Suggestion: Moderator for a day contest

[Moltres Rider]

back when I used Windows 98 back in the day I was like 14, many forums used to do contests called "Moderator for a day" it would vary from forum to forum on how members became moderator for a day. and many EZboards forums would also do that... I don't see that at all with forums today... I think PokéCommunity could bring back what forums used to do long ago, a blast from the past! maybe use this thread to brainstorm ideas on how to run such a contest

 

[Nolafus]

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this.

If someone was actually moderator for the day, I don't see it going very well. Either they have complete control over a section like a normal moderator and let's be honest, some people aren't cut out for that power. Or, if they still have control, they don't like how the current moderator is running things, so they decide to uproot all the original moderator's work and start down another path. There will be some people that will abuse the power and close threads they don't like, troll their friends, annoy their enemies, and just abuse the power that comes with being a mod.

On the other side of the spectrum, what if they don't become a mod, but work very closely with the current mod. Well, that would just be the same thing as a normal member and not really a prize. Maybe there's a middle ground, but I just don't see it happening.

The final issue I'm seeing is that this contest would make being a part of staff a "prize". Like it's some sort of shiny medal you should be striving for. I don't think that label for staff should exist.

Anyway, those are my first thoughts and are subject to complete change once other people voice opinions and perspectives that I haven't thought of.

 

[Karinmo]

The idea is there- but the execution is not.
We could get an untrustworthy member, or a strait up unknown member with no credibility.
This could work for some kind of moderator in training sort of thing, but the person you could get for the contest wouldnt work.

But its not up to me. :3

 

[Kanzler]

Considering the secrecy under which staff operates, I don't see how you could find a middle ground between offering such a contest and compromising that.

Also, like it or not, being part of staff is a "prize". You have the rest of the community look up to you and respect you, as well as being relied upon to solve problems and make decisions. It's not just power per se, when you're in such a position you are inevitably a role model to strive for. Add that with in-group/out-group interactions and it's clear there is a level of detachment and exclusivity. To sum it up another way, there's de facto rational reasons to see modhood as something to achieve whether we admit them or not.

 

[Incinermyn]

Yeah, there's really no justification for a contest like this anymore. I was a mod on another site for two years, and we went through new mods almost weekly. There's a whole modus operandi that regular members just don't get, and it'd be problematic if a member became just a temporary mod, especially on a big forum like PC.

 

[Aeroblast]

It'll probably be a chaos. Imagine a bunch of kids deleting or locking posts for no reason other than that they feel like it.

 

[bobandbill]

I'm also chiming in that for the reasons above I don't think this is a good idea. Modding isn't something everyone is suited for, and I wouldn't want to belittle the current staffing team who were chosen to have that responsibility by offering it up as a prize for anyone to claim.

 

[Nolafus]

Yeah, there's really no justification for a contest like this anymore. I was a mod on another site for two years, and we went through new mods almost weekly. There's a whole modus operandi that regular members just don't get, and it'd be problematic if a member because just a temporary mod, especially on a big forum like PC.

For those of you who don't know, "modus operandi" is a latin phrase for "method of operation".

I just thought I would let you guys know because I had to google it. :X

After some more thought, I'm still not really for this sort of contest. I just don't see a middle ground being reached between total power and normal member.

I guess there could be some sort of limited power deal made out, but I have no clue what that would include. Maybe just a blue name. XD

 

[Hikamaru]

Yeah, like the others said I don't really like an idea of something like this.

The main reason, as stated by some, is that some members just aren't cut to be staff because the responsibilities can sometimes by hard to handle, that's why staff here are hand-picked due to knowledge and the fact they get looked up to by a lot. I was a mod at a dead forum and I just know what it's like to have to be responsible. The only result I'd see from something like this is chaos and maybe even bad handling of reports that would be coming in.

 

[curiousnathan]

As members above have said, it's just too much of a risk to hire people for the day.

I certainly wouldn't be comfortable with someone randomly moderating my section, especially if I didn't know them and weren't promoted as a result of higher staff discussion. I can only imagine the chaos that could spread if someone were to be modded and went on a locking/deleting spree. Their mess could be undone, but it'd just create unnecessary hassle.

 

[Moltres Rider]

so what you guys are saying things were different 15 years ago when forums did that...

 

[Honest]

Keep in mind different places do things differently! Where other forums may have been okay with doing something like this, enough people, staff and non-staff alike, have voiced their displeasure with something like this for legit reasons. So that's why it's something we probably won't do, not because 'things have changed'.

 

[Tsutarja]

I can't even imagine how chaotic things would be here if we allowed one random member to moderate a section. Essentially everything said in this thread is what I agree with, and it would be a bad idea Justin. This is PokéCommunity. We're a worldwide community, not a forum for one country only. This is not a community where everyone knows everyone, and I'm a member of a forum where everyone knows everyone, and even there could things get hectic if they allowed for one random member to moderate the place for a day.

Also, if such a situation did occur to where we allowed for a random person to mod a section (hypothetically), then things could get rather bad, especially considering all sections now have a mod attached to them. I don't have experience being a moderator here with a mod partner, but I can tell that sometimes making joint decisions could lead to conflict, especially if changes made to a section are rather large.

And finally, it all goes back to what Marcin says. Moderators are chosen for their specific sections because the h-staff found that user to be a responsible enough user to moderate it. We can't just mod John Doe for a day and assume he's responsible. Even as moderators, we are not immune from discipline, and sometimes lack of responsibility could lead to disciplinary actions (though feel free to correct me on this h-staff, I'm only assuming).

 

[Kanzler]

With all this being said, he did mention it to be a "Moderator for a Day" contest meaning in any case it wouldn't be any random user.

 

[Griffinbane]

Even then, the winner could be ill-suited to be a moderator. Or we could have a feud on our hands if someone gets voted in last minute. Or a bunch of other or's. It's not a good idea at all. Especially if you consider all the powers that mods do have, like infractions, post editing, locking posts, moving them, access to staff forums, banhammer, blah blah blah. Just one rotten egg (or inexperienced mod) could cause a lot of trouble.

And yes, Justin, the internet and the world in general is a great deal different from 15 years ago.

 

[Treecko]

With all this being said, he did mention it to be a "Moderator for a Day" contest meaning in any case it wouldn't be any random user.

I mean yeah you can make it that the contest would require participants to prove that they can be a moderator, but you can easily pretend to be responsible, get picked the winner for that day, and then end up doing a bad job. And as others said, a moderator needs to be actually responsible and not pretend to be. I don't see moderator of the day being a good idea cause the winner could be irresponsible and not handle their work. I never been a mod on any forum, but form the looks of it, it's not an easy job. Plus if you moderated with another person, you and the other mod need to agree with each to work out well.

 

[donavannj]

so what you guys are saying things were different 15 years ago when forums did that...

Back in those days, a lot of forums were naive about just how much damage someone could do to a forum and its reputation in a single day by being given power in this way. These days, most forums know the extent of the damage that can be done, either through experiencing it themselves or through the follies of others.

 

[Yukari]

Yeah, This would be a Very bad Idea. Think about it, someone as dolt as I was last year becoming a mod?

 

[Dragon_Trainer_]

We could have this work if the person proved their worth in the respective forum for a week......... Then probably they can be made a moderator for that forum for a day.......... It's my dream to become an Administrator someday! :D

 

[Absol]

It takes longer than a week to know if someone is cut out to be mod or not. There's a lot that goes into even being considered to be one. Someone can show up, do good for a week, be chosen to be mod for a day, and then completely ruin the entire section. Some of it cannot be undone and would take hours and hours to fix what can be fixed. I do not want to do that and I'm sure other mods won't either. The idea of having a blue username is cool, but what happens when a new member assumes they really are a mod and asks them to do something that they can't? Too much can go wrong here so it's better to just leave things as they are now.