Boat Loads of Moderators

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

One thing that may ease some concerns, even though it's been said before, is to point out that almost the entire staff has busy lives outside of the forum. Of the global moderators, I have quite probably by far the most free time, but even I have a lot of things that keep me busy, different things I run or take care of or work on throughout the day. Plus, we all have our personal lives as well. We're not perfect machines capable of cranking out responses to every little thing, or able to see everything that happens. I am almost entirely reactive with my moderating style. Something is reported, I go check it out, sometimes more fully in context, I deal with it, and I move on. And I do occasionally make mistakes, just like everyone else. Ask XFizzle about an inappropriate reaction to a very minor thing that he did, as a recent example.

 

We can't see everything. Significant amounts of stuff goes unreported, because forum members aren't really spending their time hunting down things to report. The system we were using just wasn't working out anymore because there was too much going on we weren't seeing. I consider these new mods all fine choices for helping us global moderators out in handling the forum.

 

Finally, I just want to say that I personally vouch for every single one of these new mods. I thought they were all great choices, and I don't think any of them are going to step out of line at all. There will be some growing pains, some minor issues here and there, but overall the forum will perform much better than it has been.

 

This forum has grown ridiculously in scope since I first joined. I joined later than many of our more well known members, back in late January. At that point, when I joined, I referred to the forum as a large one, and most people were incredulous at the idea. Now, MLP Forums has become one of the most active pony forums on the internet. It's growing in size every day, and will continue to expand. I'm expecting a massive increase in all kinds of activity when Season Three premieres, with all of the additional members, content, and yes, problems, that comes with it. I feel it is better to have a moderating team large enough to handle all of these issues trained and ready to go before that day arrives, rather than scrambling to try and deal with everything as it happens. We've been doing too much of that as it is.

 

Ultimately, I want to do what's right for this forum. I only want to help, not to hurt, not to harm. I've greatly enjoyed my time spent on this forum, and I want to see it remain as top quality as it has been. It's a fine, excellent place, and it should stay that way.

[Jokuc 8,173]

Well I like this change. I don't mind being watched all the time, actually. I mean, if there was no mods I would still think just as much of what I post on here. There are rules, I try to follow them. Moderators are just here to look that the rules actually are being followed. If I make a low-quality post as an example and a moderator deletes it, I just remember what I posted and tries to figure out what I did wrong. If 10 moderators were watching me, I probably still would make that post and get it deleted. For me it doesn't matter if a mod is watching or not. The posts I make doesn't change unless I look what I actually am about to post before I press that button. I think the mods will do great (all exept the Ezynator, because he will terminate us all ;3) and I think that it was a good decision.

 

Another thing is that I agree with making the mods invisible is a good idea. Not all mods, though. If it is possible, leave one mod visible, so users won't go "mods are asleep spam-post ponies!".

[NavelColt 22,881]

"mods are asleep spam-post ponies!".

 

 

I agree, I'm not particularly frightened or weary or whatnot either. All of what chaos does, chaos does out in the open, with both wit and tact. If posts of mine are deleted, then clearly I was being lazy with the content, or some other thing. It's happened a few times, and it shall happen again, but I always do my best, and so should everyone. Mods aren't there to oppress, they're there to make sure things don't become insufferable. They're there to make sure things don't descend into a 4-Chan like state of absolute chaos.

 

 

Also, this thread is screaming in agony. Somepony end it.

[Sepia-chan 495]

I'm not sure about this, but eh.

From my experience being moderators gets to yer head.

GATHA' ROUND ERRYPONY IT'S STOREH TIME

Back in the days before bronies took over the world, Mario was the big thing.

So, I went to a Mario forum. (supermariobrothers.org) But the forum had a fangame that it was based on. It was a level creator under the name of Super Mario Brothers X. Anywho, it was quite lawless. Apart from the admin, there were only two mods. (at the time I joined.) Then, these guys joined. They were twins, they said. Kyasarin and Luminous. They brought law into that place like it was the...jail. When the admin had to go to Haiti back when the disaster there was relevant, he made Kyasarin and Luminous honorary admins.The forum games section was quite entertaining, lot's of fun text/screenshot based games. They were like 'Oh, you guys don't deserve forum games." Then they took out the 'serious discussions' board, banned users for saying 'lol', that sorta thing.Then the forum was deleted under mysterious circumstances. I wonder what happened... Just sayin, being in power goes to some people's heads.

Oh, and if by some chance Kyasarin or Luminous are reading this then, hi.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Pichu (Dusk)

[Tom 891]

I sense a disturbance of many jimmies around here.

 

I'd just like to say that as Feld has pointed out, this isn't a democracy. Ultimately he has power over everyone here.

 

And also ten new sectional mods isn't a lot, we'll probably need more as the forums continue to grow.

 

And for those of you asking for a report based moderation system, listen to what others are complaining about here. Reports leave room for biased moderation, since members may hold grudges against each other, and therefore those who have grudges against them will have their posts brought to the eyes of moderations more often.

 

I haven't been very active since these changes have taken place, so I can't comment on the behaviour of the new mods. Alas I'd like to take Kyro's word that they are well suited for the position.

[Radiance64 7,053]

I think this is great, congratulations to all the new mods.

[Feather Spiral 1,892]

My past experience on forums dictates that when people become moderators they exert a lot of.... douchebaggery......

I hope that doesn't happen here.

Fortunately, this place is MLP Forums. Not 4chan, much less YoshiArt Forums.

Anyway, I'm pretty neutral about this. I find a couple mods per section somewhat excessive, but the reasons sound legitimate to me.

And since they say this is an experiment, I trust that it won't last long if it turns out to be unneeded. But I hope that won't be the case, because that'd mean the forums stopped growing. :3

Edited June 26, 2012 by Feather Spiral

[Killian Jones 2,655]

I don't think any other moderator has actually mentioned this, But I do hope many of you realize that summer is coming up and many people all over the world will suddenly find themselves with a lot more time off. I can personally vouch for myself that this is not the case for me, and considering many other moderators are not following the school vacational system as well, this becomes an issue merely of content versus the amount of attention we can bring to it. And we are already missing content.

 

Mind you that when me and Kyronea were brought on many moons ago, there was already a need for new moderators. Before this new wave was appointed, two moderators have left the team. Well it doesn't take much math to realize we ended up in the previous situation again. Meaning new moderators anyway.

 

On the number of moderators, while 10 feels excessive, this is actually more like 2-3 in a more hidden fashion. Every section got around 2 or 3 moderators, so you could say we have 3 new very active and observant moderators, instead the powers just got spread out across more individuals. And there is a lot less powers to be used. It just needs to be placed into perspective.

 

In case of legitimate concerns involving how the mods were picked. It was discussed among the current team who we felt would be reasonable in the position of moderator, many people got named, not all of them were placed in the consideration box. We had a lengthy discussion, although some people felt like they obviously were fit. Some people were more constrained to a single part of the forum and less noticed by some of us. But the whole team did come to a consensus before we actively sent out PMs.

 

Regarding favouritism, I would say, if people have legitimate concerns about it, feel shoot a PM to either Zoop, Swoop or Feld0 and in case you feel your message is not received, any other global moderator will do. We take such concerns seriously, and if you formulate them well and present a good case, it can be overturned. It sometimes may feel like nothing can really be done. But you should all put more trust in us. While we are merely humans who can make mistakes or overlook something, it doesn't mean you are all completely powerless.

 

Now I do read that many of you mention post deletion which could be seen as unfair. it is an issue I have brought up among the whole team regarding post quality, I hope the whole team can give a proper reply soon regarding some of these issues.

[Sunny Fox 5,950]

Would you complain if the police added a few more "Bobbies on the beat" to your neighborhood? (Wow, does that qualify as a pun?) Of course, should they abuse their power... woe betide them.

 

PS: It would be nice if there were systems in place to ensure that one could get an explanation of why (to take a purely hypothetical example) a post of theirs were to be deleted. So that one can avoid making the same mistake again and become a better person of course.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Full Spectrum

[DuskSong 742]

I've seen this too :/

it's all business and no fun anymore with them.

 

That is because they have to watch over the website and make sure there is no questionable posts.

[The Awesome One 1,315]

I definitely support this. Personally, I felt Feld0 and the gang were getting too big a workload.

[KakeiTheWolf 652]

I was wondering why the users online list was getting so vibrant...

[Doctor XFizzle 8,669]

After reading the new posts made in the AM, I think I'm fully at peace with this whole thing. The issue I had was proactive moderation based on an individual's discretion (as Kyro previously alluded to), but since it sounds like it's going to be a collective group effort when it comes to patrolling the boards, I'm cool with it.

 

All in all, good luck to the new staff and thanks in advance for dedicating your time and efforts to help this awesome place stay awesome. Doctor out. *hops into TARDIS and flies away*

[Mephala 2,633]

I'm just gonna be brutally honest here: being a mod changes people. Yeah, it's not like you're in a super important position or anything, but people are gonna be less fun because they have to delete posts and be all business-y.

On the other hand, at least this means we'll have a mod on deck at all times, which is good.

So I'm fifty fifty on this, could go either way.

[Fox 5,330]

I'm just gonna be brutally honest here: being a mod changes people. Yeah, it's not like you're in a super important position or anything, but people are gonna be less fun because they have to delete posts and be all business-y.

On the other hand, at least this means we'll have a mod on deck at all times, which is good.

So I'm fifty fifty on this, could go either way.

 

An attitude and a personality are two different things. Since they have a Moderator rank they have to act suitable for the title because it's a privilege. I privilege is taken away if not fitted for the occupation. Just because they act differently on the outside because they're reflecting the way they have to act when doing management on the website. Their personality doesn't change, it's the attitude where they have to further act as a person with authourity. In cases of discipline and justice, but don't forget a privilege can be taken away. I trust the admins and super mods are giving a chance to prove if they're worthy under the Feldian guard.

[Mephala 2,633]

An attitude and a personality are two different things. Since they have a Moderator rank they have to act suitable for the title because it's a privilege. I privilege is taken away if not fitted for the occupation. Just because they act differently on the outside because they're reflecting the way they have to act when doing management on the website. Their personality doesn't change, it's the attitude where they have to further act as a person with authourity. In cases of discipline and justice, but don't forget a privilege can be taken away. I trust the admins and super mods are giving a chance to prove if they're worthy under the Feldian guard.

 

I understand what you mean by that, but I just feel it's going to be harder for me to talk to these people from now on.

[Aureity 3,055]

I see a bit of discontent over the RP World formatting, so...

 

The RP world is a fine example of a mod using their power to make everything go their way. Don't want an OC thread because you'll never use it? Too bad, the mods do.

 

This is more for the convenience of the DM and other players. Knowing the back-stories and personalities of the other players gives a roleplayer a bit more knowledge going into the RP on what to expect. Besides, you're basically signing yourself up for writing pages and pages of in-context roleplay when you join a RP. It wouldn't kill you to write a paragraph more explaining your character.

 

Don't want to use a certain format for the first post because it won't work as well? Too bad, the mods do.

 

The only thing "required" for the first post of an OOC thread is the link, the body (which should already be done), and the player list.

Having the player list is left to the DM's decision, although most choose to have it in for better organization. As for the links - it's to be courteous to your fellow roleplayers. Five seconds of copy-pasting could save them each half a minute of flipping through the forum to find the roleplay in question.

 

Don't want to have to make like 4 goddamn threads and then go back and link them all to each other just to start a small RP that will probably die in a month or two? Too bad, the mods do.

 

Roleplay thread. OOC thread. I count two.

 

And the character sheet doesn't allow for the flexibility individual RP forms do. What if I want to know more than just their cutiemark and background? It's just stupid.

 

That's what "Other" is for. It's basically a huge blank space waiting for you to add in other details you might think are important.

[Fox 5,330]

I understand what you mean by that, but I just feel it's going to be harder for me to talk to these people from now on.

 

I feel the same, but I'll just learn how to get comfortable, I just don't want to feel like I'm kissing ass when I'm talking to all moderators all the time.

[Evilshy 5,090]

This is more for the convenience of the DM and other players. Knowing the back-stories and personalities of the other players gives a roleplayer a bit more knowledge going into the RP on what to expect. Besides, you're basically signing yourself up for writing pages and pages of in-context roleplay when you join a RP. It wouldn't kill you to write a paragraph more explaining your character.

That's not really my concern at all. My concern is having to keep checking in an OOC thread on the off chance that somebody does use it, because in my RPs in the past, most of us have simply added in some OOC lines alongside our IC post. Having an OOC thread as well just forces everybody to check it frequently, just in case somebody decides to use it and says something important.

 

 

The only thing "required" for the first post of an OOC thread is the link, the body (which should already be done), and the player list.

Having the player list is left to the DM's decision, although most choose to have it in for better organization. As for the links - it's to be courteous to your fellow roleplayers. Five seconds of copy-pasting could save them each half a minute of flipping through the forum to find the roleplay in question.

IIRC, there are also restrictions on what can be in the RP thread. Like, no plot summaries or characters in the RP thread, stuff like that. I don't really see why that's necessary.

 

 

Roleplay thread. OOC thread. I count two.

 

Planning, searching, OOC (which could be adapted from either of those), RP, any relevant character sheets. I count at least 3 + character sheets.

 

There's also the general attitude of "I know how to implement your ideas better than you do so you have to do what I say" that I don't like.

 

 

 

Anyway, still patiently waiting my other main question to be answered. To remind you, it was why proactive moderation is such a great idea in the first place.

And to address the issue of a report based system allowing users to single out other users and report all their stuff, the current system does nothing to prevent that either. Having completely reactive mods would not only prevent any mods from excercising bias on their own terms (since they'd had to wait for someone else to report the post), it would make it so more mods would see the reports, and more could be in the decision process of whether or not it should be deleted, also detracting from bias.

 

Personally, I'd much rather have the possibility of other members singling me out with more mods available to see that they're BS reports, than the possibility of other members AND mods singling me out with fewer mods available to see that it's BS.

[ProjectRKA 2,848]

18 moderators is way too many.

 

I understand the prior set of mods couldn't cover everything but it seems like too big a jump for a forum that is not currently in need for so many.

 

I'm also shocked (well not really, it's happened before) at some of the people who were selected mods. Some of which, in my opinion, shouldn't be mods.

 

Exactly my opinion. ^^

[Aureity 3,055]

-snip-

 

I'll send my response to you over a PM, because I don't want to get this off-topic.

[False Perception 482]

Boatloads of mods? People must have already posted this, but I'll just post my thoughts and/or feelings. I feel that while the new mods may take off work from the original mods, do we know how exactly the deal under stress? What if we get more than ever intended? 400+? 500+? That's a lot of work. Will their moderating still be the same quality? I'll say yes, only by knowing who's in charge though. I trust Feld's decisions up to 85%.

 

On the anon mode: Touchy subject, I say you should only keep some moderators visible, others anon, that way fullblown Discord doesn't come 'round, yet new members aren't intimidated (said before) by the "crackdown".

 

On RP World: Didn't read all the way through this, but people should be allowed to have what they want on their RP's as long as it isn't breaking any rules, and on OCs, people should be allowed to include any amount of information they wish and it should be up to the person organizing the RP to decide whether or not they are allowed to join. It should also be up to the organizer if they wish to include OOC/RP links in their respective places and have a list of members participating. If no one has broken a rule, then there should be no question about whether or not it's allowed.

[Mephala 2,633]

On RP World: Didn't read all the way through this, but people should be allowed to have what they want on their RP's as long as it isn't breaking any rules, and on OCs, people should be allowed to include any amount of information they wish and it should be up to the person organizing the RP to decide whether or not they are allowed to join. It should also be up to the organizer if they wish to include OOC/RP links in their respective places and have a list of members participating. If no one has broken a rule, then there should be no question about whether or not it's allowed.

 

I totally agree. And the OoC should be for...well...OoC talk as well as RP talk. RP is to be enjoyed, it's supposed to be FUN. Not keeping everything strictly RP based in an OoC makes people feel as though any second a mod is gonna swoop in and get mad. It's a stupid rule, in my opinion. Otherwise, people are forced to go to the PM's to chat, and that's inconvenient. Being reprimanded for socializing on a site for socializing is ironic. Edited June 26, 2012 by PinkieDaShy

[Ezynell 2,037]

I'm afraid some of the new mods are going a little for lack of a better phrase "mad with power".

Multiple posts that are a month + old are being deleted, even posts that don't deserve to be deleted.

*sigh* it's all very depressing.

~

 

I don't think this will happen. Remember that mods can see what other mods delete, so we'll be trying our best to keep each other in check as well.

[False Perception 482]

I don't think this will happen. Remember that mods can see what other mods delete, so we'll be trying our best to keep each other in check as well.

 

But this takes time and destracts mods from their actual duties. We should be able to trust the mods to handle themselves properly, and shouldn't be needed to be moderated themselves. When a mod moderates mod(s), that takes a mod from moderating the forums, their actual job.