I like what I'm seeing here in terms of mods being closer to the community. On EqF, there's glows and special things done to the postbit to make moderators stand out, whereas here, the only thing visibly special about them is the color of their name, which isn't always immediately apparent. This makes it a lot easier, for me at least, to be able to interact with them without specifically trying to avoid doing or saying something stupid that would make me look bad. Looking at past mistakes is another issue I've been facing on the other site. Again going back to the CM, she seems to hold a grudge for the way I would "tryhard for staff" as described in my previous paragraph, though I feel as though I've improved a lot in that regard, her stubbornness and unwillingness to interact with me makes it impossible to show that. I'm also been dealing with a regular member on the site who treats me the same way. He hates me because of the way things ended between me and my ex, and refused to say anything to my face, which really pissed me off. Eventually I was able to talk to that guy, but he continues to hold onto the thought that I'm an ******* and even made a huge deal to the staff about a joke I had made in the shoutbox (which was a really poor joke, but could have easily been ignored and moved on from), causing me to receive an infraction and a resulting day ban. So yeah, recent mistakes, however, the retribution for those mistakes were compounded by people dwelling mistakes from the past.
In a super mood because Agnieszka Radwanska just spanked Victoria Azarenka's pretty little ass!!! I love both of them but Aga is my fave!
Since we're talking about moderation, here's what I've experienced at the 'top of the food chain' so to speak. I started off as a radio DJ and it was pretty darn fun. I loved doing it and I'd have been happy staying in that role to this day. However things started changing and people saw me as a real trustworthy person so I started moving up the ladder. I learned that with more responsibility given to me, the difficulty and fun of the job changed exponentially. It was hard work for little reward and the jobs I had to do I felt prevented me from interacting with the community in the way I wanted to. One of the best parts about being DJ was having fun chatting to the listeners but I never got that experience when I stepped up. Maybe it's me, maybe it's the way I did the job... long story short, we do what we do for you guys to have fun. It's hard to be part of the forums when you're expected to be more than you want to be ALL the time. It's like expecting a cop to be nice and professional even when not on duty, it creates a lot of stress. It changes people and all I can say is I'm glad only the minority of the past staff has changed in a detrimental way. My advice to current/future staff? Don't take the job too seriously. It's a responsibility, but don't let it get to you. And don't forget to have fun when you can, not every post you do has to be official.
Then comes the unfortunate truth that the few times you don't act official and professional, the normal users have a habit on jumping on it and pointing out that you're being unprofessional, making you go back to being a bit more rigid. It's impressive how much more posting freedom you have as a normal user as compared to a staff member.
That reminds me of a couple of ex-staff members from another forum (one of whom was apparently the queen of hardass mods back in the day) who regularly make blog posts harshly criticizing the current staff for being "unprofessional" because they're not being aloof with the members, even going as far as making what can be seen as thinly veiled personal attacks against some of the staff...but in such terms that they can't technically be nailed with an abusive language warning. Wanna know what's worse than an unprofessional staff? Unprofessional members (staff or regular, ex- or current) who abuse their knowledge of loopholes and technicalities to launch smear campaigns against decent people like a bunch of vindictive D-bags.
Yes yes yes yes yes. I hate those people, they're the worst. They walk a tightrope on the border of breaking the rules, pushing things as far as they can and groaning when mods do something about it, claiming abuse. It's annoying and only causes stress for the mods. It's why regular members need to be vigilant and report stuff that bothers them when a member does stuff like that. Enough reports and evidence of the member pushing boundaries will give the mods the ability to do something about them. In effect, regular members are more able to promote change on the site than mods are. The issue is when there are different groups cause issues with each other and mods have to do something to eliminate the drama. Usually nobody is satisfied with the outcome and people start complaining about the mods not doing their job very well. It's a tough position and you have to be ready to face that criticism if you are to become a part of the staff team. The thing about the staff team is that I've seen how close-knit that group becomes. It's rewarding to have those other people on your team support you and help with all the decisions you have to make as a staff member. Yes you may grow away from the regular members a little bit, but at least you have those people who really know all the stuff you're now facing. And they're there to help you every step of the way.
This is quite true. As admin I was always troubled by doing something about it. It's only now over a year later I see how important it is to get rid of that as soon as possible. It's not abuse, it's pest control (to put it bluntly). This is also true. While it might seem we're distant from the users, we have each other. I've often seen members on the forums hanging out in a single social group and the staff sort of end up being one of their own. Even if a staff member quits, if it's on good terms then usually they'll keep hanging out with the staff. Some see it as a 'VIP' club, but I see it more as a 'veterans' group.
Whatchu talking about? I do my best to act like a normal member despite that fancy glow. Also, I know who you're talking about and I had a falling out with him last night that most likely ended our friendship. I couldn't be happier about it, honestly.
I'm happy for you! And try all you want, people will treat you differently just because of that glow. It's not any fault of your own, it's just the way people are.
I'll do whatever I can because I'm tired of being treated higher up than everyone else. That's not who I am and I never wanted to be that way. Kinda helps that no one takes me as serious as the others, anyway.
Most people irritate me these days, and I don't really feel like getting into it right now. Let's just say that if the world were going to end tomorrow, whipping away all traces of us worthless meatbags, I'd be pretty content about it.
Old site drama? Man, wish I could been there to spice things up. (Sarcasm Detector ON) ****storms love to follow me around for some reason. For a while my name became a punchline. Glad that's changed to 99.9% of people here now though.
Those certainly were some interesting days... I'm not proud of a lot of stuff that I've done on here, but I've improved since then. And for once, I'm glad people see that. Well, except for someone, but perhaps it was a lost cause from the beginning... Being stuck in the past and refusing to see change in someone because they differ in opinions from you is petty.
hmmm, if the past is of equal importance to the future, than can mistakes ever be forgiven? and if the present is all that matters, do the dead no longer matter? weeeeeeeird musings
In my opinion mistakes MUST be forgiven eventually. It's not healthy to keep grudges, especially if there's no point.
The only reason to hate someone is if they hate you. And that's not even real hate, it's just annoyance.
