What is a moderator?

[Pad]

An excellent thread Groovy made in the swamp which could relieve the pressure in here a bit.


I'm trying this thread out as an experiment.

Some of you when you were very young, maybe kindergarden, might have had a police officer come and visit your school. He/she goes through their speech, then they open up for questions. The kids all ask if the police officer has shot anyone, can you get arrested for this or that....etc. I'm attempting for the first time, to do this here, in a stuck thread.

Alot of members seem to not really know what a moderator is, most of them know what we do, but little fail to realize how we go about doing it, or how we reach a decision.

It is a popular belief that we are just power hungry joy killers that live to get people in trouble. This is a popular myth.

We all started out as regular members, who came here out of our own free will. We just post on LF like the rest of you, only we have a few extra options in our toobar.

I am opening this thread up as a free Q & A between forum members and moderators. Feel free to ask us anything you want, as long as it pertains to procedure, LF polices, and moderators in general.

Keep in mind that this is a serious discussion, so if any of you feel inclined to make a joke out of this, i'll only delete the post.

Feel free to ask anything, and I will answer any questions you may have. I f I don't know the answer, I will look into it and quote the person, or persons who give me an answer.

[JediJohn]

what extra options are there like "ban, unban, close ,delete thread,

[Alegis]

the total list for a normal mod is,

1. Access to private mod forums. Here warnings for members are submitted etc.

2. IP logged thing

3. Edit Poll

4. Topic options
a) Open/Close topic
b) Move/Copy topic
c) edit topic (subject, title)
d) delete topics/posts
e) Merge topic
f) Stick/unstick topic
g) split topic

Ban is for an admin.
Note these options are only for the forums they're a mod, except for a super mod. He is a mod for all forums and has some extra features to edit users.
Also note that noone can read your password, as it is encrypted

[TK-8252]

Super Mods can ban, but only user-ban. That means they can only ban your account, but you can always re-register. Only Admins can IP-ban and unban. Once you're IP-banned, you're pretty much gone for good.

Admins can chance passwords. Although they can't see it, they can change it.

[Ray Jones]

nah. you're all powerhungry sl*ts. you'd sell your mother for ban-shortcut-keys on your keyboard.

;D

seriously.. over at the MI-forums it happened that my posts where "edited" to something like "i'm a retard" or "i'm retarded" without that there was an last edited-entry. and there is always an last edited-thingy except you edit shortly after posting..

i made a thread complaining about it but 3 or 4 for times my posts got also edited, so i talked to mr. rhett about it but he could not find out what's going on either..

then somehow it stopped, maybe it became boring.

anyways.. is it an admin, sup mod or mod power to edit posts without leaving a trace aka last edited-entry? or is it only possible from outside the forumsoftware with editing directly in the database?

[TK-8252]

There isn't a choice to edit a post with or without the "last edited by..." thing. I think this is how it works: if a post has been read by someone, and it is then edited, the "last edited by..." line is posted. If a post is edited before anyone reads it, the "last edited by..." line is not posted. But don't quote me on this - it's just an observation, and I have no idea if this is true or not.

The "last edited by" ALWAYS happens, to the best of my knowledge. An admin may be able to get away without doing so, but I'm pretty sure just about everyone (now, I think awhile back you could do this without it happening) has this happen.

[Ray Jones]

some post where edited after others had posted after me..

it was some time ago so i dont care that much anymore anyways.

however i tend to think the posts were edited directly in the database. -> case solved..
except for who did it but.. *shrugs* i'm famous, y'know. i knew there would be stalking fans .. ;D

[Darth Groovy]

Originally posted by RayJones
some post where edited after others had posted after me..

it was some time ago so i dont care that much anymore anyways.

however i tend to think the posts were edited directly in the database. -> case solved..
except for who did it but.. *shrugs* i'm famous, y'know. i knew there would be stalking fans .. ;D

I think you were just drinking too many vodka martinis and forgot what you actually posted.

[Ray Jones]

yes, of course you do that..
but you miss the fact that i dont like vodka in my martinis.

[SkinWalker]

The last edited by... should be on a timer. If you edit your post within a set amount of time, you shouldn't see it. It appears to be more than one minute but less than five.

My gut tells me that someone you know obtained your password or used your cookie from another computer that you have logged into. A shoulder-surfer at school, a sibling at home, etc. As unlikely as it may seem to you, it is the most likely reason since if an admin/mod edits your post, even under the edit timer, it will leave a last edited by.... notice. I think.

[Ray Jones]

nenene. i've checked it several times since i thought i went gaga or something.. it was definitly several hours after i posted. AND several times on one and the same post, namely the first one of my "complaining thread" and in another one, and whilst my editing back to the "normal content" has been recorded, the other editing hasnt. also i think i am totally aware of the editing functions funtionality.

and i dont go to school, no sibling, no one at my notebook, really, since i live only with my girl and daugther. impossible. definitly.

maybe someone somewhere half around the world stole my session cookie, but rather not. it also would not explain the last edited thing.

direct database editing, i say. i do this every day, it's totally possible and the only rational explanation i see. of course there can be a total superduperadminuseraccount (i dont really know VB-Forum software) which has ability to do that from inside the software, the suse linux open exchange server for instance has such account. nothing special.

maybe i did not delete the screenshots, but hmm.. what should that prove.


(ps.. that reminds me of something.. you have to experience it to believe it.. XD lol -> *lynk mode* )

[Revlt Coranier]

How does mod selection work? How do they decide who gets to be mods, like are there minimum requirements such as a certain number of posts or something?

[Alegis]

Well its not like, ah that guy is good, he deserves mod... not at all.
First when new fora are selected the super mods handle it, a bit later they select mods. So mods are selected when they're needed, its not a basic promo or something like it.

[TK-8252]

There is no "post requirement" to be a Mod. I've seen Mods with <1000 posts. But, generally, the vast majority of the Mods will have 1000+ posts, because the staff has to know you and your style of posting, etc. to consider you.

The theory that if you have a certain amount of posts you're likely to get Mod is not true. Look at the people who have 6000+ posts and still not a Mod.

Jed made a good explanation of the process of becoming a Mod:

Originally posted by Jed
Usually, you're a prominent community member with a history of responsible posting. If a spot opens up or there's a time where the staff feels like there is a need for more moderators (influx of new users, time around a new game being released, etc), you're contacted by a member of the staff and asked if you'd like to join the team to help out.

[Revlt Coranier]

Hmm, there is a new game about to come out. I make responsible posts *cough cough* hehe

[ET Warrior]

However, as you may have noticed, more mods WERE added to the Battlefront community recently, due to it's imminent release

[El Sitherino]

Originally posted by ET Warrior
However, as you may have noticed, more mods WERE added to the Battlefront community recently, due to it's imminent release

and because the designated mods were away and/or on vacation.

[ET Warrior]

Originally posted by InsaneSith
and because the designated mods were away and/or on vacation.

And because I'm REALLY REALLY cool

[Taos]

I've been away on vacation.

*cracks his nuckles getting ready for BF's release*

[ZBomber]

Originally posted by TK-8252

The theory that if you have a certain amount of posts you're likely to get Mod is not true. Look at the people who have 6000+ posts and still not a Mod.

You coulda just said my name, I don't care.

[El Sitherino]

Originally posted by Leemu Taos
I've been away on vacation.

*cracks his nuckles getting ready for BF's release*

LEEMU! *glomps*

[RoxStar]

Originally posted by TK-8252
There is no "post requirement" to be a Mod. I've seen Mods with <1000 posts. But, generally, the vast majority of the Mods will have 1000+ posts, because the staff has to know you and your style of posting, etc. to consider you.

I don't think that ASk has broken 500 yet... I could be wrong tho...

[Darth Groovy]

Originally posted by Dave Grohl
I don't think that ASk has broken 500 yet... I could be wrong tho...

ASk is in the design side of LF. He is not really and active poster, but IS responsible for coding. He came along when the whole LF thing got put together, so his title is pretty much complimentary due to his skills, and being at the right place, the right time, and knowing the right people. You can talk to ASk, he is a regular in our official IRC channel: #jediknight.

Honestly, after the LF merger, I doubt any of the old school members thought the community would ever be this big. We have to change more and more each day to keep up with it, but that makes it exciting!