SierraKomodo's Forum Moderator Application (Messa save me)

[SierraKomodo]

Forum Moderator Application

 

Basic Information

Byond Account: SierraKomodo

Preferred means of contact: Skype, Steam, Forum PM

Age: 23 (24 as of Nov 23)

Timezone: Pacific Standard; We follow DST here

How often do you visit/use our forums?: At least once a day, usually more often than that

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Experience

How long have you been with our community:

Nearly a year (Late december is when I joined)

Do you have any experience in forum moderation or administration?:

Not necessarily with phpBB, but I have moderated and back-end administrated (Mainly managing the ACP) on vbulletin and zetaboards

Have you ever been banned from our server or forum, and if so, how long and why?:

If a malf AI ban counts, then yes; I was banned by Scopes for acting poorly in certain situations as an antag AI.

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Personality

Why do you play SS13?:

I swear I'm addicted or something. Mostly, it's because it's one of the few games I play that has interaction with other players/people; It's also because of the roleplay element.

Why do you play on Aurora?:

Aurora is the only server I know of that has a roleplay focus that isn't ERP central; Honestly, if Aurora stops being a place to RP on ss13 I'd probably end up leaving the game.

What do moderators do?:

Moderators keep the peace on the server, making sure everyone plays nicely and follows the rules. Their job isn't to dish out warnings and bans for every instance of a broken rule, but to make sure everyone keeps to a civil discussion in the forums, perhaps by guiding posts back on topic if needed.

What does it mean to be a moderator for our community?:

Aside from the responsibilities that come with the position, moderators are still just a part of the server's community and player base.

Why do you want to be a moderator?:

Because keknar won't shut up until I apply. I like to be helpful, and noticed there's only two forum moderators right now; I figured a third would be more helpful.

What qualities do you possess that would make you a good moderator?:

I have experience from other communities as a moderator/admin, and a majority of the community does get along with me. I'm also currently an admin on the teamspeak server that hosts the Aurora channels.

How well do you handle stress, anger, or insults?:

Insults wise, I've gotten to where I just ignore it and move on, after having past experience with the typical abuse you can sometimes get in other communities. Anger and stress, I''m honestly not sure if this is the best way to handle things, but I tend to take a break for awhile if things get really bad

 

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Anything Else You Want to Add:

Kekner keeps bugging me to fill out an app, so I've finally filled one out XD

Edited November 28, 2015 by Guest

[Shadow]

Right then,

I am pretty sure Sierra would be able to be a forum mod.

You have my support.

[LetzShake]

Sierra's always seemed like a good player and levelheaded. Good person to have around, for sure.

[Frances]

How do you feel about the current state of forum moderation, and would you change anything to the way forums are moderated?

It's a rather small scene with 2-3 mods, so every participant has a big impact. This question isn't trying to imply that someone would go yolo and simply start changing the moderation guidelines, but if you'd like to make a push towards specific guidelines or ideas, what would they be?

[SierraKomodo]

How do you feel about the current state of forum moderation, and would you change anything to the way forums are moderated?

It's a rather small scene with 2-3 mods, so every participant has a big impact. This question isn't trying to imply that someone would go yolo and simply start changing the moderation guidelines, but if you'd like to make a push towards specific guidelines or ideas, what would they be?

 

In regards to forum moderation, it does seem that things are rolling along exactly as they should be as far as I'm aware. So, currently, there's nothing I think should be changed beyond them getting another helping hand, since Keknar seems to be wanting a third mod to work with.

[Killerhurtz]

MESSA HELP US ALL

+1. I don't know how to put this without sounding like an asslicker, but I tend to forget that Sierra isn't staff yet despite their large contributions. I feel they're definitely one of the (many) pillars of the community, and having them be a forum moderator would do a lot of good.

[Jboy2000000]

Im going to have to tag on with Killer here, theres nothing I can say without sounding like a boot licker. Sierra is one of those people I see in the community that are so nice, connected and cool that I think, "Man, I wish those people could be part of something bigger in the community."

[Gollee]

As a note, Sierra has been/is a DO person/helper.

[SierraKomodo]

As a note, Sierra has been/is a DO person/helper.

 

To be honest I'm not doing much if anything for that at this point.

[Thundy]

Thought you were a mod already? That's how much you should be staff mate. Why only forum mod, why not full mod? You'd be good at it?

+++1

[SierraKomodo]

Thought you were a mod already? That's how much you should be staff mate. Why only forum mod, why not full mod? You'd be good at it?

+++1

 

I was a trial mod once. Between my experience there, and how things usually go for me stress/annoyance wise when playing in round while not a staff member.. It wouldn't work out. I got malf banned because I reacted poorly to a stressful situation; It wouldn't be a good idea for me to be a server moderator in a situation like that. Forums aren't fast paced, take-action-right-now type of situations and I can take the time to sit back, contemplate a situation, and come to a better decision.

[Thundy]

Thought you were a mod already? That's how much you should be staff mate. Why only forum mod, why not full mod? You'd be good at it?

+++1

 

I was a trial mod once. Between my experience there, and how things usually go for me stress/annoyance wise when playing in round while not a staff member.. It wouldn't work out. I got malf banned because I reacted poorly to a stressful situation; It wouldn't be a good idea for me to be a server moderator in a situation like that. Forums aren't fast paced, take-action-right-now type of situations and I can take the time to sit back, contemplate a situation, and come to a better decision.

 

You know yourself well, I am impressed. I really do hope you getthe position.

[SierraKomodo]

I'm pulling this application.

[SierraKomodo]

I've been swayed into putting this back up

[Guest]

I +1 Sierra.

[Garnascus]

You have me seriously conflicted sierra, I like you as a person and as a player. You can however get quite nasty to staff when your ahelps aren't answered and things and have ragequit more than once in game. It leads me to believe you don't handle stress and frustration very well.

Also I won't pry into why you initially pulled the app or why you decided to reinstate it, however it can make you appear a bit indecisive. Are you sure you want to be a forum mod? How do we know you want quit it in two weeks?

Some positives, nobody can deny your experience or indeed your work ethic. I've seen it firsthand you doing all the "desk work" for the DO corps. I think you have good initiative.

[SierraKomodo]

You have me seriously conflicted sierra, I like you as a person and as a player. You can however get quite nasty to staff when your ahelps aren't answered and things and have ragequit more than once in game. It leads me to believe you don't handle stress and frustration very well.

Also I won't pry into why you initially pulled the app or why you decided to reinstate it, however it can make you appear a bit indecisive. Are you sure you want to be a forum mod? How do we know you want quit it in two weeks?

Some positives, nobody can deny your experience or indeed your work ethic. I've seen it firsthand you doing all the "desk work" for the DO corps. I think you have good initiative.

 

The main thing thing that's gotten be rather short with staff has been the trackrecord (At least from my personal experience) of things just not being done, people not communicating, people saying something will be done then nothing happening, etc. Most of that honestly has been from my experiences as a DO and my annoyances with that just not having had an outlet so it bleeds out into ahelps, and I'm sorry for that, although I have had issues with staff ignoring my ahelps when I see them talking in OOC, or I get the 'username will handle your request' and then nothing happens after that.

One of the main reasons I'm going with staff is to try and lead by example in regards to communicating and getting things done instead of backseat-slapping (I like this term, it's now mine) people about it like I have been recently.

[Garnascus]

Given your reply i feel comfortable in giving this app a +1

[Frances]

Things can get pretty heated when being a mod, and it's important to have the proper skills to defuse situations and know how to prevent people from getting upset, or at the very least, avoid having things devolve into a shouting match.

In an otherwise fairly civil complaint, you made a relatively aggressive post, accusing a player of having a power complex, and calling them a "plain fucking shitter". Keep in mind most comments from people involved in this complaint, mods and users alike, were pointing towards the specific user you insulted (the recipient of the complaint) as having done nothing wrong at all. The user himself had also been polite in replying to the criticism, which was addressed with actual, valid refutations.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think your response was justified, and appropriate? Would you respond differently if you were a mod? Why/why not?

[hivefleetchicken]

Going to have to back up Frances on this one.

I initially had some things I wanted to add here, but Ffrances summed it up well. This isn't the kind of behavior someone should exhibit when going through an application process for a position that represents and partially manages the playerbase to an extent.

[LetzShake]

Meme squad's forming into one unit, as usual, I see. I think we've all seen staff in different positions who behave much worse, routinely. Sierra's post was not very far over the line, and I honestly think your hangup here is personal spite, not a legitimate beef.

[halorocks22]

Meme squad's forming into one unit, as usual, I see. I think we've all seen staff in different positions who behave much worse, routinely. Sierra's post was not very far over the line, and I honestly think your hangup here is personal spite, not a legitimate beef.

 

and calling them a "plain fucking shitter"

 

not very far over the line

 

ok

[Frances]

Meme squad's forming into one unit, as usual, I see. I think we've all seen staff in different positions who behave much worse, routinely. Sierra's post was not very far over the line, and I honestly think your hangup here is personal spite, not a legitimate beef.

Can we actually leave the OP a chance to address/refute the criticism here, instead of going "oh, it's haters that don't like them so their opinions must be immediately discontinued"?

I've got no personal issue with Sierra, lmao. I just saw that post, and felt it had the potential of being a problematic attitude as a mod, so I'd simply like to see what she has to say about it.

Come to think of it, I've noticed a few hints of Sierra being confrontational, as if she was trying to pick a bone with certain users. I have another example here. As I said, it's fairly small things, but it's still demoralizing to encounter than from a mod.

(And by the example I gave, I mean the sentence: "I'm a furry. There's other furries on this server too, but I'm not going to name them because you'll probably start throwing complaints at them too.")

[nbielinski]

Meme squad's forming into one unit, as usual, I see. I think we've all seen staff in different positions who behave much worse, routinely. Sierra's post was not very far over the line, and I honestly think your hangup here is personal spite, not a legitimate beef.

Can we actually leave the OP a chance to address/refute the criticism here, instead of going "oh, it's haters that don't like them so their opinions must be immediately discontinued"?

I've got no personal issue with Sierra, lmao. I just saw that post, and felt it had the potential of being a problematic attitude as a mod, so I'd simply like to see what she has to say about it.

Come to think of it, I've noticed a few hints of Sierra being confrontational, as if she was trying to pick a bone with certain users. I have another example here. As I said, it's fairly small things, but it's still demoralizing to encounter than from a mod.

(And by the example I gave, I mean the sentence: "I'm a furry. There's other furries on this server too, but I'm not going to name them because you'll probably start throwing complaints at them too.")

 

Do you have any examples asides from situations where folks, like yourself, start issues on the server and on the forums to deliberately provoke responses. I.E, playing on server and referencing Runescape and CoD while bleeding, and then enticing other people to do the same. Or is that the scope of your well of examples?

None the less, I'd award this application a +1. Because its not that we need more hard-asses, but Sierra making sure that folks that have no right to put forth their opinions in situations that they have no stake in being apart of, should be reigned in.

Tl:dr, +1

[Frances]

Do you have any examples asides from situations where folks, like yourself, start issues on the server and on the forums to deliberately provoke responses. I.E, playing on server and referencing Runescape and CoD while bleeding, and then enticing other people to do the same. Or is that the scope of your well of examples?

None the less, I'd award this application a +1. Because its not that we need more hard-asses, but Sierra making sure that folks that have no right to put forth their opinions in situations that they have no stake in being apart of, should be reigned in.

Well, none of the incidents I brought up involved any provocation on the part of anyone involved, lol. (They also happened before the events you're mentioning.)

Being a mod involves settling disputes rationally. From the posts I linked, it seems that Sierra is really quick to get on the defensive and make the bad guys out of an involved party simply because people are having a disagreement. (Calling someone a furry hater just because a disagreement involved a furry, calling someone a power-tripping shitter just because a disagreement involved a wizard being held by security under circumstances.)