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Forums > Home› Star Trek Online General Discussion

New Community Moderation Program

Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
edited April 2013 in Star Trek Online General Discussion
Hey gang!

I’m really pleased to announce that we’ll be instituting a Community Moderation Program on the Champions Online, and Star Trek Online forums.

Along with this, we’ll also be the first forums to implement the new PWE Community Rules and Policies.

First, let’s talk about the new rules and policies:

Essentially, these are the same rules and policies you’re already used to, with some minor changes to help take into account the differences between PWE and Cryptic games, and an introduction of the rules regarding community moderators. The rules themselves are not changing for Cryptic titles, but how we enforce them will be. I’ll have the new Rules and Policies Document up in the Announcements section shortly, so you can all see exactly what is changing.

Since we don’t want your fellow players to have the ability to ban others from the forums, we’ll be reducing the point value of all infractions to zero. Our community staff will be kept aware of any issues with troublesome posters, and will still be able to issue forum suspensions or bans. We expect that community members will notice a sharp decrease in any suspensions or bans. Instead of having the VBulletin software issue suspensions and bans automatically based on the point values from infractions, we will be assigning them manually, at the Community Managers’ discretion, with the assistance of the community moderators.

Due to this, the first time a Community Manager suspends you, you will receive a 3 day suspension, then a 1 week suspension, followed by a 2 week suspension, and should you garner our attention a 4th time, a permanent ban from the forums. This system will be using the current infraction point system.

Now, let’s talk about the new Community Moderators:

When a need for more moderators is identified by the Community Manager, they’ll post a thread, indicating the need, how many are needed, and the process for applying. For Champs, and STO, we’ll be asking people from the community who are interested to submit a community ticket from our support site, with the subject “Community Moderator Application”.

Right now, we’re looking for 3 moderators for Star Trek Online, and 2 moderators for Champions Online.

The ticket should include your time zone, any relevant experience you may have, and why you would like to join our team of community moderators.

We’ll also include a day when we will stop accepting applications. Since this is our first time out, we’re going to accept applications received by January 13th, 2012. We’ll review the applications, and contact interested parties who we believe would best fit the role to perform a brief online interview.

Using the interview, we will narrow the field further, and select our top candidates. If we have more acceptable candidates than we have positions, then we will be posting a poll, which will allow the community to have the final choice in the matter. The poll will last for one week, and close after that time. Winners of the poll will be contacted, and enter a 30-60 day probationary training period, where they will work with us to learn the ropes.

As this is our first time out, we hope to have new community moderators on the forums by January 20th, 2012.

It is important to understand that community moderators are completely unpaid. Community moderators are in no way required to work any specific hours, meet any quota, and may post as much or as little as they choose to. They are not paid in any way, shape, or form, and do not receive any compensation or perks for the time they choose to spend moderating the forums.

Should you be selected to become a moderator by the community, you may choose to leave the position at any time you choose, and may be removed from the position by the PWE Community Team at any time if deemed necessary.

If you have any questions about this new program (We’re sure you do!) you may ask by replying to this thread. If you have a question regarding the new Rules and Policies Document, please file a Community Ticket.

Thanks,

Stormshade
Post edited by Archived Post on
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Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Loosening the moderation reins after inviting thousand of people who left the game in a torrent of negativity back to the forum doesn't seem like the best plan to me. Just my opinion.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Good idea. I am always pelased to see anything tat gets members of the community more involved.

    I hope it works out well.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Cosmic_One wrote: »
    Loosening the moderation reins after inviting thousand of people who left the game in a torrent of negativity back to the forum doesn't seem like the best plan to me. Just my opinion.

    At the same time, not adding additional moderators right now seems like a horrible thing to me. Q, Branflakes, and myself can only do so much moderation each day, and still do all the other things we're supposed to do.

    I wouldn't look at this as "loosening" the reigns at all. I'd look at it as a way for us to tighten the reigns, and increase the amount of moderation on the forums.

    Thanks,

    Stormshade
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Y'know this looks like a perfect time for Cryptic/PWE to hire some people to moderate the forums. A sort of "work(moderate) from home" and pay them for their work. I myself would be willing to do this.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Cosmic_One wrote: »
    Loosening the moderation reins after inviting thousand of people who left the game in a torrent of negativity back to the forum doesn't seem like the best plan to me. Just my opinion.

    I was just thinking about all of those "i quit" rants and now they are back.. *shivers

    As usual I am optimistic of Cryptics forward thinking and am confident that the “people” on the forums will show a great deal of maturity.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Blasten_Blaster wrote: »
    Y'know this looks like a perfect time for Cryptic/PWE to hire some people to moderate the forums. A sort of "work(moderate) from home" and pay them for their work. I myself would be willing to do this.

    Same. No ticket, no laundry. Sorry. I'm sure there's plenty of people who will be up for donating their time though. I'm just not one of 'em. I got bills, man! lol
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    James_Bailey wrote:
    <snip>
    ... and am confident that the “people” on the forums will show a great deal of maturity.

    um . . . is this your first day on these forums? :rolleyes:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Though this may seem to you, or your "higher-ups" as a great cost saving system, to add unpaid CS moderators from the player base..........

    ...I've seen several game companies, who's games I've played try this, and with some VERY rare exceptions, it has turned out VERY badly in almost every case.

    My advice...which is also "free".....Petition Cryptic to "loosen their purse strings", and hire some additional PAID moderators, if that is what you need (which is what most of these other companies I've referred to have done after their "experiment" in getting "free" workers, ran it's course).

    Isn't America (and most of the rest of the world, for that matter) looking to increase the workforce at the moment, as a boost to their economies? You could be one of those fancily labeled "Job Creators" we hear so much about, but rarely see..../chuckle. :p
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    First rule of media though - if you can get them to do it for free, get them to do it for free.

    Although personally I believe more in the old saying "You pay peanuts, you get monkeys" which is why I always pay cash money.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    KeptWandering wrote: »
    Though this may seem to you, or your "higher-ups" as a great cost saving system, to add unpaid CS moderators from the player base..........

    ...I've seen several game companies, who's games I've played try this, and with some VERY rare exceptions, it has turned out VERY badly in almost every case.

    My advice...which is also "free".....Petition Cryptic to "loosen their purse strings", and hire some additional PAID moderators, if that is what you need (which is what most of these other companies I've referred to have done after their "experiment" in getting "free" workers, ran it's course).

    Isn't America (and most of the rest of the world, for that matter) looking to increase the workforce at the moment, as a boost to their economies? You could be one of those fancily labeled "Job Creators" we hear so much about, but rarely see..../chuckle. :p

    It would be nice to see a piece of that fifty-mil being spread around lol

    I suppose it's all in Atari's bank account now though.

    Honestly, I probably would do the job, since I don't really dig the game anymore per se, and (as always when I'm not playing) I still enjoy communicating with folks on the forums. And since they say there's no minimum time commitment it seems pretty much as flexitime as you want it to be.

    Thing is, I don't know if I could bring myself to swing the infraction mace on someone I potentially agree with in principle.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    There are multiple areas -like "officially" helping newbies- or whatever where community volunteers would be helpful. But as moderators? No. This is not some kind of community board you can just ignore - it's the official forum. it deserves and needs a competent and thus paid moderation team.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Schneemann wrote: »
    There are multiple areas -like "officially" helping newbies- or whatever where community volunteers would be helpful. But as moderators? No. This is not some kind of community board you can just ignore - it's the official forum. it deserves and needs a competent and thus paid moderation team.

    Aye, as I've already spouted once in this thread - you pay peanuts, and you get monkeys.

    That's not to say there aren't a large number of mature, sensible people in these forums who would carry out their duties professionally. It's just always nice, of course, to have your professionalism rewarded with some kind of monetary recompense.

    I hope the right guys get the posts.

    I nominate Grand Nagus, Sekrit_Agent.. other names escape me atm.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    StormShade wrote:
    We’ll review the applications, and contact interested parties who we believe would best fit the role to perform a brief online interview.
    Is this interview a txted based interview (ie an IM system), voice chatted or a video chat?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    I guess there is no sense in me submitting an application now, huh? ;)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Stormy,

    I was going to write something long but I will boil it down to this. I'd advise you to give all player moderators anonymous forum handles. Otherwise, this is a recipe for "Forum Politics" that has a high potential to explode.

    A player who "complains against complainers" because they are tired of all the negativity on the forums is one thing. But openly granting that same player moderation power over others would be disastrous.

    The only way I see this working is for player moderators to be anonymous and indistinguishable from Official Cryptic & PWE Moderators. Otherwise it's just going to end up with attacks on known "Cryptic Defenders" who now have been granted "more forum power" because they have been Pro-Cryptic in the past.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Mirror-Master wrote:
    Stormy,

    I was going to write something long but I will boil it down to this. I'd advise you to give all player moderators anonymous forum handles. Otherwise, this is a recipe for "Forum Politics" that has a high potential to explode.

    A player who "complains against complainers" because they are tired of all the negativity on the forums is one thing. But openly granting that same player moderation power over others would be disastrous.

    The only way I see this working is for player moderators to be anonymous and indistinguishable from Official Cryptic & PWE Moderators. Otherwise it's just going to end up with attacks on known "Cryptic Defenders" who now have been granted "more forum power" because they have been Pro-Cryptic in the past.


    Yeah, you definitely want to be giving people special "gold/yellow" names for forum duties. Otherwise, as Mirror-Master hints at, it's a recipe for a disaster for those few fortunate enough to get the posts.

    Unless you get someone like me! Who's already universally despised! lol

    Oh wait.. I'm despised by the devs, not the forum-goers :p

    "Man, that ******' Varlo. Ban that sum*****!"

    "For what?"

    "Find somethin'!" lol

    j/k
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    I'm not really sure I like this idea, at least not with the STO community. I've seen things like this done in the past on a variety of communities, and even been one of those "community mods" myself.

    Yeah, there's good in that the strain on the CM's will be lessened (if only slightly). But there's also the risk that power will be abused. Obviously this can happen with paid employees, but there's less of a risk to the volunteers, and inevitably there will be at least one person who abuses the power.

    Since I know you guys are going to do it anyway, all I ask is that you're extremely careful about who you allow to moderate. As I mentioned before, I've been on both sides of the table, and I'd hate to see STO go down the dark path of rampant abuse.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    I would suggest, that those you interview, you ask a good long series of Star Trek trivia questions, and if they take long enough to answer that they could have been on Google for the answer.. you disregard their application. That's just me.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Mirror-Master wrote:
    Stormy,

    I was going to write something long but I will boil it down to this. I'd advise you to give all player moderators anonymous forum handles. Otherwise, this is a recipe for "Forum Politics" that has a high potential to explode.

    A player who "complains against complainers" because they are tired of all the negativity on the forums is one thing. But openly granting that same player moderation power over others would be disastrous.

    The only way I see this working is for player moderators to be anonymous and indistinguishable from Official Cryptic & PWE Moderators. Otherwise it's just going to end up with attacks on known "Cryptic Defenders" who now have been granted "more forum power" because they have been Pro-Cryptic in the past.

    I agree with most of this. It is entirely based on weather an individual can conduct themselves professionally instead of personally when the need arises.

    I have personally seen people attack the cashier at a fast food place for giving them a small french fry instead of the large fry, by throwing the frys directly into her face.

    I watched a soldier carefully place a prisoner of war into the back seat my guntruck, when 10 minutes earlier that same prisoner had attempted hit us with an I.E.D. and missed while I was deployed in Baghdad.
    And I do mean carefully and not 'careful, don't hit your head *smash,smash,smash*'

    It's a level of proffesionalism that people can achieve.

    I believe that if a New CM begins to "abuse their power", that reports will come in and that CM will be relieved of duty after investigating the inccident. I'm confident Stormy would drop the "ban hammer" just as quickly, if not quicker, on a bad CM as he would a "troll". Or a Star Wars thead
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Varlo wrote:
    I would suggest, that those you interview, you ask a good long series of Star Trek trivia questions, and if they take long enough to answer that they could have been on Google for the answer.. you disregard their application. That's just me.
    Dunno if knowing Scotty's clothing size in TOS, ST III and VII makes anyone a better moderator. ;)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Schneemann wrote: »
    Dunno if knowing Scotty's clothing size in TOS, ST III and VII makes anyone a better moderator. ;)

    Haha, no, but maybe a deep knowledge of all Trek series and movies to date would show some kind of loyalty to the Star Trek brand, and therefore a willingness to not abuse their post. I don't mean stupid, obscure questions. Just some stuff that anyone who's gotten really involved in Trek over the years would know, or at least have an inkling of.

    Examples:

    Who killed Dr. McCoy's father and why?

    What were the only words ever to be spelled in morse code in Star Trek and why?

    Why did Khan so despise Captain (Admiral) Kirk?

    What was Kirk's son called?

    What was Chekov doing when he said "Scotty? Now vud be a good time."?

    Why is it funny that in JJ's re-boot, Sulu said he was trained in fencing?

    What are Jean-Luc Picard's brother and nephew called?

    How did Jean-Luc Picard's brother and nephew die?

    Stuff like that, you know?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Varlo wrote:
    I would suggest, that those you interview, you ask a good long series of Star Trek trivia questions, and if they take long enough to answer that they could have been on Google for the answer.. you disregard their application. That's just me.

    LOL funny. But let's not forget, Google is our friend and so is Memory-Alpha.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    kirian_darkstar wrote: »
    LOL funny. But let's not forget, Google is our friend and so is Memory-Alpha.

    I know. I would think a phone interview would be more appropriate. Then they can hear the plunking of keys as the interviewee Googles the answer. hehe
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Varlo wrote:
    I know. I would think a phone interview would be more appropriate. Then they can hear the plunking of keys as the interviewee Googles the answer. hehe

    hahaha. this --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xyoBr2ULs4
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Varlo wrote:
    First rule of media though - if you can get them to do it for free, get them to do it for free.

    Although personally I believe more in the old saying "You pay peanuts, you get monkeys" which is why I always pay cash money.

    Did someone say peanuts?! *applies*
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    biglcny wrote: »
    hahaha. this --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xyoBr2ULs4

    HA joke's on me, I didn't have my headphones turned up enough. I hope you can turn off that simulated clicking sound....
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Powerhelm wrote: »
    Did someone say peanuts?! *applies*

    lol

    10chars
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    biglcny wrote: »
    hahaha. this --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xyoBr2ULs4

    That's pretty slick. I mean, the best possible solution would be face-to-face interviews, held on the continent of the applicant's origin. But that would cost money, and whoever is currently at the helm of STO seems reluctant to spend any.

    Maybe Skype interviews? lol
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    Varlo wrote:


    Examples:

    Who killed Dr. McCoy's father and why? Asking things that were shown in STV, can result in severe trollings. Bad question.

    What were the only words ever to be spelled in morse code in Star Trek and why?... again with STV?... Btw "Stand back?"

    Why did Khan so despise Captain (Admiral) Kirk? because his "was superior" ;)

    What was Kirk's son called? David Marcus

    What was Chekov doing when he said "Scotty? Now vud be agood time."? Standing next to the Enterprise Nuclear reactor.
    with seaman rapidly approaching
    Stuff like that, you know?

    10 characters
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2012
    kirian_darkstar wrote: »
    10 characters

    Aye, I got the two STV references. I still, to this day, can't understand why people bash that film so much. I really enjoyed it. I mean, it had the infamous "Emergency landing plan.. *shrug* ... B" ¬¬ lol

    "Actually, it's my first time :D "

    "Ach, I know this ship like the back o' me hand." *boink*

    Not to mention....

    "Excuse me? What does God need with a starship?"

    'Yeah, what does God need with a starship?' lol

    ...


    "I'll kill ya later."

    ...


    "You said you would kill me..."

    "I lied."
This discussion has been closed.