Ok, the following changes are things that both acidmelt and I agreed needed to happen. Some of them have been talked about in this forum for a while, so I imagine that many people will say, "Well it's about time!" when they read this.

Inactivity:
The following people are in danger of being demodded due to inactivity. If you know of anyone who does not post or moderate, please post below. If anyone knows why some of these people are MIA, please post below as well.

BiOPSY - Inactive since 6/22. Said he was moving, hasn't come back yet. [Removed]
Bongman - Inactive since vbul [Removed]
cense - He quit - Replace him with oddballz194 in NSH. No replacement for E*Nix [Removed]
firekitty751 - Active, but allegedly does not post in her forum often (Noah's Ark).
lethargic - Inactive since 7/22 [Removed]
LostCause - Inactive since 6/11.
Prometheus - Inactive since 5/13 [Removed]
PyroHydroSmok - Inactive since 6/3 [Removed]
Sephiroth - Was inactive for about a month. Joined the armed forces. Not sure if he intends to continue modding.
studiousignorance - Inactive since 5/7 [Removed]

Forums that have too many mods:
There are a number of forums that are relatively low traffic but still have 5 or 6 moderators. A number of users and moderators have complained that the forums are being over-moderated.

Spurious - Currently: sybil, Meta, Kate, Ethnogenic, PirateJoe, and Mr.Happy. A number of people have asked me about starting the moderator rotation in Spurious again. If we were rotate mods again, a thread would be made in M&A where people could sign up. If this seems to be a hot topic in this thread, I'll just make a new thread for it.

GPP - TheAtomiser, Xippilli, yoyobek, Township Rebellion, rabbhimself, and toraton. I know that there has been a lot of tension over this forum and I am trying to avoid taking sides. I would ask that the current moderators of the forum come to a decision between themselves. The forum needs 3 moderators if you ask me - MAYBE 4 (depending on how often each of them visits). I would recommend that Xip stay since he's been there the longest and is very well respected by the forum - but that's mostly for you guys to decide.

I Found It On The Web - I originally said that this forum had too many mods but that was before I realized that it's about as high traffic as SG. Opinions?

Other changes:
These are things that I just gathered from "Suggestions for Jeff and moderators (long)". napoleon_complex was one of the only people who put down concrete examples of what could be done (thank you nc), so most of these were suggested by him and approved or disapproved by other mods. The ones that got good responses are below. If people feel that these changes are still necessary, we will go ahead and make them.

napoleon_complex and Trousersnake: Do something with Clean Tech - Maybe make it a sub forum of Green Planet?

napoleon_complex (and iSoap): "The great Outdoors and Noah's Ark could easily be combined into one general nature/animal appreciation forum, or you could combine The Great Outdoors with Green Planet or Traveler's Travails."

naponeon_complex (and Ethnogenic): "Thirdly, Headshrinkers should fall under Humanities. Humanities deals with social sciences, and it wouldn't be a stretch at all to include psychology in the Humanities description." (and "I'd be willing to have Headshrinkers subsumed under Humanities--I know quite a lot about neuroscience, and I think I'd be competent to moderate the combined forum.")


...Anything I missed?

The only thing I can think of is the tech forums. I don't post or read those, so I can't say whether they're all needed, but it just seems like we have a lot of them.

I post in the tech forums pretty regularly. I think most people would argue that all of them are needed and have their place.

Ok. I get confused when I venture in those parts.

I'm kind of thinking AR&R might need another mod, I'm going to be busy this semester preparing to transfer to another college and working so I won't be able to look after the forum as much as I have been.

With Goose being on the west coast there is usually a nice blend of "cross-coast-modding" that happens (which is a big helpd) but I'll need to talk with Goose about this before we even begin to think about the idea of another AR&R mod.

Btw Zok, is there anyway I could get your thoughts on this?

http://www.totse.com/community/showthread.php?t=2045090

I don't think people would be willing to post the sorts of things that they do in Headshrinkers if it was placed within Humanities. Many posters view Humanities as an intellectual and meandering forum.

I like Travelers Travails. I post in it regularly and I keep all my travel websites in there. I hope it doesn't disappear. Travel is a great topic and one that quite interests me, and I'm sure quite a few others.

I can see how a merger of Green Planet and The Great Outdoors is a good idea.

I have to suggest removing jvm as a moderator in Headshrinkers, simply because of his inactivity, as well.

An SG rotation was a good idea when it first began and it's a good idea now. I think making a thread for it is an excellent idea.

I agree with the SG rotation, and as much as I'll regret saying this later, I've been here a year, so I guess it's about time I served my tour. Consider this my volunteer application if the rotation is reinstated.

I disagree with merging TGO and GP, though, as I think they serve two different purposes. They're both low-traffic, so I certainly understand the notion, but I think the user bases are too different. I mean, GP is all hippies, and while there are some TGO hippies that would overlap fine, there are also a bunch of TGO posters who are almost anti-hippie. GP is for political environmentalism, and TGO is for practical outdoorsy stuff. It'd almost be like merging. It'd almost be like merging EYW and PM. Sure, they're both similar in subject, but one is for practical applications (EYW being a forum for posting actual works) and the other is for general discussion (PM). Of course, that may be an oversimplification, since I don't post in either forum, but that's what the descriptions say to me :)

I could see merging CT with GP, though, or making it a subforum of GP. That makes a lot of sense.

But I think TGO should stand on its own.

Headshrinkers doesn't really need to be merged with Humanities, traffic has picked up a bit lately and it's doing pretty good. There's no need for 4 mods, though. jvm222 posted in here about a month ago saying he'd be more active but I haven't seen him in there in months...

And I think the Spurious rotation is a good idea. It'll keep things interesting and fresh in there.

And maybe a merge of some of the reeeally low traffic forums, like the enviro and tech forums, just to remove some clutter.

Are all the mods going to be forced to mod SG or is it a "ask and ye shall receive" deal?

Because I really don't want to mod SG.

Clean Tech should go under GP.

As robinhoody said, TGO and GP are two way different subjects.

How I think we should do the moderator rotation:

People can sign up to do it if they want. If you do sign up, it will be on a first come first serve basis. I am going to try and make sure that there is always one experienced SG moderator (Kate, sybil, meta, xip, and a few others) in the forum at all times so that it will never be full of new SG mods. I also don't think the forum would ever need more than 4 mods. I would also think that 6-8 week terms would work well. We can just make a sticky thread for people to sign up.

Thoughts?

Good list of stuff. I Agree with most of it.

GPP has had tension, yeah.
It's to be expected when alot of newb mods get introduced and then a threatening hardcore oldskool mod (toraton) comes along too.
I thought issues had been solved there now though, there's alot less toe-stepping-on and things have calmed down alot.
I think we've adjusted to modding along side each other without having to smack each other with chains and hope the other person goes into the front of a car/cow/road sign now.

Xip is the king of GPP in my oppinion, he made it what it is. Rabb and Township kick ass and helpfull and Toraton is very respected, for his oppinions and his ability to smack down the majority of people. I guess that leaves me.. Come on though, I'm the obligatority minority..! ..!


EDIT: Also, any chance of having sambob back?

To echo others, I agree with reinstating the mod rotation in SG. 6-8 week terms sound fine to me.

In regards to all of the active mods, has anyone tried to contact them and let them know that they're in danger of being removed? If so, then I guess it's fair game, but I will be sorry to see Lost and studious leave...but then again, it seems like they've already made that choice.

The only other thing I'd like to comment on is Headshrinkers. I agree with Euda; the forum has enough distinction to stand on its own, and burying it in Humanities might kill the traffic it is getting now.

How I think we should do the moderator rotation:

People can sign up to do it if they want. If you do sign up, it will be on a first come first serve basis. I am going to try and make sure that there is always one experienced SG moderator (Kate, sybil, meta, xip, and a few others) in the forum at all times so that it will never be full of new SG mods. I also don't think the forum would ever need more than 4 mods. I would also think that 6-8 week terms would work well. We can just make a sticky thread for people to sign up.

Thoughts?


Well I think that sounds pretty reasonably, I just won't want to make up one morning and find that I'm moding SG (no offense SG mods).

What does Jeff think of this? I know that you and Acidmelt have the apply to move mods around now, how long before you start this rotation?

Well I think that sounds pretty reasonably, I just won't want to make up one morning and find that I'm moding SG (no offense SG mods).

What does Jeff think of this? I know that you and Acidmelt have the apply to move mods around now, how long before you start this rotation?



I'd be interested what the stationary mods of SG think, whether they like having a bunch of new mods coming onto their turf each month or if it pisses them off?

I'd be interested what the stationary mods of SG think, whether they like having a bunch of new mods coming onto their turf each month or if it pisses them off?

I'm pretty sure that some of them would like to stay, but the forum needs it in my opinion. That's what Meta and I decided this afternoon, at least.

Xip is the king of GPP in my oppinion, he made it what it is. Rabb and Township kick ass and helpfull and Toraton is very respected, for his oppinions and his ability to smack down the majority of people. I guess that leaves me.. Come on though, I'm the obligatority minority..! ..!

Well to be fair TheAtomiser hasn't posted in GPP since 2006, so that's one down the rest is up for you and the others to decide.


EDIT: Also, any chance of having sambob back?

If only we were so lucky... :(

Zok, as far as I know LC wants to remain a mod of S&A and My God. SHe told me she would be inactive for a while (which was part of the reason I was modded for MyGod) and the other day she emailed to say she would be back real soon.

Even though I feel honored that you call me an experianced SG moderator, I really don't have time to moderate SG actually. Beeing in another continent I mostely rely on internet cafees to do "internet stuff". When I'm on the internet I usually just check my mails, chat a bit on msn and check up on my two main forums, which I consider to be TT and NOTW, which are both quite low traffic forums, so it's ok for those to be just checked once or twice a day. But when I'm on I usually don't bother modding SG as it will probably take up most of the time that I get to be on the internet.
So in conclusion, you can keep me on SG, but I doubt I'll do much good as I just don't have the time to invest in a high traffic forum like that. I'll be in Buenos Aires for about a year btw. And FYI, the air isn't that buenos

I'll be in Buenos Aires for about a year btw. And FYI, the air isn't that buenos

And Los Angeles isn't a city of angels, I'm noticing a theme among Spanish named cities.

Whilst i'm not a regular poster on Headshrinkers I have, since its inception, kept an eye on its progress mainly because I was the one who re-raised the idea of having it with Jeff.

I would be against merging it with humanities. The reason I supported the idea of having it in the first palce was that more and more people were posting mental health questions in S&A as they felt they couldn't post them anywhere else.

While we're on the subject of SG (kinda), what do you think about the 'game threads' thing?

http://www.totse.com/community/showthread.php?t=2042986

Of the SG mods, PirateJoe and I were in favour, kAtE seemed to be mostly in favour, Meta seemed against it given the forum descriptions, and I didn't manage to hold of sybil or Entheo for input (I've not seen Entheo around in SG for a while and sybil's just explained why he's not around, so that's k). D'you have any opinion on it?

And as far as SG rotation goes, I think it'd be sensible to try to keep at least one American, European and NZ/Australian mod in SG at all times so it's got at least some coverage all the time.

In the light of GPP, I couldn't agree more with XiP being kept, wouldn't be the same without him. Quite glad to see him back (I'd rather talk about Nintendo over 360 anyday :p )

I'm very happy to be modding there, so I'll more than happily continue to do so if I'm given the go ahead.

As for the tension, I never felt any, yoyo informed me of somethings that were said, but I believe and hope that it has now passed.

As moderators, we need to set a good example, bickering isn't going to get us anywhere...Just my $0.02.

I understand, and I've been talking to Jackketch about having Jackketch take over full time and/or help me find him a co-mod if he wants one. I'm currently working full time and going to night school, and bartending on the weekends. I simply haven't had time lately. I'm planning to return, but not for several months and I'd rather not leave people pissed at me.

So it's your call. It's just a matter of taking my name off.

Cheers,
Lost

And as far as SG rotation goes, I think it'd be sensible to try to keep at least one American, European and NZ/Australian mod in SG at all times so it's got at least some coverage all the time.

Well not everyone keeps to regular schedules. For example, I usually don't go to bed until 4 to 7am - sometimes as late as noon, and don't get up until 2 to 5pm - sometimes as late as 10om.

Yes, my schedule is FUBAR, but I just can't seem to get it back to non-vampire hours...

Like Zok said, we talked about the SG rotation thingy and I do agree. My only thought to add is that if we're going to do it, we need to adhere to the schedules this time. That would serve two main purposes:

1.] Keep Mods from getting upset when they get rotated out after 6 or 8 weeks because So-and-so Mod got to be in for 20 - or something like that.

2.] It would give the SG regulars some, uh, stability - for lack of a better word. They will be able to count on the fact that any Mod they don't like will be gone in X amount of time for sure. That should help cut down on 'When is X going to be rotated out?' threads.

Well I don't see a few months to get things in order as a big deal. LC has proven to be an exceptional mod and deserves a lot of respect for how much she improved the forums she took on!

Before anyone assumes favoritism or anything, I keep personal issues out of totse. Otherwise I would of got peeved at LC getting me removed from EYW. I asked several times to be dropped and was pleaded to stay. So I had absolutely no arguments against that decision.

But as for LC remaining mod, I back that completely, just a matter of finding some temp help!

stay bad
~stormy

As long as she has said she will be gone and all that, I don't see a problem. It wasn't all that long ago that I was mostly inactive for the better part of a year myself. But I also notified those who needed to know.

I think that is the key point: As long as they're letting the right people know they'll be MIA for some time, it should be ok. It's when they turn up MIA and nobody knows anything about where or why someone left that I think they should be removed.

So that's my total 4 cents worth [2 cents for this and 2 for my earlier reply].

I'd rather LC wasn't demodded for either S&A or My God.

Part of the reason why we have 5 mods on S&A is so we can take time outs. And since yoyo has been modded there is absolutley no reason why a mod can't take a few months off. We've always managed this between ourselves without problems. I've had to be absent for weeks at a time before , as has mojo etc.

I'm pretty sure P8b and mojo are happy for LC to be on extended leave for as long as she needs and neither have complained.

As for My God, that really is LC's forum and I'd hate to see her go. If she is going to be on extended leave then I could use another mod in there as I'm not around as much as I would like right at the moment due to my wife's illness and a steam powered lappy that keeps BSODing.

So Zok, please leave LC where she is and please think about giving me a 3rd mod for my God. Thanks. If you think a 3rd mod for MyGod is too many then I'll *happily* step down when LC comes back fulltime (it'd be unfair to then de-mod the new mod)

Yeah, I've grown fond of being mod of GPP recently, and wouldn't mind continuing to moderate at least until I hit the road again a couple months down the road. However, as I've said before it really isn't up to me. Seeing Xip back in action would be pretty cool, though.

I'll leave Lost in the forums requested. I talked to her recently and she said she was gone for a while. I did not know that she intended to come back soon, though. In light of that, I'll leave her be.

..und so ist alles im grünen Bereich :)

naponeon_complex (and Ethnogenic): "Thirdly, Headshrinkers should fall under Humanities. Humanities deals with social sciences, and it wouldn't be a stretch at all to include psychology in the Humanities description." (and "I'd be willing to have Headshrinkers subsumed under Humanities--I know quite a lot about neuroscience, and I think I'd be competent to moderate the combined forum.")

Excuse one, but I do believe Demoiselle and myself are quite happy and capable in there, no need for that

Yeah I got the same email...She's busy doing something or...Something...I don't remember. But I do know she's gonna be back around soon.

Yeah I think that was mainly yoyobek having issues with not having the biggest penis.

Do the number of mods really need to be decreased in GPP that badly?
As I've said before, we're like the A-team, all with a special ability. I'm fat and hairy so by default I'm Mr T.
If the atomisier isnt around, as Jive says that takes it down by one.


And I'm glad Lost cause will remain in S&A. As ketch said, I'm there pretty much to back up any mod that gets sick/has to study/whatever, and I'm really looking forward to her return so I can moderate with her.

Meh, as long as you don't merge art and design or NA with anything I won't be bitchin'.
I would like to stay in SG but I know that that isn't what the powers that be want.

As I've said before, we're like the A-team, all with a special ability.

Haha, sounds about right.

"Bodie, Doyle, Tiger, The Jewellery Man"

+1 To whom ever gets this reference.

I find myself not really agreeing with zok on the whole LC being absent thing. For one she said she wasnt gong to be back for several months. For 2 an absent mod is not helpful in the least and that position could be filled by someone who actually will be there to mod the forum. Whats the point in leaving someone up that isnt there and wont be for several months?

Well S&A has been okay without LC. She's got her own shit to sort out. We can cope.
Jack's been having problems of his own at home and has been pretty erratic at times but that's why Yoyo was appointed to cover.

She's been doing a great job so far and I'm happy to have her on the team.

We're doing fine over in S&A.

Haha, sounds about right.

"Bodie, Doyle, Tiger, The Jewellery Man"

+1 To whom ever gets this reference.


Ain't that from a British sitcom or something?

Well its your/zok's decision and normally I'd agree with you but I feel S&A is a bit of an exception. We've always sorted this between ourselves and its always been understood that an S&A mod can take time off. Infact we often even post on the forum to tell the regulars that we'll be absent and sometimes even we say why (inorder to prevent 'WTF is jackketh the only active mod?' type threads).

I've been gone for months sometimes, as has mojo.

We feel this actually benefits the forum because 1. it prevents 'Mod Burnout' (that feeling that you just want to close every sodding thread) and 2. as the absences tend to be relationship based or have a relationship component it often brings new points of discussion-for example my wife's mental illness has raised points about dealing with a partner who is committed.

Ain't that from a British sitcom or something?

The IT Crowd :)

So when will we hear a final announcement of what is changing, and who's moving or staying?

I guess I need a bit of wisdom thrown my way, having like 30 days mod experience.

Why is there always discussion about the need to trim the mod squad?

It seems there's a constant effort to reduce the numbers to "exactly" balance the needs, as in 89 is too many.
I should guess too many mods is better than too few.

I can only guess that mods that have to moderate daily maybe start resenting other mods that don't?
So it's a mod bickering problem?

Or does too many mods in a forum somehow cause confusion?

Hung Like Christ - too many mods are unneccesary and a pain in the ass to manage.

jack - i would agree to this for a week or 2, not for several months.

Well S&A has been okay without LC. She's got her own shit to sort out. We can cope.
Jack's been having problems of his own at home and has been pretty erratic at times but that's why Yoyo was appointed to cover.

She's been doing a great job so far and I'm happy to have her on the team.

We're doing fine over in S&A.

*glows*

I agree. S&A is doing well. And LostCause is vital to the forum due to her experiences with...well just about everything. If there's someone you can turn to for advice on how to kick the shit out of a 300ib man in 10 different ways, it's her.
I'd keep her on as a mod even if she only posted once a month. Her advice/outlook is good enough to pay for.


Acidmelt, I dont see how having alot of mods can be a pain in the ass to manage. As it's been proven, if someone is acting like a dick they get called out on it quite quickly!
And this isnt a paid job or anything like that, it's not like you need a human relations team to talk to us all about our issues and how we could improve..

Unless Jeff is planning on sending us all on a training course and coming to visit each of us individually and have 'a nice casual little chat' about how you could increase your profit turnover and really pull in your customers..




I should guess too many mods is better than too few.
I agree. I thought it would be better to have more than less also.
More knowledge amassed together = greater enlightenment.

Actually, acidmelt raises a pretty valid point. A few weeks is usually ok, but when it becomes a few months, it's usually best to replace the person or remove them. They can always be added again later. As acidmelt said, it's much more difficult to manage and keep tabs on all of the moderators when you've got to consider the absent mods with every decision.

My reasons against too many mods:
New mods are usually added under the pretenses that someone else is absent without the absent person being removed. When the absent person returns, both mods stay.
Too many mods (usually) means over moderation. It's confusing for the mods and users - in fact, there are a number of people who I had to unban because they got infracted for the same thing by 3 different people.
Edit: And it's always been part of Jeff's and totse's philosophy that you don't add someone because you can, you add them because they are needed. Likewise, you remove someone when they are of no use and readd them when they are again of use. It was for this same reason that Jeff did not give me or acidmelt permission to change user accounts or board settings - it's easier to manage when only the person who needs access has access. I believe Jeff called this the Principle of Least Privilege - which is a pretty common concept in CS.

But the current situation is that she will be back in the next few weeks?

Too many Mods leads to over moderation of the forum.

Without going into one my long explanations, it boils down to the fact that each person has a different style of moderating. That is, they will lock threads that other Mods might leave open - and vice versa. And so the more Mods there are, there more threads that will be locked.

That is obviously an over simplification, but it gives you the general idea.

Too many cooks spoil the broth and too many Mods spoils the forum.

Without going into one my long explanations, it boils down to the fact that each person has a different style of moderating. That is, they will lock threads that other Mods might leave open - and vice versa. And so the more Mods there are, there more threads that will be locked.

I couldn't have said it better myself. This is exactly what I was getting at with the "confusion" aspect.

I couldn't have said it better myself. This is exactly what I was getting at with the "confusion" aspect.

Again maybe S&A is a bit of an exception but we all mod very differently, close different threads, allow different things, and its never been an issue.

The basic rule is that if a co-mod or admin has posted in a thread then we leave it up no matter how much we dislike it, on the principle that they would have closed it if they had so wanted.

I can only think of maybe one of two incidents where one of my co-mods emailed me to question a decision or where I have emailed them about something they've done and its always been friendly.

As an example , there is a "&T I think I'm depressed" thread in S&A right now. Normally I'd move it to Headshrinkers but P8b obviously feels it is at heart a relationship problem and has left there. No biggy, no prob and not really any confusion.

Nor have I ever had much in the way of emails from regs bitching that some 'nazi' had closed their thread although they knew I'd have left it.

I dunno, maybe we're just lucky over on S&A and just naturally work well together despite our extremely differing views.

Zok, if you do take out LC then I don't think we need a replacement for her at the moment. As P8b has already said, yoyo has been a great boon to the forum and personally I think the 4 current active mods is suffice at the moment.

If however you do think we'd need a fifth then please either let us have an 'election' or mod Mr.Happy or wires (assuming my co-mods have no objections/better suggestions).

Well it shouldnt work like that.

To be sure, in the first week or so of a few mods being added to a forum, there will be confusion, there may well be bloodshed and mayhem. And then it will calm down as the moderators learn how to work together.


Also, a degree of respect is used by moderators. If a mod you co-mod with posts in a thread that you would otherwise have closed, you dont close it. It's their call to close it, or for you to close it once you've confirmed with that mod it's okay to do so.

That's just common sense.

I mod along side 2 (well 1 now) mod in AR&R and 2 in Fool School, and we still but-heads on certain issue from time to time.

I could only imagine what goes on in forums with 3, 4, even 5 mods.

Once trousersnake dropped into Reinvent Yourself.
He posted a decent thread and then deleted it about a day later.
I thought, damn , what's that about?
He also made mention about how this forum appeared to be modless and how he would be willing to help mod it.
I was curious about this being a good thing, so I checked into the forum he modded.
It had one page of threads and half of them were closed.
I was thinking, holy shit, what a beautiful example of micro-overmanagement.

I'm wondering if the admins may sometimes be a tad guilty of this?
Like why boot a proven valuable (unproblematic) mod?

edit: Like LC

I'm wondering if the admins may sometimes be a tad guilty of this?
Like why boot a proven valuable (unproblematic) mod?

You must be referring to Sam, because Trousersnake was every BUT unproblematic.

Remember in forums with lots of mods they're generally not all on and moderating at the same time due to time zones and work and such.
Generally the only mod (that I moderate with) I tend to get to say a e-hello to is jackketch, when he's swigging his first early morning coffee I'm getting ready for gruelling CS:S session.

Regarding Trousersnake and Sambob.. I dont want to take this thread off topic, but I beleive they were both very good mods untill they started clashing. Indeed, despite their clashes, when they stfu and got on with their jobs, they were very good mods. But they were de-modded for whatever reasons and there's no point questioning that. Allthough I do still feel that sambob is a mod of OI.

You must be referring to Sam, because Trousersnake was every BUT unproblematic.

No, it was trousersnake.

Sambob dropped in also , usually about his fighting exploits.
Sambob was logical, trousersnake was over the edge.

No, it was trousersnake.

Sambob dropped in also , usually about his fighting exploits.
Sambob was logical, trousersnake was over the edge.

I think we're having a communication breakdown;
Sam=good
Trousersnake=terrible.

Regarding Trousersnake and Sambob.. I dont want to take this thread off topic, but I beleive they were both very good mods untill they started clashing. Indeed, despite their clashes, when they stfu and got on with their jobs, they were very good mods. But they were de-modded for whatever reasons and there's no point questioning that. Allthough I do still feel that sambob is a mod of OI.

I won't derail this thread any further, but Trousersnake a good mod?

You must be referring to Sam, because Trousersnake was every[Thing] BUT unproblematic.

No , this is in reference to LC.
I think if JK is saying keep her on, that is reason enough to do it.

Well I just jumped into a big barrel of confusion.

I'm going to go lay down.

read
then re-read
I just did, and it's not out of reach.

Well like i said, in S&A its never been a problem. If i close athread that my co-mod wanted to post in or wanted left open then they reopen it and vice-versa. Usually they'll either email me or leave a note in the thread to say why they want it reopened.

We accept our different opinions.

And so does the board in general.

Maybe we just respect each other or maybe Mojo just potty-trained us all well.

I respect everyone I mod with but that doesn't mean we always see eye-to-eye.

Now I feel like an idiot.

:(

Well like i said, in S&A its never been a problem. If i close athread that my co-mod wanted to post in or wanted left open then they reopen it and vice-versa. Usually they'll either email me or leave a note in the thread to say why they want it reopened.

We accept our different opinions.

And so does the board in general.

Maybe we just respect each other or maybe Mojo just potty-trained us all well.

It's simple.
I may think you're a psychotic sadistic old git, but we still mod well together I reckon, and I dont go closing any threads I'm biased against and neither do you from the oposite end of the spectrum.

Of course, I mod in a forum that needs about 2 threads a year deleted.
But , it wouldn't surprise me if 95% (or more) of the forums are similar.

SG for sure needs constant input.
Maybe some of the computer tech forums that could run wild with warez.

Kiddie Porn where-ever.

But overall, I don't think most of the forums need micro-management.

It seems too many closed threads bother the admins ...

I agree.

Neither do we ...but we don't let it be a problem.

Hell I'm violently Pro-life and all my co-mods are Pro-choice , never been a problem.

It's simple.
I may think you're a psychotic sadistic old git, .

Thank you,its nice to know someone appreciates my finer points :) . BUt remember Jesus wants you for a sunbeam too.

You have been around 2 days, you have no fucking clue whether LC was proven unproblematic or not. You were not on the admin mailing list and you were not included in any of the mods discussions for the past decade. Dont speak of things you dont know and certainly dont pretend like you do. This is not overmanagement, its 2 admins trying to keep the mod number small, manageable, and trustworthy. You for one havent proven yourself yet.

mea culpa..

true about the mod inexperience.

but do not confuse that with life experience, where I may have you beat.
But I will stand down, with apologies.

If however you do think we'd need a fifth then please either let us have an 'election' or mod Mr.Happy or wires (assuming my co-mods have no objections/better suggestions).

/me hisses

I know it shouldn't work like that Yoyo, but it does. Not all the time, but often enough. And it's not even a matter of how much traffic a forum get - though that does play a part. Just look at BLTC.

That forum is the highest traffic forum [which I was surprised to find out]. Not only are there more people viewing it at a time, but the thread turnover rate is amazing even compared to SG.

We have 4 Mods and yet we have never had a disagreement over how things are done. We all communicate with each other very well. And the number of threads we have to close is remarkably small considering that high turn over.

But SG on the other hand, is anything but smooth running. But that is partly due to the nature of that forum.

And regarding removing inactive Mods, I agree with what Zok said about bringing in a new Mod to cover for one who is gone for a while; then not removing them when the other comes back.

I think if a Mod who is in good standing, if they need to be gone a certain amount of time, should be able to go and come back. I think that if needed a new Mod should be appointed, but with them knowing it is only a temp thing until the original comes back.

That way they know going in that it is only temp and so nobody need feel bad when it comes time to remove them.

We have done this once or twice in BLTC and it worked just great.

/me hisses

Whysies Dear? Do you not think that Mr.Happy or wires would make great mods?

Does anyone NOT like Mr.Happy?!?!!? *gobsmacked*

Whysies Dear? Do you not think that Mr.Happy or wires would make great mods?

Does anyone NOT like Mr.Happy?!?!!? *gobsmacked*

No, that wasn't the point at all.


How could you not luff Mr.Happy, his name makes everyone :)

No, that wasn't the point at all.


How could you not luff Mr.Happy, his name makes everyone :)

Oh you meant that you want the job?

Well if we have an election then there is nothing to stop you mustering the dark legions of Fem-nazism and Mordor behind you and seizing power in a pink pusch.

:p

Oh you meant that you want the job?

Well if we have an election then there is nothing to stop you mustering the dark legions of Fem-nazism and Mordor behind you and seizing power in a pink pusch.

:p

Mordor?!?! :o What would my hobbit friends say about that :(


Balance yo.

How could you not luff Mr.Happy, his name makes everyone :)

His name makes me :(, since it was once full of bitter irony. Luckily, he has other better names. :)

Aren't we cutting down on moderation here, not stepping it up?

Mods who contribute well in their forums can be de-modded and still be good posters; the forum won't lose that if they're de-modded. There might be five active mods in a forum that all contribute very well, but with that many I doubt it would hurt the forum's moderation at all if a couple were removed, and anybody who was could--and hopefully would--still contribute as before. It's not an insult to anybody's value as a poster if they get removed as a mod.

The irony's long-gone from my name, Euda, never fear. Were I to make it again now, it would be a simple statement of happiness :)

I dont get when the discussion turned around to removing yet more mods.
What's the big fucking deal about having enough mods?

Why this burning desire to kick a few off?

This isnt a zombie invasion, we're not all stuck here together and having to plan who to kill so the rations will last long enough.

This isnt a zombie invasion, we're not all stuck here together and having to plan who to kill so the rations will last long enough.

But registration is still closed. Without a fresh supply of n00bs and trolls to feast upon, it's only a matter of time before the crew gradually resort to cannibalism. ;)

Why this burning desire to kick a few off?The new season of Survivor doesn't start for another few weeks so we're all getting antsy...

The tribe has spoken :o

The new season of Survivor doesn't start for another few weeks so we're all getting antsy...

The tribe has spoken :o

How long before we snap completely and start dressing like these guys (http://www.tribeheaven.co.uk/)?!!?

Ahhh! AHHH!!

http://www.fantasyplanet.cz/gfx/pictures_clanky/lotr_gal_velky_20057141349305318.jpg

Ok, as far as inactivity goes...


Inactivity:
The following people are in danger of being demodded due to inactivity. If you know of anyone who does not post or moderate, please post below. If anyone knows why some of these people are MIA, please post below as well.

BiOPSY - Inactive since 6/22. Said he was moving, hasn't come back yet. [Removed]
Bongman - Inactive since vbul [Removed]
cense - He quit - Replace him with oddballz194 in NSH. No replacement for E*Nix [Removed]
firekitty751 - Active, but allegedly does not post in her forum often (Noah's Ark).
lethargic - Inactive since 7/22
LostCause - Inactive since 6/11.
Prometheus - Inactive since 5/13
PyroHydroSmok - Inactive since 6/3
Sephiroth - Was inactive for about a month. Joined the armed forces. Not sure if he intends to continue modding.
studiousignorance - Inactive since 5/7


BiOPSY, bongman, and cense have been removed. LostCause is on hold until we can figure out what to do there.

I still need word about Firekitty and lethargic. The others are idle enough that we can remove them without dispute. Sephiroth needs to be replaced. He is the only moderator in his forums and he is't active. If anyone knows of a good replacement for him in Politics or Cunning linguists, please let me know ASAP. I'll remove the others tonight.

I'm also going to make a thread in a while about the SG rotation. I'll try and write up a thorough outline of how it should work.

It seems that a lot of people have objected to the forum mergers and reorganizations, so I'll leave that for another time as well. However, if you do feel strongly about changing something in your forum, get ahold of me somehow and let me know.

Aerodynamic would be good to replace Sephiroth.

seriously doubt it

Zok - hey bro, meet up with me in #mods tonight so we can finish off the topic of this thread. its been discussed and now we gots to make the decisions. I should be on around 10 our time i would guess. gotta take one of my boys to the store so he can spend all his money on DS games. I should be on after that. See you then bud

seriously doubt it

You do not cope well with someone appologising to you, do you?

gotta take one of my boys to the store so he can spend all his money on DS games. I should be on after that. See you then bud

hahaha, I remember those days. Anywho, I should be on tonight around 10ish. If not, just text me, I think you got my number.

no i don't

no i don't

Hey Acid, can I get your opinion on this? (http://www.totse.com/community/showthread.php?t=2045090)

You do not cope well with someone appologising to you, do you?

It was a backhanded apology at best, Yoyo.

Zok, I have always originally wanted Green Planet to include Animals, but alas, another forum was made for it separately. So instead of combining The Great Outdoors with Noah's Ark, I actually wish to merge with Green Planet. A lot of the topics there do focus around animals. Of course that is my personal opinion on the matter, I would like to hear what deus-redux has to say on it.

You know anything about Firekitty? I'd call her myself but I lost the number when I switched phones.

Generally the only mod (that I moderate with) I tend to get to say a e-hello to is jackketch, when he's swigging his first early morning coffee I'm getting ready for gruelling CS:S session.


Off topic, but holy shit you play CS:S!? Wy aren't we playing this right now!? I own at that game!

You know anything about Firekitty? I'd call her myself but I lost the number when I switched phones.
Havn't heard from her in a month... havn't seen her post in over a month and a half.

I had her number, but I dropped that phone in a puddle of water... whoops.

Anyways, if she is demodded, I'd like SHARP to replace her.

Another note, I rarely have to close threads. Moderation in NA is pretty set, just one inactive mod. Everyone there knows the nature of the forum, gets along well, very helpful bunch.

Alas, the forum flourishes.

Everyone there knows the nature of the forum, ...

Pun intended? Either way, sounds good. I'll see if I can get a hold of her somehow, if not, I'll just switch her out or remove her.

Lmao, I did not realize I made a pun. So I guess I must state the clichéd, "No pun intended."

Dunno if it has been mentioned, but xenosss seems to be entirely inactive.

Re: Merging Humanities with Headshrinkers.

I was pretty much against Headshrinkers when it was first conceptualized, basically for the reasons noted by NC and E, but I have to admit the forum has taken on a life of its own I think should be preserved.

While some aspects of psychology blend well into the humanities, other aspects like neuroscience, cognitive science and neuropharmacolgy are more awkward. Also, the tendency towards "I'm having a crisis fix me" posts has always driven me crazy in Humanities. I like the fact that there is a place for everyone to psychoanalyse each other away from other, more proper philosophical debates. (Now if we could just get the retarded legal questions out of there as well we'd be rolling).

That said, Humanities was also fine previously when psychology was networked in there, so if it were to be reintegrated it would be no big thing.

Both E and myself are well versed in psychololgy and neuroscience. So no biggy.

Can we remove PirateJoe from Old School, New School, Fool School? Nice guy, just very inactive. He doesn't post or moderate.

Ps. Don't remove Jive. He was talking about leaving, but he's my heart and soul.

Oh well if PirateJoe is removed I'd me more than happy to retake my position as a mod in Fool School. I just didn't want to leave Fool School in the hands of one mod who helped a lot (you), one who helped a little (me), and one who didn't seem to help at all.

Euda's made some excellent posts in Fool School, I thought he should take my place since 2 great mods can carry the slack of one poor one, but if PirateJoe is removed (which I think he should be) then I'll rejoin.

Eitherway, Goose and I will still rocking out in AR&R. :p

PirateJoe has been doing a good job moderating in SG.

It has already been checked out.

I told you that I didn't, and don't, see the need for me to replace you Jive. I can contribute to a forum without moderating it. Honest.

However, I don't mind moderating the education forum. I've always had a heavy interest in education.

To be honest I'm fine just moding AR&R (my first love :)) and Moving Pictures, I just think Fool School would benefit more from two mods who have a large interest rather than one with a casual one (me) or none at all (Piratejoe).

Not saying PJ isn't a good mod, I just don't think he is right for Fool School.

Off topic, but holy shit you play CS:S!? Wy aren't we playing this right now!? I own at that game!

That's probably why we're not playing together! I really fucking suck! ..At the game!

I think my Steam name is 'yoyotech' if you want to add me. I'm not on there much at the moment due to Dosulepin/guild wars.

If you play guildwars I'm called Bikoo Bikoo Warrior, and I'm this huge fat muscular guy with thunder thighs and a skirt. He's kinda hard to miss.



Sorry for the thread hi-jack.


So is Toraton going to become mod of Money Money and Jebs old forums? I think Euda suggested him for mod of Money Money elsewhere, and it's a good suggestion.

Hey BangBang/Euda, what do you think about changing the Fool School description to something a little bit more general? We changed College Bond because we thought it was too specific and we just wanted a general education forum, I think the same can be said about the current descripton:

"What colleges people are going to, what majors they're taking, what colleges they're planning on going to, SAT scores, academics, and future careers and all that junk."

Still seems a bit too "college-centric" if you don't mind me coining a phase, what are your thoughts?

Since no one else has offered, I'd like to pipe in and express both my eagerness and willingness to help mr. ketch out in MyGod during LC's absence.

I probably have more posts lodged in that forum over my entire 5-year stint on Totse than on any other. Although I haven't posted much there lately, I read it daily and it is definitely one of my primary points of interest.

SoTD and Conspiracies are low traffic forums and Arms & Slave are both active themselves. If I had to be removed from one of them in the event of helping out in MyGod, I'd prefer it to be Conspiracies.

(Only w/ketch's blessing, of course. I won't cry if you shake your head no)

:)

Would you email me please?

"What colleges people are going to, what majors they're taking, what colleges they're planning on going to, SAT scores, academics, and future careers and all that junk."

Still seems a bit too "college-centric" if you don't mind me coining a phase, what are your thoughts?

It also seems completely US-centric.

I agree. I have been thinking about this for awhile, but have been too busy to write a better description. I'll do this soon and see how the admins feel about it.

Also, I think that you don't HAVE to be on OSNSFS, but I do not think you did an awful job. It's nice to have a balance of mods in the forum, as long as they are active.

I still stand by my motion to evict PirateJoe from OSNSFS. Again, I like the guy, but he's too inactive too mod the forum.

It also seems completely US-centric.

You misspelled 'Murka.

*waves flag*

I still stand by my motion to evict PirateJoe from OSNSFS. Again, I like the guy, but he's too inactive too mod the forum.


Following his removal I'll be happy to re-join.

*goes back to waving flag and listening to Daft Punk*

I still stand by my motion to evict PirateJoe from OSNSFS. Again, I like the guy, but he's too inactive too mod the forum.

Banbang speaks truth. Looking over the topics list at the moment, the vast majority are about college. Since I'm not in college, I don't really have much to contribute, at least from personal experience. :(

Banbang speaks truth. Looking over the topics list at the moment, the vast majority are about college. Since I'm not in college, I don't really have much to contribute, at least from personal experience. :(

Is that something like a resignation?

Why does GPP still have so many fucking mods? I don't see how this is necessary.

I wont reccomend what the title of your forum should be so you should not worry about how many mods in a forum that you dont moderate in.


The_atomiser doesent seem to be active. Everyone else has settled down and mod well together. End.

You can feel free to recommend a title or description for Fool School, we had threads asking the regulars for their input.

Zok & Acidmelt (as well as many mods) have voiced their concerns about their being too many mods, GPP just happens to have too many.

6 mods for a forum that small just doesn't make sense, especially when one doesn't posted in it for the better part of a year.

I'm sure they'll remove The_Atomiser eventually, if they cant contact him to see what's up?
Simply put, all the mods in GPP are just too good to get rid of :D :)

I would never dare to criticise another mods forum, it would just feel..wrong?

I would never dare to criticise another mods forum, it would just feel..wrong?

How do you expect to improve something if you fear critiquing it?

How do you expect to improve something if you fear critiquing it?

Why should I feel I have the right to improve something that is none of my buisness?

Why should I feel I have the right to improve something that is none of my buisness?

You post and contribute to this site, why on Earth would you feel you shouldn't improve it?

Or are you saying that we shouldn't have a say in anything but "our" forums?

You post and contribute to this site, why on Earth would you feel you shouldn't improve it?

Or are you saying that we shouldn't have a say in anything but "our" forums?

I feel there's a difference between criticising and commenting.
But yeah.. to an extent, I feel bad suggesting things sometimes.

It's probably an insecurity or something but I feel quite self-concious when moderating at times!


In a way, I'm a guest here, in Jeff Hunters house. And in regards to forums I dont mod, I'm a guest there, too.

It would be rude to criticise either, and I have a feeling that sometimes, when I suggest things or ask questions, it sounds like I'm whining or complaining, so I find it better to stfu as much as possible.
..If that makes sense?

So yes, my oppinion on the forums other people moderate, whilst I may voice them, I dont really have a right to voice them.
Allthough I dont mind other people voicing oppinions/suggestions about the forums I moderate, I welcome them.
But criticism tends to irk me, especially if it seems to be useless criticism that doesent really achieve anything.



I'm not sure anyone in say, T&T would appreciate me wandering and saying (and this is just an example, not my oppinions!) "The name of this forum sucks!" or "there are too many mods!" "Too many stickies!!"

The moderators of that forum have been selected for a reason, the reason being that they are good mods and run their forums beautifully. They make the choices appropriate to their forum because they know the forum dynamics, the posters, and most importantly, the topics they're talking about.
It would be ludicrous and pathetic of me to criticise those mods when I know nothing about the topics they're discussing.

It's like, if a doctor came into my workplace whilst I was working the grill, watched me work for a while and then started saying "no, no, I dont think you should do it like that." " you're doing it wrong"
What right would he have to do that?
A brilliant and qualified proffessional he would be, but not in *MY* profession. So, his oppinion, whilst still valid, would not be..taken too much to heart.


I'm wittering now. I hope atleast some of that makes sense.

Good night. :)

[QUOTE=yoyobek;8891015]I'm sure they'll remove The_Atomiser eventually, if they cant contact him to see what's up?
Simply put, all the mods in GPP are just too good to get rid of :D :)/QUOTE]

I beg to differ.

The only reason some people were put into GPP is because Xip was in boot camp. He has access to &totse now, so there is no reason for such a small forum to have six moderators. It's ridiculous.

I'm with Jive on this one: Criticism is necessary for growth. We were not made moderators to sit around and bask in the glory of Jeff's creation. If that were the case, he wouldn't NEED moderators; he would do all the work himself. As moderators, we are to uphold and augment the quality of the forum.

Why are we having a discussion about the modship of GPP? Zok has said enough on this already and I'm sure he will sort it out.

I doubt neither he nor the current GPP mods need any other input on this.

Why are we having a discussion about the modship of GPP?

Why not? I don't see why input from other moderators is looked down upon.

Why not? I don't see why input from other moderators is looked down upon.

I didn't say its looked down on, simply its unnecessary in this instance. The situation is in the process of being resolved (zok said he was away the last few days).

I didn't say its looked down on, simply its unnecessary in this instance. The situation is in the process of being resolved (zok said he was away the last few days).

I just got back into the swing of reading M&A threads, so I'm a bit behind everyone. You know women, we have to get our word in.

All jokes aside, I stand by my point and think it's incredibly valid. However, I don't see the need to extend on it at this time.

The whole point of this forum is to debate, critique, discuss, and better the forums, both in a piecemeal fashion and in their entirety.

Things are often forgotten or swept aside. It never hurts to have a reminder of the things that are on deck.

My thoughts exactly.

Am in midst of a house move and so dont have lot of time right now and have sporadic web access while change ISP etc..

thus dont have time to wade through the 12-13 pages to find any possible snippet about L.Tips.

Am largely the only one [Mod] there at the moment although Squeegee has said he'll be around more in the near future when his life stabilises.... but would like at least one more to be added if possible....

but would like to pass on some opinions/recommendations about it in a few days.... if that's cool..?

BT

Just replaced PirateJoe with Jive Talka in the School forum. That's what was agreed on, correct?

All those in favor say "Si".

Si.

Yes, thank you.