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AntiChrist (2015-07-12 15:14:36)I don't know what's going on in the chatrooms and from what I've heard it doesn't sound like it's going very smoothly, but CMs are chosen only if they use both the chats and the forums. The CM doesn't only get chosen from the forums because the community manager should be choosing moderators and making sure they do their job right in both the chats and the forums, rather than only one part of the website. If there is an imbalance in power, it isn't because the forums are more popular. It's because somebody in control is making some sort of mistake.
I'm not pointing fingers or anything, but the mods chosen for the chatrooms may be doing something wrong or maybe there aren't enough moderators in the chatrooms. I don't know what is currently causing the problems with the chatrooms but no matter how much more attention the forums have than the chats, it shouldn't really have much impact on how well the mods do their job in either part of the website. If the problem is lack of mods, then the community manager is probably aware of that already and the chatrooms may have to be a little patient, as it is important to chose the right people to moderate the chatrooms so that the current situation doesn't become worse.
Tl; Dr version of my comment: The forums are not the problem.
ED (2015-07-12 16:14:50)I'm talking about the whole community. Not just forums and chats.
That's what I meant with Plaza being bigger than just forums and chats.
Lani (2015-07-12 16:29:03)As I was reading through this, I was expecting it to go in a completely different direction...I expected this to say that just because you're popular in the forums, doesn't mean you're popular on the whole site (because forums aren't all of Plaza...)
Despite what you all think, the forums aren't the most popular aspect of the site...neither are the chats. Both are used equally, in my opinion. There are the forum
Now, moderators (including profile/draw etc) are chosen particularly from either the forums or chats because these are the formats provided to us to communicate...any other communication method is either PMs or profile comments, and that would be tedious to comb through in order to judge whether or not a user is fit to be a mod.
Saying all moderators/CMs are picked from the forums, is entirely false...it only goes to show how much you miss by not being in the chats more often.
You will certainly be missing some chunk of "important" information if you stictly use just one media, doesn't matter whether it's chats or forums. If you prefer to use one over the other, fine...but please don't act like you know everything if you choose to do that, because it's impossible if you're missing so much.
ED (2015-07-12 18:02:43)That's what I (somewhat) was adressing. Users being seen as popular because they use either chats or forums (or both), sure. Doesn't mean that they should have a bigger chance on becoming something like a moderator/cm/anything.
My point is geared more towards 'global powers' such as global moderators and CMs. It shouldn't be that if you use one (or two, for that matter) part(s) of the site, that you gain control over other parts of the site. That's why I think that there is a bias when it comes to having new moderators/cms/anything.
If there is an undeniable seperation of sorts, why should a member that actively uses the forums and/or chats have control over other parts of the community?
If moderators would be picked from their most frequently part of the site, there would be no problem. Only if parts of the site other than chats/forums got attention for such things. The list of moderators frequently changes when it comes to chats and forums, but when it comes to other parts of the community the list contains either little or inactive moderators.
I'm certain that there is a bias when it comes to moderators and (especially) CMs. It's not that I was inactive for months (I wasn't inactive), and even then, it wouldn't matter if months go by, there is a pattern when it comes to new moderators/CMs.
carlos11 (2015-07-12 18:34:35)No, you won't get promoted to forum moderator.
I took the time to read your post and I couldn't help but notice you are an imbecile. There are only 5 forum moderators as of now. The forums' staff has been in the single digits for years now. In fact, it was only recently that two users were promoted, and that's how we got to 5. The chats have 8 or 9 moderators, depending on who you ask. Moreover, several of the forum moderators we have now, and more in the past, are chat users who were granted forum moderator privileges. This happens often. Conversely, forum moderators are virtually never ganted privileges elsewhere.
Furthermore, the influence of the forums on the chats is declining. In the past months, I've witnessed a reversal of trends. The discarding of new policies imposed on the chats by the forums in favor of more traditional ones which had been abandoned.
This post has been edited one or more times, the last time was:2015-07-12 19:16:15
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pikarceus (2015-07-12 19:21:57)lol
Seriously are you guys are 12 or something? Oh wait
This post has been edited one or more times, the last time was:2015-07-12 19:22:43
carlos11 (2015-07-12 19:25:54)Charming.
Language is a tool for efficient communication. The internet is a tool for fast communication. Do not defy both intents by posting incoherent writing.
Lani (2015-07-12 20:24:07)I'm somewhat confused now.
So moderators who have privileges over more than 1 section of the community is the problem? Perhaps the ever fluxing status of current mods?
Allow me to explain that...
Firstly, this is a community of jejune children and angsty teenagers. Finding users who are mature enough and have reliable reasoning skills is difficult. Everyone expects perfection from moderators, so drama that occurs (because we're all inevitably children and either can't meet mature, reliable expectations...or are too immature to accept authority) often results in demotions.
Because of this, if a moderator--who has proven theirself to be mature and reliable--is seen as active in another area of the site, they're naturally the first consideration when a moderator is needed in that area.
Secondly, as for the "Chat mods to Forum mods but never Forum mods to Chat mods" thing, and why there are so many chat mods:
In both sections, every post has to be moderated...in the chats, however, there's dozens of posts every minute that have to be glanced over for any violations. People use the chats 24/7, so there always has to be a moderator actively watching the chat; unlike the forums, where things go at a slower pace. You can leave the forums alone for 15 minutes and return to see either A: nothing has changed, or B: There are new posts which are waiting there forever to be noticed and moderated.
This is why it's more likely for chat mods to be promoted to forums as well because you can multitask both.
Of course, traditional forum mods could adopt the same habit, though most of them hardly ever use the chats, so I wouldn't assume they would actively moderate them if they never use them.
This is a small community and none of us have experience of making things completely fair and perfect. I understand there's no use in coming to a site that has prickly mods and unfair bans...moderator criticism in that sense is important, but when it comes down to strict "ther r 2 many modz" and "mods are chosen from bias" criticism, it's becoming too nit picky for such a small, obsolete site. This is a social website...moderators really need to stop being the main focus all the time.
I think it would be best to just respect community decisions that are made, unless of course it's truly terrible...even then, it will work itself out.
carlos11 (2015-07-12 20:51:26)What I mentioned is not the problem at hand now. It is an issue to be dealt with some other day. It's a peculiar and intriguing observation that I wanted to bring up to have ED learn where he is wrong. It's the opposite of what ED is saying.
This post has been edited one or more times, the last time was:2015-07-12 21:01:56
Language is a tool for efficient communication. The internet is a tool for fast communication. Do not defy both intents by posting incoherent writing.
Perfect_Chaos (2015-07-13 05:22:43)There aint really a community outside of forums and chats though.
ED (2015-07-13 20:09:36)What a way to look down on views, arguments or really anything by making assumptions and implying things. Also by not having some respect in the slightest.
If the whole community is made out of ''jejune children and angsty teenagers'', then why is it that specifically forums (and sometimes chats) are to have the most recognition? When it comes to anything, the forums (and chats) are first to have something improved/changed/anything.
It's anything, not just moderators that are being replaced, or what else more. Are you trying to defend your position as mod, or something? There is nothing wrong with mods; hear me out.
It's that the active users of forums and chats think that Plaza is just the forums and chats, or recognize the forums and chats as the only actively used part of the website (Perfect_Chaos is a good example). Plaza is more than that. The forums and chats aren't the heart or the brain of Plaza. Because the forums are inactive, it doesn't mean that Plaza is inactive.
Because the forums are important to you, it doesn't mean that the forums are important for the whole community.
carlos11 (2015-07-13 22:20:18)The only person wasting your time is yourself if you go out of your way to do something of your own volition whilst consciously believing it is pointless.
If you have nothing to contribute to this discussion, you may see your way out of this thread.
Language is a tool for efficient communication. The internet is a tool for fast communication. Do not defy both intents by posting incoherent writing.
Nutsy (2015-07-14 22:07:37)What is ED trying to say? That parts of Plaza other than the forums and chats need attention?
ED (2015-07-15 14:22:19)It all comes down to that, yes. It might not see very grand, but I think it is affecting the community as a whole.
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You seem to be liked throughout the whole site. You are an active user of all of Plaza. And you seem to be known by everyone on the site. You think that you are popular.
While in reality, all you visit are the forums, and perhaps the most active chatroom. As a loyal and active user of the site you deserve to get a higher rank and have control over most members in the community!
Get my point? What I'm trying to say is that the forums rule all of Plaza. While the forums only contain a fraction of the members in the community. That's why the chats and forums have loads of mods while the rest of the site does not. All the site's attention go to the forums, as CMs and moderators are picked from there. Only in very rare cases, moderators are picked from the less 'popular' parts of the community.
Plaza is so divided, even the power is unbalanced. The site is more than just the forums and chats. That's why I spoke about Plaza having to unite, in a sense that people aren't divided in groups in the community.