Suggestion Bring back the old Mod team

The Catboy · Dec 9, 2016

When I first joined, there used to be both GMs and Mods. GMs oversaw the whole forums and the Mods oversaw sections. There also used to be 2 to 3 mods per section, which really helped control the quality of posting on the site.
I've noticed since we've gotten right of the Mods and favor of just having a GM team, the quality of the site has really gone down. I am seeing far more issues coming up with flaming, harassment, trolling, bumping spam, ect. which did happen before, but was always quickly taken care of because we had a big enough staff to do it. But recently it seems the staff here are becoming grossly overworked or simply busy in real life to really dedicate enough time to dealing with these issues. Which is why I suggest we bring back the old Mod team to really delegate those tasks and really have a greater staff presence on the forums. Something to really help make the job easier for everyone, well improving the quality of the site.

ItsKipz · Dec 9, 2016

Cyan said:
edit:
Users liking my message before reading it ! haha
maybe you won't like what I said

Nah, i read the post. I understood what you said and left a like!

Cyan · Dec 9, 2016

I wonder how it would work if we made a thread to sign as potential candidate.
We usually don't like users who request to be moderators, and are more looking at the users helping others in silence, instead of the wanabe mods which tell other users what to write or what to do how to act etc.
but of course these "silent users" are harder to spot

edit:
The helpful users I suggested were rejected, because of lack of time.
developers are helpful, but are always developing

that's too bad for you ! well, you'll understand that you have to choose and do what you like.
I'm part of them, doing too much things and ending doing nothing fully...

VinsCool · Dec 9, 2016

Cyan said:
edit:
Users liking my message before reading it ! haha
maybe you won't like what I said

I read it entirely before I even considered to give a like

evandixon · Dec 9, 2016

Cyan said:
I wonder how it would work if we made a thread to sign as potential candidate.
We usually don't like users who request to be moderators, and are more looking at the users helping others in silence, instead of the wanabe mods which tell other users what to write or what to do how to act etc.
but of course these "silent users" are harder to spot

Might be best to have applications be submitted via PM or an unbrowsable forum, but this is what I'd do if I needed moderators and had nobody in mind.

Tom Bombadildo · Dec 9, 2016

While I don't think the current mod team needs to necessarily be increased at this point, I would say that having one or two section mods for the bigger sections would probably be a good idea.

The problem with that, though, is finding those users would who make worthwhile section mods. I will always stick by the "if you have to ask to be a mod, you're likely not worthy" sentiment. Finding the right person to do the job is key, and when you have a giant cancerous section like the 3DS one it's a bit more of a challenge to find those right people who are both knowledgeable on the section and also not a complete asshole to new users asking the same questions over and over. Judging by what I see in the 3DS section every time I bother visiting it, that's not exactly a big list.

Regardless of what action is chosen, I'd rather this decision be made by staff members rather than user nominations or applications.

evandixon · Dec 9, 2016

Tom Bombadildo said:
The problem with that, though, is finding those users would who make worthwhile section mods. I will always stick by the "if you have to ask to be a mod, you're likely not worthy" sentiment. Finding the right person to do the job is key, and when you have a giant cancerous section like the 3DS one it's a bit more of a challenge to find those right people who are both knowledgeable on the section and also not a complete asshole to new users asking the same questions over and over.

I understand the reasoning but disagree. Being a moderator is basically a job, having to put in the time to clean things up and lay down the law, and you need people who are interested/want to be a moderator (and who have a recent post history that indicates the user is sane/helpful). To avoid power abuse, define clear moderation policies, and make it clear that deviating from these policies results in a loss of privileges.

Tom Bombadildo · Dec 9, 2016

UniqueGeek said:
I understand the reasoning but disagree. Being a moderator is basically a job, having to put in the time to clean things up and lay down the law, and you need people who are interested/want to be a moderator (and who have a recent post history that indicates the user is sane/helpful). To avoid power abuse, define clear moderation policies, and make it clear that deviating from these policies results in a loss of privileges.

The current mod staff was chosen this way, I see no reason why this should be any different. If the staff sees someone who they consider is "good enough" to be in a mod position (section-exclusive or global), that person is more than likely going to accept.

This isn't just choosing some random person and saying "hey you're a mod now get to work", this is finding someone who makes worthwhile posts, makes proper reports of things that should be reported, is an all around good user and is helpful to the site. Again, if you have to ask to be considered for a mod position, you're likely lacking in one of those qualities.

evandixon · Dec 9, 2016

Tom Bombadildo said:
The current mod staff was chosen this way, I see no reason why this should be any different.

The most recent staff members of Project Pokemon volunteered and are trustworthy, so I don't think it matters that much either way.

(Also, be careful about using previous procedures working fine as reason to not try new ones, because that's a common logical fallacy.)

Tom Bombadildo said:
This isn't just choosing some random person and saying "hey you're a mod now get to work", this is finding someone who makes worthwhile posts, makes proper reports of things that should be reported, is an all around good user and is helpful to the site.

This should be applicable to all moderator candidates, whether volunteers or otherwise.

Tom Bombadildo said:
Again, if you have to ask to be considered for a mod position, you're likely lacking in one of those qualities.

I do not believe that this is a safe assumption to make. Applying to be a moderator could be because of any number of reasons, like seeing the need for more moderators, no more being recruited, and volunteering to help.

raystriker · Dec 9, 2016

I guess the members of the forum could also come into play. I don't exactly know what the system is but if there could be some members flagging a geniunely malicious post/s more than 10 times, that thread/post is given utmost precedence.
And a mod takes care of it asap, since that's what the people want.

But at the end of the day, I think that members should not react to toxic posts, just quietly report. Also in the case of warez etc.

The Catboy · Dec 9, 2016

Cyan said:
I wonder how it would work if we made a thread to sign as potential candidate.
We usually don't like users who request to be moderators, and are more looking at the users helping others in silence, instead of the wanabe mods which tell other users what to write or what to do how to act etc.
but of course these "silent users" are harder to spot

edit:
The helpful users I suggested were rejected, because of lack of time.
developers are helpful, but are always developing
that's too bad for you ! well, you'll understand that you have to choose and do what you like.
I'm part of them, doing too much things and ending doing nothing fully...

I am just happy to see that the staff has seen this thread and are taking it into consideration.
I don't mean to tell you guys how to do your jobs, but as long time user I am always willing to give suggestions to help the site out.

PizzaBitez · Dec 10, 2016

I know my opinion doesn't really matter, but I really agree that getting more mods on the 3ds section is really a great idea. I have had many questions but figured out them mostly by just searching them on the forum. Maybe a bigger emphasis on the search function would be great idea as well.

The Catboy · Dec 15, 2016

PizzaBitez said:
I know my opinion doesn't really matter, but I really agree that getting more mods on the 3ds section is really a great idea. I have had many questions but figured out them mostly by just searching them on the forum. Maybe a bigger emphasis on the search function would be great idea as well.

This really isn't just one section that an issue. It's the the site as a whole that seems to need more help.
Also the Search funtion sucks. Sorry, but even the staff can't stand behind it. But, google does help a lot more. I find 90% of GBATemp searches through using a few keywords on Google followed by "GBATemp."

Slattz · Dec 16, 2016

The reason sectional mods should be brought back is simply for stuff like this. Its been going on for nearly 4 hours now.

dimmidice · Dec 16, 2016

Tom Bombadildo said:
this is finding someone who makes worthwhile posts,

I've been on a fair few forums in my day and some of the best mods were ones that barely posted at all. Not every mod needs to be a community manager. Some just do behind the screens stuff and do it well. e.g. look through reports, delete spam, delete bot spam.

Tom Bombadildo · Dec 16, 2016

dimmidice said:
I've been on a fair few forums in my day and some of the best mods were ones that barely posted at all. Not every mod needs to be a community manager. Some just do behind the screens stuff and do it well. e.g. look through reports, delete spam, delete bot spam.

Worthwhile =/= many.

Deleted User · Dec 16, 2016

Slattz said:
The reason sectional mods should be brought back is simply for stuff like this. Its been going on for nearly 4 hours now.

Yeah, but people need to report this stuff also.

Deleted member 377734 · Dec 16, 2016

I agree with the above posts , the temp need's some more mods . not a lot mind you , just 1 or 2 . couldn't you check through people who have a high post count, a good rep , have more or less proven themselves to be fair , have been here for a while . and offer them a job via PM , also just a question if someone signs on as a reporter on the temp , do they get mod powers?
just a few days ago I found some bot (probably) spam in the user submitted news section , and while it was taken down fairly quickly after I tagged cyan . I coulnd't think of any other mods I knew of on gbatemp besides veho and bortz . so yeah I think the mod team is overworked and underpaid

evandixon · Dec 17, 2016

lcie nimbus said:
so yeah I think the mod team is overworked and underpaid

They're not paid at all (obviously), which is why recruiting a few local moderators should be no big deal. There's lots of helpful members out there to choose from.

Issac · Dec 17, 2016

Cyan said:
Users liking my message before reading it ! haha
maybe you won't like what I said

That's called "sucking up"

haha.

I think I volunteered to help out many years ago, before I knew about the "ask and we don't want you" policy. I understand that policy though, because I've noticed a lot of people who seems to want the title to use as bragging rights.
To me, post count doesn't have anything to do with moderating qualifications at all. Some mods have been all over the place, some have been silent. Just like regular users. Some have been here for 10+ years and only have 500 posts, but often very insightful or well thought out posts. Some have been here for 3 months and have 4000 posts, not seldom answering questions with an echo of a previous answer, or commenting short and non-helping comments after every reply to get away from double-posting. "I agree with that", "Haha, that's funny", "That's an interesting viewpoint".

More on the topic of "more staff": I have been reporting some spam and flaming through the years, and sometimes (certainly not often) there have been long delays before anything happens. Obvious spam threads that have been open for a couple of hours after reporting. That probably boils down to be caused by all the mods being offline at the same time temporarily, or just having a lot of reports to go through before (or a combination).
I didn't think of it, but I've often reported with only a few words as a "reason". @Cyan made me realise that now, that it's not that helpful. Sometimes I do write a short summary: "Trying to convince a newbie to microwave his 3DS". However, when spam is spam, I just write "spam". There's nothing more to it in my opinion.

And on the topic of opinions: More mods = more opinions. More opinions can raise the risk of more conflicts. Conflicting opinions on what should be removed, what's against the rules, what's flaming and what's just harsh critique.
More mods = more people who has to follow the same guidelines, and make sure not to step out of line. A few years ago, the R-word was banned. I still try not to use it, because of the arguments made against it back then. But I've seen people use it freely now, sometimes even by staff. Now, if someone would consider that a banned word and starting deleting comments because of that, while the rest of the crew finds the word O.K. there'd be discrepancies in the interpretations of the rules. Some users would feel wronged, when some are punished while others are not. Smaller crew = less discrepancies.

So there are both pro's and con's to adding more mods.

Deleted member 377734 · Dec 17, 2016

UniqueGeek said:
They're not paid at all (obviously), which is why recruiting a few local moderators should be no big deal. There's lots of helpful members out there to choose from.

it's an expression.

Suggestion Bring back the old Mod team

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