Most of the mods are here for the same reason y'all are here, it is just that we have to clean up crap while we're surfing the forums.



I'll be honest, every time I wear that shirt, I feel pretty bad ass.

Absolutely quote-worthy.

let me see if i understand out moderators though... in addition to what Talaran said, i think:

they need to understand that law is law, but law over grace is not the best way to go sometimes, so sometimes its grace over law. not like bending the rules, though, more like not get happy with the ban button.

they need to be as impartial as possible. more so the better. this is the kind of place where opinions can start [forum's]World War, so it is important to understand that everyone will agree on everything and that just because one opinion is different from another, it does not make it the right or the wrong one. as a bonus, they need to understand that if someone feels their opinions are disagreed, criticizer, flames, etc, then this cannot be overlooked by the offended person-people hold that if their opinions are offended, they are personally offended as a result because their opinions are as much a part of them as their head, mind, etc.

they need to understand that conflict resolution, which might need to be done here, is not as easy as assign ban or warn. meaning, play the mediator is a going to have to take place eventually.

and of course, they need to be accessible, relate-able, show they are people, too, not just BanHammer wielders. one can't moderate the community without being a part of it, which means being accessible, friendly, understanding, etc. example: i'll never forget how one of the moderators said i need to go over there and clean up their screen because the picture i showed them made them laugh while drinking coffee and now there was coffer all over the monitor .

and of course, they need to be witty, clever, quick to find stuff, know where to point you for this or that, and so on.

Nah. We do it just so we can click that little button and giggle insanely to ourselves. Yup.

I would like to be a mod. The perks don't really matter that much to me. Though their a nice bonus... :tongue:

We are just naturally born janitors, who keep the place clean


All of us did at some point recive a message from an admin asking us if we wants to be one. They look for helpful people who they think have a positive influence on the forums. In my case, I did spend a lot of time in the Morrowind hardware/software issues forum and helped people.

And there are also several people who turned down that.

In another forum I did a bit of moderating a while back & it just wasn't for me though, it did show me a glimpse behind the curtain & I do respect what you do

Do they give you any brain-washing cookies to keep you in lock-step?


And then you get the admins to change peoples passwords.

Besides, if you already think this is iron-fist, you weren't here when Hayt was around.

People who think "Yasgur" and "Freddo" are good usernames

Weird people with varying degrees of sanity and quirkiness but still entirely fabulous and completely delicious.

Yes, I just said that.

Very thick skinned people.

The one thing that the moderator team has in common is the desire to make these forums a nice place to come to discuss and help the games whether they be positive or negative views, it's about allowing feedback on all aspects. We were all members once and enjoyed that freedom, were given the chance to help continue that tradition here and although many of us didn't jump at the chance when it was first offered we are all on pretty much of the same wavelength when it comes to maintaining the forums. It is also nice that we have a good base of members who indirectly help in steering others in the right direction, for that the moderators have to say thanks.



Ah, you obviously know me.

Pretty much the same sort of person as you'd get from any other section of the general population: moderators in general tend to have examples from the good the bad and the ugly. Some do it out of altruism, others for status, some for a combination of the two; I'd guess most do it to give something back to the community they've been part of, which for many can be its own reward. I've known places with bloody awful moderators and some with better moderation, though most here tend to be pretty good.

There's often a misconception about what being a moderator involves: you seem to be pretty close to the mark in that it's a lot of work that can sometimes seem to be more trouble than its worth, though some people seem to imagine it's an elite social strata with boundless power over others. The former tend to make good moderators, the latter tend to make terrible moderators.