Tex Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 12 minutes ago, munlander1 said: How do you guys "train" when you guys become mods. I don't think they just set you free after joining the irc chat. It's freer than you might expect, at least nowadays. It was probably different once upon a time, but the main jobs of newer moderators is just to experiment and handle low-risk moderation duties. Bigger jobs are usually handed off to higher-ups until said higher-ups are confident to sort of coach newer moderators through the steps of doing something bigger, like trimming a thread of forum-inappropriate content. It's entirely on-the-job training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snark Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 22 minutes ago, munlander1 said: How do you guys "train" when you guys become mods. I don't think they just set you free after joining the irc chat. Actually, that's basically what they do. They pretty much just hand us the keys to the kingdom and say "please try not to burn it down." The strategy here is to be very careful to only recruit trustworthy people, and then trust them. It's a self-regulating process. The kinds of people they recruit as moderators are people that have already shown themselves to be careful, prudent individuals. It's assumed that we're grown-ups who will know when we're out of our depth (which is pretty much everywhere at first) and ask for help. There's a sub-forum specifically for moderators that only we can see, and it has its fair share of "how-to" stickies. Also, moderating is a consensus process. There's some stuff that even a newly-fledged moderator can do pretty much unsupervised, like approving posts from newbies in the queue, or moving posts that are clearly in the wrong sub-forum, or hiding duplicate posts, that sort of thing. For more "serious" cases, like handing out warnings and infraction points, it's assumed that one will consult with the other mods before taking action like that (which we tend to do anyways, even after we've been mods for a while). We have our own IRC channel where we hang out, and most substantive moderator action is the result of a group decision. [EDIT] Ninja'd by Tex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tex Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 7 minutes ago, Snark said: We have our own IRC channel where we hang out, and most substantive moderator action is the result of a group decision. This is actually, safe to say, the key to the success of the moderation team. Often times, unless it's a minor issue such as moving a thread or even locking a necro, the moderators behave like a hive mind, and input from as many sources as possible contributes and eventually boils down to a conclusive action, executed by a single moderator. This prevents abuses of any kind, as moderators that have a prior interest in a troublesome spot will almost 100% opt out of the decision-making process to avoid corrupting any decision that is made. It is a very efficient, very careful, and most of all, a very effective system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snark Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 23 minutes ago, Tex said: moderators that have a prior interest in a troublesome spot will almost 100% opt out of the decision-making process to avoid corrupting any decision that is made ^ This is a pretty important aspect of moderating. "You can moderate a thread, or participate in it, but not both." It not only allows us to ensure the integrity of moderator decisions (by ensuring there's no conflict of interest)... but it also gives us the freedom to have fun. Which is more important than you might realize. Remember that we're not just moderators. We're forum users. If we had to be "on duty" all the time, so that we couldn't actually participate... that would go a long way towards sucking all the joy out of the experience. Which would be a problem, since moderators are volunteers, and we have to make sure that people have a reason to say "yes" if asked whether they'd like to join the ranks. I know that I, for one, would have said a resounding "no thank you" if becoming a moderator had meant that I couldn't be a regular forum user anymore. Even Spider-Man needs to be Peter Parker most of the time, or he'd go nuts. Fortunately, it's not a problem. I can just participate in the forums mostly as I would have done anyway if I'd never been a moderator. If there's a thread in which I'm participating as a user, and I see something that I think needs moderator action, my recourse is simple: I just report the post (same as any forum user might do), adding a comment that I'm recusing myself due to my own participation, and let someone else handle it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diomedea Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 7 hours ago, munlander1 said: How do you guys "train" when you guys become mods. I don't think they just set you free after joining the irc chat. Back when I joined there was a short induction, so a more experienced moderator (not necessarily a senior) walked you in the rules and tricks of the business. Then I could still keep asking any in the team whenever in doubt, and get advice on each case as those came. Of course there was also a guide, that I was instructed to read carefully (which I did), and some principles written "in stone" coming from times old. Since the switch to IPS there is a newer guide showing how to do things in it, that's usually the first step for new mods. We actually keep a watch on new moderators, and often rush should they ask for help. When a more complex case comes, if they are around and not already on it, we like to get them involved so they can practice on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstah Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 (edited) 11 hours ago, Snark said: That's Rule #1, which they drill into us right at the start of Moderator Boot Camp. The Rule #1 I've been taught was "You do not talk about the...", um, wait. 10 hours ago, munlander1 said: I don't think they just set you free after joining the irc chat. I don't even remember exactly what it was, but in my case after joining the IRC I was sent to put out some mild fires. There was some introduction, of course, but still I was terrified I'd screw up. Oh, and my first spambot ban. I was like, 'Are we sure I can click this?', then -boom- posts deleted and user banned. Edited February 22, 2017 by monstah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Iron Crown Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 On 2/21/2017 at 4:00 PM, Dman979 said: I'm pretty sure that RIC was telling the truth there. I've never know him to be sarcastic about anything at all. Sarcasm is my second favorite kind of -asm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snark Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 10 minutes ago, Red Iron Crown said: Sarcasm is my second favorite kind of -asm. Right after iconoclasm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dman979 Posted February 23, 2017 Author Share Posted February 23, 2017 18 minutes ago, Red Iron Crown said: Sarcasm is my second favorite kind of -asm. 7 minutes ago, Snark said: Right after iconoclasm! Is it right before overenthusiasm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munlander1 Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 If someone's account got hacked on squads side and they got banned. Would they get there account back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkOwl57 Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 22 hours ago, Red Iron Crown said: Sarcasm is my second favorite kind of -asm. Sarcasm is my #1 favorite -asm. Right ahead of Enthusiasm. On 2/21/2017 at 4:47 PM, Snark said: TL;DR I've heard that mentioned many-a-time, but never explained... halp? On 2/21/2017 at 7:06 PM, Dman979 said: So you're telling me that there's no peanut butter involved at all? I personally HATE peanut butter. I'd much rather prefer either pudding or..... hmmmm........ Jello? On 2/21/2017 at 7:36 PM, Snark said: Though we do allow almond butter for those who may have peanut allergies. It's not an allergy; I just hate it. On 2/21/2017 at 7:36 PM, Snark said: Oh, no worries there. That's Rule #1, which they drill into us right at the start of Moderator Boot Camp. It's for our own protection. "GOOD MORNING MODERATOR RECRUITS! I AM YOUR DRILL SERGEANT @sal_vager!!!!! NOW, THE FIRST RULE OF MODERATING: YOU DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EAT @Vanamonde!!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ten Key Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 34 minutes ago, DarkOwl57 said: I've heard that mentioned many-a-time, but never explained... halp? TL;DR = Too Long, Did Not Read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkOwl57 Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snark Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 1 hour ago, DarkOwl57 said: I've heard that mentioned many-a-time, but never explained... halp? As @Ten Key pointed out, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TL;DR. I know that I'm a very verbose person, prone to battering people with great lumbering walls of text. I gather that some people actually enjoy reading through all that stuff, because occasionally I manage to be interesting or amusing. Lots of people just want the gist, though, so I've tried to make a habit of providing a brief little executive summary up top so that people can skip all the verbiage unless they really feel like wading through it. I tend to use TL;DR a lot to label such summaries, because it's a fairly common meme these days. Another technique I sometimes use is to delegate lengthy and possibly less-relevant or more-technical subsections into spoilers. You might think that the best solution would be "just don't be so ridiculously verbose all the time, Snark." While I grant the soundness and wisdom of such advice, alas, I find myself constitutionally incapable of putting a sock in it. I've tried, it just doesn't work. So I've had to content myself with trying to provide toeholds (such as TL;DR and spoilers) to reduce the collateral damage to any innocent bystanders who may get caught in my logorrhea's blast radius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deddly Posted February 24, 2017 Share Posted February 24, 2017 /me reads thread title /me reads a lot of recent posts /me fails to find much correlation /me looks forward to seeing some more questions to the moderators about the forums rather than general chitchat ;). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munlander1 Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, Deddly said: me looks forward to seeing some more questions to the moderators about the forums rather than general chitchat ;). I found a question that has not been answered! 8 hours ago, munlander1 said: If someone's account got hacked on squads side and they got banned. Would they get there account back? Edited February 25, 2017 by munlander1 Sounded really rude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deddly Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Interesting question. First I'd want to know why the account got banned instead of simply locked down until we could find out what was going on But it's difficult to answer a question like that because we don't have any Standard Operating Procedure for such an event. It would be handled according to the circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinkAllKerb'' Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 (edited) On 23/02/2017 at 10:55 PM, Red Iron Crown said: Sarcasm is my second favorite kind of -asm. no hide E(lectronics/arly). A.(rts/ccess) xDr Edited February 25, 2017 by WinkAllKerb'' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-ism // // .. // // truncated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munlander1 Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Could someone edit the op for this: and list the people that don't want to play? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanamonde Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 @munlander1, maintaining/altering game rules is the job of the game's OP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munlander1 Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 12 minutes ago, Vanamonde said: @munlander1, maintaining/altering game rules is the job of the game's OP. Was just wondering because the op has not been active since 2015 thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munlander1 Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Is It possible to ban a user from commenting in a thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanamonde Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Members can be banned from the whole forum or from a subdivision of the forum, but not individual threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munlander1 Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Has anyone made a separate account to like their own posts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEpicSquared Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 1 minute ago, munlander1 said: Has anyone made a separate account to like their own posts? notamod Probably, but it'd be hard to tell. /notamod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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