Change in Moderation

Unread post by **Mania** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:14 am

Moderating forums is, frankly, a terrible, thankless job. When moderators do a good job, no one notices them; when someone gets upset, moderators take the brunt of the explosion.

Being a moderator and a community member at the same time is even harder. The people you are moderating are also the people you are talking to every day - about pets, PvP, roleplay, even real life stuff. It can be difficult for community members to sort out when a mod is a real person and when they are acting as an extension of the admin's brain.

In order to make it easier for all of us, we're making moderation an anonymous activity. In other words, I’ve made a new account called "Moderator"; this account will be the only one that does moderation and will not otherwise post on these forums. No arguing, no drama, nothing personal, just fixing posts, deleting posts, banning users, and so on.

I'm also recruiting some time from my husband (who runs a professional forum) and some of his moderators to sit behind the Moderator account and help in the short term.

The everyday accounts of Vephriel, Golden, and Kalliope no longer have moderator privileges. This is not a punishment for them - those accounts are going back to being regular community member accounts so that Vephriel, Golden, and Kalliope can be regular community members when they post. (They do, however, get a commemorative title.)

I want to be very clear: I have absolutely no complaints about how those three have done their jobs. They have done everything I asked of them and I can't overstate how much help they have been. As I said, moderating a forum is a thankless job that involves a lot of sacrifice ... and I really appreciate the sacrifices that they made of their time and energy for the benefit of our community.

So ... pop quiz!

Q: What is the number one thing you can do to help keep this forum running smoothly as the home of a friendly, happy community?
A: Use the Report Post button when you see a problem! And "Moderator" will come sweeping in to help.

Pokefarm · Unread post by **Lisaara** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:46 am

I actually like this idea. That way, they wont lose friends because a friend of theirs broke a rule or something and they can be stress-free.

Unread post by **Saturo** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:52 am

This'll make it harder to see when a moderator misbehaves, but I guess Mania will be able to tell based on the IP in the log. Still, a change for the better I believe.

Also, the new titles for the old mod-accounts are wrong, they say emeritus when it should be emerita, since they're all female. ^^

My Pets · Unread post by **Tyuriwen** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 6:54 am

I think it's a really good idea! I mean, when I see purple names it's still like seeing gods amongst mortals, but that's just me

You've all done an amazing job so far it seems, well done =D

Unread post by **Golden** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:08 am

Saturo wrote:This'll make it harder to see when a moderator misbehaves, but I guess Mania will be able to tell based on the IP in the log. Still, a change for the better I believe.

I'm 100% sure none of the current moderators would do anything they shouldn't do. And even if they did from poor judgement or such, I'm sure they wouldn't try to hide their mistake from Mania. We're a lot more humble and sincere bunch than meets the eye. :P

And just to add, I think you're way too worried of the mods 'misbehaving', Sat. Have a little faith? *puppy eyes*

Unread post by **Saturo** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:27 am

Oh, I trust you completely, Saf. I don't really think anything like that is gonna' happen again soon. It's usually a policy to keep mod edits and such publicly available, since complaints against mods do need to be filed occasionally, and is hindered by the anonymity.

Unread post by **cowmuflage** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 1:55 pm

Wait will we still get Pms with like reasons for things being lock? etc

Unread post by **Royi** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:33 pm

Ok. Mania I reported your post. What now?

Unread post by **Azunara** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:53 pm

Okay. It's driving me nuts, I need to know.

Do the former mods now have a lighter purple than their old?

Unread post by **Cialbi** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 6:06 pm

Eh, this does hurt accountability, but I still welcome the change. I've noticed that moderators will naturally find themselves distanced from those that they moderate. Sure, the Stable Masters did work hard to keep themselves from being estranged from the community, but this I regard as being inevitable. Cope all you like, but relationships will be changed. If you want to forever change a friendship, put one of the friends in a position of authority over the other.

Unread post by **Vephriel** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 6:06 pm

Fantastic idea Mania, I'm really fond of the aspect of a communal/impersonal Moderator account. ^^

Azunara wrote:Okay. It's driving me nuts, I need to know.

Do the former mods now have a lighter purple than their old?

I noticed it as well, so I'd say yes...and if not then I guess both of our eyes need to be checked.

Unread post by **AdamSavage** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:37 pm

Vephriel wrote:Fantastic idea Mania, I'm really fond of the aspect of a communal/impersonal Moderator account. ^^

Azunara wrote:Okay. It's driving me nuts, I need to know.

Do the former mods now have a lighter purple than their old?
I noticed it as well, so I'd say yes...and if not then I guess both of our eyes need to be checked.

It's a shade lighter then the old purple.

Unread post by **Azunara** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:39 pm

YES! I'M NOT INSANE!

Unread post by **Cialbi** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:13 pm

Hmm, will there be any changes to the forum assistants?

Unread post by **Mania** » Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:29 pm

Saturo wrote:This'll make it harder to see when a moderator misbehaves, but I guess Mania will be able to tell based on the IP in the log.

It will make it harder for you to put a name to a misbehaving moderator should one misbehave, but I'll be able to tell who is who easily enough.

Saturo wrote:It's usually a policy to keep mod edits and such publicly available, since complaints against mods do need to be filed occasionally, and is hindered by the anonymity.

Perhaps I wasn't clear. Moderation will be public - who in particular is doing the moderation is anonymous. So if you have a complain about the moderation on thread 256, post 8, you report that and we sort it out.

cowmuflage wrote:Wait will we still get Pms with like reasons for things being lock? etc

Yes.

Azunara wrote:Do the former mods now have a lighter purple than their old?

Yes.

Cialbi wrote:Hmm, will there be any changes to the forum assistants?

Good catch - I should have included that in the first message.

Forum assistants can do announcements and sticky posts and lock, move, merge and split threads. They won't be able to delete or edit posts directly anymore.

Unread post by **Slapperfish** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 10:02 pm

(deleted)

Unread post by **Cialbi** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 2:14 am

Might want to update the announcement pertaining to moderation of these forums: http://forums.wow-petopia.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=8997

Unread post by **AdamSavage** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 3:15 am

Mania, Do you use the Moderation Account as well or is it only the mod's ?

Unread post by **Mania** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 9:32 pm

AdamSavage wrote:Mania, Do you use the Moderation Account as well or is it only the mod's ?

Yes, I use it.

Unread post by **AdamSavage** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 9:34 pm

Mania wrote:
AdamSavage wrote:Mania, Do you use the Moderation Account as well or is it only the mod's ?
Yes, I use it.

I thought so, I can tell.

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