Get more staff
I nominate myself

The bans aren't long enough or harsh enough to get the point across then

I think you're the only person who would

We are always accepting applications. Anyone can send a PM to myself and the Moderator Leads (GobO_Althalus and GobO_Fire) with a resume of any relevant experience and a short blurb explaining why you are interested in a position.

What we are looking for in a moderator:

1.) Someone who is interested in fostering a healthy, creative community.
2.) Someone who has a history constructive posts and a knowledge and interest in the community.
3.) Someone who can be available on at least a semi-daily basis to browse the forums, post, and handle issues.
4.) Someone who can separate their friendships, opinions, beliefs, and personal feelings from their moderator persona and objectively deal with the issues.

Advocating for harsher moderation is certainly a reasonable goal, if you can make a case for it in specific instances, but generally our goal is to foster an environment that decreases the need for direct moderation, rather than increasing it, and just banning anyone you don't like is not the best way to make that happen. "I want to be a mod so I can ban more people" is not the mission statement I would advise anyone put on their resume. Here are the top three things which are not disallowed by the code of conduct about which we still get a lot of reports and vocal complaints:

1.) Being annoying.
2.) Disagreeing with my opinion, especially if I'm the author of the thread.
3.) Not understanding something that I think is obvious.

There are things that I often disagree with that I have to let slide, and there are things that I totally agree with that users have been moderated for. Sometimes it is really hard to tell when someone is violating a rule and when they are just pissing you off. If we just gave out a warning to anyone who was reported, most of the top 20 posters on this forum would probably all be banned right now.

I think you took what I was saying too seriously and wasted a bunch of time on a post

If I did become a mod I wouldn't just decide to ban everyone
My point was day bans don't do anything
And reading the garbage people post is enough
Actually subjecting myself to have to deal with it is lol

As neat as a sn with green text is, I'll pass.
The forum doesn't need anymore help as is.

Whether you meant it seriously or not, I felt it warranted a serious response. My intent was not to chastise but inform.

"If I did become a mod I wouldn't just decide to ban everyone" is something that would never be an issue, because bans are carefully regulated, and whether you were being unserious again or not, I don't want anyone to think that is how moderation works. Every warning is a tiny court case that we take very seriously, complete with a process for appeal.

Day bans do change things. Making a punishment harsher because you think someone needs to "learn a lesson" is misunderstanding the issue, I think. Either a user doesn't understand that a certain action is not going to be tolerated, or they will inevitably progress to a permanent ban. The actual ban duration is somewhat arbitrary, and increasing it would serve no real function beyond punishment for its own sake, I think.

"Reading the garbage people post is enough" is exactly the kind of post you are talking about. Everyone needs to understand this. Pointing out that another user's post is bad, especially if you use language that is dismissive, condescending, or otherwise violates the code of conduct is as bad or worse than the original post 99% of the time. One bad post in a vacuum does almost nothing. But when users responsd to a bad post with their own negativity rather than simply reporting it, then the real trouble begins, fights start, threads derail, and real content is marginalized or stops completely.

I know people don't get arbitrarily banned.
It was a thing some people call a "joke"

Day bans don't really do anything
It's not about teaching a lesson
It's about acting as a deterrent for the banned poster and others
I'd rather give one ban semi long ban and not have to deal with
A million brush fires and try to put each one out
I still think people believe they can push the mod team around
And know they'd have to spam nsfw photos to really get banned
So you get the same three people trolling and being moronic again and again
Causing issues everywhere and you're wasting your own time
By not just putting your foot down and ending it


Except by garbage it was clearly meant as trolling content. Not things I disagree with. my post wasn't responding to any trolling and I ignore things like that and when it becomes egregious I report it


Nice job missing everything and fabricating random things

I get jokes. I just want to make sure people are clear.

You can say day bans don't do anything, but they've already affected changes on the boards. Yes, it is definitely frustrating for the staff to deal with posters who habitually make violations and make no attempt to be constructive. However, that is not most posters. Most posters are constructive or at least not deliberately disruptive, but sometimes people accrue warnings, and I don't want to see otherwise good posters banned permanently as a result of a few mistakes. If someone thinks they can push the mod around, they are mistaken, but that does not mean the mods are going to just crack down on everyone with a bunch of draconian interpretation and enforcement of the rules, and we will not be making any adjustment to the rules in that vein. The slack built into the system creates extra work for the mods, and getting permanently banned takes a little bit longer, but this is a forum about gaming and not a prison work release program, so I think that is a good thing.

Please also keep in mind that everyone has different ideas about what is a fun atmosphere. I don't know which three users you mean, but as far as I know, no users on this forum are deliberately "trolling and being moronic" so much as they are just hanging out and trying to have a good time.

I understood what you meant by garbage, but what you actually said could easily be interpreted to be directed at specific users' posts in general, or even all posts in general, and someone could take offense. What does it add to the conversation? Please note that I am not attempting to moderate or edit your post or chastise you, as I mentioned before. I'm simply pointing out the kind of attitudes we are looking for in a moderator, for general edification.

What you refer to as wasting my own time and not putting my foot down and ending it is why we have a lot of the content we do have. Do some users have conflict with each other? Sure. But I assure you that not everyone is annoyed by the same users as you.

I'm not sure what you mean by "Nice job missing everything and fabricating random things" here or how you thought that was constructive. If you actually think I missed anything, feel free to point it out, and if you actually think I've fabricated anything I would like to know what that is so I can explain it. But I would also ask that you take a moment when you get a chance and reread the last line of your post, and then think of a user you consider a bad poster and pretend they said that to a member of the staff, and imagine how you might feel about it then. I think you might feel that they deserve a warning. Would a "three strikes, your out" policy be fair or even constructive here?

All I am trying to do is communicate how this forum operates, and maybe give everyone a little perspective.

day bans are to let otherwise decent posters know where the lines in the sand are drawn i've gotten day banned twice for perfectly reasonable things and i'm trying to not do those things anymore cause I like to post.

I'm really annoyed by how antagonistic everyone seems to be toward the moderation staff because their forum does not align with your interests.

Not to be a jerk, but doesn't this post essentially read "I don't like what you're doing and it's being done too slowly?" >_>


Bun, any thoughts on where you'd want to advertise?

[completely ignores the endless circular moderation arguments]

I'm not antagonizing moderation. I'm trying to stand up for them! People are being obnoxious and purposefully toeing the line just to be annoying and it's slowing down the forum as a result because a few posters constantly demand attention.

My solution: stop letting them get away with it and hit them over the head with a week long ban.
Then they can either figure it out and cut it out or get banned for a month. Then a year.

I understand where you're coming from, tony. But let's use the analogy of stealing a candy bar, because I love stupid analogies. Should it be illegal? Of course. Does someone deserve ten years in jail for stealing a candy bar? I mean, they know it was illegal, they're just being annoying, so let's get them out of here, right? I think that's too harsh. Punishment that is grossly disproportionate to the crime doesn't teach a disproportionately better lesson. Instead it teaches the punishee to loathe the system, and it teaches the innocent to fear the system. The entire point of the lesson is lost in the name of convenience, and no one wins. We aren't a totalitarian state.

Let's also use a more practical example: say you get three warnings and then you're permanently banned. If the warnings last something insane like a year each, it takes over two years for a "bad" user to get permanently banned. If the warnings last only an hour, then it takes just over two hours for such a user to get permanently banned.

Keeper: I'm not sure yet, but I'm open to suggestions. There are certain types of ads I'm against on principle, but I have a few ideas. I'm always open to more.

Your analogy isn't appropriate though.

What if someone steals a candy bar? Okay, a firm talking to and you move along.

Then they keep stealing it. Or worse they steal a whole box, embolden by the fact they "got away" with the first time. Then you give them a firm talking to again? No, you up the ante. You fine them 50 dollars- far more than the candy bar they stole was worth.

Then they do it again? Okay, clearly it wasn't enough. A firm talking to isn't going to work. Even 50 dollars isn't going to work. You need to really stick it to them. You fine them 1000 dollars. When a punishment isn't working, you up the ante because in their minds it clearly is worth the potential risk/punishment. This is exactly how the US judicial system does things. Because it's the fairest route that will actually work. Slaps on the wrist will not work on some people.


Or better yet, you just fine anyone (who knows better, ie. an adult) for stealing 1,000 dollars minimum. I'm not saying throw someone into solitary confinement. But fining someone the equivalent of 1 dollar for stealing a 1 dollar candy bar is just not smart business.

I don't entirely agree with tony3, but at the same time, perhaps there could be a system put into place for increasing warning counts? Maybe base it on time as well? I know it would be a lot to keep track of, but most penalties in life are based on time and frequency and escalation of consequence.

~SE++

When we start posting main-page content, I think Reddit would be our best bet for quick pagecount boosts. We might want to alternate who is posting what articles since otherwise it might come across as too blatantly self-promotey. Might want to talk to Yxoque about it; he hates Reddit as a community a lot less than me and spends time answering storyline questions in the Magic subreddit.

I'd recommend running a NGA tumblr. That'll pay slower dividends but it's probably worthwhile to build up a readership there. The M:EM tumblr might be able to boost things a bit at the outset via reblogging.

What kinds of advertising are you categorically opposed to, out of curiosity?

We should definitely have a bunch of banner ads featuring nearly naked busty women. That would set the right tone for these forums, I think, and attract a good, upstanding, intellectual kind of fanbase.

Busty goblin ladies would be slick

people who have never been banned talking about how ineffective the system is with all their insider information

way to go guys

Google Search: Busty Goblin Lady

Result #4 is Zerg0nator

NEW FORUM MASCOT

the people i dont like are still posting so clearly something is wrong with the system

Gross.

????

Actually, advertising with parodies of those awful "hey boys come be sexy masculine gamers" or whateverthecrap ads with Magic goblins might work out well for us... Hmmm...