So what's it like to be a mod? [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Deepbluediver

2013-05-15, 03:09 PM

I've been thinking about this lately, and purely out of curiousity I'm wondering what it's like to be a moderator for this forum (or any forum for that matter).

This probably isn't a paid job, right? (though the idea of professional forum moderator ammuses me for some reason). But does it ever get tiring? How many hours a day do you spend on this? Do you have alternate accounts so that you can just hang out without needing to project the aura of moderator mystique/authority? What's it like dealing with us, the forum-goers?
Edit: Does it require any special skills?

P.S. Obviously the mods are very busy, so I don't know what, if anything, to expect from personally, but if anyone else has relevant experience, or knows them well, or even just wants to speculate I'm all ears.

bluewind95

2013-05-15, 03:47 PM

From my experiences elsewhere... it's not as grand and cool as you may think.

First of all, it's a thankless job. No matter your actions, someone's not going to be happy about them. Likely they're not even going to tell you, so they'll just be talking about it behind your back and just making people uncomfortable with the whole thing. Or they might even lash back and though you can deal with it due to your authority, it's still more work for you and likely will bring other nastiness into the fray.

You are kind of the "face" of the forum, so to speak. So you have to conduct yourself extra-carefully. If you have friends in the forum, you'll have the tough job of sometimes telling them off for things they're doing that aren't okay. And it's hard to do so when they're your friends, but you can't play favourites, either. You can't always really say what you want to say cos you have to be "the mod". After all, people are going to look towards you as an example of what's acceptable. The relationship between you and other users (staff included) is what will become the model for the atmosphere of the forum.

And then there's just the work. Some thread needs locking? You have to do it. Same if it needs moving, or merging or whatnot. Spam-bots? Mod to the rescue! Squabbles that result from normal human interaction? Yep. Time to go into the nearest phone booth and take out the Super-mod costume. And sometimes there's just stuff the staff needs to discuss. A lot of a mod's time in a forum can be taken up by moderating duties.

The fact that this forum has such an amazing atmosphere just speaks volumes of the care, dedication, professionalism and just plain good work from our mods. Kudos to you all!

Deepbluediver

2013-05-15, 03:53 PM

From my experiences elsewhere... it's not as grand and cool as you may think.

I'm not sure I ever thought it was "grand and cool", but I was hoping that there where some other benefits to balance out the work. Or something else that I was entirely unaware of. Afterall, there's doing a favor for a friend and then there's things like a second job that you don't get paid for. Some people like that kind of thing, I guess (that's why we have The Sims, right?) but it made me wonder.

Kindablue

2013-05-15, 04:37 PM

I hope this is enlightening. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=NsjF-vOqkSw)

factotum

2013-05-16, 01:33 AM

I think bluewind95 gave you the essential flavour of the thing. As for why we do it? I'm a moderator because the forum was basically collapsing into anarchy and I don't want to see that happen again. It takes some work to keep the place nice, but the results are a much friendlier atmosphere, and that's worth it in itself.

Maid

2013-05-16, 01:42 AM

Imagine rubbing your hand against a cheese grater until your hand was raw. Then pour lemon juice on it. That's usually what it's like to be a mod of a semi-popular or popular forum.

mistformsquirrl

2013-05-16, 01:47 AM

I hope this is enlightening. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=NsjF-vOqkSw)

I'm personally partial to this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTLwiccIOxI). >.>

kpenguin

2013-05-16, 01:50 AM

I'm not sure if I can answer you. I was only recruited to fill quotas. Token penguin, you see.

Worira

2013-05-16, 01:51 AM

It's tough to be a mod. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYprdmE1dFc)

smellie_hippie

2013-05-16, 06:51 AM

I imagine its like having home brewed beer, going to ren-fests, weddings, meet-ups, lots or boardgames, being aware of inside jokes (Hup!)...

That's about it.:smallamused:

KillianHawkeye

2013-05-16, 06:59 AM

It probably feels something like this: (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2001/05/05/episode-025-real-hes-one-smoooooth-operator/)

Why, it would take some kind of insane meglomaniacal fiend to take pleasure in wielding the tapestry of creation to focus pure energy into reality through nothing more than my will, the rush of electricity through my being, the power--my God, the power! It's the only time I feel ALIIIIIIIIVE!

Deepbluediver

2013-05-16, 08:40 AM

I hope this is enlightening. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=NsjF-vOqkSw)

Well, it certainly was entertaining.

And thank you for reminding me why I need to be exceedingly explicit whenever I post anything online. :smallwink:

I'm not sure if I can answer you. I was only recruited to fill quotas. Token penguin, you see.

Damn those federal regulations! The Man is always interfering where he's not wanted! Time to break out the anarchist's cookbook again.
I'm not really an anarchist :P

It's tough to be a mod. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYprdmE1dFc)

It probably feels something like this: (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2001/05/05/episode-025-real-hes-one-smoooooth-operator/)

I feel like I'm getting conflicting feedback here.... :smalltongue:

Ashtagon

2013-05-16, 02:17 PM

I'm a mod (and run, and own) another forum.

Thankfully, spam and drama are almost non-existent on my site. It's weirdly quiet in that way, and from what I've heard, the rest of the net is nothing like that.

It's generally thankless when you have to moderate, and we get accused of censorship. The rest of it is boring janitorial stuff. About once every few months we have a discussion to decide whether any major changes are going to be made to the site as a whole. Every now and then we get someone who is reallyreallyreally keen to be a mod, thinking it makes them some kind of forum deity. It's sad to have to deflate their ideas about what we do. Yes, the power exists, but any abuse of it reflects badly on the forum. And because we are mods, even when we aren't acting in our capacity as a mod, we must "play nice" (although everyone in my mod team is naturally that anyway).

Mikhailangelo

2013-05-16, 02:28 PM

I was a mod once. It didn't involve much, just generally keeping the site running in the background; most people on the forum were nice.

Then the forum imploded.

I don't mod any more.

angrymudcrab

2013-05-16, 03:26 PM

I was a mod for my alliance forum when I played stargatewars when I was a kid. It was a political appointment and tied to my rank in the alliance. Mainly I censored the public areas, deleted spambots, and verified member accounts for access to the private sections. I had fun with censoring the public areas, since people would come to trash talk us, so I'd edit their posts to say nice things about us, like Balam trying to curse the Israelites(it was a Goa'uld based alliance and were immature jerks.). The worst part was dealing with the spambots, it got to the point where I had to delete and ban a couple thread/accounts a day. This was hampered by the fact that the guy who owned the forums and founded the alliance was bored with the game and rarely did updates or tried to make things secure. Alliance administation was meh, didn't get thrilled about it, but it wasn't bad either.

Bhu

2013-05-16, 03:39 PM

Being a mod in forums elsewhere we generally come in one of several forms:

Power mad nazis

Decent people who get crapped on because of said nazis and quit

Decent people who become even worse monsters than the nazis because of being crapped on and who quickly destroy the forum

And decent people who do their best to retain their humanity in spite of the above

Seriously don't be a mod unless it's your forum. You either get bullied or have to end up becoming one, or selling out your principles to enforce some rule infraction made by a petty tyrant who either doesn't want to look like the bad guy or can't be moved to dirty his own hands. Along with the petty high school shenanigans of the forumites, you have the backstabbing for petty political gain by the other mods, and an owner who manipulates it all for his own personal amusement.

There are exceptions. You may even find one or create one yourself. But really, if the forum isn't your baby, or at least something you care for a great deal, it just isn't worth the crap you have to put up with.

Anarion

2013-05-16, 03:40 PM

I modded a guild forum for WoW a few years back. It's mostly kind of annoying because it turns logging onto the forum into a requirement instead of something you want to do. You have to be around with enough frequency to deal with people's requests, even on those really nice, sunny days where you want to go outside and go swimming or something.

It does come with a certain power to it though. Every so often you get a post like bluewind's in this thread telling the mods that they're sweet, beautiful people and they're all doing a great job.

Killer Angel

2013-05-16, 04:49 PM

Grinner

2013-05-16, 05:05 PM

The other posters don't know what they're talking about.

When you're a mod, life is like one never-ending sex and coke party.

Anarion

2013-05-16, 07:48 PM

It sucks to be a Mod.
But when you're a Gunslinger, or a Penguin, or a Grandpa, or a Eldritch Horror... then you're cool, and will, at least, receive some thanks from the playgrounders for the hard work.

Yeah, unique titles are a nice perk, as are icons, colors, fonts, and so on. The unique, animated 3d icons are probably the only thing that keeps Blizzard employees going. Moderating their forums must be one of the most miserable tasks on the planet.

Speaking of this, would this be the right place to ask how Glyphstone got to be an Eldritch Horror? The popcorn stand guy never quite matched up for me and I feel like I'm missing a good story.

Bhu

2013-05-16, 09:58 PM

Obviously you haven't tried the popcorn :smallwink:

Deepbluediver

2013-05-16, 10:11 PM

Speaking of this, would this be the right place to ask how Glyphstone got to be an Eldritch Horror? The popcorn stand guy never quite matched up for me and I feel like I'm missing a good story.

I second this. I'm picturing the climax of the story involving some one shouting "Taste the buttery kernels of YOUR DOOM!!!"

The other posters don't know what they're talking about.

When you're a mod, life is like one never-ending sex and coke party.

I knew it! They've been lying to me all along! :smalltongue:

Edit: to keep things in hand- the original question was asked in relative seriousness, and simply out of pure curiousity. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea from a little light-hearted joking.

An Enemy Spy

2013-05-16, 10:15 PM

Money, women(or men), fame, power, hanging out at lavish parties with celebrities and snorting cocaine off of stuffed endangered animals: These are only a sample of the wonderful world of being a mod.

The Glyphstone

2013-05-16, 10:39 PM

Yeah, unique titles are a nice perk, as are icons, colors, fonts, and so on. The unique, animated 3d icons are probably the only thing that keeps Blizzard employees going. Moderating their forums must be one of the most miserable tasks on the planet.

Speaking of this, would this be the right place to ask how Glyphstone got to be an Eldritch Horror? The popcorn stand guy never quite matched up for me and I feel like I'm missing a good story.

Honestly, I can't remember now that you ask. I know Mr. Monopoly pre-dates my promotion to moderator status, and I think the popcorn cart does as well. Why I chose him as an avatar has been lost to the haze of time. The tentacles are definitely post-Eldritch Horror title, though.

Worira

2013-05-16, 11:42 PM

Popcorn is extremely non-Euclidean.

Marnath

2013-05-17, 01:13 AM

Honestly, I can't remember now that you ask. I know Mr. Monopoly pre-dates my promotion to moderator status, and I think the popcorn cart does as well. Why I chose him as an avatar has been lost to the haze of time. The tentacles are definitely post-Eldritch Horror title, though.

His name is Milburn Pennybags (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Uncle_Pennybags).

Socratov

2013-05-17, 01:26 AM

Yeah, unique titles are a nice perk, as are icons, colors, fonts, and so on. The unique, animated 3d icons are probably the only thing that keeps Blizzard employees going. Moderating their forums must be one of the most miserable tasks on the planet.

Speaking of this, would this be the right place to ask how Glyphstone got to be an Eldritch Horror? The popcorn stand guy never quite matched up for me and I feel like I'm missing a good story.

I think the LoL forums have it worse. It's a place... *shudders*, sorry, I don't want to talk about it...

Wookieetank

2013-05-17, 11:31 AM

Honestly, I can't remember now that you ask. I know Mr. Monopoly pre-dates my promotion to moderator status, and I think the popcorn cart does as well. Why I chose him as an avatar has been lost to the haze of time. The tentacles are definitely post-Eldritch Horror title, though.

I always thought it was a shark swimiming in the popcorn myself.

Roland St. Jude

2013-05-17, 12:47 PM

Honestly, I can't remember now that you ask. I know Mr. Monopoly pre-dates my promotion to moderator status, and I think the popcorn cart does as well. Why I chose him as an avatar has been lost to the haze of time. The tentacles are definitely post-Eldritch Horror title, though.IIRC, at the time the name was chosen, there was a version of Mr. Popcorn with some kind of tentacles peaking out from behind the dude and/or the popcorn cart.

The Succubus

2013-05-17, 12:50 PM

Or maybe it was a leftover from Eldritch Abomination week? I remember it well because it was the first time I had a custom avvie. (School succubus being menaced by a badly drawn tentacle, iirc)

The Glyphstone

2013-05-17, 01:03 PM

Or maybe it was a leftover from Eldritch Abomination week? I remember it well because it was the first time I had a custom avvie. (School succubus being menaced by a badly drawn tentacle, iirc)

Nah...I have an email in my inbox to Dogmantra asking for the tentacles to be made more obvious and eldritchy for Eldritch Abomination week, so they must have existed before that.

Haruki-kun

2013-05-17, 01:27 PM

I knew a guy who was a mod in 4chan. It eventually led to him rage-quitting the site altogether. This might be more about the site in question, though.

ShadowFireLance

2013-05-17, 02:44 PM

I knew a guy who was a mod in 4chan. It eventually led to him rage-quitting the site altogether. This might be more about the site in question, though.

Really, Attempting to Moderate the Forum is (IMO) a near deathwish.

Bhu

2013-05-17, 08:01 PM

Yeah modding 4 chan while keeping your mental health would require the ability to nuke people from orbit with a button push...

Logic

2013-05-18, 01:21 AM

I once asked a mod to be made a mod, knowing full well that it was likely a self-defeating request.

I was volunteering because I honestly thought I had the time, energy and ability to properly moderate the forum in question.

I am kind of glad my request was turned down, but I still think I could have contributed.

Anarion

2013-05-18, 10:23 AM

Nah...I have an email in my inbox to Dogmantra asking for the tentacles to be made more obvious and eldritchy for Eldritch Abomination week, so they must have existed before that.

The plot thickens!

More seriously, I'm glad to get an answer, even if it ended up being "no idea." Now it won't keep me awake at night wondering.

I knew a guy who was a mod in 4chan. It eventually led to him rage-quitting the site altogether. This might be more about the site in question, though.

I actually think 4chan wouldn't be that terrible to mod. Maybe you'd need some technical expertise because of the hacking and people who claim fake IDs all the time, though. But the site is so tolerant of what people post (ponies notwithstanding) that I'd think the mods have it easier than on some of the more strict forums.

Gamerlord

2013-05-18, 10:32 AM

Never been a mod on anything myself, but I have a friend who was one on a very obscure forum (Can't even remember the name of it or what it was about.) Could have simply been due to the forum's small size, but according to them it was a fairly dull task.

factotum

2013-05-18, 12:28 PM

I am kind of glad my request was turned down, but I still think I could have contributed.

On the forum I moderate, new moderators are chosen by the existing mods from people they think will make good moderators, and then asked if they want the job--we certainly don't pay attention to any requests people have made. Quite apart from anything else, you have no idea why the person in question is making the request; they might be doing it just so they can troll someone else they don't like, or something like that!

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll

2013-05-18, 02:10 PM

Generally, I would think that someone ASKING to be made a mod would be someone to be looked at very suspiciously about why they want to be made a mod... And least likely to actually get the position.

Othesemo

2013-05-18, 02:51 PM

I've been modding on another forum for ~1 year. By and large, it's fun business- by some bizarre twist of fate, I was put in charge of the Relationships and Dating subforum. Essentially, I take fifteen minutes of every day to be thankful that I'm not the sort of person who has to ask for relationship advice on a forum, and that's that. Haven't gotten much blowback from moderation- by and large, they're a civil people, where I mod. I like the forum, so being able to help out is reward enough. Gratitude is just gravy.

As an added benefit, I've become good friends with most of the other twenty odd moderators and administrators. Lovely people, who I probably wouldn't have met otherwise.

Grinner

2013-05-18, 04:04 PM

I actually think 4chan wouldn't be that terrible to mod. Maybe you'd need some technical expertise because of the hacking and people who claim fake IDs all the time, though. But the site is so tolerant of what people post (ponies notwithstanding) that I'd think the mods have it easier than on some of the more strict forums.

The other side of that coin is the amount of trash-talk they probably get when they do have to moderate. Their policies are so laissez faire that they attract every single loudmouth on this side of the English language (and few more besides).

Deepbluediver

2013-05-18, 05:29 PM

On the forum I moderate, new moderators are chosen by the existing mods from people they think will make good moderators, and then asked if they want the job--we certainly don't pay attention to any requests people have made. Quite apart from anything else, you have no idea why the person in question is making the request; they might be doing it just so they can troll someone else they don't like, or something like that!

So you ask and people say "yes"? From the descriptions I've been seeing I figured all the good mods where being blackmailed into it. :smalltongue:

If you wish your poor pet, Mr. Fluffles, to remain unharmed, you will ban 3 trolls and 5 spam bots by noon on Friday!

That sort of thing :P

I actually think 4chan wouldn't be that terrible to mod. Maybe you'd need some technical expertise because of the hacking and people who claim fake IDs all the time, though. But the site is so tolerant of what people post (ponies notwithstanding) that I'd think the mods have it easier than on some of the more strict forums.

For an April-Fools day joke they should announce that GitPG-like standards are going to be enforced on 4-chan. :smallamused:

factotum

2013-05-19, 12:55 AM

So you ask and people say "yes"?

Surprisingly enough, yes. Of course, we don't actually word the question "Would you like to spend more of your free time on the forums moderating and earn the opprobrium of any even slightly rowdy forum member? Oh, and we won't pay you for it, either." :smallwink:

Bhu

2013-05-19, 02:26 AM

The other side of that coin is the amount of trash-talk they probably get when they do have to moderate. Their policies are so laissez faire that they attract every single loudmouth on this side of the English language (and few more besides).

Plus there's also a small chance said loudmouth is a decent hacker or potential serial killer.

Rockphed

2013-05-19, 05:14 AM

For an April-Fools day joke they should announce that GitPG-like standards are going to be enforced on 4-chan. :smallamused:

Just don't mention GitP. I would hate for our mods to get a harder day because somebody thought it would be funny to yank the chains of the one of the least civil places on earth. No, civil isn't the right word. Controlled? Restrained? Regulated?

It's 4chan. I don't feel like coming up with an appropriate word for it at 3:12 in the morning. Especially since I don't actually interact with it directly. I just hear of its reputation.

Defiant

2013-05-19, 07:58 AM

I'm an admin for a wiki, so I'll give you some unsolicited honest answers before being swayed by any of the responses here. Hopefully this should shed a little more light on what it's like.

This probably isn't a paid job, right? (though the idea of professional forum moderator ammuses me for some reason).

Correct. I do it because I love my beloved wiki.

But does it ever get tiring?

Kind of, but not in the way you'd expect. Certainly, checking it over and over and correcting various edits does get a bit "unpleasant" in terms of tiring. But nowhere near as unpleasant as having spammers and trolls destroy articles and put in offensive things.

But I will admit that sometimes there are minor things that I'm not sure anymore whether they're correct or not, but then I can leave them to the admin-creator of the wiki to review.

How many hours a day do you spend on this?

Average to around 0.5 to 1 hours a day? For me it's much more "keep checking in the wiki activity for any trolls and misinformation". Almost every single time I open my browser to check something out, I'll also visit the activity page.

Of course, any time I need to spring into action, I need to do so immediately to prevent more damage. So while my girlfriend will tell me food's ready, I'll yell back "hold on, putting out some fires". It's important not only to preserve the usefulness of the wiki against vandalism, but also its sanctity.

A wiki that is vandalized will have whoever sees it think of it as unprofessional or such. Safeguarding is therefore also paramount in attracting and retaining quality contributors, and that will involve ensuring that any article deletions or inappropriate content is up on the wiki for as short a time as possible.

Do you have alternate accounts so that you can just hang out without needing to project the aura of moderator mystique/authority?

No, there is no need.

What's it like dealing with us, the forum-goers?

Wiki contributors are usually very nice people and there are few issues. More of the direct non-troll undos I have to perform are flyby IP addresses that you never see again. But when you end up getting in a conversation with one of the other contributors, everyone's very nice and pleasant.

***

EDIT: OK, so it seems that being a mod is quite nasty compared to wiki admin. For me, I can just permaban a user if they've trolled the wiki and I never hear from them again. Seldom will I have discussions or even arguments with others over disagreements. But I don't have to police a member, while having said member continue to be part of the forum and start talking behind my back. You guys have it much tougher. :smallannoyed:

Deepbluediver

2013-05-19, 09:19 AM

Just don't mention GitP. I would hate for our mods to get a harder day because somebody thought it would be funny to yank the chains of the one of the least civil places on earth. No, civil isn't the right word. Controlled? Restrained? Regulated?

It's 4chan. I don't feel like coming up with an appropriate word for it at 3:12 in the morning. Especially since I don't actually interact with it directly. I just hear of its reputation.

You don't have to worry on that count; 4-chan's mere reputation is enough to keep my curiosity at bay. I have never visited, nor planned to visit that site. I simply was looking for a standard we all where familar with. Frankly, if the reputation is at all deserved, anouncing the enforcement of ANY standards would probably have the same reaction.

And while I do make (an unfortuate amount) of mistakes, I would never intentionally wish even the slightest bit of trouble on either the Giant or his Playground. :smallwink:

I'm an admin for a wiki, so I'll give you some unsolicited honest answers before being swayed by any of the responses here. Hopefully this should shed a little more light on what it's like.

Does it require any sort of special programming knowledge? Or is it just like a more advanced "edit" function? (similar to the various tools you can use to make or modify posst on this forum)

ShadowFireLance

2013-05-19, 03:02 PM

Plus there's also a small chance said loudmouth is a decent hacker or potential serial killer.

:smallbiggrin:

It's funny cause it's true, I've met someone from Anon there.

Defiant

2013-05-21, 10:09 AM

Does it require any sort of special programming knowledge? Or is it just like a more advanced "edit" function? (similar to the various tools you can use to make or modify posst on this forum)

No programming knowledge required, but maybe getting to know at least the basics of wiki article writing and the coding used is useful. We do have advanced edit buttons, and I believe that trolls do not truly realize how easy it is to undo their vandalism. For a few minutes expended by a troll trying to write profanity on an article, I can press one button and undo it in 10 seconds. Naturally, blocking them is important.

Socratov

2013-05-23, 03:59 AM

Generally, I would think that someone ASKING to be made a mod would be someone to be looked at very suspiciously about why they want to be made a mod... And least likely to actually get the position.

smells like Arthur C. Clarke's Jefferson Mark 3 Constitution: You give the power to those who want it the least, and give them time off of being in power if they do it right.

Kindablue

2013-05-23, 04:15 AM

smells like Arthur C. Clarke's Jefferson Mark 3 Constitution: You give the power to those who want it the least, and give them time off of being in power if they do it right.

Huh, I thought that was Douglas Adams.

Socratov

2013-05-23, 04:44 AM

Huh, I thought that was Douglas Adams.

nope, Arthur C. Clarke in (amongst others) Songs form Distant Earth (also an awesome album of Mike Oldfield)

Starwulf

2013-05-23, 05:12 AM

Somehow missed this thread the first time it popped up. Being a mod can be fun if the site is decent, and horrific if the site has a nasty crowd. I've been a mod twice, once for each of the above. The decent site was an Anime reviewing site for various anime, I was both a reviewer and a Mod. The people on there were fairly friendly, spending a lot more time debating what direction various animes were going to take, and how they could differ if x was done instead of y. Had a lot of fun with the people on there, was sad when it ended up merging with a few other sites a few years later, everything changed and I left due to disagreement with how much things were changing.

The other site was for an internet based game, and it went to hell in a hand-basket every-time a new patch was instituted with people for and against it happening. Also, lots and lots of feuds between various players who felt that another person had wronged them in-game. It was such a nightmare that even my love for the game couldn't keep me as a mod for longer then 6 months before I gave it up and went into total lurker mode. Didn't help much, I'd done earned the ire of many a people on the site(as did all the other mods), and I ended up leaving the game a few months later anyways, just couldn't enjoy it anymore with the amount of harassment I would still get in-game, even though I was just a normal player again.

Blackmoor

2013-05-25, 12:54 PM

You wear zoot suits, ride motor scooters, and listen to early Who records.

ComposerSuzuran

2013-05-25, 04:36 PM

I've moderated in two different places, neither of them truly "traditional" moderation experiences.

The first was a little roleplay forum with a small community, very tight-knit. For such a small and unknown place, we had an extremely large spambot problem and I was little more than a glorified janitor. It wasn't really much of an issue, bit of a chore banning all the bots, but it wasn't anything major. We were small enough and good enough friends that we didn't really need to resolve any issues. I wound up leaving when hosting issues took down the forum, though.

The second place is a Pokemon text RPG that I will decline to name, with a... frequently problematic community. Our job as mods wasn't so much cleanup and dispute resolution as keeping the game part of the forum going. It was backwrist-breaking work, and an extremely thankless job. We got next to zero respect from both community and administrators, and I wound up resigning for the sake of my own sanity after school decided to rear its ugly head at the same time I was dealing with a nasty bout of depression. My experiences as a moderator there pretty much drove me away from the community.

inuyasha

2013-05-25, 04:41 PM

Rockphed

2013-05-25, 05:22 PM

I agree with most of these posters except for one thing: the mods on this forum seem to be having fun with their job, and they seem to do it well, I mean, glyphstone, vaynor, and Roland St. Jude do their jobs and are seen everywhere, but arent control freaks. They just do their jobs ;) mods FTW

It helps that, due to the very strict rules, people who frequently cause problems are slowly weeded out. Which means that there might be a reasonably constant number of trouble makers, but they are an ever decreasing percentage. And when the density of trouble makers goes down their ability to cause trouble also decreases.:smallamused:

Bhu

2013-05-26, 01:36 AM

TuggyNE

2013-05-26, 03:10 AM

Thrawn4

2013-05-26, 01:52 PM

I never really thought about it, but if my League of Legends experience is any clue to people's behaviour, then being a mod is sometimes very annoying and frustrating. Therefore I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all admins on this forum!

Rockphed

2013-05-26, 08:22 PM

That presumes the forum population is a static one. Static populations are bad as people grow tired or burned out or just move on after a time. If new people stop joining, the forum slowly dies. With new people come potential new trouble. You don't slowly reduce the percentage of troublemakers so much as exchange them in some cases.

Or mebbe it's just the experience I have where I mod.

Rockphed was, I think, assuming that while the number of troublemakers might be roughly constant, the percentage would shrink because of overall forum growth. Which does not seem unreasonable.

Yeah, maybe I should have been clearer. :smallredface: I was thinking the forum was experiencing linear growth. A fairly constant percentage of new people are troublemakers. Since the ultimate level of moderation is banishment from the playground, there is also a fairly linear removal of troublemakers. Assuming the mods are not too overswamped, there should be a stable number of troublemakers, thus making them an ever declining percentage of the overall population.

In short, tuggyne had the right of it.