Alex95 Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 As the title states, the following questions are mostly directed at the admins for this site, but I guess anyone can answer if they can. XD Anyway, two questions came to mind: First, I was wondering what it took to become an admin in the first place? I'm not applying for a job here or anything. I'm just wondering. (I'm pretty sure I wouldn't make the cut anyway) Second: Has Nintendo or INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS or any other video game company done any promotions or "special events" here? I know a Shaymin give-away happened here earlier, but I think that was just VincentASM having fun. Probably... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Raven Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 second: no first: i dunno, be a fruit or a founder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nym Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 I can be wrong but if you go to the announcement forum, there is a lot of posts with ''staff changes'' and it's seems that Tangerine is the one that decides who is going to be ''promoted'' into a moderator. I'm not sure what skills and qualities you need but here is a little guess: - Respect the code of conduct - Being polite - Being active ( you can't be offline 1 month or more) - Helping other members staffs I can be wrong here too however. For your second question, no because it's a fan made forum, I'm sure they don't even know that this forum exists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integrity Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 (edited) Anyway, two questions came to mind: First, I was wondering what it took to become an admin in the first place? there's only two admins, tangerine and vince. vince runs the main site so gets privileges by default, and tangerine is the person in charge of staffing/running the forum. most of the beat cop stuff is done by mods like me, who caught someone's eye on the staff for one of various reasons and, when another staff member stepped down, got contacted with the offer. in my case, it was actually the impending release of awankening that led to my position being created in anticipation of a bigger userbase, but that's what usually happens. admin turnover rate is essentially zero, tangerine's been the staff admin basically as long as i've been here - nightmare was it before. mod turnover is very low, i'd say we have more hires than retires anymore but it ebbs and flows. i have no idea how adminship changes, i assume there's some process, but i presumed you were talking about mods without knowing the difference between mods and admins. could be wrong. EDIT: i assume (knock on wood) it's a step promotion for one of the moderators when the admin steps down (I'm pretty sure I wouldn't make the cut anyway) yep lol Second: Has Nintendo or INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS or any other video game company done any promotions or "special events" here? I know a Shaymin give-away happened here earlier, but I think that was just VincentASM having fun. Probably... nope Edited August 12, 2015 by Integrity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Raven Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 I know that Lord Glenn was admin during the FESS/SF "merger" way back in the day, but I missed a bit of history what with nightmare getting promoted eventually. Apparently Tino was an admin once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuuda Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 - Being active ( you can't be offline 1 month or more) That gave me a sensible chuckle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nym Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Well, it was a guess. I even said I could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentASM Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 (edited) Your questions were practically answered by everyone else, but just a few additions from the horse's mouth : P 1. In my view, the most important criteria for hiring an admin are trust and a love for the community. Way back, the forums had little to no moderation system, which was OK because the forums were so small. But as the forums grew, this became an issue. So I started by asking members who were interested in moderating the forums. The number rule (that I kept secret) was that if the member PM'd me, it meant they cared enough and had the initiative, so I started from them. Then I used my best judgement when selecting who got through. 2. Unfortunately we've never had official contact from Nintendo. I think it would be nice, but on the other hand, there are advantages to avoiding Nintendo's radar (and, for Nintendo, there are probably advantages for them to avoid us--this isn't meant to be a jab at the community BTW). Edited August 12, 2015 by VincentASM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integrity Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 this isn't meant to be a jab at the community BTW). sure it isn't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex95 Posted August 12, 2015 Author Share Posted August 12, 2015 (edited) I can be wrong but if you go to the announcement forum, there is a lot of posts with ''staff changes'' and it's seems that Tangerine is the one that decides who is going to be ''promoted'' into a moderator. I'm not sure what skills and qualities you need but here is a little guess: - Respect the code of conduct - Being polite - Being active ( you can't be offline 1 month or more) - Helping other members staffs 1. Alright 2. I pretty much am from what I'm told. :) 3. I'm on here almost every day. 4. I'm pretty secluded in the world. Once my Power Master idea falls through, then maybe I'll have a bigger impact. P.S. Your link linked back to this post, assuming it wasn't supposed to do that, Nym. Your questions were practically answered by everyone else, but just a few additions from the horse's mouth : P 1. In my view, the most important criteria for hiring an admin are trust and a love for the community. Way back, the forums had little to no moderation system, which was OK because the forums were so small. But as the forums grew, this became an issue. So I started by asking members who were interested in moderating the forums. The number rule (that I kept secret) was that if the member PM'd me, it meant they cared enough and had the initiative, so I started from them. Then I used my best judgement when selecting who got through. 2. Unfortunately we've never had official contact from Nintendo. I think it would be nice, but on the other hand, there are advantages to avoiding Nintendo's radar (and, for Nintendo, there are probably advantages for them to avoid us--this isn't meant to be a jab at the community BTW). 1. I do love this community and it certainly seems trustworthy (if not somewhat perverted at times). I usually have second thoughts when PMing someone, though, which kills me sometimes... 2. Okay. Like I said though, I'm probably not the go-to person for a job on the forums. Sure, I can help keep it together or organized, but I don't have any experience keeping a site together, save for my own, which is a pretty simple build. Edited August 12, 2015 by Power Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nym Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 I don't even know how I manage to make a link in the first place XD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ansem Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 OP you're never gonna be a mod. i doubt its any fun anyways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integrity Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 i doubt its any fun anyways being a mod owns, i get to tell kids when they're being bad without getting warned by the mods OP you're never gonna be a mod. tru tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Laufeyson Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 OP you're never gonna be a mod. i doubt its any fun anyways It is for a while because reasons, but after awhile, it kinda becomes a drag. Its a pretty thankless job, tbh. I never modded here, but ive done my fair share elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Raven Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Yeah, it's actually a fairly thankless job because if you do something to displease the userbase you'll be flooded with a bunch of PMs about how much of an asshole you're being. You can't please everyone in the way you uphold the rules. Sometimes egos are much too big for you to simply issue a simple warning and people start to shit on you for it. I'm still modding the same place 7 and a half years later and the only reason it has gotten easier is because there is a lot less flaming, blatant racism, and the site is not as active as it used to be in general. Granted, part of my job is to encourage activity, and I've been trying but I gave up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex95 Posted August 13, 2015 Author Share Posted August 13, 2015 OP you're never gonna be a mod. :P Yeah, it's actually a fairly thankless job because if you do something to displease the userbase you'll be flooded with a bunch of PMs about how much of an asshole you're being. You can't please everyone in the way you uphold the rules. Sometimes egos are much too big for you to simply issue a simple warning and people start to shit on you for it. I'm still modding the same place 7 and a half years later and the only reason it has gotten easier is because there is a lot less flaming, blatant racism, and the site is not as active as it used to be in general. Granted, part of my job is to encourage activity, and I've been trying but I gave up. There's no job I can think of that pleases EVERYONE. The only real goal you have of a job is pleasing your boss so you don't gt fired. I've dealt with a lot of jerks in my life and I've just ignored them and moved on. If someone notices something I can improve upon, I'll take it into consideration, but I'm not someone who's persuaded easily. Of course words hurt, but hey, that's life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 I feel like this topic is a really roundabout way of asking whether or not a mod position is open at SF. It would've been a lot better to PM one of the admins about this. Then again, I'm not on the mod/admin selection committee, so my opinion is moot. EDIT: i assume (knock on wood) it's a step promotion for one of the moderators when the admin steps down And this is correct (since I remember a time before Tangerine was an admin). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psych Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 (edited) most of the beat cop stuff is done by mods like me, who caught someone's eye on the staff for one of various reasons It was a dark and stormy night when she walked into my office. Legs up to hear and the rest of her was a fruit but that Mizz Tangerine knew how to work it and I just couldn't say know. The smoke-filled office seemed pretty small that night, but I knew I could be talked into anything and decided to pick up the case. 2. Unfortunately we've never had official contact from Nintendo. I think it would be nice, but on the other hand, there are advantages to avoiding Nintendo's radar (and, for Nintendo, there are probably advantages for them to avoid us--this isn't meant to be a jab at the community BTW). Like our hacking section for one thing. Edited August 14, 2015 by Psych Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex95 Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 I feel like this topic is a really roundabout way of asking whether or not a mod position is open at SF. It would've been a lot better to PM one of the admins about this. Then again, I'm not on the mod/admin selection committee, so my opinion is moot. That wasn't my intention. I was simply asking how one would get mod status or whatever. I don't feel I'm ready or have the time to be a mod/admin/etc. Besides, I was really more interested if the site had any contact from Nintendo. But that was answered already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Alear Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 there's only two admins, tangerine and vince. vince runs the main site so gets privileges by default, and tangerine is the person in charge of staffing/running the forum.Why do you hate Jyo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integrity Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Why do you hate Jyo. jyo's not an admin, he's a root admin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangerine Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 (edited) It's been so long that I can't really remember the specifics, but the way we used to hire moderators was to have the staff team make suggestions and then vote on which of the suggestions would become a mod. When I first become a mod, it was Sirius who suggested me. This has changed over the years, but we still talk about people before any decisions are made most of the time. What I look for in a moderator varies, but the three main things would be: - How much of a presence they are in the sections they're going to be moderating. - What kind of presence they are in those sections. (Do they behave, are they well-liked, etc) - Whether or not they would be dedicated to improving the community. But there are far too many things I consider to list, and I don't consider the same things for every addition. Balcerzak is a fantastic person, he's probably the smartest user on the forum, and he used to (and still does) help me on sensitive subjects I had to cover as a mod, so I remembered him for it and promoted him. Is he the most active staff member? No, but he's not inactive either. Integrity is probably more active than all of us, absolutely loves the forum and its community, and he's as unbiased as they come. He's made the wrong call a few times and I've had to fix it, he's gotten warned, but the sheer amount of cases he handles is going to result in some mistakes, and he has always owned up to them when talked to about it. Those are just two examples, I don't expect perfection from staff members or for them all to meet some specific set of guidelines. I also don't expect them to behave as model citizens 100% of the time; they have to consider their standing in the community, but if not specifically acting as a moderator I don't care if they goof around a bit and post as a regular user, as long as it isn't in a negative way. I love our mods, they're an online family to me and I'm pretty close with most of them. As for how admins are hired, I really can't speak too much on that. I was promoted to admin very shortly after becoming a moderator, because the staff team was pretty much non-existent at that point. Our admin at the time was inactive, and there were no other moderators around. Since I was a very new moderator at the time, Vincent and Jyo were going to try to re-hire Lord Glenn for the position, as he had been admin once before and did a good job. But Glenn turned it down and instead suggested that I be promoted, which ended up happening. I put our staff team back together immediately and we've been fine ever since - with a few bumps in the road here and there! Truthfully though, it was absolutely the worst period in our staff's history, and the community was at its worst because we had no presence. I suppose we haven't really needed an in-depth method for admin promotion, because I've been admin for over 4 years now and saw the forum through a lot of the growth that necessitated a staff team to begin with. I imagine Vincent and Jyo will just let me choose the next admin, should I end up retiring. I can be wrong but if you go to the announcement forum, there is a lot of posts with ''staff changes'' and it's seems that Tangerine is the one that decides who is going to be ''promoted'' into a moderator. I'm not sure what skills and qualities you need but here is a little guess: - Respect the code of conduct - Being polite - Being active ( you can't be offline 1 month or more) - Helping other members staffs I can be wrong here too however. For your second question, no because it's a fan made forum, I'm sure they don't even know that this forum exists. These are all things we consider as well, yes. Shuuda was just taking a good-natured jab at himself when he laughed, don't worry about that lol. Nintendo definitely knows we exist, though, SF is too big for them not to at this point. We can probably consider it a blessing that they haven't cracked down on us for some of the content we support. Yeah, it's actually a fairly thankless job because if you do something to displease the userbase you'll be flooded with a bunch of PMs about how much of an asshole you're being. You can't please everyone in the way you uphold the rules. Sometimes egos are much too big for you to simply issue a simple warning and people start to shit on you for it.I'm still modding the same place 7 and a half years later and the only reason it has gotten easier is because there is a lot less flaming, blatant racism, and the site is not as active as it used to be in general. Granted, part of my job is to encourage activity, and I've been trying but I gave up. Yuuup. People remember every mistake you've ever made, but they'll never remember anything positive you've done. That goes for more than just moderating though, it's just really easy to notice when you're on a big forum and dealing with hundreds of people. Edited August 25, 2015 by Tangerine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nym Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Oh ok lol, I thought I was wrong. Also, moderator or admin or not, you guys are humans and you can make mistakes like everyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 it should also be noted, though, that they are held to higher standards. their mistakes matter more and therefore are held to higher levels of scrutiny and criticism. it's part of the job in being in a leadership role and having power over others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex95 Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 Everyone makes mistakes. That is unavoidable. And, yes, people will tend to remember the negative times or the mistakes more because they stand out. Should a positive post stand out more, they'll remember that. If a regular forum user makes a mistake, it's normally just something to laugh about because it usually wouldn't effect the site in any way. Of course mods and admins get a majority of the criticism. If you complain about something to a regular forum user, what are they gonna do? But I'm not a mod, so what am I gonna do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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