Ask a Moderator!

[Avron the S'wit]

ASK A MODERATOR!
A thread for your questions about the UESPF staff.

As you all know, the UESP forums (UESPF) are maintained by a group of volunteer, unpaid individuals from many different walks of life and parts of the world. These members are your moderators and administrators, who make up the Staff group.

Moderators are here to uphold the forum rules, help answer member concerns or implement suggestions, and to make sure that the atmosphere here at UESPF is welcoming and as straightforward as possible for new members. Because of this, it’s important to know who your moderators are and how they work.

Because moderators tend to conduct business privately and discuss issues outside of the public’s eye, sometimes you may have questions about how a moderator, admin, the group as a whole, or the staff handles issues, or not realize that moderators each have different roles on the team. Or maybe you just want to know a little bit about who we are, what the different user colors mean, or why we have silly names like Tea Party Mods. This thread is a chance for you to get into the head of the staff! You may direct your question to one moderator/admin in particular, several, or the group as a whole, and they will give you an insider’s view to what makes the UESPF staff so awesome.

Please note: This is not the thread to discuss private actions (ie, “Zomigod why did you ban Member X, he is my best friend!”) or to criticize the actions of the staff (ie, “I think Mod_D is a big meanie and really stupid. I can’t believe they did Y and Z!” or “Zomigod Mod_B is the best mod just get rid of the others!”). While we do welcome such queries, please understand that questions about another member are not for public discussion, and your very personal and deep grievances are welcome in private. There are various ways to do this, the most simple being PM. We don’t like to air people’s dirty laundry and politely ask you try not to, either! (Plus, who wants to see that?)

Likewise, please do not use this thread to pit yourself against another member. Some of us like the staff; some of us don’t. It’s a fact of life and we promise you that we don’t lose sleep over it, so please don’t you get worked up about it! Everyone is entitled to their opinion; we just ask that you discuss it in a polite and mature way.

Otherwise, feel free to ask away! Please allow some time for your staff members to respond - we are busy helping members and having fun ourselves!

Sincerely,
The UESPF Staff

Some helpful links:

Forum Proposals & Questions - where you can talk about new features you'd like to see, ask questions about forum practices, or discuss new ideas for the forums
Forum Competitions, Gatherings, and Ideas - where you can talk about new Competitions of the Month and pitch ideas
Forum Issues - where you can discuss technical issues you may be experiencing with the forum (downtime, errors, etc.)
Forum Rules - the most important thread we have, where you can see forum rules, who represents the staff, and how to contact them, among other things

[ZeRoc]

Zomigosh! Believe is in my list of top 6 mods! and so is Musicman and Avron and Leilah and Matt and Scozzar.

But seriously, why are they called Tea Party Mods? When I first joined I wasn't sure if it was as a joke or if they actually had power. The name is just so goofy.

[Br3admax]

I'm not a mod, but I can explain. TPM only have power in general. They are training to become mods. It's essentially the term tea party, which means traditional or something, and addign mod to it. The stay were people traditionally make mistakes or ask questions, and help like a mod would else where. After a certain time, they will become mods fully.

[ZeRoc]

I knew what their role is, I was merely questioning the term.

Also, what is your favorite part of being a moderator? The thrill of the kill(ing of spambots)? The power? The green or pink name?

[Arch-Mage Matt]

1. I can't delve too much into the minds of the ancients, but the term was suggested by user Dogmantra (Can't say why) when the '09 Mods wanted little helpers without needing to interact with them or give them real power (That's changed... right?). Then Dogmantra became the one and only Tea Party Mod.

2. Messing with other Mods.

[Br3admax]

Why haven't you mad me Over Lord Supreme yet?
How do mods think of changing the forums, not it's rules, but it's lay out?

[Musicman247]

I don't think we'll be changing the default layout any time soon, but we're already in the process of sprucing it up a bit! You can always suggest new ideas for the forum at the thread linked in the OP called "Forum Proposals & Questions".

You can also change your default forum style if you would like. It's under "Board Preferences" in the User Control Panel.

[Avron the S'wit]

1. I can't delve too much into the minds of the ancients, but the term was suggested by user Dogmantra (Can't say why) when the '09 Mods wanted little helpers without needing to interact with them or give them real power (That's changed... right?). Then Dogmantra became the one and only Tea Party Mod.

We also use the pink color as a legacy on a poor joke on Dogmantra as the first TPM. Matt is also right in that its role has changed over time. Now it is less a position of "lesser moderator" and more a position of "moderator in training."

Also, what is your favorite part of being a moderator? The thrill of the kill(ing of spambots)? The power? The green or pink name?

Being able to interact with people on a different level. I genuinely like to not just stop by and ask people how they're doing, but to help them with some question or problem. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, no matter how small. Moderatoring is very often a thankless job, but being able to solve something in a PM or help a user out with whatever it is makes it well worth it to me.

How do mods think of changing the forums, not it's rules, but it's lay out?

Right with Musicman - we're for improving it, but the forum layout matches the wiki and I think that's the real goal.

[Leilah]

Also, what is your favorite part of being a moderator? The thrill of the kill(ing of spambots)? The power? The green or pink name?

Getting at spambots before they can post makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and happy. Also, helping out with members' queries and so on. I like helping people out.

How do mods think of changing the forums, not it's rules, but it's lay out?

I'm going to agree with Musicman and Avron here.

[Nevastar]

What is the most important thing you've learned from being a moderator so far?

[Believe]

What is the most important thing you've learned from being a moderator so far?

That there is a time and a place to joke around and be a tool. In the last week or so, I've noticed that I'm automatically thinking mroe before I post.

Plus, it's surprisingly fun to help people. I should do it more often.

I doubt I'll be able to answer many questions in this thread. I'm still a moderating noob.

[Stormborn]

Please expalin the significance of Mr Green/ to me?

[Musicman247]

Please expalin the significance of Mr Green/ to me?

It all started one night in mid June of 1491. Columbo was trying to get permission from Queen Ferdinand and King Isabella to fly around the world backwards to get spices from the new world called America. The Queen was not impressed with he idea because she already had cinnamon, his favorite spice, in a jar on the counter. Columbo decided to sweeten the deal by not using an airplane and taking one hundred times longer to get there. The King pleaded with the Queen to allow him to do this amazing feat because "it would totally rock". The Queen gave in to the dashing good looks of his King and allowed Columbo three vehicles - el Niño, a Pinto, and a San Maraschino Cherry. Columbo was thrilled with the prospect of going on an adventure and immediately ran out of the palace. Unfortunately he left before receiving the directions on how to find the New World and ended up staying in this one. They ended up in America where the women flowed like wine and the only spice they found was chili powder. The end.

Oh, Mr. Green was the dude who lied about being sea-sick. Lied to Columbo's face and then threw up on it.

[Br3admax]

Please expalin the significance of Mr Green/ to me?

It all started one night in mid June of 1491. Columbo was trying to get permission from Queen Ferdinand and King Isabella to fly around the world backwards to get spices from the new world called America. The Queen was not impressed with he idea because she already had cinnamon, his favorite spice, in a jar on the counter. Columbo decided to sweeten the deal by not using an airplane and taking one hundred times longer to get there. The King pleaded with the Queen to allow him to do this amazing feat because "it would totally rock". The Queen gave in to the dashing good looks of his King and allowed Columbo three vehicles - el Niño, a Pinto, and a San Maraschino Cherry. Columbo was thrilled with the prospect of going on an adventure and immediately ran out of the palace. Unfortunately he left before receiving the directions on how to find the New World and ended up staying in this one. They ended up in America where the women flowed like wine and the only spice they found was chili powder. The end.

Oh, Mr. Green was the dude who lied about being sea-sick. Lied to Columbo's face and then threw up on it.

The Queen is a man?

[Right-Hand-Of-Sithis]

1. I can't delve too much into the minds of the ancients, but the term was suggested by user Dogmantra (Can't say why) when the '09 Mods wanted little helpers without needing to interact with them or give them real power (That's changed... right?). Then Dogmantra became the one and only Tea Party Mod.

2. Messing with other Mods.

So, just to confirm, it has nothing to do with the political party I'm thinking of?

[Musicman247]

So, just to confirm, it has nothing to do with the political party I'm thinking of?

Correct. It has to do with actual tea parties.

[Avron the S'wit]

What is the most important thing you've learned from being a moderator so far?

I think it's a mix of you can't please everyone and learning how to be both patient and tolerant with the demands, expectations, and behaviors of others. That, and knowing to apologize when I make mistakes.

[OblivionDuruza]

Would you ever consider taking community proposals/feedback on The Forum Rules, or is our connection to the Wiki such that our Rules should be reflective of a standard Daveh is comfortable with?

Do you have a set (albeit certainly flexible) procedure for dealing with specific circumstances, e.g. spambots, trolls, complaints about users from other users, etc.? And would you ever consider making something like this public?

[Avron the S'wit]

Would you ever consider taking community proposals/feedback on The Forum Rules, or is our connection to the Wiki such that our Rules should be reflective of a standard Daveh is comfortable with?

We allow feedback on forum rules - always have! However, members should not make the mistake of thinking that consideration means agreement. In the end we try to reflect a policy that makes the most sense for everyone, including the majority of users who never step foot in the General Discussion subforums. It is true that our most active users are generally active on all areas of the forum, and the majority here for the game discussion do not get very involved in forum politics. I would like to alleviate this, but in general the staff allows all members to become involved as much or little as they wish.

Dave does indeed have a specific idea for the content UESP should post, and rules attempt to reflect this. However, given the wiki bias and the general separation between wiki and forums that has developed, there are some obvious differences, especially since the forums are less information based and more discussion and user based. Still, our job at the forums is to help reflect the high standard UESP users hold themselves to and the high standard UESP has as the number one TES guide!

The curious can review some of UESP's wiki policies here. A wiki forum page, with more information about what the forums expects, is currently in writing. I should be making a thread for this soon so I can collect user feedback as well.

[baratron]

I've been wondering whether the name Tea Party Mods is still appropriate in 2012, given that the majority of Americans - and even plenty of non-Americans - will hear "Tea Party" in the US politics sense, rather than in the "Mad Hatter's Tea Party" sense. I don't know whether it could be replaced with something more Elder Scrolls-ish, like 'Pelagius's Mind Mods' or 'Shivering Isles Mods'? You know, something to get across the idea that they're mostly responsible for moderating the, uh, crazy parts of the forum . Even 'Sheogorath's Tea Party Mods' would put the emphasis back on the type of party where you go to enjoy yourself, rather than a political party.

I mention this because when I joined the forum last week, the name did actually throw me off completely, until I talked to some of the people and realised it wasn't intended that way.

Sorry to bring this up, but I seem to be the third person to mention it in the thread so far, and it's only, what, 18 posts long?

[Avron the S'wit]

True, but that is a good point to bring up, baratron. If the name ever becomes an issue, we'll definitely consider!

[Deandra]

I'm still sad Musicman never made a tea party mod while he was a tea party mod.

[Musicman247]

I am too, Deandra. I am too.

[Hissien]

Why wasn't I invited to Believe's Tea Party?

Also.... How do you guys select mods? I have wondered this about other sites and never got an answer. Also why would anyone want to be a mod? Sounds awful.

[Arch-Mage Matt]

We take note on who is reliable (They're active on the forums and don't make trouble), helpful (Good attitude, thoughtful posts) and finally willing to become a mod. It's always good to give back... n' such.