Ask a Moderator!

[MARS]

Then remind me why you chose Believe, again. >_>

jk n stuff

[Stormborn]

Never heard the "phrase poacher turned game keeper" before Mars?

[Frost Mage]

Because believe is best pony, everyone knows that.

[Ripcage]

Quick question, how many moderators can there be at once?

[Frost Mage]

I'd assume that changes depending on how much help is needed.

[MARS]

Last I checked this thread was called "Ask a moderator" >_>

[Avron the S'wit]

Quick question, how many moderators can there be at once?

As many as are needed and work well together! It can be difficult to get things done with too many or too few people, so it's all about balancing the right personalities. There is no set number.

[Musicman247]

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?

• Spambots - We ban these sucker as fast as we can find them. They are usually pretty easy to spot, as outlined in the Rules. They used to be half of the job here, but since installing reCaptcha we have seen only a few smarter bots get in. This leaves us with more time to interact with the community!
• Trolls - There are several definitions of what a troll could be. The first step in dealing with them would be to send a private message to the user in question and ask them the purpose of their posting habits. We would also take the opportunity to point out the rules as well as 'what would Avron do' to help them better understand what is expected of them as a user. Usually this takes care of the problem. If the user is belligerent or continues to act in the manner that brought them to our attention in the first place we will usually send them what is called a 'friendly warning' which is a private message telling them to stop the behavior or risk being issued an official warning. If they continue then an official warning is issued.
• Complaints - Almost the exact same procedure as with trolls

Almost every action that we take begins with a private message to the user. The only exceptions are users who we have dealt with about an issue before and have already messaged them about the behavior. I'm not sure if you meant make the procedures public or make specific cases public. For the former, that is what I have just outlined. For the latter, we have as policy not to disclose our private dealings with specific members.

Then remind me why you chose Believe, again. >_>
jk n stuff

I know you were joking, but I wanted to take the time to say that Believe has been an excellent addition to the team! He is different than the rest of the moderating team, but it's always good to bring other views to the table. He has brought with him an excitement that is very catching and I am very glad we brought him on!

[Stormborn]

Hypothetically, how would we complain about a moderator and who would we complain to?

Instead of being named members why aren't you just numbered as Mod 1, 2, 3 or Mod f, g, h etc.?

[Sav]

What is the hardest thing about being a moderator?

Also what is the easiest thing?

[Leilah]

Instead of being named members why aren't you just numbered as Mod 1, 2, 3 or Mod f, g, h etc.?

We are not the Borg. You will not be assimilated. Resistance is not futile.

What is the hardest thing about being a moderator?

Also what is the easiest thing?

Hardest thing would be to have to talk to a member about behaviour issues, for me.

The easiest thing is greeting new members. I like that.

[Br3admax]

I can still be assimilated, right?

[Musicman247]

No.

Also, the question about who to talk to about Moderator behavior, first try and PM the Mod you are having the disagreement with. If you feel you are not being listened to or appropriate action is not being taken, PM a Mod that you feel comfortable talking to. There's not really a "head mod" so to speak, so you can talk to any of us (even the pink ones).

[Stormborn]

Instead of being named members why aren't you just numbered as Mod 1, 2, 3 or Mod f, g, h etc.?

We are not the Borg. You will not be assimilated. Resistance is not futile.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to dehumanize the mod squad. It was just there have been a few suggestions in some of the whiner threads that the mods are too friendly, so I just wondered if it was ever consider to make the mod and the member separate entities, being a mod would be a sort of a secret identity.

[unokitsune]

Do you have to be Super Popular as one of the requirements for being a mod?

[Br3admax]

I'm not a Mod, so no.
It's really more of the amount of time spent here, and friendliness with the formies. Than you have to be helpful and have a basic understanding of what your words mean to others. In time, if this is seen, you may just become a TPM. At least, that's what I think it is.

[Leilah]

Br3admax makes some good points. Popularity and being a good mod do not necessarily go well together. Your behaviour, attitude and actions are the things that matter. And, of course, you need to be on frequently.

[Justice knight]

Is there a post count requirement to being a mod? I've noticed that all the mods have a couple of hundred posts each. I mean that's what's stopping me- right? Right?

[Leilah]

Nah, Justice, we all just feel threatened by your ruggedly sure good looks.

Kidding aside, no, there isn't a post count requirement. Of course, a higher post count tends to indicate that you spend more time and are more active, so mods will usually have fairly high post counts, but it's not a matter of needing 5000 posts before you will be considered.

[Justice knight]

I thought -according to you, Leilah- I had to be cute
Thanks for clearing that up though- I've always wondered about it.

[Ripcage]

What happens if someone turns down the position for a TPM?

[Musicman247]

Nothing really happens. We say, "Okay," and let them go about their merry forum-going way

[Ripcage]

Thats it? Does the offer still stand as long as they don't get in trouble?

[Musicman247]

That's it! The offer would not stand unless we told them it did.

[baratron]

Instead of being named members why aren't you just numbered as Mod 1, 2, 3 or Mod f, g, h etc.?

We are not the Borg. You will not be assimilated. Resistance is not futile.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to dehumanize the mod squad. It was just there have been a few suggestions in some of the whiner threads that the mods are too friendly, so I just wondered if it was ever consider to make the mod and the member separate entities, being a mod would be a sort of a secret identity.

I know it's "Ask a Moderator", but I wanted to point out that I've seen this done before, and it doesn't work.

Spoiler:

I used to play on a MUD, the text-only multiplayer online games that existed before MMORPGs. We're talking around 15 years ago, but people are people, and human nature hasn't changed that much with newer technology. Everyone was allowed to have multiple characters, but the rule was that you were only allowed one character to be logged on at a time. You could - although it was considered really naughty and a potentially bannable offense - obtain a load of items with your high-level character, drop them somewhere, log off, and then log on with your low-level character and pick them up.

Some people were really open about their characters being the same person (e.g. the status line of each of my characters listed all my other characters, so everyone knew that Astra = Danny = Abigail), others weren't. If people were half-decent roleplayers, you could end up in a situation where you were friends with someone and enemies with someone else, without realising they were the same player in real life. This was actually really freaky. I still remember how Panda, who was my friend and a "good" character, lured me into a trap, logged out, then logged back in as Machoman, who was a ridiculously high level player-killer.

The rule of multiple characters still applied to wizards and coders on the MUD (i.e. people equivalent in status to moderators and admins on a web forum). They were allowed to also have player characters - but of course, their player characters could never be just ordinary players for two reasons. Firstly, because they had secret knowledge of the game code, especially with regard to any new quests that were added. Secondly, because they could see individual player IP addresses - which varied a bit, but not that much, since back then most people with internet were at university. They would know that Astra = Danny = Abigail, even if I hadn't made it obvious in my character descriptions.

You can see the problem if we apply this to the web forum. Let's say I post something I shouldn't, and "Mod 1" told me off. If "Mod 1" is one of the mods that I've been chatting to on the UESP irc - Avron, Leilah, or Musicman, that would be really uncomfortable for those people, because they would have to pretend not to know about my misdemeanor when talking to me about other things. Also, it would seem kinda dishonest when ordinary members found out who they were. Some people have specific typing styles, preferred formatting, or spelling/vocabularies that mark who they are - it's harder than you might think to maintain separate identities and be an active member of a community. (And yes, I'm actually rather an expert on internet fakers and fraudsters, again another long story. The short version being "lots of crazy people in the Sims community" ).

I generally believe that having the names of the mod team known is the only sensible way of doing things. Even though that does open up the mods for receiving crazy PMs from people who they've had to discipline. That's the unfortunate side-effect.