Mod Applications

Sonata said:

I think what I wrote has been misinterpreted. It was really only for the sake of replying to people who have said that it is or should be a popularity contest whether joking or not. I wasn't suggesting we base mods off of their post count or how long they've been here. I was saying that IF we were to theoretically get rid of a mod application and instead do it based by popular vote, then there should be two rounds. The first round would be PC voting for people they think would do a good job as a mod, then the nominees would accept if they wanted to be a mod or not and then we would do a second round of voting that would include only current staff and people who have been around long enough to have a good sense of what the people are like and what a mod should and shouldn't be. I don't like the idea of it being a popularity contest. And if you read my initial post you would understand that and have realized that this was just a completely unrelated post to stay in the conversation and not just be a one trick pony. Though it doesn't really matter because this is all hypothetical. But thank you for your feedback. If you'd like to take a moment to read what I really think and offer some feedback on that then you can go to the second post on this thread. Thank you again.

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Alright I read your first post, apologies for overlooking it. I didn't see that you specified it hypothetically as you didn't really state that but now it's cleared up. In that case a writing prompt could possibly work, and as I was reading above I saw that Mr Cat Dog had good questions to use if the site were to use mod apps or a writing prompt sort of thing. But it should be given to a limited amount of people in private, since putting it in public would mean having to read maybe hundreds of mod applications, and that wouldn't really be practical.
If the PC community were to vote for this though, I still think it'd fall more along the lines of who somebody is more friends with getting the vote or something like that. Sure it could be considered when looking at it on a grand scale of things, but ultimately it should be up to experienced staff like you said.

Doctor said:

The one who cracks the best joke and wears the coolest avatar should totally get the job.

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yo you're not supposed to tell them how hstaff picks us, damn rika what were you thinking

this was a very amusing thread to read through. mod applications are a bad idea for reasons already stated, too big of a forum etc, but would definitely be a lot of fun to read through the entries c:

I'm curious to know the 'why' behind becoming a moderator (as raised by zappyspiker). It's a lot of work with no pay or glory, therefore, what's in it for those applying? It's probably the most important question. It's a question people ask in job interviews ("why do you want this job?") but makes less sense there (money, duh) than here. Authority can go to people's heads, so it's important to know motive.

Personally, I wouldn't want to be a moderator. I come on these forums to wind down from work, not to do more.

Lotus the Cat said:

I'm curious to know the 'why' behind becoming a moderator (as raised by zappyspiker). It's a lot of work with no pay or glory, therefore, what's in it for those applying? It's probably the most important question. It's a question people ask in job interviews ("why do you want this job?") but makes less sense there (money, duh) than here. Authority can go to people's heads, so it's important to know motive.

Personally, I wouldn't want to be a moderator. I come on these forums to wind down from work, not to do more.

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It's as much work as you want to put into it (admittedly, some sections have much more work in the way of reports and spam and thread approval than others) and you become part of a big, happy team where most people call each other friends. If you want to help running this site, being a mod is awesome. If you'd rather just come here to chill out and maybe not even stick to a particular fav section, maybe you wouldn't have fun as a mod. :)

Does anyone else remember the Lerroux April fools prank of 2012?
While mod applications are an awful idea I think if it ever happened we should do as Lerroux does and use his questions!

1. How much respect do you have for authority?

2. How much will you do for this forum?

3. Why do you feel you should be a moderator here?

4. Where would you like to moderate?

5. What skills do you posses?

Mr Cat Dog said:

snip

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mate, what even....

I think we should start selecting mods based on janitor experience because that's all they are really

Mod Applications? Bad idea, but if there ever were any, I think primarily these would be the things to consider:

Age

I know age doesn't measure maturity, but there's a better chance anyway that someone's who's 23 and learnt some responsibilities, time management, organizational skills and communication skills will more likely do a better job than someone who is 16 and claims to have such experiences. Anyone under 20 has a high chance of being in a limbo zone of their life where they think life is hard but they don't even know life. I'm stuck with 'em at university (I'm an older First Year and surrounded by 17-19-year-olds all day), and trust me, they have no idea what they're doing or exactly what they're saying when they declare, "You can count on me to do a good job!" It's bullocks.

Better safe than sorry!

Attitude & Communication Skills

Any relevant infractions? How long ago were they, and what age does that reflect (if you know the age of the individual and can subtract the applicable time with the infraction time)? How do they behave with other people? Are they literate and legible? If someone can't effectively communicate in English and +@1k$ 1yk di$ they can probably forget about it.

In a less extreme example, if they can't properly use punctuation, vocabulary, break paragraphs appropriately, etc. then they're not going to make a good impression for users about the forum's professionality overall.

Knowledge & Experience

Are they active partipants in the board in question? Are they active members anywhere else? What kind of comments have you received about that individual? What are their VM conversations like? What you see in posts can be quite differently than what appears in VMs.

Do they claim to have experience elsewhere? Be wary of this; it's hard to confirm.

It's also important that current staff like the individual. They'll be working together after all!

x

I know people won't agree 100% with the aforementioned criteria, but those are just my ideas ☺

i think mod applications are helpful to see who is interested and if they have time to be a mod. i've applied for stuff, nothing has ever happened xD

Honestly, the only thing I'd consider seeing useful in these applications is to figure out, whom not to use. Basically, whoever has time to answer these questions automatically fails, because he could have spend the whole time doing something else, like doing some community related stuff.

i honestly don't see mod applications as a good idea anywhere, personally.
i can see using mod applications if you're in need of a position fill with no one standing out prominently to you as a team or w/e. but ive personally always liked the more interpersonal moderation system, where candidates for moderation are decided by observation from the staff team; such as the system PC uses.

i mean it'd feel a lot less meaningful to be modded through application.. for the candidate, the staff team, and the forum even. you weren't necessarily chosen because of your efforts towards the forum(s), you were chosen just as employers choose their employees. it's not really because you're "special", it's because you just happen to fit the bill. sure it might get noteworthy people staff'd every now and again, but for the most part it would just be dreadful on the forum spirit.

The only reason you should ever do mod applications is to see how ridiculous their answers can be. Make each questions harder until they're asked questions that are impossible to answer truthfully. And then post that up so we can all have a good laugh.

A noob like me would definitely classify as a good candidate.

I'd think a moderator application would be somewhat of only a formality; something that all the staff settles on as a standard format for providing people they are interested in as moderator candidates to fill out.

Ideally, PC's system would only change by lowering the bar just a bit; if an H-staff decides they like you, they could put your forward by giving you the application to fill out if you're interested. Maybe they don't immediately mod you to some forum, perhaps you sit on the pile, but I think it'd be nice to be able to fill one out if a staff member thinks you're worth nominating. Once you're nominated, the applications could be processed as they are needed, staying active for as long as you remain active, up to a year or so.

When a new mod is needed; if you have an active/inactive nomination on file, you get fairly considered for the position. This way, H-Staff could feel free to nominate as many people as they think necessary or add people into consideration as needed. If your application is out of date and you get considered, you simply get asked to reapply if you're still interested

A moderator application should also be based on the way someone behaves on the community. A member who keeps receiving infractions and bans can be able to write a interesting and professional application, but his background wouldn't be relevant.

Choosing a moderator based on applications would be a good idea, though the users should be checked multiple times.

Infinitum said:

A moderator application should also be based on the way someone behaves on the community. A member who keeps receiving infractions and bans can be able to write a interesting and professional application, but his background wouldn't be relevant.

Choosing a moderator based on applications would be a good idea, though the users should be checked multiple times.

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Hey just letting ya know that threads expire after 30 days of not being posted in and are then considered "dead". For that reason I am going to lock this but feel free to remake the topic :)