More moderators?

[Sandy]

[I]Modssss, needssss more modssss....[/I]

...Erhm, really, this is something that has been bothering me for a good while now (I even remember PM'ing one of the admins about this issue once in the past).

The thing is that compared to any other larger scale messageboard on the web, OB has a minuscule amount of moderators. Ten common mods, two speshul ones and three admins... Even my lacking mathskills tell that it's not much for a board with this many registered members

With all due respect to the current mods, there's only so much one man or a woman can do... The number of new members joining seems to be increasing each passing day, and although spamming hasn't gotten out of hands (yet), it's still visible everywhere. I for one would feel much more comfortable and "secure" if there was more control here...

I know for a fact (cause I was a member then) that we used to have many more mods - some more active than others, though - in the past, but I don't know what was wrong with that? :/ Why can't there be two or three mods per section, what's the harm (at least compared to the benefit)?

So... I'm just asking is anybody else bothered by this fact? Or do I just have too much freetime to spend here, worrying about stuff that aren't my concern. ;P

Thanks for any answers in advance! ;D

[Horendithas]

[COLOR=Indigo]I agree with you. The current team of moderators do an amazing job. But like you said there?s only so much one man of woman can do. I?ve noticed that the number of members has grown quite a bit and the incidents of spam has increased as well.

Its not really an issue and it doesn?t bother me, but I can certainly see why more moderators would be a good thing. And not just for here I?m sure additional help would be a good idea for theOtaku and myOtaku as well.[/COLOR]

[Random]

Personally, I, too, see the need for more mods. Although I'm new [I]here[/I] at the OBs, I'm also a member to other messageboard sites, so I do know a little.

I agree with Sandy seeing as there's quite a few people spamming...mostly new members...and, quite frankly, it's beginning to overrun some threads. I'm not trying to critisize the current mods, but, again, as Sandy pointed out, there's only so much that they can do. The more mods there are, the smoother, more organized, and enjoyable OB will be. Well, that's what I think.

Also, more mods means that the current ones, and the possible future ones, will not have to work so hard, and the work will be more evenly distributed. As I said before, I'm not critisizing the current mods. In fact, I hold them in great respect seeing how much they actually do around this site...not ***-kissing, honest!

Concluding my rather short post, I totally and whole-heartedly agree with Sandy on this issue.

Anyways, that's my two cents.

-Random

[Kei]

[color=darkblue][size=1]Speaking as a Mod, but not for the whole lot of us, I know that it seems like we're short-staffed. However, as has been said, the incidents of mass-spamming and such are kept to a minimum, even though we can't get on it as soon as it happens, since no one Mod can be online 24/7. It's up to James and the admins to determine whether or not we need more, so if they feel the same way you do, they'll add Mods when they see fit. ^^[/color][/size]

[Stuart]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]I, as a mod, rarely post in something that isn't mod related. I believe the Otaku Lounge, for one, is keep well under control, and that no more mods are needed in that area. I am on VERY often, and spend a great deal of time to read all current threads, and review all posts. When I am not able to do so, there is Panda, Dagger, Des, James, and Raiyuu who all can moderate over that forum. If you, or anyone feels there is a post, or member who needs to be dealt with, the best thing you can do is report that post. Report post instantly sends an e-mail to all of that forum's moderators. I don't know about Raiyuu, or Panda, but I check my e-mail very regulary. So, though I do not engage myself in discussions, I am well active on the boards. Now, that is just for the Otaku Lounge. I can't tell you how well the other forums are being dealt with.

I guess I do not fully understand your concerns. Do you feel the forums are not well under wraps? That there are not dealt with quickly? Or are you just trying to help us few out? Maybe this was already stated in your opening post, but it was not clear to me.

In the future we will see several staff changes. I assume at around the time the new site is created. But, that is an issue only James could say.[/FONT]

[Sandy]

[QUOTE=Stuart][FONT=Trebuchet MS]
I guess I do not fully understand your concerns. Do you feel the forums are not well under wraps? That there are not dealt with quickly? Or are you just trying to help us few out? Maybe this was already stated in your opening post, but it was not clear to me.
[/FONT][/QUOTE]

A bit of all of them, actually. I check OB quite often during the evening (because my computer is almost constantly open), so I see much spam that doesn't linger long thanks to current mods, but still it bothers me.

I'm also wondering how one mod finds the time to moderate a whole section of this board (which are quite large and active in comparison to some other boards)? It sometimes seems like an unpaid side-job, at least to me. :/ I would be totally stressed out if I had to moderate for example Arena Underground all by myself. There's much spam there that is eventually removed by Bio (or some admin or another perceptive mod), so it must be quite tiring for one person.

Though, what do I know...

Well, that's also one of the reasons I created this thread. Aren't [I]you[/I] bothered? Do [I]you[/I] feel you have too much responsibility? Guess I'm just a "worried citizen". ;P

But also, one can also ask "why not more moderators?" Again, it would stabilize the boards, ease the workload of forum moderators, and decrease the amount of "visible" spam.

Sounds good, doesn't it. So, why not? ;D

[SIZE=1]PS. I realize I'm sounding like I created this thread solely to try to become a mod, but those of you who know me know that's not true. I just want to be a part of improving this community, and this [I]is[/I] a feedback section, right? ,:)[/SIZE]

[Annie]

[size=1]The Underground? You'd be afraid of that? I, honestly, would be terrified to mod the Lounge. lol

But in all seriousness, I'll agree there are a few areas that need extra mods. I'm not at all "worried" or feel insecure. The OB is a well-oiled machine, in a manner of speaking, and does quite well without a dozen moderators/admins. From years (and you know this) of cracking down, adding new rules, new moderators, the OB has become one of the cleanest message boards out there. The community here is mostly made up of people who've been with the OB since the beginning, or quite a long time. These people sort of "tutor" and guide new comers, and help regulate what goes on in the forums. That alone [i]has[/i] to help mods out every now and again.

I've been moderator for other small message boards, and I know for a fact that you don't necessarily have to have an army of moderators to control a board. In my past experience, having too many mods caused many riffs and disobediance.

The OB has an excellent team of mods and admins. It's tough to keep an eye out on the entire board, or designated forum, but if OB members take proper actions, there really is no need for an army. (Proper actions= reporting posts, PMing mods/admins)

But, as Lady K. stated, it's really up to James and the admins to determine what needs to happen.[/size]

[Dragon Warrior]

I don't think there needs to be more mods. I can see the current mods doing their jobs just fine. There may be some members getting out of control every now and then, but they are always eventually tamed by one of the admins or moderators. Let's save new mod positions for new forums or if an old moderator has to drop out (or one just disappears off the face of the Earth). :)

[Desbreko]

[color=#4B0082]Someone hasn't been reading the announcements. :p

Take a look at James' OB Tidbits announcement, currently third from the top, and you'll see that there are plans to hire more staff. Things have been progressing kind of slow lately, partly due to James currently being in the process of moving, but we are aware that we could use more moderators. Just a matter of time.[/color]

[quote=James][b]V7 Updates[/b]

Despite the slower pace lately, I am continuing to focus on V7 updates for the time being.

More staff will be hired and there will be a few minor changes here and there, but primarily you're soon going to see significant updates to the rules page. It's a page that has been in need of major updating for a while and soon everything will be brought up to scratch in that department, so please look forward to that.[/quote]

[Sandy]

Oh... I surely read that, but that was [I]ages[/I] ago! XP

Mmmokay, I'm glad you were on to it (so I wasn't totally wrong ;P ), but I'm even more glad that this thread - no matter how needless it would've been - didn't turn into a flamefest like oh-so-many previous Feedback-threads of mine. Thankies for that, everybody! ;D

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]My basic philosophy is that we don't actually require that many staff at OB. Usually OB has as many staff as it needs - rather than throw in staff, I try to keep us on as few staff as possible. That's why I tend to choose people who are very active/dedicated.

It may seem like a big task, but I assure you, Moderating OB isn't very difficult (depending on the area and specific tasks, anyway). I can come on here for fifteen minutes and moderate the entire site for the day - that includes closures, moving things around, deleting posts or whatever else. The only time that process really slows down is when we need to post specific messages or send PMs and so on. But [i]generally[/i] it's a lot less work than it may seem.

Having said that though, we do need more staff. But due to my current situation I'm not really able to get more staff on in a timely manner. That'll change soon, so all I can say is "watch this space". I'd say we'll probably be adding somewhere between five and six staff in the end and that should balance things out well enough.[/font]

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.

My own feelings are that we only need new moderators in certain forums that are understaffed, however I would be the first to admit that the forum that comes to mind seems to have no problems and perhaps the addition of a staff member is simply a precaution to prevent problems from mounting. Seeing as we've had more than a few staff, as well as the head honcho James say that moderating isn't that difficult, perhaps time-consuming being the most accurate word it really is only certain forums that might benefit from more manpower. The discussion itself on whether or not we need more moderators is a bit irrelevant now seeing as James has said he intends to hire more, and his system has never let him down yet. [/SIZE]

[Desbreko]

[color=#4B0082]Everyone say hello to the newest addition to the staff, r2vq. He's giving the Anime Lounge some much needed love. :)

And Gavin's opening thoughts there echo my own. We're not understaffed across the board, but there are some forums which are. For example, whereas Anime Lounge didn't have any resident moderators until just recently, Otaku Lounge has three. So it's mainly just a matter of filling in the holes, which I'm now working together with James to do; you can look forward to seeing more staff changes happening soon.[/color]