I knew if the user got banned then all account would be locked once they were found to be linked to the banned user, never knew a warning had the same effect but it makes complete sense.

Do mods need to discuss locking topics before they do so, or can they do so anyway if they feel like it?

Sometimes we do discuss it, but it doesn't really happen very often. Most of the time we just lock it right away.

It depends. Some topics are closed for obvious reasons such as excessive flaming, duplicates, [post limit], spam and so on. Those topics need no discussion to close. The ones that require consultation are discussed either in the admin forum or via PM/IM with other mods.

You will see topics closed and the reasons given in the close post that are sometimes the result of a decision by several moderators - and usually the one who makes the close gets the blame. We work as a team and have to justify our decisions to admin if called on to do so, the same often applies to warnings and bans.

Besides locking political and religious threads, how much can they be discussed before it be comes too much.

I know In-game politics (and religion?) threads are allowed as long as they stay on topic and don't drag in too much real world examples.

Again it depends. A topic made for the sole purpose of discussing either of those subjects or one that cannot be discussed without them being a major part of the discussion will be closed very quickly.

If either real life politics or religion are introduced into a thread then we will either edit the content out, make an intervention post asking for it to be dropped or if it is just a passing remark we may ignore it.

Ah, the age old questions about forum "rank" and how to get the coveted "moderator" title! It seems that they have both been answered, but I'm still a bit curious as to why anyone would actually want to be a moderator? Based on previous experience, moderating a public forum requires quite a bit of work as well as patience and simple courtesy, especially in large forums where often times the aformentioned traits are lacking. Did I mention that it takes work? Without pay? Often times without any thanks? It's probably best for most to be content as a simple forum member, helping where you can, sharing ideas you may have as well as a place to get help when you need it.

Another interesting question I have is why are forum "ranks" so important to some people? Make 2000 posts in 6 months just for the sake of "rank" seems kind of "Obsessive/Compulsive" when you think about it. I think it's good to turn the computer off and go socialize with real people in the real world as much as I can. I also hope this post doesn't send some poor soul off on a tizzy.

Without pay, have you see some of the stuff they get from Bethesda, that has to be worth it when they all they need to do is keep some of us in line. Oh and the banhammer must be fun to swing around, especially in a room full of breakable things.

Post count I don't care much about, but would rather it went up rather than down, some childish people might see it as another game to try "win" by constantly posting just to boost their numbers, there was one member in the Skyrim section who made it to 5 stars in a month or something and he was apparently doing legit posts and not just spamming

In a month?!

I forgot about the "banhammer", heh. I especially like your reference to a room full of breakable things!

Something like that, I'll try dig him up from somewhere if I have time.

It is a question I often ask myself, especially when I receive yet another vulgar and rude PM or when someone complains to admin about a warn/ban. Oh, and it is a private forum, not public.


I guess that some members figure that a higher rank and more posts give credence and acceptance to their posts, but we all know that is not the case.

I have definitely seen some members take user rank far too seriously, to the point that, at one point in 2007, I saw someone post

in response to someone with said rank answering a question.

I can only answer this for myself but personally I stay because I love this place. I like being part of making it a place where new people can come, some having never been on a forum before and seek assistance for the game they are playing. I have a keen desire that people be able to do that without fear of being made fun of and that they will be met with kindness and helpfulness. It doesn't always happen that way but it isn't for the lack of the moderators trying.

Some of the members here I have known since I got here in 2002. I care about them. And I continue to meet people from all over the world who I find interesting to converse with. I find this forum a nice place with nice members and enjoy being a small part of ensuring it stays that way. There are times, like recently, when it gets to me and I just back off for a while and the other moderators pick up the slack. But all in all....I do it because I enjoy it. The extra work gives me something to do during retirement that makes me feel I am contributing to society and the patience it takes is something I have always prided myself on having anyway.

I might note that it's not just moderators who make this place nice but the members. We couldn't do what we do if not for thoughtful and helpful members who assist us everyday. You folks are awesome sauce!

Trust me (hehe) you have my sympaties there.....


Hence the question. I suppose some things simply are as they are. I'm relatively new to the whole "gaming forum" thing, as they didn't exist when I was big into gaming. The resources that can be found on sites like this are simply astounding to say the least.

I can see why. My sister told me about this site a few years back when I "discovered" Morrowind. I recall playing "Arena" a few times, but there wasn't any forums to visit if there was any questions. On a more personal note, what you said above pretty much describes the mindset needed in order to moderate a diverse forum such as this, in my opinion. Being "semi-retired" myself, I can understand the need, but alas, I seem to simply lack the patience....

Can you elaborate on that, Rohugh? I'm just curious as to how the relationship between the Admin and Moderators work.

Do they often ask you about the decisions you've made? I figured you've been doing this long enough for them to trust your judgement. And I assume they have bigger fish to fry.

Gstaff and Nick Breckon are the two admins who are responsible for the overall running of the forums and have the final say on what goes on. As moderators we are given the responsibility of ensuring the smooth running of the forums and that the forum rules and ToS are followed. Whilst we, as a moderator group, have the say for the majority of time on the forums there are occasions where we need the input from admin on situations and we pass it on for them to deal with.

Every member has the right to appeal a decision we make with one of the administrators, if that happens it is posted in the admin forum and we discuss it, we input into the discussion and admin reaches a decision based on that. It does not happen very often but there are occasions when a member is aggrieved by a warning or ban. As to our judgement, yes many of us have been moderating for a long time here and have "been there done that", but it doesn't mean we can't make mistakes, if we do we will readily correct them. The first thing for a member to do is to civilly discuss the problem with a mod, if they feel they are not getting the response they deserve they can escalate it to higher authority.

We log everything we do in our forum so if there are any problems admin can see what was done, why it was done and what was said. There is a fair bit of "paper work" involved, it's not just a post saying "I don't like Bitter Coast 'cause he asks too many questions - banning him!"

Very interesting, thank you for the explanation.


Her, Rohugh. Her.



Ro.: Sorry.

Bitter Coast: No worries. Your courageous use of pink font is more than enough.

Admins never disagree with us, or we ban them

Swedes should never have such power.

Can you become a moderator even if you've gotten forum warnings in the past? Has any of the moderators been naughty in their past?

A few have, yeah.

Ok, now I suddenly started imagining Rohugh and Summer trolling the forums, weird...

I can imagine the latter being quite problematic.

So I've changed my theme to Elegant and my colour to bright pink. (Yep )

How do I get it to stay pink? Every time I log out and in it goes back to the blue?

Is there actually someone who have a higher post count than you?


edit:

Is there a mod who watches mlp or post in their forum thread?

We aren't nice, we just mastered the art of passive aggression.