and it is very blatant. He is a known Mormon, and I am religious myself, but I do not find it tasteful how he went about it.

J: Pedantic and heavy-handed? Or preachy?

Z: I would say both, haha.

J: That’s a shame. But the first book, pretty good?

Z: The first book is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. Highly recommended.

J: While we’re on that subject… As an avid reader, what are some of your favorite stories, novels, or book series of all time?

Z: My favorite book of all time is Catch-22. I used to tell people it was my favorite before I had finished reading it. I also love The Lord of the Rings trilogy. And I take pride in owning the complete collection of Calvin & Hobbes. They never get old.

J: First off, I have to agree with you on that. Calvin & Hobbes never gets old. I grew up reading Peanuts and Calvin & Hobbes anthologies.

Z: I was always bored in study hall and the teachers owned comic book collections… It was my favorite part of the day.

J: I also want to commend your good taste in The Lord of the Rings. You’re one of several guests I have had here that happened to be Tolkien scholars to some degree or another.

Z: Haha, thanks. I have only read the books a few years ago and only the once, but I can still appreciate them like the scholars can.

J: I had someone on last week who rereads them every year.

Z: That is crazy town. I would rather read something new, but I can appreciate the zeal behind it. I heard that Christopher Lee reads them every year as well, the actor that played Saruman.

J: Oh yeah, I remember reading at one point that he was a huge Tolkien scholar and insisted on correct pronunciations during the making of the movies. He didn’t catch everything, of course, but a lot was pretty spot-on.

Zack and JJ at RTX 2014.

Z: I love it when actors are huge fans of the works they are involved in.

J: You’ve also read The Hobbit, correct?

Z: Correct. Fun Fact: I own a third edition copy of the book!

J: Wow, lucky! I have an edition that’s been doctored up in the “Riddles in the Dark” chapter to make references to Sauron.

Z: Oooh, interesting

J: I only remember this because I’m currently reading The Hobbit to my 4-year-old son.

Z: Such a good choice to read to kids.

J: We briefly talked about rereading books. What have you spent the most time rereading?

Z: Through just a fluke, Catch-22 probably. Only because I kept stopping and never finishing the book. It would take so long between reads, that I started over. I don’t think that counts though. I actually don’t really reread much. I have intended to reread the Harry Potter series which I have never done all the way through (a second time), as well as listen to the Game of Thrones series audiobooks a second time to see if I missed anything.

J: You never know, you may have missed a few deaths. Maybe they added a few since the last time you listened.

Z: Haha!

Question #4: As of right now, what is your number one favorite video game?

Z: I would have to say the original Halo. I have never played a game so zealously!

J: I really have to agree with you. So many good memories of split-screen and LAN play with friends.

Z: It was exactly that that made me answer how I did.

J: C’mon 343 Industries, give us the original Sidewinder!

Z: Much agreed.

I remember “breaking the map” on Sidewinder. A ton of fun! I have never tried to take apart any game so much as I did with Halo. It wasn’t even malicious, it was just curiosity that drove me.

J: Any good memories from Halo 2?

Z: I remember driving home from the store with it in my car after the midnight launch… I remember playing a ton of Xbox Live games with people from the Rooster Teeth Community in the early days.

We would spend countless hours playing, and the later it went into the night, the more laid back we became. We played all the “user-invented” gametypes such as Zombies, before such a gametype existed.

We tried breaking the map (and succeeded numerous times) as we just chatted it up.

J: Have you played anything that has come close to the first two Halo games when it comes to playability and nostalgia?

Z: Maybe Zelda Wind Waker… The HD remake made me super nostalgic. Other than that, no.

J: We could talk video games all day, but I’ll wait until we have more time. For now, I just want to know…

How is Destiny?

Z: The first thing I preface my opinion of Destiny with is always this; I am super excited to play it, and even if not everyone thinks it’s the next Halo, my main reason for excitement is because the Xbox One (and PS4 for that matter) is starved for good, playable, fun games.

This game scratches my itch and then some. I am excited to play beyond what I accomplished in the Beta and see how much more there is to uncover.

Even now I have the game on pause and the music is just awe-inspiring to listen to in the background.

J: It makes me happy beyond all reason that Marty O’Donnell wrote the music.

Z: I woke up at 2am after a short nap to play the game, if that says anything. I went to bed after an hour and a half of playtime, to try to rest up for work. Didn’t really help, but it was worth it.

And it makes me sad he no longer works at Bungie! Wonder what he will move on to next.

J: Well, thanks for taking time out of Destiny‘s release day to talk to me. You’ve gotta be tired and at the same time, itching to keep playing.

Z: Haha, anytime! Well not any time, but you get the sentiment.

Question #5: You were a well-known member of the Rooster Teeth Community long before you became a Forum Mod. How has becoming a mod changed the way you interact with the community, compared to before you were a mod?

Z: It has probably made me more tired of the average newbie on the site than I would have been, but I try not to let anyone notice. It has also helped me hone my skills in deducting if a person is my friend for me or for my status. When I first became a moderator, I had an interesting psychological reaction. I instantly tried to become super-active on the site. In part because I wanted to show off the new MOD tag, but also to show that I was worthy of the title.

I don’t think it has affected my activity. What affects that more is my workday. I mostly browse it while at work, but on busy days sometimes I just have to step back and feed the master that pays me.

J: People friend you because you’re a mod?

Z: Every once in a while that happens, but not as often as I thought before I became a mod. Since being mod, I have become more careful about what I Like of others that will show up in the feed of all those that watch me. Before I might have been “Like” happy, but now I am more selective. Although I try not to factor that in too much.

J: I can see that. You’re more in the public eye.

Back in your pre-mod days, you were known simply as “Zatch”. Some might even say you had a good thing going. Why the change?

Z: Haha, ah yes, the identity crisis. It is still ongoing, I hope you know.

Edwin and Zack at RTX 2013.

The trigger was when Edwin changed his and I contemplated changing mine. He said I should because it would keep in the theme of my returning to the site. A new age.

J: That’s actually why I made a new account over a year ago. I could have just changed the name but my activity on the site had gotten so stale, I needed a fresh start.

Z: A fresh start, probably Edwin’s exact words.

J: Where did the name “Zatch” come from?

Z: My name is Zack, but on my birth certificate it states Zachary, like usual. It is a little weird to have a name that transforms when shortened, so usually people go with Zach.

But that never made sense to me, because of the CH. By putting the T in Zatch, I forced the reader to pronounce it how I saw Zach, in my head. My family calls me Zatch pretty frequently.

J: That is clever.

I know you’re a very active mod in the Rooster Teeth sponsors chat. What led you to brave that dangerous, scary place?

Z: I mentioned briefly before my celebration tour of the site after I became a mod, that no place was left untouched by my name. Sponsor chat was included and it just sort of stuck…as I realized the amount of power I wielded over the regular users. I never really abuse the power, but the option is interesting. It’s scary at times, but the chat moderator that was there before me has sort of abandoned the place so now I’m relied on to keep the peace.

J: I’m glad somebody is, wink.

Z: Just don’t look when I’m busy at work. It’s dangerous to go alone!

J: It’s dangerous to go alone, take this Zack!

Z: Got my reference! I didn’t complete it because lazy.

J: Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today! However, we’re not finished just yet.

One of the unique elements of Five Question Interviews is that now that the interview is complete, you have a chance to ask me one question. What have you prepared for me?

Z: What was the question and response from a prior interviewee that you most enjoyed and fondly recall?

J: I think the coolest moment that has happened so far in an interview was in my interview with Akash Thakkar, the video game composer who had a panel at RTX 2013.

Z: Whoa!

J: I asked him when he began composing, and it turned out that until college had only ever been a rock drummer and wanted to tour. Then he changed his mind and began to immerse himself in music composition and sound design. Like, square one. And now he makes a living as a freelance music/sound guy for video games.

Z: That is crazy, but gives hope for those with just the passion.

J: It stuck out to me because I see so many college students just throwing away their money, wasting their time with trivial things when they could be learning SO much. Most college students don’t even have jobs so it’s the ideal time to just LEARN, LEARN, LEARN.

But definitely, if you have a passion for something, pursue it with everything you have. And not only that, but find someone who knows more than you do and learn from them. I hear all too often that “the rules are meant to be broken, so why bother learning them.” But self-teaching only goes so far in some fields.

Z: That is one of the things I wish I knew before I went to college. Oh well, make the best of the decisions you make. It’s all you can do.

J: Hindsight is 20/20. Always has been, always will be.

It was in that same interview that Akash turned around and asked me what I would tell myself if I could send a message to myself right as I was starting college. I had a lot to say to my hypothetical self. So I know where you’re coming from.

Again, thanks for meeting with me today. Good luck in your future endeavors and adventures in the supporting of technical things!

Z: Thank you! -Your friendly neighborhood mod.

If you see injustice on the site, let me know!

J: This is by far the longest interview I’ve done so far, but we covered some ground and it was a lot of fun.

Z: That it was! Didn’t even feel like I needed to play Destiny.

J: Wherever there is injustice… Zack will be there!

Z: The watchful protector… the teal knight.

J: Wherever there is suffering, he’ll be there!

Z: Ok, now i feel like I need to play Destiny.

J: Have fun!

Z: Toodles!

If you want to know more about Zack the Mod, you can find him at:

• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ZackBeNimble
• Rooster Teeth: http://www.roosterteeth.com/Zack

Have a question for Zack that has not yet been asked? Do you want to see Zack return and answer more of your questions? Suggest more questions below! Did you enjoy the interview? Leave your feedback below, subscribe, and share with your friends!

Five Question Interviews: James Sidney aka Desayjin, Healthcare Economist, RTX Guardian, and Gamer

This week, I interviewed a Senior Healthcare Economist and RTX Guardian, James Sidney!

Name: James A. Sidney.

Occupation: Senior Healthcare Economist.

Hobbies: James enjoys RPGs, MMOs, and board games (Risk, Settlers of Catan, Munchkin). He plays Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition and is a Game Master for the Pathfinder game system. He enjoys cooking, he was involved in high school and college theatre and debate, and he plays classical piano and bass guitar. James has 11 years of martial arts experience (mostly Taekwondo and various styles of animal form Kung Fu), and he was ranked No. 2 in martial arts in the state of Pennsylvania in the early 2000’s. He is a fan of the Penguins NHL team and the Steelers NFL team. He is an avid reader and frequently reads Tolkien’s novels, although he typically only has time for non-fiction.

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James Sidney.

Joseph D: Welcome to Five Question Interviews! I hope you enjoy your time here, as we delve deep into the burning questions on everyone’s minds.

James S: I’m happy to be here and to help extinguish those burning questions.

JD: As you know, Five Question Interviews is a unique interview format in which you will only be asked five questions (excluding follow-up questions), derived from your own interests and fan suggestions. I have compiled some good questions from my readers, so prepare yourself!

JS: I’m good to go.

Question #1: Most of my readers want to know, first off, what exactly is a Senior Healthcare Economist? What is encompassed in your job description? What is an average day in the life or James Sidney?

JS: There are very few people who actually know what a healthcare economist does. Economists, generally, collect a lot of data on a variety of subjects and push that data through statistical models to discover trends within the data. A healthcare economist specifically looks at medical data, such as medical claims, prescription records, procedures performed by doctors, etc.

I wear a few different hats in my typical day: part of my time is spent doing research (mostly from other academics) to see what the latest, greatest, sleekest statistical models are out there.

Another part is helping my company assess the effectiveness of our targeted well-being improvement solutions with our customers. For example, John joins our program to get healthier. The economists are called in to see how much improvement John has made is due solely to our program, and not from other sources.

Lastly, I publish my own research based on the uses of the data my company collects. We’re part of the academic circle of life: 1) See what’s new in our field, 2) Try our new models with our data, 3) Publish new method for other people to use.

JD: I see. So a lot of your job is centered around ensuring that your company’s program continues to improve.

JS: That’s exactly right. With health and well-being improvement, there are so many new innovations coming out that our company needs a team dedicated to keeping up with the research and finding ways to implement it so that we can offer effective programs to our customers.

JD: What kind of education is typically required for a research job like yours?

JS: I have a M.A. in Economics and many of my colleagues have Masters in Economics, Psychology, Mathematics or PhDs in the same fields.

JD: PhDs? That’s insane!

JS: Oh yes. There are a lot of PhDs in our department (usually managers and higher). The MA/MSs are the grunts in the trenches building models and collecting the data. With so much complexity in our modelling, higher level degrees are required. Even thinking about my own education, there’s no way I could do what I’m doing today with my B.S. in Economics.

JD: No doubt.

I understand your job requires you to travel a lot.  Where have been your favorite places to travel to through your job?

JS: Paris, hands down. Our company has offices and partnerships all over the world, from Australia to Brazil, to Germany, and France. Paris was a great opportunity that could have only happened thanks to France’s medical privacy laws.

They do not allow their medical data to leave their borders, so for our partnership to start, we needed to send some economists over there to see what their data looked like so we could figure out how to best serve the French citizens.

JD: So your company actually serves multiple countries. What is your company’s goal?

JS: Our motto is “To build a healthier world, one person at a time.” I tell people that my company isn’t an insurance company, though we do a lot of work with them. We offer health and well-being improvement programs to insured persons. If you have a disease like asthma, COPD, diabetes, we have call centers staffed with RNs and nurse practitioners to help you manage your disease over phone/email/text, whatever you’re comfortable with. For those looking to live healthier lives, we also have call centers staffed with dieticians, physical therapists, and trainers to help you form a plan to eat better, exercise more efficiently, etc. We don’t tell you want you have to do, we make a plan based on what you want to focus on. What we do then is try to remove every barrier of resistance to you achieving your goals of a healthier life.

Question #2: This is another question readers really wanted to ask you. In as simple of an answer as you can give us, how have the United States National Health Care Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act changed how you do your job?

JS: It has given us more customers to be sure. We can only work with people with insurance since our company’s programs are usually a “perk” for joining a particular health plan or another “perk” for joining a company that offer XYZ insurance plan. From a strictly apolitical view, it gives me a larger pool of people to draw data from (don’t worry, because of US privacy law, I don’t see names, addresses or anything that would inform me of who’s who). With more data, it allows my models to be more accurate in determining trends, effects, and predictions of future health care costs and utilization.

JD: Do you believe that hospitals will be given enough government funding to hire good doctors AND good support staff, such as nurses and cleaning staff? Also, are doctors taking a reduction in their yearly salaries? If so, does this affect your company?

JS: As with most things in life, there are no simple answers or black and white; just a thousand shades of gray. Many hospitals don’t get direct funding for staff hirings; they indirectly get it from billing programs like Medicare and Medicaid. It’s really up to whoever owns the hospital to set the salaries of their staff. A lot of it also depends on competition in the local market. If you have three or four major hospital groups competing, you better believe those doctors and support staff are getting paid better because the hospitals want to have the best so to draw more customers in. Where there’s only one major hospital in the area, well they have a monopoly and they can charge, pay, and treat really however they want.

JD: That’s unfortunate, but very true.

Question #3: You have been a Guardian at RTX for several years now. Is being a Guardian as difficult as everyone says? Are the rewards proportional to the amount of work put into it?

JS: Unequivocally yes, it’s difficult work, but I wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t rewarding to me. I got asked that question a lot this year, especially as Barbara Dunkelman’s PA, and for some people the reward of volunteering wouldn’t outweigh the costs and difficulties of doing it. I’ve always enjoyed volunteering so being Guardian was a natural fit given how much I love Rooster Teeth and its community.

JD: I think a lot of readers will want me to ask you this. How did you get to be Barbara’s Personal Assistant?

JS: I think it’s a combination of many factors. Being a PA requires a certain level of maturity. I have been in the community for a while now, plus my corporate background helped demonstrate that I can perform my duties in stressful, high stakes situations.

Being extroverted definitely helps too. You’re going to be interacting with a lot of fans, convention staff, and RT staff. The most difficult thing is for you to “check” your fandom because you have a job to do. It reminds me of the myth of Icarus. You’re given these wings, but fly too close to the Sun … or staff … and you’ll fall. You can’t get distracted that you’re next to Geoff or Burnie or Barbara; you have a job to make their lives easier so go forth and do it.

JD: Greek mythology… I love it. Thanks for being a new level of class to my blog.

JS: I do what I can.

JD: Many people have applied to be a Guardian so they could give back to Rooster Teeth and ensure that attendees have a good experience, but they have been turned down. Others have applied to be a Guardian simply so they can meet the Rooster Teeth Cast & Crew. What would you say to these people if given the chance?

James Sidney was Barbara Dunkelman’s PA at RTX 2014. She has clearly had enough of him.

JS: First I’ll address the people who just want to meet the Rooster Teeth staff and crew: don’t apply. The staff and lead guardians have so many applications from great and well qualified people that you’re wasting your time and more importantly, theirs. After a couple of years of running RTX, they’ve gotten good at weeding out those applications of people who just want to meet the staff.

For those of you who have good experience and didn’t get selected, it’s heartbreaking to everyone involved but they can only take on so many guardians. Every year they need more and more, but they get too many because it becomes more difficult to communicate effectively with all the guardians. I think this year for every one application that was accepted, 3-4 were turned away. Please don’t let that discourage anyone; apply every year because they’re always looking for great people for different positions as Guardians.

JD: Not only that, but some Guardians will stop being a Guardian so they can attend the convention the following year. So even more positions will be freed up when that happens.

JS: Exactly, the retention rate isn’t extremely high for the guardians. Some people don’t make it back because of costs, or timing with other events, or just want to be an attendee.

JD: What inspired you to take an active role in the Rooster Teeth Community? When did you first apply to be a Guardian, and why?

JS: I took on a more active role in the community when I got a little older and really appreciated how amazing the community is. Sufficed to say, I wish a place like Rooster Teeth existed when I was younger. It’s a safe place where you can be yourself and find others that share you interests, no matter how seemingly “weird” they are. Knowing and appreciating that, I wanted to help get the community be a warm and inviting place for others. The Guardianship seemed like a natural fit. I had attended the first RTX in the Austin Convention Center (2012) and I thought the whole time, “I wish I could help out.” In fact, as an attendee, I probably was helping out more than I should have because a lot of my RT community friends were Guardians. For RTX 2013, I applied and got assigned the store, which was a great experience. I reapplied for RTX 2014 and got assigned to Barbara. The funny thing about the application is that my 2014 application was probably double in length than my 2013. I didn’t assume that since I already was a Guardian, I was a shoe-in for next year. I think that’s an important lesson, especially to current first-time Guardians.

JD: If you could abuse your RTX Guardian power for one day (but we know you would never actually do), what would you most like to do?

JS: That’s a tough question because knowing my luck, Barbara will read it and give me my Guardian pink slip!

What I would do, keeping it very much in line with my profession, is set up a lot of social experiments and other technological changes to RTX to generate data. We had 30,000 people at RTX this year and I wish I could tag every one of them with a tracking chip so I knew what panels they were in line for, how much they bought, how often they ate, and how long they decided they would wait in line for something. If I had all that data, I could use it to figure out the most efficient RTX ever! I wouldn’t want to know anyone’s names, just their “convention patterns.” It would immensely help scheduling panels, autograph lines, and other fun events.

JD: That. Is. Epic.

Question #4: What sci-fi setting would you choose for Mankind’s future, if you could only pick one? This encompasses movies, TV shows, games, literature, comic books, and even sci-fi spoofs.

JS: I’m going to have to go with Star Wars. I’ve always been a bigger fan of Star Wars than Star Trek (yes I know Star Wars is Fantasy and Star Trek is true Sci-Fi… nerds!). A little more esoteric, I think a solid 2nd place would be Frank Herbet’s Dune series.

JD: So you choose, for the future of Humanity, a religious war that lasts for thousands (or millions) of years?

JS: I don’t choose, humanity did. Star Trek was always a little too Utopian in their portrayal of Earth and the Federation. Dune really just took humanity as it has shown to be, and put it in a sci-fi world. Star Wars … well it has all the strife of Dune, but it’s just more fun. Lightsabers! Need I say more?

JD: I’ve asked a previous guest this question, so I will ask you as well. Mandalorian, or Sith?

JS: Sith. If you remove the evil (from either of them), the Sith are more calculating and use all their mind, intellect, and cunning in concert with their physical attributes. Mandalorians, while immensely tough, are just that: immensely tough and that’s it.

And in that way, that speaks a little more to me (again, removing the evil; I really can’t stress that enough).

JD: Mandalorians have also shown a level of cunning. They’re just not as calculating as the Sith.

JS: Tactical cunning, perhaps, but when it comes to a galactic empire to manage, the Mandalorians just weren’t up to the challenge, hence their defeat in the prior to the great Jedi wars.

JD: Oh, of course. They were foolish to think they could.

I’m just glad you didn’t say Jedi.

JS: You should know better than that! We shed digital blood together on the Sith side of the Old Republic MMO!

JD: Yes we did! And we will talk about that the next time you’re on!

Question #5: You are currently in the process of starting up an educational program for people of the RT Community wanting to learn about finance, the economy, and economics as a whole. What would you like to share about this project?

JS: It’s been an idea of mine for a while now to bring that knowledge into the RT community. I have a faux-home on the politics and current events forum but it’s hard to give a well-researched and detailed answer when the conversation moves so quickly. Similar to the xckd.com section “What If,” I’d love to take a specific question from the community and do my due diligence on the research. I’d take the time to review it and clearly articulate the answer. I imagined, if it takes off, that I’d do a question a week. Seven days seems to be long enough to do the research and post a lengthy response while still having time to go to my day job and get in some gaming every now and again.

JD: If people reading this are interested in taking part in this program, how would you like for them to express their interest?

JS: They can ping me on the Rooster Teeth site or twitter (though 140 characters is hard to get a long question in). I envision using a journal on Rooster Teeth to post responses to questions and if it takes off, perhaps my own website. Burnie has always said that you should have your own website independent of social media sites because you’ll never know if they’ll still be in business. I hope RT will be around for a very long time to come.

JD: Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today! However, we’re not finished just yet.

JS: Bonus round?!

JD: Sudden Death!!

JS: Ah! If only I had enough data to build a predictive model to warn me!

James Sidney is a accomplished classical pianist.

JD: One of the unique elements of Five Question Interviews is that now that the interview is complete, you have a chance to ask me one question. What have you prepared for me?

JS: Well, I actually alluded to it earlier in the interview. We have played many MMOs together under the banner of Rooster Teeth and The Drunk Tanks. I would like to know which MMO you’ve gotten the most enjoyment from (not necessarily the ‘best’ game or even one that The Drunk Tanks have invaded; I’m looking for pure enjoyment).

JD: Hmm, good question. I have to start by saying that any game I played with The Drunk Tanks had added enjoyment because raiding with those guys was always a lot of fun. I always wanted Star Wars: The Old Republic to be better than it was, because I had SO much fun playing it. I still think about how much fun that game was during its first year. I’ve enjoyed playing WildStar with The Drunk Tanks, but it hasn’t been out long enough for me to say I’ve gotten the “most” enjoyment from it yet.

My first MMO was The Lord of the Rings Online, and I have a lot of good memories from that game. I’m still friends with a lot of the people I played with there, and it’s been years since I’ve played.

I would have to say World of Warcraft is the MMO I’ve gotten the most pure enjoyment from. It’s not the best MMO by some standards, but I’ve always come back to it in some capacity because it’s just so well-made. I enjoy the lore, I enjoy the characters, I enjoy the gameplay, and the music is just so amazing. It was also where The Drunk Tanks got their start with Jack Pattillo so many years ago, and I’ve enjoyed following TDT wherever they’ve gone under Jack’s, and Adam Baird’s, leadership.

Granted, I can’t stand the current expansion and I hope that the next one is better.

JS: All of those are great games. I’m a bit of a Tolkien scholar and LOTR-Online was a great game for bringing the books to life. It was great to experience the Middle Earth I grew up reading about.

JD: That’s actually what drew me to it originally.

JS: Having Jack start the Drunk Tanks in WoW was pretty awesome too. SW:TOR was a lot of fun too, but mine would actually have to be (and I’m dating myself here) Star Wars Online from SOE. It got panned a lot, but I suppose my reasons for loving that game will just have to wait for another time.

JD: Another time!

Again, thanks for meeting with me today. Good luck in your future endeavors, compiling numbers and making more numbers!

JS: It takes numbers to make up numbers! I was happy to be here and thank you for doing all the leg work on the research and soliciting questions!

JD: All the credit would have to go to my amazing readers!

JS: They are amazing! Kudos to you guys/girls/Sith/Mandalorians!

If you want to know more about James Sidney, you can find him at:

• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/justamiddleman
• Rooster Teeth: http://www.roosterteeth.com/Desayjin

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