That said it makes no sense to have section specific moderators. It's either everything or bust. Having section specific moderators just means we need people that can only look at certain areas and have no influence elsewhere, so if something goes wrong and they're there, they can't even do anything. You should be a moderator for all sections and maybe just pay attention to the areas that need it.

<Snipped quote by Odin>

Any form of moderator rank makes you a representative of the guild's staff team, and that is the angle that I approached the self nomination with. Moderators on this site simply do not nominate themselves if they want to be truly considered. And yes, I don't see the point in offering the rank piecemeal - it's far more effective, based on what I've seen on this site and others, to have teams with full capabilities (and perhaps specific things that they do on the side) that manage the site and its offshoots as a whole as compared to plopping moderators in each section to make a chaotic structure.

Who is "the community"? Who stands for them? Who has properly collected the views of what is referenced as the "community" in any of the posts of this nature? I consider myself a member and wasn't asked about it to form that base.

<Snipped quote by ArenaSnow>

Two of the current moderator team have nominated themselves to Hank. Despite you saying it didn't happen - it did. I should just correct you on that - please not that I'm not disagreeing with everything you said, but just saying that the way things work here isn't according to a standard set of rules, it's down to whatever the moderators feel like. This structure has worked for 10 years now, it seems, but we can all agree that post-guildfall things have changed.

Perhaps you weren't involved in the first thread that was made where we saw a wider reach in terms of users coming in and putting in their two cents (which is where the first list of suggestions came from). Although I vaguely seem to recall you participating, I'm not sure and I'm not in the mood to go hunting for it.

ArenaSnow, I think you're a nice guy, and we've had some nice posting back and forth in other threads. But now it just seems like you're attacking the credibility of this process as a whole based on factors I can't really do much about. No, not everyone on the guild participates, and yes, perhaps that means it's not representative at all. I hope you can also see that I'm trying to achieve something close to that regardless of the limited means I have as a standard user with no access to the discord.

In fact, they don't need the existing moderators at all.

Lo, this is the tarantula's den! Would'st thou see the tarantula itself? Here hangeth its web: touch this, so that it may tremble.
There cometh the tarantula willingly: Welcome, tarantula! Black on thy back is thy triangle and symbol; and I know also what is in thy soul.
Thus do I speak unto you in parable, ye who make the soul giddy, ye preachers of equality! Tarantulas are ye unto me, and secretly revengeful ones!
"Vengeance will we use, and insult, against all who are not like us"—thus do the tarantula-hearts pledge themselves.
"And 'Will to Equality'—that itself shall henceforth be the name of virtue; and against all that hath power will we raise an outcry!"
Ye preachers of equality, the tyrant-frenzy of impotence crieth thus in you for "equality": your most secret tyrant-longings disguise themselves thus in virtue-words!
Their jealousy leadeth them also into thinkers' paths; and this is the sign of their jealousy—they always go too far: so that their fatigue hath at last to go to sleep on the snow.
Distrust all those who talk much of their justice! Verily, in their souls not only honey is lacking.
And when they call themselves "the good and just," forget not, that for them to be Pharisees, nothing is lacking but—power!

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

The nobler and more perfect a thing is, the later and slower is it in reaching maturity. Man reaches the maturity of his reasoning and mental faculties scarcely before he is eight-and-twenty; woman when she is eighteen; but hers is reason of very narrow limitations. This is why women remain children all their lives, for they always see only what is near at hand, cling to the present, take the appearance of a thing for reality, and prefer trifling matters to the most important. It is by virtue of man’s reasoning powers that he does not live in the present only, like the brute, but observes and ponders over the past and future; and from this spring discretion, care, and that anxiety which we so frequently notice in people. The advantages, as well as the disadvantages, that this entails, make woman, in consequence of her weaker reasoning powers, less of a partaker in them. Moreover, she is intellectually short-sighted, for although her intuitive understanding quickly perceives what is near to her, on the other hand her circle of vision is limited and does not embrace anything that is remote; hence everything that is absent or past, or in the future, affects women in a less degree than men. This is why they have greater inclination for extravagance, which sometimes borders on madness. Women in their hearts think that men are intended to earn money so that they may spend it, if possible during their husband’s lifetime, but at any rate after his death.

. . .

Because women in truth exist entirely for the propagation of the race, and their destiny ends here, they live more for the species than for the individual, and in their hearts take the affairs of the species more seriously than those of the individual. This gives to their whole being and character a certain frivolousness, and altogether a certain tendency which is fundamentally different from that of man; and this it is which develops that discord in married life which is so prevalent and almost the normal state.

Holy Shit Wall of Text [+]

<Snipped quote by Odin>
By your own logic, increasing moderator power or adding more co-admins may not result in any real changes, because even Hank can't do much, and they're the highest ranking person after Mahz.

No, this was a comment I made on a previous suggestion that was partially fulfilled. More moderators and a co-admin was the thing we did. The reason it didn't work was because of the fact that the role powers are ingrained in the coding, ergo, Mahz needs to change the code. It has nothing to do with whether or not we increase power or add co-admins at this point because we already did that. The thing that needs to happen now is for Mahz to operationalize those changes so they can do what they were intended to do.

So no, by my logic, we never gave the moderators and co-admin the powers they need to do their job better. So no, your point is false.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
You want to whip up some sprites for the staff to plug in, then?

I could if I was asked to help, but I was not, so I shan't. Unless they ask me. I offered to make emotes for the guild discord and I can still do that if needed.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
If you actually want these events, you should organize them.

I no longer have access to the discord, so no, I shouldn't. That'd be impossible. Also, this wasn't my suggestion, so I mean, no, I'm under no obligation to do so.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
Can you provide hard evidence that the rules aren't being enforced, preferably in the form of links to specific instances?

Per forum moderating standards enforcement of the rules isn't made public, and I no longer have access to the discord, so no, I cannot, but why don't you do your own research for once?

<Snipped quote by Odin>
Except there are a dozen entries in the "What has been completed:" section to your first post in this thread, and the staff have posted in virtually every thread about this subject, which is proof that discussion and debate about the state of RPG is not useless at all, things do happen, and the moderators do talk back.

Far more hasn't been done than has been done, as I'm sure you can count.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
If you don't mind me asking, when did you last post in that subforum?

Again, it wasn't even my suggestion, but I posted a comment saying 'what the fuck' there 3 days ago, and besides that, went in there a few more times prior to that to welcome people when I felt like it.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
Can you provide hard evidence that this is causing problems?

I think it is generally understood that inactive moderators are a problem. The real thing you should be asking is whether or not there are good reasons for this. I'm reading here that there are. Are you satisfied?

<Snipped quote by Odin>
Why?

Community building. It's my own personal opinion that is likely never going to happen, but if I don't stand up and say what I think I also have no right to complain.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
I think that having moderators with authority over the forum, chat, or both would help spread out the weight of their responsibilities.

.. you mean they currently don't have authority?

<Snipped quote by Odin>
If you ask me, I don't see anything wrong with the current system.

Just because nothing is wrong with it doesn't mean there are better ideas.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
Maybe it'd be less aesthetically pleasing to have over a handful of guides pinned in each roleplaying subforum, instead of just letting curious users go read them in the Articles & Guides subforum?

That's subjective. You'd have a good point if the articles and guides subforum was better represented closer to the top instead of down at the bottom where, indeed, nobody really reads it.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
Perhaps there's tension between you and some of the moderators, which makes them less inclined to speak with you. I haven't had any problems with talking to them about various site-related topics, but that's just my experience.

I would like to think moderators are open to talking to everyone whenever they are available regardless of their personal opinion of said person, because that's what they're there to do.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
How much of the community is dissatisfied with the status quo?

No idea. Host a questionnaire for it.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
It's not the moderators' responsibility to deal with off-site matters. If something happens on the forum or chat, then they have to respond.

I'm gonna start sending you death threats off-site and we'll see if it's not of interest to the guild.

Nah, I think that it's at least something they should consider.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
While I can agree that we might need more moderators, I would seriously consider going to another forum if even a single community-elected power-hungry member joined their ranks. This is because there's no effective and reasonable way to get the community to vote on a new moderator without someone boosting their votes via alternate accounts.

??? ok

<Snipped quote by Odin>
Agreed.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
Agreed.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
I never really cared for RPGNews, but maybe you could make your own version of it?

The last time that happened the account got nuked and banned.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
I never really cared for those, but maybe you could make your own version of it, or offer ideas for potential contests? Just because we have Contest moderators doesn't mean that we need to have contests at the moment, but I do find it curious that section hasn't had a post in roughly 3 months.

:)

<Snipped quote by Odin>
Moderators don't need to share those things with the community. They just need to moderate the forum and chat.

Then they should also put up with critique that people see nothing happening. No?

<Snipped quote by Odin>
For the love of Mahz, please don't.
Again not my suggestion.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
I joined RPG a handful of years before Guildfall, and virtually every clique that was around then has either vanished or splintered. Given enough time, the current cliques will end up the same way. This is just how the internet works, and the moderators are only obligated to ensure that rules aren't being broken.

no shit lol

<Snipped quote by Odin>
I wouldn't be upset if any of those subforums were axed, so long as they remained inactive for an entire month.

So you'd be content keeping a subforum if only 10 people used that subforum? What do you consider inactive?

<Snipped quote by Odin>
Can you elaborate on this?

Wasn't my suggestion so no I can't. You can do your own research and read the previous thread.

<Snipped quote by Odin>
Would you prefer that the moderators be trigger-happy with their banning powers, and never let people appeal their bans?

Not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation.

I'll throw you a bone. Opening these may help you:

Hider [+]

<Snipped quote by Odin>
Considering that moderators have replied to this and similar threads, and that they regularly post in the chat, I'm inclined to disagree with you on this. Also, when was the last time you stopped to chat with a janitor in real life?

We're gonna equate them to janitors now just because Hank made an analogy that they're janitors? OK, I guess I'm gonna throw shit on the floor in front of them too and not clean up after myself because 'we have janitors'

what kind of tomfoolery holy shit

Reading catch's post was what tuned me into this, but I did in fact use the new guild join feature that was in the general chat. It made things rather easy. I saw the message, clicked into the thread and had a welcome put up split seconds after the user posted. It's entirely our issue to welcome people, and I try to throw at least some sort of welcome to people who haven't had a response when I feel like hopping over there, which is fairly frequently.

In other words, when it comes to welcoming, we're just a lazy old bunch of bastards it seems.

>start civil discussion
>people that disagree with the thread's premise come in and immediately start being hostile
>"Come on guys, keep it civil."