Member-Administered survey about the site?

[Doctor XFizzle 8,670]

Alright, so I've been noticing the site has been going through a little bit of a tumultuous funk right now. People leaving, uproar over new rules or policies, drama, etc.

 

What I'm proposing is a member-generated, anonymous survey to give out to the masses to get their unbiased and uncensored feedback about the site, the staff, and whatever. If this survey is created by members, then everyone should feel more comfortable answering truthfully because their answers won't be seen by users in power who can punish them (except Feld0 and Swoop will see it). Also truthful answers give Feld0 and Swoop a (hopefully) better batch of feedback to work off of.

 

The main focus of the survey will be on the moderating team, site rules and policies, and policy implementation, among other things.

 

Now, not everyone can go off all willy-nilly making questions for this survey. What I'm suggesting is a panel of 3-5 nominated, respected users (NOT moderators) to come together to create the survey and listen to suggestions and ideas for questions from the masses. These members must be

 

- at least Pony rank and above (join date will also be a factor)

- have been active within the past 60 days

- nominated and respected by their peers

 

I figured I would formally propose this to Feld0 and Swoop and to gain their blessing before just going off and doing it anyways and causing more of a ruckus. At least this way, there is some legitimacy to this. When the survey is written, it shall be presented to Feld0 to be given the okay to distribute.

 

Vote in the poll if you support this idea or not.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Doctor XFizzle

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

i support this idea. ive had this done for other forums ive been in and its worked out good. i would definitely take this survey.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Scootabloom

[spas-ticShotty 3,588]

I'm very close to Pegasus rank, I've been active, obviously, but I'm not sure if people like me that much . Plus, I'm not good at making questions, soooooo......I'll be the ones voting a question instead of building them .

 

Based on that first paragraph, I basically answered "yes" to the poll

[Finesthour 7,289]

So it will be like the last survey we had, but with lots of complaints x3

 

Oh goodie, I'm in for it! I think it would be nice for feld0 and the others to understand just why so many people have their undies in a bunch over everything.

[NavelColt 22,883]

Hmmmm...

 

I'm not totally sure. Sounds like a clever idea to try and get pure, undiluted feedback, that's for sure, but I dunno.

 

Suppose I'll sit here and lurk in the bushes while this get's more flushed out.

[False Perception 482]

I would LIKE to do it, but I know I'm rather disliked. In any case, since I can't be the one making questions, I would sure as heck like to be participating. Just when do you expect to do this?

[MVC NVMXD JVRXD 2,406]

 

I seriously think this is a good idea.

Many people have their opinions on the mods, yet desire their anonimoty (excuse my spelling. :S) to be kept. And with the recent addition of mods, these opinions (and bias) have been growing more, well, strong.

With something like this, users can know that they have a voice, and rest assured that the mods in question will not be aware of how they feel about them. Pure genius!

 

Also, I'd like to say I'm open to being a part of this panel thingy.

 

 

 

Edit: After reading through this thread, my opinion has changed quite a bit. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this :/

Edited August 20, 2012 by Living Djenstrosity

[Zoop 8,384]

I figured I would formally propose this to Feld0 and Swoop and to gain their blessing before just going off and doing it anyways and causing more of a ruckus. At least this way, there is some legitimacy to this. When the survey is written, it shall be presented to Feld0 to be given the okay to distribute.

On the other hand, if they were to not give their blessing to it now that you've proposed it in public in front of everyone, I'm sure people would be quite apt to think them miserable tyrants.

[~The Snowy Wolf~ 1,579]

So it will be like the last survey we had, but with lots of complaints x3

 

Oh goodie, I'm in for it! I think it would be nice for feld0 and the others to understand just why so many people have their undies in a bunch over everything.

 

I honestly don't know why so many people are complaining.

Posts don't count in the RP world. Big deal.

There's a character limit. Ooh! You actually have to think about what you have to say.

 

I don't really know of many other complaints, but I'm sure they're out there. This isn't 4chan for f***'s sake. This is supposed to be a (halfway?) decent site.

[Doctor XFizzle 8,670]

I would LIKE to do it, but I know I'm rather disliked. In any case, since I can't be the one making questions, I would sure as heck like to be participating. Just when do you expect to do this?

 

Panel formation and survey creation ASAP, then about a month for the results to come in. Maybe if done quickly enough we can present the results on the 1st Anniversary, October 3rd. How's that for a present lol.

 

On the other hand, if they were to not give their blessing to it now that you've proposed it in public in front of everyone, I'm sure people would be quite apt to think them miserable tyrants.

 

I'd rather have that then go through all the hard work and time making the survey for it to be struck down, blacklisted, or have them refuse to read the results or share the results. If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do this officially and legitimately.

[~The Snowy Wolf~ 1,579]

Panel formation and survey creation ASAP, then about a month for the results to come in. Maybe if done quickly enough we can present the results on the 1st Anniversary, October 3rd. How's that for a present lol.

 

I'd like to try and help with questions. I don't know of anyone on here who has a negative opinion about me

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

On the other hand, if they were to not give their blessing to it now that you've proposed it in public in front of everyone, I'm sure people would be quite apt to think them miserable tyrants.

 

Isn't Feld0 manager of alot of other forums too? they might deny it or so because it might be useless since they might not have the time to read hundreds of responses. not sure about feld0's schedule, i could be completely wrong, but its just a thought.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Scootabloom

[Nas 2,874]

Heheh....that's funny....a survey about a survey...

 

Anyways, not much for me to say about this one. I'm cool with it, as long as it doesn't get TOO out of hand, which I know it won't, ant communicating and asking the member community's opinion is outright the way to go.

[Doctor XFizzle 8,670]

I'd like to try and help with questions. I don't know of anyone on here who has a negative opinion about me

 

Also, I'd like to say I'm open to being a part of this panel thingy.

 

There will be a separate topic for nomination once this is given the green light to proceed. Not sure yet how it will be done, but that's what I'm thinking.

[Queen Cassie 3,058]

XFizzle, do you really think this is a good idea? Do you think the moderation team is going to find this kind of survey useful at all, given that the only ones with the proper knowledge to evaluate the moderators are the administrators who have the records to show what every moderator has ever done on this forum? Have you somehow mistaken this forum for some kind of representative democracy?

 

Because this forum isn't a democracy. This isn't an election, nor can you ask for recall votes. This is a dictatorship, in the form of a privately owned forum where Feld0 makes the rules, and the moderators enforce those rules. The members do not have the ability to truly tell the moderators what they are doing and what they are not. They can share feedback, yes, but that feedback doesn't have to be listened to.

 

I feel like this sort of survey would be a mistake, because it is going to be woefully uninformed. The moderators are not about to make public every last Skype chat log or thread in the moderator subforum. They're not about to give you the proper information you'd need to really evaluate them. More to the point, they will not find any evaluation by you useful because the only ones who get to make decisions about who is a moderator and who isn't are Feld0 and Swoop.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Feld0
Calling this a pointless waste of time isn't good.

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

They can share feedback, yes, but that feedback doesn't have to be listened to.

 

nobody said that feld0 or any of the mods have to listen to this information at all. this was meant just to give the mods an idea of what we like and dont like about this site. feld0 could completely reject this and we all move on, and he could also like the idea of making more members happy by removing/adding things to the site that we like/dont like. im pretty sure feld0 didnt make this site to only make himself happy. isnt that why the "Feedback and Suggestions" section is here? this could be an additional, more in depth feedback from the members.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Scootabloom

[Doctor XFizzle 8,670]

XFizzle, do you really think this is a good idea? Do you think the moderation team is going to find this kind of survey useful at all, given that the only ones with the proper knowledge to evaluate the moderators are the administrators who have the records to show what every moderator has ever done on this forum? Have you somehow mistaken this forum for some kind of representative democracy?

 

Because this forum isn't a democracy. This isn't an election, nor can you ask for recall votes. This is a dictatorship, in the form of a privately owned forum where Feld0 makes the rules, and the moderators enforce those rules. The members do not have the ability to truly tell the moderators what they are doing and what they are not. They can share feedback, yes, but that feedback doesn't have to be listened to.

 

I feel like this sort of survey would be a mistake, because it is going to be woefully uninformed. The moderators are not about to make public every last Skype chat log or thread in the moderator subforum. They're not about to give you the proper information you'd need to really evaluate them. More to the point, they will not find any evaluation by you useful because the only ones who get to make decisions about who is a moderator and who isn't are Feld0 and Swoop.

 

Thank you for your opinion and for publicly displaying the suspected hostility staff members hold towards the common user. Feld0 is a reasonable owner and he still holds the power and say. If he doesn't want it, then so be it.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Feld0
Edited quote.

[Zoop 8,384]

Thank you for your opinion and for publicly displaying the suspected hostility staff members hold towards the common user. Feld0 is a reasonable owner and he still holds the power and say. If he doesn't want it, then so be it.

 

I suppose it may be a minor point, but Kyronea hasn't been an active staff member in a very long time; though they only semi-recently resigned at the end of an extended break.

[Queen Cassie 3,058]

Thank you for your opinion and for publicly displaying the suspected hostility staff members hold towards the common user. Feld0 is a reasonable owner and he still holds the power and say. If he doesn't want it, then so be it.

 

I direct you to note the Phoenix icon underneath my avatar. I am no longer a moderator. As Zoop said, I resigned after having underwent a fairly long break. Thus, I'm not speaking on behalf of the staff. I'm speaking on behalf of myself. Edited August 19, 2012 by Feld0
Tone it down please with the personal attacks.

[Klopp 2,051]

Something like this just boils down to whether Feld0 wants to go with it or not. Either way, whether members hate us or love us, I'm still going to stick around to enforce the rules whenever a member decides to break them.

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

Something like this just boils down to whether Feld0 wants to go with it or not. Either way, whether members hate us or love us, I'm still going to stick around to enforce the rules whenever a member decides to break them.

 

of course, we (or at least I) dont mean to change any way i act around these forums when it comes to this survey. whether this survey is approved and distributed or not, we wont go on some sort of rebellion and break tons of rules. nothing about us will change lest new rules are enforced

Edited August 19, 2012 by Scootabloom

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

It is a rather nice sentiment, but I do not think it would work out that much or accomplish much either. Now, I don't meant to be all TYRANT ARYLETT MOD I NO WANT YOUR OPINIONS

 

I just don't think that members are quite informed about the moderation if they don't know what goes on behind the decisions we make. Nor do I think that the survey would be very objective. It isn't to say that we don't value your opinions, but I just don't think enough people are informed enough to give opinions that would be helpful or objective. It would either be a lot of praise or a lot of harsh criticism since there doesn't really seem to be a medium for the most part in people's opinions of us. Some opinions might even be biased because I'm sure there's some people who just dislike the personalities of certain mods, and wouldn't really take into consideration their moderation actions. It isn't my decision to make, of course, but that is just my opinion.

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

It is a rather nice sentiment, but I do not think it would work out that much or accomplish much either. Now, I don't meant to be all TYRANT ARYLETT MOD I NO WANT YOUR OPINIONS

 

I just don't think that members are quite informed about the moderation if they don't know what goes on behind the decisions we make. Nor do I think that the survey would be very objective. It isn't to say that we don't value your opinions, but I just don't think enough people are informed enough to give opinions that would be helpful or objective. It would either be a lot of praise or a lot of harsh criticism since there doesn't really seem to be a medium for the most part in people's opinions of us. Some opinions might even be biased because I'm sure there's some people who just dislike the personalities of certain mods, and wouldn't really take into consideration their moderation actions. It isn't my decision to make, of course, but that is just my opinion.

 

 

EVERYTHING I POST IN THIS THREAD IS NOT INTENDED FOR ASSAULT OR DISRESPECT

 

anyway. since you said that we dont know what the thought process is behind these decisions you make, is it top secret info or is it something that could be shared? im pretty content with the site right now but if there is anything i find that i dont like, are there things that have been decided and we cant know the reason why? because i think alot of people would be more satisfied if they knew the reason for the features/disabled features of the site that they dislike (and im talking for all forums in general, not this one). and if the members know the reason for the thing they dislike and still choose to reject it, that is their own personal issue they will have to work out themselves.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Scootabloom

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

 

 

EVERYTHING I POST IN THIS THREAD IS NOT INTENDED FOR ASSAULT OR DISRESPECT

 

anyway. since you said that we dont know what the thought process is behind these decisions you make, is it top secret info or is it something that could be shared? im pretty content with the site right now but if there is anything i find that i dont like, are there things that have been decided and we cant know the reason why? because i think alot of people would be more satisfied if they knew the reason for the features/disabled features of the site that they dislike (and im talking for all forums in general, not this one). and if the members know the reason for the thing they dislike and still choose to reject it, that is their own personal issue they will have to work out themselves.

 

The reasons are explained in every announcement that is made. At least for me, I actually tell people why I am removing a feature in detail. Or that something is introduced.

 

And it is as Kyronea has said: it's more than just explaining all the reasons about features and such. It's about the Skype conversations we have in our chat, what goes in in Starswirl, all of that is part of the moderation experience. Just because people see something on the surface, does not mean they actually know what it's about. I don't think it would be prudent to show people all of those conversations, as some might get offended or go into an outrage as some of the things we speak about might be too sensitive. I'm sure there are some things that are decided and we can't really go into the reason why as it would stir more drama. In fact, I think seeing a lot of what happens behind our doors would do just that.

 

You can't really know about the mods unless you are one. And as I said before, most people's opinions would be biased in some sort of direction, and not really provide any objective value.

[Bronium 512]

I'm confused as to why people are so...so worked up about this. I mean, so what if this survey is fruitless? From what I observe (and I might have observed incorrectly) this is a more member driven project and not actually funded by Feld0.. Sure, the ideas and opinions may be founded on misunderstandings but it still provides valuable insight as to the community's opinion of the forum and it's staff. It's still their own (however misinformed) opinions. It also allows for the mods to be able to dispel some of the misinformation going around about you guys.

 

I mean, you say we're misinformed, so why don't you inform us? This survey is a great way to do exactly just that. Find the misinformation and tell us why it's wrong. And for the chat logs, if you don't mind me asking, is it specific cases or just rules in general, that is discussed.