The Staff Feedback Thread Page 9

Started by Sheep October 11th, 2013 9:24 PM
  • 95492 views
  • 590 replies

Nick

Seen 3 Weeks Ago
Posted July 28th, 2021
17,572 posts
18.6 Years
This is probably gonna come off as a little negative, but given that there was a modding recently, there is one user I kinda want to get an issue of mine with off my chest.

That user is none other than Axeliira. Given her activity in the Welcome Lounge, i'd think she would be more welcoming towards new members. But I tried to friend her back in November not long after her birthday, and she VM'd me saying she did enjoy it but didn't get back to me. Then I tried to friend her again recently, and her response was that she never recalled me and her having talked, when in fact i've seen her in a couple forums (namely the 5th gen forum). I would expect that from regular members, but former moderators I don't think would really be this way, let alone ones who specialize in introducing new people to the forums. So I hope her reasoning for this is nothing personal. :/

That's all, I don't mean this as an attack towards her, and it's not like I feel a gigantic need to be friends with her or anything, and if she really doesn't want to talk to me that's fine, but it just bothered me, is all.
Maybe she didn't friend you because you aren't friends??? I don't know how seriously she takes her friends list, but two interactions with someone isn't enough for me to accept a friend request. I don't know. I don't know her very well or her reasoning behind anything, but from what I do know of her is that she's incredibly kind and doesn't have a spiteful bone in her body, so I highly doubt it was anything personal.

That being said I'm not really sure why you're using this thread to tell the world that she didn't accept your friend request a few months ago is all that necessary or why you feel it is even worth being brought up here when you could have asked her directly yourself why she didn't accept your friendship request??

Pendraflare

Age 32
Male
Pennsylvania
Seen July 30th, 2021
Posted March 29th, 2021
6,263 posts
9.8 Years
Okay, I get it, she's nice but doesn't appear comfortable with friending people she doesn't know very well. There are plenty of other nice staff members I can talk to here, so it isn't a big deal to me. Can we please move on from this and let it go? This isn't something that I wanted to make drama out of.
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May someday resurface in full. We'll see what happens down the road!

seeker

Ireland
Seen November 1st, 2019
Posted May 20th, 2018
10,593 posts
14.1 Years
By the by, this isn't staff feedback. For what it's worth, staff aren't here to be your friends. That isn't in our job description. So Axeliira upholds the right to deny a friend request the same way any member does, and it has absolutely nothing to do with her staff position and is up to user discretion whether they do accept friend requests or not. Keeping this concise because I mainly want to point out that this thread is not here to host discussion on what staff member isn't accepting your friend requests, that's a personal thing you send them a PM about if it really bothers you. This thread is here to give staff feedback, relating to their performance as staff members, either individually or as a team; not how forthcoming they have been in wanting to be your friend.

Just keep that in mind guys, thanks a bunch!
Male
Seen January 2nd, 2015
Posted January 2nd, 2015
173 posts
11.1 Years
I see the dropdown box for quick jumping between threads isn't there anymore. That's a little upsetting, because I used that a lot, and would like to see it come back. Thanks a bunch if it does come back. Great site overall. My go-to site for most things Pokemon!
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Alexander Nicholi

work hard, play hard

Age 25
Male
Research Triangle / Jakarta
Seen February 15th, 2023
Posted March 5th, 2021
5,498 posts
13.5 Years
How is that a satisfactory way to go about things?
Because it's literally impossible to write rules that function properly without any open interpretation.

Mana

Age 31
Male
UK
Seen March 25th, 2023
Posted August 18th, 2021
10,075 posts
14.3 Years
How is that a satisfactory way to go about things?
I think it is just referring to the fact that there is not necessarily a 'this is acceptable' 'this is not' list, due to gray areas and human differences.

It's not really staff feedback however, more a query on the rules, so it's probably best in the quick questions thread or, if you would like to elaborate more, as its own thread.
I'd like to leave some positive feedback in this thread for once. Shocking right?

Yes not only would I like to thank all the staff who were involved in overturning my ban but I'd also like to give a special thanks to Rukario and Hiroshi Sotomura for not only hearing me out, but also for taking the time to respond to me emails and complaints.

I probably flooded their inboxes more than any sane man would but thanks for getting back to me every single time. :)

seeker

Ireland
Seen November 1st, 2019
Posted May 20th, 2018
10,593 posts
14.1 Years
Did some thinking and figured I'd post some feedback here real quick.

I think you guys should be more careful in who you decide to unban in the future. That's all.
Let me point out that, this incident wasn't a "staff" decision. There was some mis-communication, and that resulted in an overturned ban, despite it being against an already decided upon majority decision to not do so. We'll be taking measures to ensure that this doesn't happen in future.

Dragon_Trainer_

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

Age 26
Male
In the Darkness....
Seen October 25th, 2016
Posted June 17th, 2016
342 posts
9.6 Years
I'd like to provide some feedback about the staff in the Pokemon Clubs section which consists of Olli:
The guy has been doing great work there. He is amazingly efficient with requests on new clubs and improvements to old ones. He has a good sense of responsibility and takes quite judicious decisions. Although, I would like to request that another member of your choice be made a Moderator there as he could use some help. No specific reason to say that, it's just a suggestion. :)

I would also like to ask a question here (if it's allowed) :
With Sheep having been promoted to the post of a Super Moderator, does the Moderator, Dragon have the post of a moderator there? And what happened to Axellira? Has she resigned?


By XVaporeon!

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antemortem

rest after tomorrow

Age 24
he/they
Los Angeles
Seen June 15th, 2022
Posted June 14th, 2022
7,467 posts
11.3 Years
I would also like to ask a question here (if it's allowed) :
With Sheep having been promoted to the post of a Super Moderator, does the Moderator, Dragon have the post of a moderator there? And what happened to Axellira? Has she resigned?
If you mean in The Welcome Lounge, yep! Dragon is sharing responsibility as a Moderator there now. Axeliira is still around, but she changed her username to Minerva and mods Fan Clubs & Groups. 8)
TURN ON THE BRIGHT LIGHTS

Dragon_Trainer_

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

Age 26
Male
In the Darkness....
Seen October 25th, 2016
Posted June 17th, 2016
342 posts
9.6 Years
If you mean in The Welcome Lounge, yep! Dragon is sharing responsibility as a Moderator there now. Axeliira is still around, but she changed her username to Minerva and mods Fan Clubs & Groups. 8)
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.


By XVaporeon!

Click on the banner above to be redirected to the Dragon Pokemon Club!
All lovers of Dragon Pokemon welcome ^^

Seen September 18th, 2020
Posted February 18th, 2018
7,741 posts
16.6 Years
Some comments from my blog last year, probably better off ending up here:

Moderators should be more willing to merge and move threads where appropriate; even split them, why not? Closing as the default action is a rather destructive practice. My next point of contention: staff should be less uptight about what is considered off-topic. This is a discussion board after all. I think the apparent strictness of things has encouraged this post & go attitude most members have, although that might just be how the OVP crowd are.

You can split threads, right?

antemortem

rest after tomorrow

Age 24
he/they
Los Angeles
Seen June 15th, 2022
Posted June 14th, 2022
7,467 posts
11.3 Years
Some comments from my blog last year, probably better off ending up here:

Moderators should be more willing to merge and move threads where appropriate; even split them, why not? Closing as the default action is a rather destructive practice. My next point of contention: staff should be less uptight about what is considered off-topic. This is a discussion board after all. I think the apparent strictness of things has encouraged this post & go attitude most members have, although that might just be how the OVP crowd are.

You can split threads, right?
I agree with you, though I wouldn't go so far as to say closing a thread is a destructive action but I don't believe we should argue semantics. As for what's "off-topic," I don't usually close threads that are off-topic in relation to my forum, but instead move them to wherever they'd be on-topic which is typically Video Games since there's a fine line between threads that belong there and Culture & Media. Everyone has a different moderation style and people already complain to us about how we're all just robots practicing uniformity and have very few distinctive qualities amongst ourselves, so asking us now to change our ways to something else might estrange a few people. Being more open-minded might be a more effective path, I will say.

In any case, no we cannot "split" threads necessarily, as when you merge a thread the posted dates often clash and end up moving the posts around so that the timeline fits for hybrid view, however we can select posts within a thread and choose to either move them to a different thread or make them become their own thread entirely.
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Aquacorde

⟡ not everything is sink or swim ⟡

Age 29
she/her/he/him
Ankh-Morpork
Seen 2 Hours Ago
Posted March 15th, 2023
12,275 posts
18.9 Years
I personally would rather move than close, and recently discovered that with a bit of trickery I can split off an off-topic discussion into its own thread. And I try to keep everything open for discussion, no matter how utterly crap I think the OP is. But it's really a case-by case basis. Like, if someone starts a thread in my section that could be moved into PGen, but PGen already has that thread, I'm going to lock it because I can't directly merge that in (unless that has changed v recently idk). If I get a thread in my section that is broadly covering things I have threads for, I'm going to close it- I recently had one about "is anyone watching XY? here's my comments about these three eps!". That's not something i can shift into an appropriate thread because it's talking about so much.

And the real thing about being off topic is like. I want the thread title and OP to be reflective of the discussion going on. that's really just a lot less confusing. Let's not even get into the amount of BW vs DP/XY stuff that always crops up and turns unrelated topics into wars. I'm pretty lenient, but if you don't crack down things get chaotic.
I dont mind topics meandering slightly or becoming a little more inclusive than titles/OPs would suggest but tbh we are having a conversation about a particular thing. I'd rather not abruptly change the subject and confuse anyone who comes in for the previous discussion or has been taking cues from pre-shift posts.

idk sorry im on mobile and rambling and these are rather specific to me examples but. thats my view?
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Mana

Age 31
Male
UK
Seen March 25th, 2023
Posted August 18th, 2021
10,075 posts
14.3 Years
RPC is kind of an exception, as we don't really have anything to move/merge/lock :<.

In relation to other forums though, I have often seen threads merged in highly active forums (X&Y springs to mind) to avoid repeat threads. I rarely see threads closed, unless there is nothing to them.

If you're talking about the 'closing because I can't see this doing well/being active' though, I completely agree :) we should be giving threads a chance and not just shutting things because we wouldn't post in them. If two people want to discuss the topic, that is validity enough.

moon

they/them
Seen 14 Hours Ago
Posted 1 Day Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years
If you're talking about the 'closing because I can't see this doing well/being active' though, I completely agree :) we should be giving threads a chance and not just shutting things because we wouldn't post in them. If two people want to discuss the topic, that is validity enough.
I wholly agree with this. Here is an example of a thread I'm gladly allowing in Pokémon General. Because it doesn't hurt anyone that it exists, it's not trying to lure someone to a different site, it's just someone who needs help with something pokémon related that doesn't seem to fit well in any other board.

What we are doing though, is merging some threads with our Pokémon Daily Chit-Chat sticky. It's difficult to explain exactly what threads we like to do this for, but it's somewhere along the lines of "this thread feels misplaced or really really brief in some way". However, I do believe me and my mod partner have been more lenient in letting questionable threads exist lately, and I think that's a good move.
paired with Ivysaur

KidCarter93

PokéTech Guy

Age 29
Male
England
Seen August 9th, 2022
Posted October 3rd, 2017
132 posts
10 Years
Time for some random appreciation because who doesn't like that, right?

I was going to post this kinda comment in a different thread of a similar theme but thought against it considering it's more generalized and better suited here.


I'd like to thank everyone who has made this community grow as it has over the time. Over the last 8 years of visiting PC, there's been a lot of changes across most aspects of the forum but it's all been done for the good. When I first found PC I was only 12. Little did I think that I'd still be visiting 8 years later.
It's been great to see so many staff members join and leave over that time and each of them having their own little impact on this community (no matter how big or small). This community truly wouldn't be this great today if you hadn't all done such a great job. This is also extended (of course) to the supporters and all members who have helped in any way. Every little helps and from the humblest of beginnings it can grow more than any probably thought possible.

As I tend to ramble on a lot of the time and I don't want that to happen here, I'll finish off this post with an honorary mention to a couple of staff members who have stood out to me.
They are Jak and Razor Leaf. I know that every staff member does a great job but these 2 stand out as I've always seen them doing a great job and going above and beyond to help others out and are always approachable (which is really important) :)

Anyway, I know everyone will continue to do an amazing job on PC and I look forward to spending another 8+ years here.

- James
*Fades into the background and goes back to lurking for no apparent reason.*
Completed Challenges - Fire Red Randomized Nuzlocke - Final Update

Soul Silver Randomized Nuzlocke up next
Seen September 18th, 2020
Posted February 18th, 2018
7,741 posts
16.6 Years
I agree with you, though I wouldn't go so far as to say closing a thread is a destructive action but I don't believe we should argue semantics.
I just mean closing them when ye could do something else with them.


people already complain to us about how we're all just robots practicing uniformity and have very few distinctive qualities amongst ourselves
Eh? Never knew that. I would say the rules should be enforced consistently, yet... is personality really that important to most members?


In any case, no we cannot "split" threads necessarily, as when you merge a thread the posted dates often clash and end up moving the posts around so that the timeline fits for hybrid view, however we can select posts within a thread and choose to either move them to a different thread or make them become their own thread entirely.
That's what I'd call splitting. I hate to see a moderator enter a thread and say "stop posting offtopic, guys"... like, what; just remove the off-topic discussion and put it into its own thread. And make sure to leave your own post noting you've done that; it is admittedly confusing to see posts shuffled around without announcement.



If you're talking about the 'closing because I can't see this doing well/being active' though, I completely agree :) we should be giving threads a chance and not just shutting things because we wouldn't post in them. If two people want to discuss the topic, that is validity enough.
Yes, that's part of it.



Here is an example of a thread I'm gladly allowing in Pokémon General. Because it doesn't hurt anyone that it exists, it's not trying to lure someone to a different site, it's just someone who needs help with something pokémon related that doesn't seem to fit well in any other board.
That's awesome, nice to see.

KidCarter93

PokéTech Guy

Age 29
Male
England
Seen August 9th, 2022
Posted October 3rd, 2017
132 posts
10 Years
Eh? Never knew that. I would say the rules should be enforced consistently, yet... is personality really that important to most members?
Forgive me for intruding but I noticed the above quote and wanted to answer this from my perspective.

While personality may not be a big deal to a lot of members, there are still loads who want moderators to have their own personality. A moderator should always be approachable and members shouldn't feel like that isn't the case. For some reason, a lot of people only see moderators doing official duty and just assume that they're robotic drones who can't stand out from the crowd and be their own person.

I know this from my experience as a moderator on a mobile development site. Some mods will only be seen if they're giving warnings, moving/closing threads or cleaning up posts which don't belong there etc. Even though they're doing their job perfectly fine, it feels as if they're only a moderator for the title and not to actually make the community better. Some will even simply copy & paste their closing message if closing a few similar threads, rather than give it a human touch and changing their message to be more appropriate to the person who created the thread.
I've always found that putting custom messages and being active within threads in my assigned forums has made me much more approachable rather than seeming like a " big scary mod".


I appear to have gone off on a slight tangent but the point still remains valid :)
Completed Challenges - Fire Red Randomized Nuzlocke - Final Update

Soul Silver Randomized Nuzlocke up next

Nick

Seen 3 Weeks Ago
Posted July 28th, 2021
17,572 posts
18.6 Years
Hi. I just wanted to leave two feedback for you guys.

1. Great job to the higher staff for promoting Juli. She's the most dedicated moderator to a forum I've ever seen. Challenges was (is!) her baby, and the way she has had it running for the years she's been a moderator has been astounding. Her regulars love her, and you can just tell just from looking around it just how much of herself she truly puts in there. I'm not bias because she's my pair and one of my best friends.

2. I think the staff should be a little more open to suggestions. This has improved a lot recently, as I've noticed a lot of suggestions I had a while ago recently got implemented, which is a great step in my opinion. But a lot of people here seem to respond to suggestions on a need based. Why do we have to necessarily need something in order for it to be done? I see this a lot, and I know it happens a lot in HQ (or at least it did when I was there) where if we don't need something, people are against it. Just saying, it wouldn't hurt to be a little more lenient on suggestions people have and keep a mental note that just because you wouldn't use something or find it useful doesn't mean other people won't.

That's all. Thanks.

seeker

Ireland
Seen November 1st, 2019
Posted May 20th, 2018
10,593 posts
14.1 Years
But a lot of people here seem to respond to suggestions on a need based. Why do we have to necessarily need something in order for it to be done? I see this a lot, and I know it happens a lot in HQ (or at least it did when I was there) where if we don't need something, people are against it. Just saying, it wouldn't hurt to be a little more lenient on suggestions people have and keep a mental note that just because you wouldn't use something or find it useful doesn't mean other people won't.

That's all. Thanks.
Do you have some examples? I can't say I've seen too many suggestions turned down as of late, aside from adding new sections to the forum that would be pretty dead. In a lot of those cases, prefixes or sticky threads make up for that.

Nick

Seen 3 Weeks Ago
Posted July 28th, 2021
17,572 posts
18.6 Years
I don't want to post examples, because I don't want to call anyone out for just posting their opinion. I just want staff members who feel that way to be a little more receptive and open minded when dealing with members posting suggestions. And I know this is something that applies to the member base as well, but I know good and well that just because members' opinions are valued by the staff doesn't mean they necessarily matter at the end of the day, and when a staff member (whether they're an admin, a super moderator, or a moderator) shoots something down just because they don't see the need, it's a) very disheartening and b) comes across as very conservative and close minded ("Oh. I won't use this. So this is a bad suggestion that shouldn't be put into place." is honestly how it reads across to me), even though I realize that some staff members are very conservative.