Suggestion: "Pairing" with members needs to be disallowed between staff

[Kikyochanx]

It has come to my attention that whenever people, mainly staff members pair with a forum user it results in them not getting warned, infracted, etc.

This means they don't get any sort of punishment for breaking forum rules, or the global forum rules. So, what can we do about this? Disallow staff to pair with users all together. It causes more drama than it is worth, and it even causes cliques to form on PC. This is where all of the popular members come in and try to pair with their favorite staff member to get out of any sort of punishment.

This is why member clubs were banned, I'm sure. It's just another clique for a certain user and their friends to hang out in. This just ends up getting to the staff and making them act unprofessionally on the forum.

 

[Ho-Oh]

Not really. o_O Member fanclubs were full of spam, yes, but the fact that staff were involved didn't make anything different back then - the moderators of the section punished those members accordingly if they broke the rules.

But really, just because you're paired with a member doesn't mean they're above the rules; that's just bad form. And I don't see where the drama is coming from, as far as I know, members have paired with staff for years and there hasn't been any issues. As for being infracted/warned, generally that's private - you can't necessarily know if every member who has paired with a staff member hasn't been infracted (if that makes sense, but you know what I mean). I really don't see how this is an issue, because in a lot of cases there's other staff members who can punish the user in said case - because you may be paired with a user who mainly posts in one section/they get in trouble there/you have no control over punishing them.

However, if you have an issue with a member you think isn't being punished justly, then bring it up privately to a higher staff member.

 

[Cherrim]

Yeah... people tend to pair with their friends. If they're going to be biased, they'll be biased whether there's a line in their signature saying they're paired with a person or not.

Like Nica said, if you feel someone is being biased, let another member of staff (preferably above them, I guess) know via PM and we'll look into it.

Member clubs had nothing to do with this. They were... essentially rendered pointless when the VM system came around a few years ago, so we ended up getting rid of them. (They also weren't very active at all when we made the decision.)

 

[Kura]

I agree with the other two. I think your issue may not actually be about pairing, but rather.. being bias towards how staff may treat their friends; and for the reason Lightning said above, can indeed be a legitimate issue. I believe that staff should treat everyone maturely when it comes to passing judgment on offenses. However I like to believe that our staff are very objectionable (is that the right word?) and do in fact treat all members fairly.

I think that if you feel or have a suspicion that a staff member is treating someone with bias, it would be best to contact higher staff about it privately through PM. If you feel like higher staff may be giving you the issue, I'd recommend contacting Steve (Rukario) about your concerns.

But as for pairs, I believe everyone should be entitled to it.

 

[Ivysaur]

I once infracted one of my best friends and my girlfriend when they broke a rule, so really it's not a problem of moderators being friends with members (what should we do? physically remove ourselves from the member base so we don't get influenced by them?), it's a problem of a certain hypotetical moderator being biased. Which is completely different.

 

[aRedMoon]

You may still get warned, but when paired with a member of staff, you are also much more likely to get modded.

/just sayin'

 

[Shining Raichu]

Wait wait wait, hold up. Let me get this straight. You're telling me that the human race is prone to bias? I for one am shocked.

People can pair with whoever they like. In addition to being a little insulting to our ability to run our sections objectively, this would also be a logistical nightmare. Having to dissolve existing pairings should one person in a pair get modded is just unnecessary work for a problem I'm sure exists mainly in people's heads.

 

[Alley Cat]

I fail to see any benefit for this issue. I see where the problem is stemming from, but getting rid of the title will not get rid of the bond/bias. It is just a simple line of text to add a bit of excitement and fun to their friendship. It is nothing more and nothing less. Just because one staff member shows bias does not mean that all of them do. Approach other staff members about issues you have if going through one staff member does not work.

The staff being biased, however, is an issue. But who isn't biased these days? You'll have a hard time finding someone who isn't biased. Now... finding someone who doesn't act on this biases is an entirely different story. I'd imagine that staff would be punished if there was an example of them being unreasonably biased towards a certain member.

PC isn't perfect. Not all staff will be competent, and that is something that we live with. As they show their true colors they will be dealt with accordingly.

 

[Livewire]

If this is in reference to a certain incident about a post or a thread or something, bring it up to Hstaff. However, seeing as this is nothing more than an unfounded generalization and/or stereotype, sorry, but, this isn't being implemented whatsoever. I 'd also like to add that I don't think it right of a member who's been here not even a month to say such things.

 

[Oryx]

Wait how do you even know who's getting warned or infracted for what? o_O

Let's disallow pairing between members, that causes cliques and drama as well, possibly even more than staff/member pairing. Anyway, everyone who says "the line of text means nothing" is right. If those two people are good friends, they won't be less of friends because they don't have "Paired with ____" in their signature. This is not how to avoid bias or fight whatever bias you're seeing.

 

[Sydian]

Looks like I'm half safe, guys. I'm paired to a mod and an ex-mod! Better unpair Klippy before I treat him super nice. >: Seriously though, you might as well ban staff from making friends with members too. A friend, not pair, could easily be given this bias you speak of. But I think most staff can, and has, had to overcome any bias they've had, Went being a prime example here. I've had to warn/infract friends before. I'd do the same to my pairs if they came in my sections trolling up a storm or something of the like. So banning mods from pairing with members would be ridiculous.

free love etc xoxo

 

[marcc5m]

That's like saying whites can't marry blacks.

 

[Logan]

lol someone's trying to stop cliques forming on pc

 

[Chikara]

I... don't see how it creates drama? You can't honestly believe that staff members can't be close friends with members right? Since that's what pairing is most of the time.

I think more drama would turn up if staff members could only pair staff members. Separating staff from members is the opposite of what should be done. Not to say something NEEDS to be done cause... lmfao what Toujours said, how do you even KNOW there's a problem o_O...

You may still get warned, but when paired with a member of staff, you are also much more likely to get modded.

/just sayin'

128% false, have you looked at the pairs that ALL of the newer mods have? Not staff.

 

[Logan]

When I was a mod my pair got banned :(

 

[Palkia]

You might as well say that mods can't be friends with non-mods because it will give them a bias. Yeah, I'm not too fond of this idea.

 

[Ephemeral Euphoria]

I think it's alright as long as it doesn't affect a mod's decision making when dealing with any situations at hand.

 

[alisaie]

If anything this would probably create more drama. Pairs are supposed to just be for fun, but some people actually take it seriously. So say if two members were paired, and one had became a mod. If this was implemented, this would mean that they would have to unpair, and depending on who they're paired with, then drama might ensue.

Not to repeat anything that was said, but this isn't a great idea, for the factors mentioned above in the previous posts, and that it might just backfire. Bias is going to be around for a long as there are friendships on this board. But of course, if you don't make friends, then what's the point of posting here and having fun in the first place? Even if we disallow any type of pairing and let go of an idea that has been around for years, there's still going to be this 'bias' you apparently see around here. As mentioned above, 'paired with ____' is really just a line showing a close friendship between two people (though some people do take it more seriously than that) when it comes down to it. Removing it won't change a thing.

 

[Blizz]

It would be wrong if mod can't be paired with other member because non staff member will get modded.
It is good that mod can be paired with non staff member because they may be good friends to each others.
Problems will occur if pairing with non staff member will be disallowed.

Sorry my bad english but I try best. :)

 

[Nick]

It has come to my attention that whenever people, mainly staff members pair with a forum user it results in them not getting warned, infracted, etc.

This means they don't get any sort of punishment for breaking forum rules, or the global forum rules. So, what can we do about this? Disallow staff to pair with users all together. It causes more drama than it is worth, and it even causes cliques to form on PC. This is where all of the popular members come in and try to pair with their favorite staff member to get out of any sort of punishment.

This is why member clubs were banned, I'm sure. It's just another clique for a certain user and their friends to hang out in. This just ends up getting to the staff and making them act unprofessionally on the forum.

Re: bold - This is the first time I've ever heard anything sprouting from it...

"It has come to my attention that whenever people, mainly staff members pair with a forum user it results in them not getting warned, infracted, etc." -- Ummmm... I'm reeeeaaaally confused. How has that come to your attention? You don't have access to infractions or warnings. And that's really the only way you'd be able to find something like that out. Sure, you could ask them, but I wouldn't go telling random people I got warned for this or that if they randomly came up to me.

But if you know for a fact that someone is getting unfair treatment and bias from a moderator who happens to be that moderator's pair, you need to come to a higher staff member (a super moderator, assistant administrator, or staff administrator) and tell them so they can address and discuss the issue with the rest of the higher staff. It's a moderator's job to remain impartial in any issues relating to members so they can look at the issue in an objective, third party perspective. If you know for a fact that someone is getting unfair treatment and bias from a higher staff member, contact the rank above that higher staff (super moderators -> assistant administrators -> staff administrators), and if it's a staff administrator, go to another staff administrator. All you're doing is speculating. When it comes to member and staff issues, speculating isn't something that should be done.