Thoughts on Current Set of Moderators

[Lozjam]

Lately, I have noticed something a little bit. There is continued distress between moderators and forum members.

This is natural, considering that we had a large batch of new moderators added, and that creates new problems with new moderators finding their feet, and new problems as well.

For this thread, it is for us, the forum members, to speak respectfully to this new set of moderators.

This is not a thread to bully, berate, or be mad at any specific moderator. This is merely a thread for constructive criticism and general thoughts on this new team.

I want to say how grateful I am for moderators, and I would like to call a lot of moderators my friends. However, there is still much to be improved on I feel.

1. The first of which is. I feel that moderators aren't on the same page a lot of time. What is okay and not okay isn't clearly matched between moderators. Even some instances where some moderators may partake in trolling. I get that there are bound to be differences between different moderators, however, I feel sometimes that it could be way better.

2. I feel that overall involvement of moderators in this community, is overall lacking. For example, moderators rarely post in the Breath of the Wild subforum. For a Zelda forum, I feel moderators rarely take involvement with Zelda related topics. It seems that moderators really only stick to the Shoutbox, Mature discussion, and general discussion. I think moderators should partake more and be more active in the Zelda subforums.

3. I also feel that some of our newest moderators, don't feel approachable. It almost feels like moderators are "better" than just normal members. I know I am not the only one to think this. This was not really a problem, at the beginning of the year, for example. However, I feel a lot of oppression of normal members by moderators. And I do not think that is right.

That said, I still want to thank moderators for doing their job, and things could be way worse. I just think we needed a thread to adress any problems members might have with the moderation team in a civil manner.

 

[Pen]

I think a thread like this is good. As long as it stays friendly of course. ^^ I will go through your three points and give you the best response I can.

1. The first of which is. I feel that moderators aren't on the same page a lot of time. What is okay and not okay isn't clearly matched between moderators. Even some instances where some moderators may partake in trolling. I get that there are bound to be differences between different moderators, however, I feel sometimes that it could be way better.

Of course we're all different individuals with different values so naturally sometimes different actions might be performed depending on the moderator. Most of the time however, we take our time discussing the problem at hand together in a group. That way we are guaranteed to be on the same page. I do understand though if it seems like sometimes we aren't, but we still stick to the forum rules, so as far as I'm aware we haven't left anything permanently wrong. Also, if there's been any recent troll behaviour from a moderator I must have missed it.

2. I feel that overall involvement of moderators in this community, is overall lacking. For example, moderators rarely post in the Breath of the Wild subforum. For a Zelda forum, I feel moderators rarely take involvement with Zelda related topics. It seems that moderators really only stick to the Shoutbox, Mature discussion, and general discussion. I think moderators should partake more and be more active in the Zelda subforums.

This is the one of your points that I agree with the most. I know I'm guilty of this and I understand if you might wanna see more widespread involvement by the whole staff. I do read threads from all over our forums, but I know I don't post everywhere. I will make an effort to change this.

3. I also feel that some of our newest moderators, don't feel approachable. It almost feels like moderators are "better" than just normal members. I know I am not the only one to think this. This was not really a problem, at the beginning of the year, for example. However, I feel a lot of oppression of normal members by moderators. And I do not think that is right.

I was able to relate to your first two points, however I don't agree with this one. As far as I know there's no moderator who thinks themselves better than other members just because they're a moderator. What kind of oppression are you talking about? I feel like I'm pretty approachable. And I feel like the rest of the moderator team is too. Since I became a moderator I've been having healthy conversations with all sorts of forum dwellers, from staff members, to old members, to complete new members I'd never seen before. I respond to any message I get and I do it as politely as I can.

Again, as long as this thread remains constructive I think it's a great idea for a thread. It's good being able to discuss things openly like this.

 

[Mido]

Before I add my two cents, I just wanted to thank you for posting this thread, Lozjam. I've personally felt I haven't been doing the best job as of late, and I appreciate the perspective that you outline above. So once again, thank you.

This is natural, considering that we had a large batch of new moderators added, and that creates new problems with new moderators finding their feet, and new problems as well.

This is the largest thing that's been bothering me about my own performance as a mod thus far. I feel I've been far too unsure and not very confident in my sense of judgment on varying cases, which partly can be attributed to my own inexperience at the position (which only goes so far as an excuse). It's been a little over two months, so increasing my confidence is a must. I'm glad you mentioned this.

1. The first of which is. I feel that moderators aren't on the same page a lot of time. What is okay and not okay isn't clearly matched between moderators. Even some instances where some moderators may partake in trolling. I get that there are bound to be differences between different moderators, however, I feel sometimes that it could be way better.

This is bound to come with differing perspectives which you already mention, but aside that point, I think this is very fair to expect. Cohesiveness in spite of differing opinions is key, so I largely agree with your point. I think what we can do is attempt to reach a united front on a basic level as to improve consistency in action as well as potentially increasing promptness.

@Pendio While I don't think I've personally seen moderators actively participating in trolling as stated in the OP, I think in not stopping it early enough along the line, we could be seen as "enablers." This relates heavily to the first point brought up in terms of reaching a consistent front on solving cases. It's something to reflect upon in regards to the above point.

2. I feel that overall involvement of moderators in this community, is overall lacking. For example, moderators rarely post in the Breath of the Wild subforum. For a Zelda forum, I feel moderators rarely take involvement with Zelda related topics. It seems that moderators really only stick to the Shoutbox, Mature discussion, and general discussion. I think moderators should partake more and be more active in the Zelda subforums.

I personally see this as an issue for myself as a user as opposed to a moderator, even if there is a trend in which moderators aren't participating in the primary forums. As far as my case goes, I've usually been someone who drifts between the Mafia forum and General Gaming, and while I get to the Zelda forums sometimes, I could definitely improve that. I can see why this was brought up, since it is a Zelda forum, after all!

3. I also feel that some of our newest moderators, don't feel approachable. It almost feels like moderators are "better" than just normal members. I know I am not the only one to think this. This was not really a problem, at the beginning of the year, for example. However, I feel a lot of oppression of normal members by moderators. And I do not think that is right.

I will say this first, if I personally, in any way, give off this vibe; I urge any user who feels this way to call me out on it right away. This sort of behavior I find to be the antithesis of how a moderator should act. I never intended to behave this way through my brief tenure thus far, so I will reiterate again: if I do anything that invokes an air of superiority like generally mentioned in the OP, feel free to bring it up to me.

Concluding everything, I just wanted to say that if I've wronged anyone as a moderator over the past couple of months, I apologize. For what I suppose is the third time, thanks again, Lozjam. This feedback is a great thing.

 

[Jamie]

A few major problems with moderation myself

1. I find moderators are usually picked from people who aren't really part of the community. While they often become part of the community afterwards, there are many who do not. I think there's this view of a lack of bias but it just generates more inactivity than anything.

2. On that last note, the inactivity with moderators is really bad. There are some moderators who have made as little as 2 (two) posts in the month of November. Anyone can ban bots, so don't give me that excuse. I've brought this up with Jimmy multiple times but this moderator and other wildly inactive ones have not changed their ways so I can only imagine he hasn't brought it up with them.

Seriously, mods should be making several posts a day. 2 posts a month is ridiculous.

That brings me to part 3. Mods could easily stop things ahead of time by making their presence known. Posting in threads at all stops people from getting out of hand. If things start to get a little headed a simple "keep things respectful" would work. But you simply can't expect this from people who post less times a month than most users do per day.

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

Like, the others, I'll be addressing these concerns mostly as it pertains to myself and not the rest of the staff, save for the first point which incorporates all of us.

1. The first of which is. I feel that moderators aren't on the same page a lot of time. What is okay and not okay isn't clearly matched between moderators. Even some instances where some moderators may partake in trolling. I get that there are bound to be differences between different moderators, however, I feel sometimes that it could be way better.

I think the synergy and communication between the staff has honestly never been better, thanks in part to Discord and how much of an upgrade I think it is for immediate conversation. I can't recall any recent issue that had us so divided that we were left in great disagreement when a final decision was made. I also feel as if differing opinions are crucial to good decision making; there was disagreement on whether or not "Hitler" was an appropriate forum name, and although the final decision was one I wasn't advocating more, the conversation we had led me to understand and respect the reasoning for it.

I'm alarmed by the notion that some of the moderators engage in trolling as well, as to my knowledge I've never seen any previous instance or complaint about it. I feel as if a playful nature is critical to moderation (a major concern two years ago was that the staff was too serious and was anti-fun), but I've certainly never seen it escalate to full-blown trolling. If there's a specific incident that's been overlooked by rest of the moderation staff , reporting it directly to Jimmy is probably the way to go.

2. I feel that overall involvement of moderators in this community, is overall lacking. For example, moderators rarely post in the Breath of the Wild subforum. For a Zelda forum, I feel moderators rarely take involvement with Zelda related topics. It seems that moderators really only stick to the Shoutbox, Mature discussion, and general discussion. I think moderators should partake more and be more active in the Zelda subforums.

I think this is the most valid concern brought up, and it's been a reoccurring theme throughout the history of the forum. Nothing annoyed me more in my earlier days with the forum than many of the moderators failing to be active in any facet of the forum at all. I'll admit I haven't had the level of activity that one might expect, although if I'm allowed to get personal, I've been in a rather hectic situation since my house was flooded by five feet. Taking care of that along with work, the youtube channel, and my senior year of college has been hectic to say the least.

Regardless, I don't see that as an excuse for both myself and the rest of the moderation staff. I do not, however, think we should be expected to be extremely active in certain select parts of the forum. I've been talking about Zelda on this forum for a good number of years now, and with the last installment I actually liked being released in 2013, and the last installment I truly loved being released in 2007, I feel as if I've said my piece when it comes to most of the series. I don't really care to talk about graphical styles or Wind Waker's design flaws for the umpteenth time.

My declining interest in the series as a whole is also partially to blame, and I've had nothing to really say about BotW since all the posts I made during and after E3 (Nintendo's marketing strategy with this game isn't exactly pro-forum discussion). I do try my best to be active in areas of the forum where I believe I can contribute in a positive way, but at this time, the Zelda sections more than likely won't be those primary areas. Again, this is just me, and it will most certainly change when we get more BotW news and/or its release.

3. I also feel that some of our newest moderators, don't feel approachable. It almost feels like moderators are "better" than just normal members. I know I am not the only one to think this. This was not really a problem, at the beginning of the year, for example. However, I feel a lot of oppression of normal members by moderators. And I do not think that is right.

The matter of approach-ability seems like something difficult to measure or gauge, although if I'm among these unapproachable moderators, I would definitely appreciate being told. I do consider many on this forum to be my friends (well, as much of a friend as you can be on an online zelda forum), and I would hope that most of them feel comfortable talking to me. I do think that our newest moderators (Pendio and Mido) are among the most well-liked on the forum as well, unless I'm woefully out of touch and haven't realized it.

Also, the concern of "oppression" alarms me as did the concern with trolling above, as that's quite a powerful word to use. Again, I've not seen any instance of moderator oppression for quite a while, and if such an event did occur, it really should have been reported or taken straight to Jimmy. This is something that really shouldn't be allowed to just fade away with no one saying anything about it.

That said, I still want to thank moderators for doing their job, and things could be way worse. I just think we needed a thread to adress any problems members might have with the moderation team in a civil manner.

I personally appreciate the concerns as well, and I'm happy that we're able to address them this way. It makes me happy that the days of petitions and aggressive "suggestions" seem to be over.

 

[Justac00lguy]

I don't really see a problem to be honest. Then again, the site doesn't really have anywhere near as much drama as it has had in the past plus it's not as active either. So it's hard to judge. Still, I haven't seen any major things that have made me question the mods. Then again, I'm not really active anymore so mebby I've missed some drama llama ****

I mean really the only huge mistake they made was deleting my poor :milkbag: emote and sending threats to me when I kept mentioning it.

 

[Moonstone]

I haven't been back long but I have to say I really like seeing familiar faces promoted to moderators. I always prefer to see promotions of long time members of the community becoming members of the moderation team rather than people who just happen to be friends with the right people and so on.

I have no problems with the current mod team. I think we have a good mix of more relaxed moderators and more strict ones and both are necessary to keep the site both fun and engaging.

 

[Jimmu]

I had intended to make a similar thread to this following the conclusion of the giveaway contest, but I am still waiting on Mases about when the results are to be posted on that. I do appreciate the feedback so thanks for taking the initiative.

1. The first of which is. I feel that moderators aren't on the same page a lot of time. What is okay and not okay isn't clearly matched between moderators. Even some instances where some moderators may partake in trolling. I get that there are bound to be differences between different moderators, however, I feel sometimes that it could be way better.

I think that us having different opinions is part of the job, but I don't recall any major disagreements between the current set of staff. We generally are on the same page with most things. With many newer moderators it takes time to get used to what to do in specific situations but we all can appreciate that and if unfair decisions or contradictions are made please don't hesitate to contact me directly as I am happy to assist in finding the most fair solution. As for the trolling, I am not sure exactly which situation you are referring to but again, please contact me about this directly, especially if it involves another staff member.

2. I feel that overall involvement of moderators in this community, is overall lacking. For example, moderators rarely post in the Breath of the Wild subforum. For a Zelda forum, I feel moderators rarely take involvement with Zelda related topics. It seems that moderators really only stick to the Shoutbox, Mature discussion, and general discussion. I think moderators should partake more and be more active in the Zelda subforums.

This is a very fair observation. We could do much better on the activity side of things. For myself with BotW specifically, I'd rather avoid most of the spoilers as participating in the hype for Skyward Sword left me a little disappointed when I first played the game. I could be participating more in other Zelda conversations though, I'm currently playing through A Link Between Worlds for the first time so I should have more to discuss regarding that soon

3. I also feel that some of our newest moderators, don't feel approachable. It almost feels like moderators are "better" than just normal members. I know I am not the only one to think this. This was not really a problem, at the beginning of the year, for example. However, I feel a lot of oppression of normal members by moderators. And I do not think that is right.

I hadn't really thought this was an issue to be honest as they all seem fairly approachable and friendly to me. No staff member is "better" than other members, so I am sorry you feel that way. I'm not so sure there is any "oppression" going on either, that's a bold claim. I'd appreciate it if you could send me a private message with more specifics of who and what you are talking about so I can help with this directly.[/QUOTE]

A few major problems with moderation myself

1. I find moderators are usually picked from people who aren't really part of the community. While they often become part of the community afterwards, there are many who do not. I think there's this view of a lack of bias but it just generates more inactivity than anything.

I feel that Mido and Pendio had been a solid part of the community before they were moderators. As for Zachie, I thought it was important to have someone from the ZI team to be represented on the staff so he is a special case.

2. On that last note, the inactivity with moderators is really bad. There are some moderators who have made as little as 2 (two) posts in the month of November. Anyone can ban bots, so don't give me that excuse. I've brought this up with Jimmy multiple times but this moderator and other wildly inactive ones have not changed their ways so I can only imagine he hasn't brought it up with them.

Seriously, mods should be making several posts a day. 2 posts a month is ridiculous.

That brings me to part 3. Mods could easily stop things ahead of time by making their presence known. Posting in threads at all stops people from getting out of hand. If things start to get a little headed a simple "keep things respectful" would work. But you simply can't expect this from people who post less times a month than most users do per day.

Again, this is a fair point. The current amount of members doesn't really require any new mods over the active ones and the less active ones are still handy to provide advice and guidance to newer and more active ones. However, I think we should be endeavouring to be posting more. Perhaps some kind of post-per-week/month quota would be appropriate save for exceptional circumstances?

 

[the8thark]

 

[DekuNut]

I mean, I don't tend to deal with moderators in their moderating capacity that often despite speaking to a few quite regularly, but I have no qualms with them. For the most part they do their jobs well, and I wouldn't expect anyone to be perfect anyways. I think that, while the activity thing is worth bringing up, we have lots of normal members who don't post in those areas as well (guilty) so I feel like that's kinda representative of the community (in a sad way). My only qualm is that at times I feel like they don't ban people when they should *points to a former user who shares a name with a purple dragon* but at the same time i understand - they'd rather ere on the side of freedom than the side of order, which is an idea I respect. Just maybe don't wait so long to do that kinda thing. But as a whole I like having you guys in charge.

 

[Castle]

I haven't noticed any "distress". I certainly haven't experienced any but I can't speak for others, naturally.

When I first left ZD in frustration this forum was like the wild west. The mods at the time weren't being very attentive and certain regular members were out of control. After I stormed off I lurked every once in a while to see if the situation had changed and for a long time it didn't. With the reveal of BotW (finally!) I decided to check in on the old haunt to see if conditions had improved and I was rather surprised to notice that it had. I haven't had much dealings with the mod team but it is my personal opinion that their laissez faire approach to moderating has been good for the forums. And they do step in when necessary.

For example, early on I decided to test the waters by making a post that by every right should have been in blatant violation of the rules (and general standards of decency). I was issued a warning and the offending post was removed. I was glad. It was exactly what I wanted. Because there was a time when skite like that would have been ignored and that's why I left.

Really, a moderator should be having a good day when he or she doesn't have to do anything. So to me the best thing to do is to not give a moderator any reason to issue warnings or bans. Simple, right? Don't give anyone a reason to hit the report button and we'll all get along fine.

I think that, while the activity thing is worth bringing up, we have lots of normal members who don't post in those areas as well (guilty) so I feel like that's kinda representative of the community (in a sad way).

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Alita the Pun]

points to a former user who shares a name with a purple dragon*

I believe that that user was banned for a day or so at one point.

My thoughts on moderation right now? Well personally, I have had struggles with moderators in the past, especially when I first joined and was learning the ropes of the forums. I felt like they were being unfair about things that are better left unsaid, mainly so they are not brought up again. After that blew over I have become quite good friends with a number of the mods. I have to disagree with those who say that the mods seem unnaproachable. I think this reaction is mainly a reaction to authority. Some people are naturally intimidated. As for the matter of inactivity, I don't think it is a big deal. Different people use the forums in different ways. Some mods like to be more active, some don't. I'd say that if a mod is inactive for more than a month without explanation, then their role as moderator will be revoked and given to someone who is more active. Anyways, that's just my thoughts.

 

[Mellow Ezlo]

This is probably the sexiest moderation team the site's ever had tbh. Legit. (this includes the admins and CC's as well, of course )

In all honesty, my only issue with the current team is lack of activity and community involvement from some of them, though it's a fairly minor point overall I think. And even if they don't post a lot, I see all of the mods in the "Staff Online" list very frequently, and they usually stay on there for an hour or more. So even if they're not posting a lot, it's clear that they're always here. And should mods not take on a 'lurker' role sometimes anyway? Sit back and wait for something to happen? I see no real issue with the current team and the way they do things. Some people criticize them for "not doing their jobs properly", and Ok, I'll admit not every single action of rule breaking gets dealt with, but some leniency is a good thing as we had a problem with overly strict mods before, and it was pretty awful. I like it the way it is right now.

 

[Beauts]

Before I get into this, I just want to say well done and thank you to all staff members for your continued work. None of the following is supposed to be rude, disrespectful or attack anybody. I know sometimes people can take what I say the wrong way because I can be quite blunt so please bear this in mind, that I mean it in the friendliest and most constructive way possible.

1. I second the point about the lack of approach-ability of some of the moderators. I will say I don't believe it's 100% any individual's fault, but it ties in with what @Lozjam said in the OP about there being a whole new batch of moderators. I think, actually, the problem sort of lies with the new moderators who hadn't been a part of the community before. It had the feeling of being sprung upon the forum and honestly, I do think that certain of the new mods have not made the effort to a) make their presence known or b) ingratiate themselves with the community. People don't necessarily feel comfortable reaching out to a total stranger, let alone take criticism or advice from them. This is also probably why people feel mods act as if they're better than any other members. I don't necessarily think anyone intends to come off that way but it is a problem, in general.

2. I also second the point @Jamie made about the inactivity of some mods (not all). You literally never see them. I think a minimum requirement is that the moderators should actually participate in the discussions on the forum, not to mention actually be around to do their job and moderate when arguments and issues do arise. I will say that these issues have gotten a lot less over the past year but I just want to clarify and say I feel that this has little to nothing to do with the mods or other staff and everything to do with various members growing up, maturing, putting aside differences and making an effort to be civil for the sake of the community as a whole.

3. On the subject of mods being around when threads have gotten out of hand, whether because they're spammy, because of disagreements becoming too personal, or whatever the problem may be, there have been a couple of times when I or other members have actively reached out to mods to help them resolve issues like this and I will be honest, it has felt like some of the mods feel it is too much for us to ask that they do their jobs when needed. I understand people have lives and are busy, and that there is a whole new laissez-faire approach to moderating these forums. Whether or not I agree with said approach is not what I'm getting at. But if you are not willing to step in and resolve and moderate, it's fair to see why people question whether someone should be a moderator. Nobody is asking all of you to be online all the time, but an occasional appearance to regulate the forums without getting, at times, catty, would be welcomed I think by everyone, but especially new members who may be put off by the sloppiness of some of the threads.

Other than this, thanks everybody as I said for the work you do put in. Special shoutout to @Mido who I think has been a particularly stand out addition to the staff

 

[Dio]

I will say that these issues have gotten a lot less over the past year but I just want to clarify and say I feel that this has little to nothing to do with the mods or other staff and everything to do with various members growing up, maturing, putting aside differences and making an effort to be civil for the sake of the community as a whole.

I think you mean various members getting banned or leaving.