We need a helper rank, just as phuzzy described. Guests don't give half a shit unless you have a special tag or a special colored name. I would know. In the guest chat, nobody would take pie seriously, but now that she is a VIP people aske her for help and such. People tell me to shut up, and will only take advice from VIPs mods and admins, only because they are distinguished by the most viewable part of what they say, their name. If somebody sees that 2 people are trying to be helpful, they will look first at the names, to see if they are "trusted" ie. a VIP. That is fantastic. Except here you pay for VIP, it isn't earned, so there can be a misconception on who is really giving the best advice. With a helper rank (symbolized by a capital H in the same color as the help chat) people will be able to see that said person stands out. The helper can then say that they are a helper, and that they are the best to get advice from. Now I am aware that Max doesn't really like rainbow chat, or tags, but this can either be accepted or rejected. There isn't really any middle ground for this idea, because the tag is really the only way this will work.
Thats kind of what I was trying to say about it being awkward for guests to ask a question. It didn't occur to me that guests may not value the answers of a regular player. That said, I would appreciate some input from imaxorz about the likelihood of a helper rank being established if it appears that many players are in favor of it. I just don't want to waste people's time on this thread if it doesn't have a possibility of being implemented.
I feel like the more staff the worse because you've got to keep up with a lot more people and their actions but that's just me.
If a player doesn't want to listen to you because of you don't have a badge in front of your name, then too bad for them, really. If you're being genuinely helpful, and they're not listening, then they don't want help, and probably aren't a good addition to the community.