Ah ok, well guess I'll just have to make a username change before the Batlord regime begins :beer:

The only problem with people nominating others is all the best candidates have usually been asked in the past and turned it down.

If there's a person on the forum you've always wondered why they were never modded, 9 out of 10 times that's the reason why.

As much time as you already spend logged into the site as a regular member, really. I haven't really spent more time on here than I used to before I was modded. Deleting spam/banning spammers only takes a second and it's easy to spot, handing out infractions, warnings and writing up a short PM as to why the member got only takes a couple of minutes... it really doesn't take up a whole lot of time. Plus we all work together so if you have to be away for awhile, it doesn't make much of a difference.

I think you would be a good candidate too. You're fairly new but it doesn't matter.

No. I tried once.

Yes, but dealing with the fallout often takes ages.

Not me. I am fine. I am so happy. JackHammer, please. Kwenda Jack Hammer. Baba wa England Vieux Jack Hammer.

Not posting much doesn't mean I've stopped visiting these boards, noticing members and reading it's content on a daily basis.
My nominations would be from one of these members;

Alfred, young, but older than his years. He'd make a fair moderator.
That Scottish mort, FETCHER.
Goofle11...almost the perfect choice.

Nowt wrong with jackhammer, a solid choice and so well balanced...has a chip on both shoulders ;) but he's done it before several times.

And definitely not Big3...the guys a lunatic!

It ends up being a lot of work. The biggest thing you should know about being a Mod if you (anyone) is considering it is that a lot of people go through natural cycles of being engaged with the site, and not being engaged. Mod's with a sense of responsibility will have to fight through the low-points to come here and maintain the site even when they want a break.

We had a Mod who was gone for almost 90% of his tenure at one point, and it was nothing but a death-grip on power. A good Mod in my mind will be fair, slow to take actions against established members, and enforce the rules equally across the board. Moreoever, when they find they can't commit to their responsibilities any longer, they'll step down. That last one is absolutely key.

Being able to change your own avatars is nice, approving your own journals is fun, but if you've ever been here when no Mods are on and spammers are running wild, its pretty ****ty to know 1 or 2 Mods are traveling the globe without internet access but won't step down because of an ego trip.

Edit: I'd also like to add that they should be engaged with the community. I think, like police officers, the difference between being a part of the community, or just overseeing it is a world of difference. When Mod's are active in discussions all over the place, it gives them a better sense of where people's positions are so when someone makes a stupid mistake, its judged in the larger scheme of the constributions and not as a one-off misstep.

I think an interesting choice would be Vegangelica. I think I know what you're thinking; she's a bit soft and probably wouldn't be very good at punishing the deserving, but we've got other mods who can do that just fine. I think Erica might add something completely new to the mod team and take on that job with a fresh perspective. Perhaps she wouldn't be good at disciplining members, but she'd use her powers to add worth to our community in other ways. Perhaps she'd nag the other mods about being too strict now and then, but hey, I'll leave them to worry about that.

Of course, as it is now, she's not here that often and I'm pretty sure she'd decline an offer, but she'd be one of my favourite contestants.

Well, you're not getting my vote!

Vegan would be a terrible choice. She's far too soft and her hearts in the right place!

She actually declined last time as well, I think, two years ago when you guys were selecting new mods (and Vanilla and I got the honours).

Can you really see her deleting spam posts?

:laughing:

As that's what we spend most of our time doing I don't think modding her would be a good idea.

Remember that she said we should giver spammers a chance.

There would be uproar after just a week

Well, perhaps if it's obviously made by a bot.

In all fairness, she might do something like remove the spam, but tell the spammers how they can stick around if they just follow the rules in the future (instead of the usual ban & delete). She'd probably write a ****load of long PMs, but - the point being - perhaps she wouldn't deal with the spam like you (and I used to) do it, but she'd still deal with it.

That's what I think anyways :)


The job might also give Erica a sort of reality check of how things really are on these forums if her perception today is a little off, but that possibility is also interesting to me.

Today!? :laughing:

Or do what she does now and just post it for them.

I like to think a mod team should be a bit like the Goonies. You got the smart inventor guy (Data), the sociable guy (Mouth), the regular all-rounder (Mikey) and the useless fat kid (Chunk). You know, each one brings something new to the table; some special abillity that they possess in greater quantity than the others. ;)

I would say hers is being nice to people and you don't really need to be a mod to do that.

I'd pay to see Vegan try and moderate someone like bungalow bill...he'd have her in tears by the end of the week.
Nothing against Vegan whatsoever Tore, but the woman lives in fluffy pillow land. Not mod material.

Of course she'd turn down an offer anyways so it's pretty unrealistic, but I think it's an interesting thing to discuss or debate a bit anyways :)

She may live in fluffy pillow land, but she probably wouldn't live there for too long if she was modded. I mean, she's probably capable of adapting somewhat.

I think that, as a mod, she'd have a different opinion in many cases and she'd also help change the perception of the mod team in a friendlier direction. As I wrote, adding more variety to the mod team would be a strength and not a weakness, I think. We have enough people who can kick ass. Let's mod someone who can kiss some ;)

(That last bit was a joke)

Tore, you're a very smart man. Good looking too. And a snappy dresser, did I mention that?

^Or how about, instead of getting a new mod, you guys just make Jans work twice as hard?

I'd like to see him post more.

Very insightful. Thanks for really showing me what you all go through. It's more of an unsung hero position than I figured, especially when you need to do your job and get a whacked out ****er that won't go away. I've laid fallout email addys in place before for signing on to not so trustworthy sites, etc. and I can imagine that could go a long way in a mod's world. Common sense can go a long way as usual, salutations to the ones that make the everyday browsing here spam free.

:bowdown:

+1 vote

Sarcasm detected.

Big3 is extremely correct on this one.
I'm in that slump right now, but it's mostly because I'm living my real life job almost 24/7 and everything else is sorta becoming peripheral. The good thing about a mod position here is that you can do that and it won't be held against you. Consider the fact that Satchmo is still a mod here and I haven't personally seen him mod anything in over a month, and that's being generous. I'm not just calling him a sacred cow (he totally is), I'm just saying that the staff members place a moderator's value above their output first and foremost.
The positive note is that new mods invariably equal new motivation and new ideas, and the current mods are stimulated by any sort of food on the table and will definitely stir up and contribute to administrative discussions as they arrive.

With that said, it's a flexible position. Really, the main requirement is that the candidate be "right" for the position, and not so much "always available to fulfill the duties of the position".

Of course, being right for a position you never attend to has its obvious disqualifications, but we don't keep a time-sheet or anything.

Didn't sleepy jack get the boot from his moderator position for not doing ****? That's what he told me and I think he was pretty upset with a certain mod for it.

If so, it was before I was ever modded, and before any sort of "policy" we've had since 09 or thereabouts.

No, I think he stepped down on his own. From what I remember it was just a case of him not feeling like he had time to mod any more.

Hmm I don't have the PM from him anymore to confirm what I said, but I thought I remembered him saying that you politely asked him to step down cause he wasn't around here enough.

But I don't have the PMs so maybe not.

If anybody did that, it certainly wasn't me. I was still newbie mod when he stepped down. I definitely wouldn't have been comfortable saying that to anyone. Hell, I wouldn't be comfortable saying that to anyone now.

Well since there's a demand for more contestants I'd like to nominate myself. I think I'm a pretty radical dude with great ideas and a plan...a plan that promises change. Not just for the popular members of MB but for members from all areas of the forum. The lurkers and the trolls and even the spam boys. I can't really define what I mean by change cause I myself don't really know what I mean but it sounded to me like a solid campaign slogan. I figure ill just wing it if elected mod and just kinda impose my will as I go. However, I promise to be fair and implement a lot of change.

I'm Bloozcrooz and I approve this message.

Ditto :laughing:

I can't remember any details, but didn't Ethan just step down? I know there was a lot of hostility between him and Boo (who were both mods at the same time) and that may have factored into that decision, but it was still his, I believe.

Ethan has a way of exaggerating a bit now and then so that could also be it.

edit :

I'd like to see more people brag about their mod-abilities on youtube.

It may have been me?
Can't recall 100%, but I have a vague memory of it.

This. There's a few people on these forums who I think would have a damned good shot at winning this if they applied, who would be ****ing awful mods.

Jackhammer's the obvious choice, but since almost everyone has nominated me as the biggest wannabe mod, I would be interested in giving it a go. Of course, I'd have to get some votes, and am about 2,000 of those behind the mighty Jack at the moment. If it came down to a choice between me or him though, I'd say give it to him (not that you'd have to be told that!)

Is there a phone-in or text vote involved? ;)

Seriously, I'd give it a go if anyone thought I'd do a decent job. I'm here most of the time anyway...

I know I am going to get laughed at for this, but I would just like to throw my name into the ring as well for a few reasons, and please do read!

I think these boards have really given me an awful lot, my original tastes over a year ago have been completely blown apart and moulded to become much more open and diverse, some completely new genres have been offered to me. I've met some fantastic people, received so much and have genuinely benefited.

I am "auditioning" for this role because I really do owe MB, and if I can contribute by the roles of approving posts, avatars and deleting spam, I would be honoured.

Many people on here do not like my posts, and I feel I need to address this: when I joined last October, this site suffered three months of my inanity because I genuinely did not understand correct internet etiquette. However from January this year, I have really tried to take everyone's constructive criticism on board and have attempted to out far
more thought into post than I did a year ago.

I also know a lot of people have issues with the moderation in general, and to be perfectly honest I have found the way the site is run to be very reasonable, and the power exercised in a controlled fashion, which I fully support.

I am fully aware of the commitment, and I would like to mention that I am quite frequently on the boards, but try to limit my posts, asking each time "is this really necessary?" I am quite aware of what is going on and feel that the quality of discussion is usually very high and would like to help preserve this. As far as the responsibility is concerned, I do not have any grudges against people here, so will not be going on any ban rampages, or act contemptuously. I genuinely dislike spam, and self-promotion does irritate me on the boards due to its selfish, irreverent nature. I understand the volume of spam to be dealt with ("three metric craptonnes" in the words of Pedestrian"), and I feel that help for the current moderators is required, and my participation in the removal of it I feel to be important.

I hope anyone who was irritated by my first impressions here will understand that people are capable of change, and hope I can be forgiven for my original failure to treat the board as a discussion forum rather than a shoutbox.

I am also fully aware that there are many people made for the task, particularly I would like to mention Goofle11, who avoids drama, posts conscientiously and is a fantastic person in general. However I would like my name to be considered, not just as a demonstration for my appreciation for everything MB has done, but because I am very much up for the job, and I hope you will see me as being up to the job. Impartiality is required, and I always try to see arguments here from both angles, even if one is particularly unpopular.

So that's my audition, I thank you for your time in reading it and hope I will be considered.

The only Mod I recall there being any pressure to step down on was PTS. Otherwise, I don't think it was ever done. Except to Boo Boo who had a meltdown and had to be forceably removed. But we didn't really ask him then.