I don't know. This might be out of line, but I think something needs to be said.
You guys should really have a larger mod team. Especially for apps and stuff. I know you guys all have a lot on your plates and you probably don't want to hear from an anon about this, but, I also know as a player it's really frustrating to wait a week for apps, and then have the weekend pass. And I'm kind of sick and tired of hearing "we're getting to it, we're getting to it."
Not to sound rude but this is a big game and it kinda seems like you're playing favorites by having such a tiny mod team when you all seem to know each other really well. Also, this may be a personal problem, but I was always afraid to approach anyone on the mod team because it kinda felt like it was the "in" group and I was the "out" group until just recently.
You have amazing players on here that have been here for years, who can mod, and who would do well with modding and you're kind of ignoring them and brushing it off with "we can do it"s when it's becoming more and more obvious that you can't. DDD is starting to feel rushed and hassled, and the more I look at the apps page, the more it seems that rejections/acceptances are based on when mods have bad days and don't. Weekly, it kinda looks like one week will be mostly rejections and then the next mostly acceptance.
Maybe you guys are spreading yourselves too thin. But your actions don't affect just you, it affects everyone playing. It's starting to look like you don't really care about us at all. RPing is supposed to be fun for everyone, and I love the members here, they've become good friends in only a short time, I just wish you'd treat us a little more like adults and a little less like kindergartners.
Yeah, that's all. I just felt I should state my piece.
Thank you for your input. I know I've been largely failing as the applications moderator for a month or two now due to real life circumstances; I understand it's hard to wait and I've asked for patience but I can see that it's running thin all over the board. I feel inclined to apologize for not keeping up as well as I should have.
I can guarantee that there are no favorites. We work well together because we respect each other. We actually have a lot of disagreements that you don't see because we don't want you feel like there is any sustainable conflict between us - there isn't. We just aren't afraid to say what we feel around each other. Publicized, that might come off as attacking or possibly holding grudges, etc, when it's not true.
We actually have only had one person offer to help with modding, and at the time we didn't need her. At this point, we are about to mod someone we've had among us for quite some time who will be assisting me with applications as well as doing other duties to make sure things run on time and effectively. Six mods and two helpers is more than enough in my opinion, but if you'd like to suggest or nominate someone, we'd be more than happy to take them into consideration to be a modpole.
I have never, ever let my personal bias get in the way of the way I deal with applications. Should there be 'on and off' weeks, that's not intentional. I also am a lot stricter with applications than Itsuki, I think, and so when I do them there may be more seen than say when she or Idgie or Tif do them. It's not playing favourites, it's just simply our way of moderating.
I'm sorry you feel you don't care. I really am, I'm not just saying that, but we do and we do work tirelessly to get this stuff done for you so please don't think that we do it out of obligation. We want you all to be comfortable and happy. If it's the way we talk to you or what have you, let us know! Every thing we do, we base off player input and that's why I'm really glad you came to us. It's nice to hear what we can improve on and I hope, in your opinion, that we do in the near future.
I'm unscreening this to invite discussion on the topic, as I do think things we could work on are something we need to hear and I wish this could've been brought up before on the HMD. It's never too late though, and I seriously don't judge you for this. Feel free to talk to me directly if you want. ♥
People can actually take any of their problems to any of the mods or modpoles. If the one they get isn't the one that deals with a certain subject, that mod can always take it to the team and the one(s) who are responsible for that subject can then handle it.
As for how many people it takes to make a decision, one of the reasons we have the team we do is so that everyone can handle certain things, i.e. Norry handles events and apps, Idgie handles lists, etc. Those things are our responsibility, and unless it's something that actually needs all hands involved, like a large policy change, we make decisions on those things ourselves. It's not really a case of too many cooks will spoil the broth, because in general, only one or two members of the team are working on a duty at a time.
Well, that's the truth, but that's only if majority consensus or total agreement is needed to be reached for a decision. I personally think it'd go a lot faster and more efficiently if there were formally delegated responsibilities and tasks. This might sound elaborate, but we're a pretty damn big game and we're only growing bigger... And of course, too much organization is always better than not enough in my opinion.
First! If majority consensus isn't required, what you've got is a modteam that gives conflicting verdicts and opinions to people who ask, and that just results in a lot of confusion.
Second! There actually are formal delegations of responsibilities. Nor does apps and events, Idgie does TC/AC/lists, Tif does mod requests and the bulk of the writing for announcements, Shiro helps where needed, I do apps with Nor, the other modpoles pitch in on apps, and everyone discusses behind the scenes.
Derp, I more meant like... Uh. So in the way I'm thinking, if someone had a question about apps, everyone would have to defer to Nor because she's the apps mod; and everyone would have to defer to Idgie on check policies since she does that; etc. etc. Obviously not that hardlined since good mods always talk to each other about everything, but idk does that make sense? :o
And the lack of confusion would come in where the process is entirely transparent. Honestly I think we should have a post just to explain who mods what and who should you contact in the event of X, Y, Z and how certain things are done, and so on and so on.
That's the thing though - I encourage us all to be FULLY aware and able to ask questions for ANYONE'S area because someone may not feel COMFORTABLE going to that particular mod. I also think it makes us more cohesive as a group and should something happen where one person needs to step up and take over for someone else (which I'm surprised you think we don't ask each other for help; just because we don't publicize it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. XD Itsuki can attest that I actually TEXTED her to ask if she could do apps because I was helping my aunt clean her house lmfao;; sobs).
Personally, and this is a personal opinion not a modly one, I think when you section people off like that, you lose a lot of vital communication. We're so successful as a mod team because we talk and we are able to understand where we're coming from, disagree without taking it personally and come to an easy medium that we think benefits the community even if we don't personally feel comfortable with it (eg: age limits, 18+ content rule, etc).
There is no feasable way to make the process entirely transparent; I at one point wanted that too but as a mod of a community this large, I realize that there are some things you just can't do because it would do more harm than good. We do however always give the players a say in things when we can and you always see the before and after. We also leave everything open for deliberation and discussion, but that requires players to step up and tell us how they feel about stuff. Transparency doesn't give us that and therefore doesn't help you guys. I appreciate the initial comment for this reason, it pretty much made it clear to me that I need to step it up which I accept and will.
I'm not opposed to leaving up a page of who does what though, that could be helpful and make people more aware of what's happening. Something like what we had on the wiki when we used it; it could prov helpful to a lot of new people who aren't sure to approach about what.
No no, I'm sure you do ask each other for help. XD Durr idk what I'm trying to say? I'm glad you understand the gist of it though, and I'm confident you're doing and will continue to do your best. ♥ Seriously, no complaints here. You all work so hard and I appreciate it immensely.
So I guess what I'm getting out of this is three things!
1. More transparency where possible, at the mods' discretion (of course).
2. Post to explain who does what and who to contact etc. etc.!
3. Echoing the suggestion I made below - perhaps some modpoles could act as intermediaries between players and mods? Just for comforts' sake. Not as a "every time a player wants to talk to a mod they must contact this modpole first" but rather... if someone's uncomfortable they can talk to a modpole and they can bring it up more concisely and comfortably to the mod(s). I think that'd save time for the mods, too, though idk how often you get PMed/IMed and such.
I know I'm not Norry, but since she's not around to reply right now... XD
1. Well, I already asked what you meant by transparency. I suppose you can just answer here for easy reading!
2. I think that is a great idea. Like I said before, we have done that, but it's not linked anywhere, so obviously new players wouldn't know who's in charge of what. We'll get on that. ♥
3. As I said, that's pretty much exactly the way it works. :) Their duty is actually to act as a sort of middle man between players and mods if players are uncomfortable going directly to a mod. They do a lot of other things, too! I can go into a little more detail if you'd like.
This is also somewhat related to why I don't like the idea of telling people who they should go to for what. While we each have our own area of expertise, maybe not everyone would, for example, want to come to me to ask a question about AC; they should be able to feel free to go to someone like Norry or Tif or a modpole, who can either answer their question for them or get a hold of me fairly quickly (I'm always available somehow, heh!).
3. idk then, you're right, really - both of you are - I just hate knowing that some people won't ask for help when they could so easily be helped. XD; But you can lead a horse to water, and so on... /sigh :<
I do think that a simple note, like what I said to Norry below, would solve that problem at least though. "We each have our own duties but feel free to contact any of us for any reason" and so on.
For the record, if anyone's reading this still, I'd be happy to act as an intermediary. I tend to anyway when people bring me questions, because I'm not always comfortable giving the answers on my own.
I disagree. I mean, I don't think you can ever have too many mods when it comes to applications, but it's only been the last month that apps have been suffering and it's because of RL drama all across the board for everyone. And it definitely doesn't help when people keep nagging the mods about it. I've seen people in chat go "WHEN ARE APPS GOING TO BE DONE, WHEN ARE APPS GOING TO BE DONE" and if it's annoying me, a non-mod, I can't begin to describe how annoying and harassing it must be for the mods.
You guys should really have a larger mod team. Especially for apps and stuff. I know you guys all have a lot on your plates and you probably don't want to hear from an anon about this, but, I also know as a player it's really frustrating to wait a week for apps, and then have the weekend pass. And I'm kind of sick and tired of hearing "we're getting to it, we're getting to it."
Not to sound rude but this is a big game and it kinda seems like you're playing favorites by having such a tiny mod team when you all seem to know each other really well. Also, this may be a personal problem, but I was always afraid to approach anyone on the mod team because it kinda felt like it was the "in" group and I was the "out" group until just recently.
You have amazing players on here that have been here for years, who can mod, and who would do well with modding and you're kind of ignoring them and brushing it off with "we can do it"s when it's becoming more and more obvious that you can't. DDD is starting to feel rushed and hassled, and the more I look at the apps page, the more it seems that rejections/acceptances are based on when mods have bad days and don't. Weekly, it kinda looks like one week will be mostly rejections and then the next mostly acceptance.
Maybe you guys are spreading yourselves too thin. But your actions don't affect just you, it affects everyone playing. It's starting to look like you don't really care about us at all. RPing is supposed to be fun for everyone, and I love the members here, they've become good friends in only a short time, I just wish you'd treat us a little more like adults and a little less like kindergartners.
Yeah, that's all. I just felt I should state my piece.
Reply
I can guarantee that there are no favorites. We work well together because we respect each other. We actually have a lot of disagreements that you don't see because we don't want you feel like there is any sustainable conflict between us - there isn't. We just aren't afraid to say what we feel around each other. Publicized, that might come off as attacking or possibly holding grudges, etc, when it's not true.
We actually have only had one person offer to help with modding, and at the time we didn't need her. At this point, we are about to mod someone we've had among us for quite some time who will be assisting me with applications as well as doing other duties to make sure things run on time and effectively. Six mods and two helpers is more than enough in my opinion, but if you'd like to suggest or nominate someone, we'd be more than happy to take them into consideration to be a modpole.
I have never, ever let my personal bias get in the way of the way I deal with applications. Should there be 'on and off' weeks, that's not intentional. I also am a lot stricter with applications than Itsuki, I think, and so when I do them there may be more seen than say when she or Idgie or Tif do them. It's not playing favourites, it's just simply our way of moderating.
I'm sorry you feel you don't care. I really am, I'm not just saying that, but we do and we do work tirelessly to get this stuff done for you so please don't think that we do it out of obligation. We want you all to be comfortable and happy. If it's the way we talk to you or what have you, let us know! Every thing we do, we base off player input and that's why I'm really glad you came to us. It's nice to hear what we can improve on and I hope, in your opinion, that we do in the near future.
I'm unscreening this to invite discussion on the topic, as I do think things we could work on are something we need to hear and I wish this could've been brought up before on the HMD. It's never too late though, and I seriously don't judge you for this. Feel free to talk to me directly if you want. ♥
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
As for how many people it takes to make a decision, one of the reasons we have the team we do is so that everyone can handle certain things, i.e. Norry handles events and apps, Idgie handles lists, etc. Those things are our responsibility, and unless it's something that actually needs all hands involved, like a large policy change, we make decisions on those things ourselves. It's not really a case of too many cooks will spoil the broth, because in general, only one or two members of the team are working on a duty at a time.
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Reply
Second! There actually are formal delegations of responsibilities. Nor does apps and events, Idgie does TC/AC/lists, Tif does mod requests and the bulk of the writing for announcements, Shiro helps where needed, I do apps with Nor, the other modpoles pitch in on apps, and everyone discusses behind the scenes.
Reply
And the lack of confusion would come in where the process is entirely transparent. Honestly I think we should have a post just to explain who mods what and who should you contact in the event of X, Y, Z and how certain things are done, and so on and so on.
/still Vivi btw!
Reply
Personally, and this is a personal opinion not a modly one, I think when you section people off like that, you lose a lot of vital communication. We're so successful as a mod team because we talk and we are able to understand where we're coming from, disagree without taking it personally and come to an easy medium that we think benefits the community even if we don't personally feel comfortable with it (eg: age limits, 18+ content rule, etc).
There is no feasable way to make the process entirely transparent; I at one point wanted that too but as a mod of a community this large, I realize that there are some things you just can't do because it would do more harm than good. We do however always give the players a say in things when we can and you always see the before and after. We also leave everything open for deliberation and discussion, but that requires players to step up and tell us how they feel about stuff. Transparency doesn't give us that and therefore doesn't help you guys. I appreciate the initial comment for this reason, it pretty much made it clear to me that I need to step it up which I accept and will.
I'm not opposed to leaving up a page of who does what though, that could be helpful and make people more aware of what's happening. Something like what we had on the wiki when we used it; it could prov helpful to a lot of new people who aren't sure to approach about what.
Reply
Reply
No no, I'm sure you do ask each other for help. XD Durr idk what I'm trying to say? I'm glad you understand the gist of it though, and I'm confident you're doing and will continue to do your best. ♥ Seriously, no complaints here. You all work so hard and I appreciate it immensely.
So I guess what I'm getting out of this is three things!
1. More transparency where possible, at the mods' discretion (of course).
2. Post to explain who does what and who to contact etc. etc.!
3. Echoing the suggestion I made below - perhaps some modpoles could act as intermediaries between players and mods? Just for comforts' sake. Not as a "every time a player wants to talk to a mod they must contact this modpole first" but rather... if someone's uncomfortable they can talk to a modpole and they can bring it up more concisely and comfortably to the mod(s). I think that'd save time for the mods, too, though idk how often you get PMed/IMed and such.
Reply
1. Well, I already asked what you meant by transparency. I suppose you can just answer here for easy reading!
2. I think that is a great idea. Like I said before, we have done that, but it's not linked anywhere, so obviously new players wouldn't know who's in charge of what. We'll get on that. ♥
3. As I said, that's pretty much exactly the way it works. :) Their duty is actually to act as a sort of middle man between players and mods if players are uncomfortable going directly to a mod. They do a lot of other things, too! I can go into a little more detail if you'd like.
This is also somewhat related to why I don't like the idea of telling people who they should go to for what. While we each have our own area of expertise, maybe not everyone would, for example, want to come to me to ask a question about AC; they should be able to feel free to go to someone like Norry or Tif or a modpole, who can either answer their question for them or get a hold of me fairly quickly (I'm always available somehow, heh!).
-Idgie
Reply
1. Too late already answered elsewhere. B)
2. Yay looking forward to it. ♥
3. idk then, you're right, really - both of you are - I just hate knowing that some people won't ask for help when they could so easily be helped. XD; But you can lead a horse to water, and so on... /sigh :<
I do think that a simple note, like what I said to Norry below, would solve that problem at least though. "We each have our own duties but feel free to contact any of us for any reason" and so on.
Reply
Reply
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Leave a comment