The Staff Feedback Thread

[Elaitenstile]

I may have over-exaggerated a little, but here is my point:

Everybody is unique, but some people copy other peoples personalities for a feeling of security. That way, no one can persecute you and your inner self, especially if you show no sign of your quirks, like, at all. Moderators are just clones, really, I mean sure, you can be a great artist and try and show your problems, but you aren't letting your inner self shine! Sure, I make tons of mistakes, I get myself infractions and almost get banned, occasionally, but that's just me. It's my quirks, it makes me who I am.

Moderators make no mistakes, have no faults and are all so... great, like perfectly-manufactured droids. So, they don't seem like real people...

That's sorta my point, I guess. :X

Hmm, putting this in another sense I guess you're saying that the mods show no unique personalities... I guess it's true for almost everybody before you meet them. I used to think all the mods around here are like premiere antagonists until I met Logiedan and AlexOzzyCake personally. Perhaps your judgement may be reserved after some friendly interactions? I don't know what's the problem, but I do feel you right there. It's like that really, the bold blue name instantly brings that reputation.

ps i don't think mods never make mistakes *cough*maybe*cough* i've seen some around here *cough*

 

[Ace_Master_of_Turtles]

I forgot in my first post other than some mods/smods/admins avalibility they are all awesome, nice, and fun to be around i could name some of them but it's to long of a list and i agree with rozu you are all the same, because all of you are awesome :D

 

[Squirrel]

Perhaps your judgement may be reserved after some friendly interactions? I don't know what's the problem, but I do feel you right there. It's like that really, the bold blue name instantly brings that reputation.

I think this is an important point - the bold blue name and staff position really can make mods all seem very alike when we're just posting warnings or giving out infractions or posting thread updates etc, but I also think it's important to get to know some of the staff if you want to get rid of this view. It's very difficult for a staff member to start talking to countless people at once because they're only human and they have their own lives to live, but there's not a single staff member here who wouldn't welcome a friendly VM getting to know them. If you want to get a more personal view of the staff team and see past the whole "staff are carbon-copied drones" perception then all you need to do is talk to us - personally I'd be more than happy to make new friends from random VMs. :D

 

[Hikamaru]

I agree with what most of those said, if you interact with a few staff members every now and then you'll eventually get to know them, and your thoughts on them may change forever. Heck, some staff might even share something in common with you so don't hesitate to go and leave a message. I have a good chunk of them on my friends list as well so you'll see what I mean.

I wouldn't have been the member I was today if I didn't interact with various members, staff included. If you have a few multi-conversations with staff members I'm sure you'll eventually make new friends with them too, because in the end they are just like any other member you'll meet, but with a bit more responsibility.

 

[Crunch Punch]

You can't make such sweeping comments if you haven't even tried talking to a mod and tried to know them better. Every one mod I've talked to so far has been either very helpful or (looking for a better word) charming to talk with, and trust me, they are definitely not clones haha.

I definitely agree with the bold blue theory too. Seems like it makes mods look like jerks for some reason.

 

[Griffinbane]

There's no way the mods even look remotely the same, not to me.

Zach is cool and calm, Mac is a pervert, tabor is a wee 'un, Blade keeps trying to get me into a relationship with her, Sydders likes to hunt for good used game shops, Wolfy makes my singles knowledge look like mud, Audy is the forum-making genius, Live dangles Digimon on a stick over my head, yadda yadda yadda.

Go get to know them a little.

 

[Captain Oshawott]

I've been a member of this site for a couple of months at the very least, and from what I've seen, I'm extremely proud to be a member of this community. When I first joined in August, I had quite a few members of staff greet me, likely within twenty minutes of me making my introduction thread. On other sites I've been to, you'd be lucky to have one moderator, and even then, it wasn't the guy/gal that was moderating that section!

Pokecommunity forums is different, and while my interactions with the staff have been slight, those brief interactions I have had are very professionally carried out, and are very warming and welcoming. Never once have I ever felt more connected to a community and it's staff.

Whether it be AlexOzzyCakes, Sydian, or any of the other members of authority I've had the pleasure of talking to. Any and all questions were answered as quickly and professionally as possible.

Long story short, I'll just say that I'm glad to be a member of this community, knowing that the current members of staff are there keeping things in line. For that, I thank you all.

 

[Pave Low]

I've been a member here for 5 years, and I've seen staff come and go several times. I've had my absences here and there but I can still remember what they were like as a member.

The first thing I would like to say is that the current staff team are definitely, in my opinion, the best that have been around in my 5 years. All of the staff are very willing to help, they are friendly even when someone approaches them aggressively, they make no/extremely few mistakes and are all very fun to talk to. Every staff member that I talk to is a joy to converse with.

In my first couple years, I was incredibly nooby and I will admit to being someone who was approaching the staff in a rude manner. But even then, there were staff members who tried to help me become a better person, become more mature and actually still be here now. One person who really helped me in that respect is Morkula. I still have our PM conversation in 2010 which I believed changed me as a person. He had the effort to have a long PM conversation with someone who he despised and attacked him with rude messages to try and make me a better person and helped me improve as a member and I really cannot thank him enough for that.

But to all the staff out there, I would like to throw out a huge thank you because you are all amazing and I hope that you stick around. <3

 

[Nakala Pri]

Haha, I acted on impulse when I posted that, and I guess it's not fair to make that assumption. But as Hoenn said, whenever I see a blue username I'm all 'QUICK! HIDE ALL OF YOUR POSTS! THE MEN WITH THE BLUE TITLES ARE HERE!!' xD See? I did it again!

Now, I have nothing against you all but you just all look like perfect dolls and sound like 'em, too. So, sorry, I guess... :X

And yeah, you just got an apology from the Rozu. Take it or leave it or I'll get some of mah Mafia grunts to make some havoc with the pheasants, if you get my tone o' phrase...

Capisce?

Rozu OUT!

 

[derozio]

I don't get it, Rozu. How can all of them look like perfect dolls to you? Not a single one of them is perfect or is emulating some ideal mod personality. I think the problem lies in you not trying to get to know them. And, believe me when I say this, but those guys don't shy away from opportunities to make new friends. They're sweet. And all of them WILL look different once you know them. You can't mistake a Mac for a Alexial. One is a perv (you remember us being the resident perv buddies, right mac? :p) while the other is the most adorable person ever (yeah, im biased. She's mah best friend. Watchagon'do, huh?!). Nor will you ever mistake someone like Vertigo for Cirno. Because, even though they're both holy crap sweet, they're just...too different. And everyone's approach is different too. I never handed out a single yellow or red card in my six months of being staff. There are those that probably banned 10-15 members in the same time frame. See what I'm saying? All of them do things differently.

Also, you don't need to apologize! I'm sure none of the staffies want that! ;___;

 

[ProjectMisfit]

I've talked to most of the mods like I'd talk to anyone else, and I LOOOOOOOVE them. Some of them are so nice/sweet, dasndkjasndkjansdkjand <3

 

[Edward Newgate]

I didn't talk to every staff member, but I suppose they're all quite the same if it comes to friendliness (if that's a word. If not, just pretend it is). They're very social, and they're not like the usual staff teams, copy-pasting the same automatic messages to everybody asking them something. They actually talk back, and they don't seem to feel better than the normal members, which is a huge asset in my opinion :)

 

[Hikamaru]

I've talked to most of the mods like I'd talk to anyone else, and I LOOOOOOOVE them. Some of them are so nice/sweet, dasndkjasndkjansdkjand <3

I didn't talk to every staff member, but I suppose they're all quite the same if it comes to friendliness (if that's a word. If not, just pretend it is). They're very social, and they're not like the usual staff teams, copy-pasting the same automatic messages to everybody asking them something. They actually talk back, and they don't seem to feel better than the normal members, which is a huge asset in my opinion :)

I don't get it, Rozu. How can all of them look like perfect dolls to you? Not a single one of them is perfect or is emulating some ideal mod personality. I think the problem lies in you not trying to get to know them. And, believe me when I say this, but those guys don't shy away from opportunities to make new friends. They're sweet. And all of them WILL look different once you know them. You can't mistake a Mac for a Alexial. One is a perv (you remember us being the resident perv buddies, right mac? :p) while the other is the most adorable person ever (yeah, im biased. She's mah best friend. Watchagon'do, huh?!). Nor will you ever mistake someone like Vertigo for Cirno. Because, even though they're both holy crap sweet, they're just...too different. And everyone's approach is different too. I never handed out a single yellow or red card in my six months of being staff. There are those that probably banned 10-15 members in the same time frame. See what I'm saying? All of them do things differently.

Also, you don't need to apologize! I'm sure none of the staffies want that! ;___;

I agree with these guys, I've interacted with almost everyone on the current staff team at some point and there are some I talk to more often than others but based on my experience they all have something that makes them stand out from each other and not make them all carbon copies of each other.

That's what I love about this forum, the staff do more than just give orders. They actually take time to interact with the regular members and that's what makes such a friendly community.

 

[Tsutarja]

All I can suggest for now to members is to not look at a staff member as an intimidating user here. Sure it may seem intimidating, because we're staff, and most forums have staff that are intimidating. But here at PC, it should be fine to approach any level staff member in the same exact manner that you would approach a normal user with. If they don't respond or interact with you at all, then it may just be them, but I can at least guarantee that if you got to know one person on staff, such as myself or any other moderator, or maybe a super moderator, or even a staff administrator, they would be friendly and nice with you.

 

[Griffinbane]

TBH guys, somehow I doubt this really has much to do with you as it does with her and higher ranking people in identical uniforms in general. And- well, nevermind.

 

[Mana1]

This isn't a witch hunt thread, let's get back to individual feedback. People are entitled to their opinion, but let's be civil.

 

[Kura]

Some people have a predisposition of authority is all. Staff are lovely though, you just need to take the time and just chat with them one-on-one and remember that it's best not to generalize and think instead we are all just people from different places gathering here on a forum who love this site :3

 

[Sirfetch’d]

Some people have a predisposition of authority is all. Staff are lovely though, you just need to take the time and just chat with them one-on-one and remember that it's best not to generalize and think instead we are all just people from different places gathering here on a forum who love this site :3

I love this post so much and it describes things perfectly. I was a bit intimidated and I didn't want anything to do with staff members when I first joined. Then, a few reached out to me and started making me feel welcomed that I eventually started to talking and conversing with nearly every staff member here. I realized that staff are among the friendliest people here because it is our job to run and make sure the community is a friendly and properly functioning place.

 

[antemortem]

Sometimes I feel like the astounding amount of matching username colors can be a little off-putting, especially with the seemingly high color:non-color ratio (as we found, that ratio is actually around 1:575, so it's not actually that large!). I just encourage, though I cannot explicitly force, anyone and everyone to not be afraid of a username with color because not only are all of the staff members willing to communicate in a friendly manner, we were all members at one time and had that predisposition toward authority that Kura speaks of. It's something we have to get over and hopefully everyone can work together with staff become comfortable with staff.

 

[Abnegation]

Something I've always said, and I will stick by it: a normal member with no extra powers or responsibilities has the same potential to change something on this forum, as an Administrator does. Sounds weird? Well it's true. No matter where you post suggestion, it has to go through an approval stage, no matter what. If a member suggests something that they hope changes, or improves, there's no reason why that won't happen. The only difference is, where the suggestion is posted. Just because a staff member has a different usergroup, does not mean that their influence on PC has any course to be greater than someone who isn't a staff member.

I'm aware I'll get a lot of cynics imploring general human instincts who will say that "no, we're not equal." It's so easy to say that "authoritative figures" have so much more opportunities, and that people will listen to them more simply because of their colour, that is simply not true. This forum was built around user suggestion and feedback, it's also why this forum exists.

Due to that logic, that members and staff members have the same potential, I believe that we're all equal here. Sure, some people have more permissions and responsibilities than others, but we each have the potential to change things for the positive on this forum. I don't see having extra permissions as being an upper hand, nor does it make me feel above anyone. Simply because I know that having permissions doesn't make me any better of a person. As a staff member I was given those permissions because I was suited to the job at hand, but I'm terrible at being an approachable, active, and all-round member like I felt I used to be. Being a staff member often requires a particular skill set. Regardless, we're all on a path on PC, not on a ladder. We're not here to get to the top of anything, and when we do reach the end of this path, we've left our time at PC behind. So the point is to enjoy the journey, and not assume that because someone has a different colour username, or more permissions, or a larger avatar, that they're any more important that you, because they're not.

This is a community of equal opportunities, and when I look at what we've accomplished as both members, and staff members, I'm extremely impressed and can honestly see why PokéCommunity is a success. The staff team do an amazing job, simply because they have one of the best user bases I could possibly imagine behind them.