PaperLuigi3
CCR
Very true. It's easiest to moderate a website when you've been there from the start, it always is.
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Very true. It's easiest to moderate a website when you've been there from the start, it always is.
Prof Gallows
Retired Staff
..that is not at all what I was saying. How long you've been here comes into it, but you could have been here since it first started and still not be the right fit.
My point is that you're joining more than just a job. You're joining a group of people that are going to want you to open and be friends. You need the mesh with us and the way we do things. We do things in a very unique way and I doubt a lot of people would fit well into the flow of it.
Just wanted to get it out in the open that the allure of this isn't exactly what people think it is.
Heisenberg
Game Developer
You see the thing is that people have this idea that being a mod will grant them a power trip and that it's all about the name. I've held my tongue from saying so but it bothers me everytime someone has posted on here about "winning"- not to call anyone out in particular but it's happened more than once. It's not a competition and it's not something that will cause a great amount of gain that it seems like. I didn't put it in my application (though I really should have...) but I've moderated a few forums, RP groups and even minecraft servers and I know what it takes to work with people for the people.
In my experience as a moderator on an old neopets forum (about the same demographic of people went on there as they do here), people tend to look at mods through rose colored glasses thinking that they get pizza parties every Friday and are all somewhere collectively ban hammering people. Sadly, that's not how it works. It'll probably be said again, but I hope that we refrain from saying that we are "competing" or "winning" again, it makes the hard work done seem like...not a joke, but something to be underestimated or undermined. I hope that paragraph made sense.
- - - Post Merge - - -
Also everytime someone posts in this thread I get a twinge of hope for an update. :'(
In my experience as a moderator on an old neopets forum (about the same demographic of people went on there as they do here), people tend to look at mods through rose colored glasses thinking that they get pizza parties every Friday and are all somewhere collectively ban hammering people. Sadly, that's not how it works. It'll probably be said again, but I hope that we refrain from saying that we are "competing" or "winning" again, it makes the hard work done seem like...not a joke, but something to be underestimated or undermined. I hope that paragraph made sense.
- - - Post Merge - - -
Also everytime someone posts in this thread I get a twinge of hope for an update. :'(
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Basically people need to stop advocating themselves for why they should be mods. I don't understand why everyone can't just be patient. If you're the type of person who gets their hopes up and gets upset at others when you don't get what you want, you shouldn't even think of wanting to be a Mod. I'm guessing 99% of people have no idea what it means to be a Mod. Patience is a virtue, and bothering the Staff members about it isn't going to increase your chances of getting promoted. It's scary to see how many people are head-over-heels for a Moderator position before really considering all the stuff they have to put up with on a daily basis.
Being a moderator is definitely no walk in the park. I've been a mod on another large game-based site for about a year and a half now, and there is a LOT that goes into it that I don't think people realize. I've seen people quit moderating for a variety of reasons, and it all seems to boil down to the fact that there are just certain personality types that aren't cut out to moderate a group of diverse people. You can't take things too seriously and have to have a thick skin, or you'll likely become bitter and jaded within a matter of weeks. It can be a thankless task, but it's also an opportunity to help a community and use any interpersonal relations skills you have to better the interactions between users, which can be fun and also rewarding.
That said, this shouldn't be viewed as a contest with winners and losers. The winners should be the entire community, because the staff picked people who are able to successfully facilitate the interactions on the site. I truly hope that the selections are made with consideration for what's in the best interest of all users. Some of the applicants may not know the current staff as well as some, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they wouldn't compliment the rest of the group if given the position/opportunity. If anything, I'd think that having a more diverse group would increase objectivity. I definitely look forward to seeing who's chosen, and I wish the best of luck to all of the applicants.
That said, this shouldn't be viewed as a contest with winners and losers. The winners should be the entire community, because the staff picked people who are able to successfully facilitate the interactions on the site. I truly hope that the selections are made with consideration for what's in the best interest of all users. Some of the applicants may not know the current staff as well as some, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they wouldn't compliment the rest of the group if given the position/opportunity. If anything, I'd think that having a more diverse group would increase objectivity. I definitely look forward to seeing who's chosen, and I wish the best of luck to all of the applicants.
Box9Missingo
RIP Robin Williams
You bring up some good points, Flop.
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The bolded part is the biggest part of being a mod here for me. Gallows and I know stuff about each other that I've never told my fiance or parents. If I'm not comfortable talking to someone, there's a good chance I will refuse to work with them as a mod. That doesn't go for everyone, but it does apply.
Also if you become a mod, you'll have to deal with these people next year.
marigoldilocks
I believe in coffee.
I'll add my 0.02 cents to this as well.
TL: DR
I've moderated a forum that used to be really active, not so much anymore, but since I changed my email in September of 2010, I have 25,623 emails in my mod account. An account that only gets mod reports. That averages out to some 17 messages a day. Every. single. day. for the past 4+ years. That's 17 people who absolutely need help with something on the forum. Like today it's surprisingly lively (lately if we get 17 mod reports a month it's busy) I have 4 separate requests to have someone banned. And through reading the thread and talking with the other mods, no we won't because technically they haven't done anything bannable, they're just annoying. But let me tell you how popular that makes us.
There's *a lot* of back and forth that happens through mod mail too. When I was brought on as a mod on that site, another guy was brought on too. He and I didn't click. He and about 3/4's of the mods didn't click. It made the mod mail unbearable. He had been a long time member and from his posts he seemed fine, but the power definitely went to his head. It took three mods quitting (partially because of him) before the site owner talked to him and "strongly suggested" he step down. And that only happened because there was about to be a mutiny of mods quitting if that guy stayed. It's not glamorous, it's great getting to help people, but it's tiring. The last thing you want on Thanksgiving or Christmas is a bunch of mod reports (it's an unpaid volunteer position with no vacay time). The last thing you want to do is explain the mark-up codes *again* for the fiftieth time because people. don't. read. stickies. Ever. Ever ever. But you do because even though you've been around for a long time and get the interface, newbies don't. It gets frustrating, so it's definitely a labor of love. Love for the site, love for the people, love for the content.
And you do form close relationships with the other mods. On the other site, one of the mods who quit lives about a five hour drive away from me. Anytime either of us happen to be around the others town, we always meet up. Because even though we were "internet friends" first, we've formed an IRL friendship out of it. Two of the other mods I've talked to on the phone - one lives across the country, the other was from Australia and was visiting Hawaii and we chatted because she got a sim card so she could not use crazy minutes while she was abroad for two weeks. And one of those conversations was a desperate, sobbing none of my friends were available and I absolutely needed someone to talk to me because of relationship problems call. Lives across the country, but was willing to help me calm down and reason things out. Moderators are tightknit because we interact so frequently with each other. Whoever they choose will be someone who fits multiple criteria and even then, that first month or two is going to be a bit awkward because you're not sure how far you go or say with each other in those circumstances yet. So I wish both the current mods and whoever the new mods are luck and well wishes, because it's not easy.
TL: DR
I've moderated a forum that used to be really active, not so much anymore, but since I changed my email in September of 2010, I have 25,623 emails in my mod account. An account that only gets mod reports. That averages out to some 17 messages a day. Every. single. day. for the past 4+ years. That's 17 people who absolutely need help with something on the forum. Like today it's surprisingly lively (lately if we get 17 mod reports a month it's busy) I have 4 separate requests to have someone banned. And through reading the thread and talking with the other mods, no we won't because technically they haven't done anything bannable, they're just annoying. But let me tell you how popular that makes us.
There's *a lot* of back and forth that happens through mod mail too. When I was brought on as a mod on that site, another guy was brought on too. He and I didn't click. He and about 3/4's of the mods didn't click. It made the mod mail unbearable. He had been a long time member and from his posts he seemed fine, but the power definitely went to his head. It took three mods quitting (partially because of him) before the site owner talked to him and "strongly suggested" he step down. And that only happened because there was about to be a mutiny of mods quitting if that guy stayed. It's not glamorous, it's great getting to help people, but it's tiring. The last thing you want on Thanksgiving or Christmas is a bunch of mod reports (it's an unpaid volunteer position with no vacay time). The last thing you want to do is explain the mark-up codes *again* for the fiftieth time because people. don't. read. stickies. Ever. Ever ever. But you do because even though you've been around for a long time and get the interface, newbies don't. It gets frustrating, so it's definitely a labor of love. Love for the site, love for the people, love for the content.
And you do form close relationships with the other mods. On the other site, one of the mods who quit lives about a five hour drive away from me. Anytime either of us happen to be around the others town, we always meet up. Because even though we were "internet friends" first, we've formed an IRL friendship out of it. Two of the other mods I've talked to on the phone - one lives across the country, the other was from Australia and was visiting Hawaii and we chatted because she got a sim card so she could not use crazy minutes while she was abroad for two weeks. And one of those conversations was a desperate, sobbing none of my friends were available and I absolutely needed someone to talk to me because of relationship problems call. Lives across the country, but was willing to help me calm down and reason things out. Moderators are tightknit because we interact so frequently with each other. Whoever they choose will be someone who fits multiple criteria and even then, that first month or two is going to be a bit awkward because you're not sure how far you go or say with each other in those circumstances yet. So I wish both the current mods and whoever the new mods are luck and well wishes, because it's not easy.
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Confession: We're just cloning Kaiaa twice.
Thank god. I played Kaiaa today and it was awful.
Is this a hint? (;
No, I'm just tired of doing grunt-work.
You played Kaiaa on Easy difficulty.
You ready to play Cent? Get ready to type ten paragraph responses to everything.
Lol Touche. I kill people with kindness, it's a gift.
That's such a drag. You gently drag them to their death and then kick until breathing stops.
PaperLuigi3
CCR
I'm not sure whether to make a Half Life 3 joke or to stay out of this.
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