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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 3:32 pm Reply with quote
The encylcopedia has nothing to do with the moderators.
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SuperOnizuka



Joined: 24 Oct 2003
Posts: 421
Location: When I look At the World- New Jersey
PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 3:36 pm Reply with quote
Well the discussion delved into the what to do about the recommendation threads. And how to moderate those, so I thought maybe a suggestion on the encyclopedia additions might be decrease the amount of recommendation threads (of course this is an assumption ...).
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Zalis116
Moderator


Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6902
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 4:16 pm Reply with quote
Tony K. wrote:
Anyway... here's the link. While some of it may seem a little too out there, I think a few of the improvements make a good amount of sense, though it'll take a very concentrated effort on the part of everyone here to eventually implent some of these suggestions. Tell me what you all think, and please be civil in your replies. Thanks Smile.
Well, thanks be to adonais for taking the time to type that all out. Probably the most interesting analysis of forum/Internet behavior I've seen in a long time. I obviously don't have the power to implement the sweeping rules changes, but I'll at least try to cut down on the "pre-emptive moderation" and overkill responses to minor threats.
ANN's FAQ wrote:
16 . Will there ever be an off topic / general conversation forum among the forums?
NO.
It seems that the higher-ups have been pretty opposed to an O/T forum for awhile. I'm not really for or against creating one, but in the event that we did make such a forum, I wouldn't want it to be "lightly moderated." I'd still enforce the grammar/spelling rules and other important rules like "no flaming" and "no illegal links." There's one forum that I frequent where I spend a lot of time in the O/T section, simply because it has a lot of silly games like guessing anime titles or posting screenshots in amusing combinations. So maybe an OT forum could work with the right controls, but since it's so much against the philosophies of the admins, I don't see much of a chance for it.

One thing I do "pre-emptively moderate" on are threads that go against dormcat's "7th Commandment" of anime forums, meaning threads like "Will there be a second season of _______?" or "When will _______ get licensed?" When you come to these forums, it's to interact with fellow anime fans, right? Questions that couldn't possibly be answered by other fans, then, are pointless in my view. Most answers on them are "*checks news* No, not that I know of", and the posters of these threads should be encouraged to check the news and the Encyclopedia themselves, rather than coming off as lazy and asking people to do it for them.

As far as "community nurturing" goes, I can see where it's a good idea. However, I've seen it taken to extremes on a site I used to hang out at, Bolt. According to rumor, Bolt at one point had the largest unmoderated forum system on the entire Internet. While this did allow freedom of expression and all that, problems such as spammers, flamers, trolls, advertisers, and troublemakers of all sorts went unchecked. Or at least, officially unchecked. What wound up happening is that people who stuck around certain boards for long periods of time would become "elite" regulars and band together with their fellow regs to defend each other and create a system of harsh vigilante justice to any newbie that displeased them.

But since we have a sufficient mod team to deal with rule-breakers, it's not like we need 4-5 people to jump in and say "This is against the rules!" every time somebody is out of line. I tend to see those kinds of posts as IB4TL / POSTCOUNT ++ posts, and would rather not see them made. Nonetheless, I'm willing to turn a blind eye towards some backseat moderating as long as it is cordial, not a personal attack, and doesn't contain sensationalistic content like "OMG this is soooo getting locked, just wait till the mods see this." (I didn't save the PM Nagisa once sent me, but I know I've been guilty of BSM in the past.) If you've noticed, my normal approach to "[infraction post] [veteran member correction]" threads is to quote the veteran post and say "QFT, Locked," unless I feel like doing a little more berating, like with this thread that asked for technical help with DVD-rips. (And that's "Quoted for Truth," not "Quit Frickin' Trolling" Anime smile) That way, there's a reminder of the rules, and a legitimization from authorities to prove to the OP that the correction is official ANN policy and not the words of some random forumite who happens to have 1500 posts. That sort of thing makes my job easier, so I don't have too much to complain about.

And on mod guidelines, we do have guidelines in place and a little essay about ANN's procedures and philosophies. Obviously I'm not going to post them publicly unless the admins give the okay. On controls of us as mods, the frameworks for checks and balances on our powers is in place; it's just done outside the view of normal users. As psycho101 has pointed out, there's always the possibility of going up the chain of command with concerns, but I get the impression that Zac & Tempest trust the five of us pretty well with the forum moderation, an impression that psycho101's experience would prove.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar


Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16970
PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 5:21 pm Reply with quote
To Zalis116:

You know I always wondered what QFT meant....felt dumb asking so I figured I'd wait until I saw the definition posted, as it pertains to this site. Kinda obvious......well I feel sorta silly. Anyways, as you said Zalis they do trust you guys and I politely got told by Tempest as much. Felt more like a nice polite way of saying F'off but I probably deserved it heh. I know this is just a rehash of what I already said but I find it important. If you have problems with mods, or other members, do go through them up the chain relaying your issues. They may appear stand offish at times but they do genuinely listen, as long as you present yourself well. Plus, even mods have bad days. If one won't answer, as in my case, go to others or up the line to Zac and Tempest. Agree or not with you they will give you the courtesy of reading your private message. I may sound like a tool for the system and a moderator fanboy but they do honestly try. Plus, if no one ever says anything about something that is wrong here how will things change??? I'd rather PM them all 5 times a week and be ignored or my views turned down than to sit here on my butt and do nothing. Others may criticize you for saying something, it's happened to me many times, but so what. At least you know you tried doing something and voiced your opinion, which should mean something to you.

[EDIT: Please do not excessively quote. It takes up a frustratingly large amount of space, when you could've just called out the user by name. Thanks. -TK]
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DragonsRevenge



Joined: 15 Nov 2004
Posts: 1150
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 11:52 pm Reply with quote
[EDIT: After getting a few reports, I decided to merge this to the proper thread, as this sticky was created to provide a place to praise/complain about the job done by the staff. ~Zalis]

They do a great job of filtering out the garbage. Compared to the AS board which I frequented a couple years ago, this place is clean, orderly, free of idiots, multiple pointless threads started by people with supposed preschool typing skills, and they do a great job of keeping up a discussion board that emphasizes, you know, discussion.

I'm not trying to single any one mod out over the others, though this will probably sound like it, but does Tony ever sleep? I'd say roughly 75% of the pointless threads locked are by him, at all hours of the day.

Great Job to all of you. Even though I dont post as often as I want to, thanks to you, it remains a nice place to hang out.

Rock on.

PS: No, I'm sucking up Razz I've had my share of locked threads too, and I'm sure I will have more. (Including this one probably.)
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frentymon
Forums Superstar


Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 2362
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:03 am Reply with quote
What impresses me is how long they're able to keep at it. For a while I think I did just about the same amount of work as the mods, maintaining a sticky and hosting a tournament. But then I found myself getting lazier and lazier and pretty soon I started losing motivation to do any of this stuff, and it became a menial chore to update any of it. But since I don't exactly have any commitment to have to do anything really, I can get away with it, but for the mods to have to regularly do what they do every day (esp. Tony K. for a while, how he managed what he did for such an extended period of time is beyond me), almost under an obligation to do so, is a commendable feat.

But there's like what...5 active mods right now so I don't think any of them have to work TOO hard.
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DragonsRevenge



Joined: 15 Nov 2004
Posts: 1150
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:06 am Reply with quote
I sometimes wonder if any of them sit back frustrated saying "Dammit, I wanted to lock that one with a sarcastic remark." Very Happy
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fighterholic



Joined: 28 Sep 2005
Posts: 9193
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 1:50 am Reply with quote
I think if you guys post in the Moderator thread, you might get a little more attention. Don't forget Nagisa, who was handling things by himself until Tony K. came in. Kudos to him. But now that there are five mods, peace has been maintained quite a bit more than we used to see. On top of that, we have to thank the members of this sites administration for coming up with a way to keep spambots out. If you noticed there haven't been any since tempest made the announcement. Thanks guys!! Very Happy
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 9902
Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 2:31 am Reply with quote
In no way I'd belittle the contribution of my moderator colleagues, but please allow me to rant by quoting this paragraph about army staffs from a friend of mine:

Zonble wrote:
參三搞一個示範、搞一堆戰備的東西三不五十就獲得什麼主官的嘉許,參四可以把裝檢成績弄得很出色,他們要把業務做好,就是交出亮麗得成績單。但是參一不然,做得好的參一業務是讓人感受不到的,就像是人不能離開空氣,但是卻感受不到空氣的存在,所有人都以為他的放假、他的晉升他的退伍令是天經地義,該休假的時候,假單就該自動生出來,參一會屌,但是參一不會爽,參一更不會紅,更有可能的是,參一會很黑。

Translation: S3 makes a training demonstration or some emergency mobilization stuff can receive recommendation from commanding officers every other week; S4 can have impeccable records on equipment maintenance. If they do their jobs well, they'll have nice honor lists. Not for S1. A good S1 is never felt, just like men can't live without air but no one really feels about its existence. Everyone thinks that his R&R, promotion, and honorable discharge are his birthrights; when he wants an R&R, the pass should descend from the heaven into his hands. S1 can be bossy, but S1 won't be easy, and never will be popular. In the worst case, S1 can be hated and despised.

Being an S1 myself back in my days of ROC Coast Guard, the recent accusation of us taking Korean bribes has severely demoralized our motivation. Maybe I was born with this fate (my father was an S1 in the Army as well)...
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jetz



Joined: 31 Jan 2007
Posts: 2148
Location: Manila, Philippines
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 2:49 am Reply with quote
yeah they are hard working and thanks for that.. I do understand why "teh rules" were set (to get rid of unnecessary spam and useless comments, etc) and it's amazing to see how hard they try to keep the board running so well..

I do have to say that they kinda scare me.. I thought up of these possible posts that may seem great, but I'm too afraid that they will be locked by Tony K. et al, so then I thought I should save myself from the humiliation and keep my thoughts from making it to the board.. they'll probably be locked anyway Laughing
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Amasa



Joined: 25 Jan 2007
Posts: 340
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 3:01 am Reply with quote
The other day I visited my old ANN account and read through all the posts I made in 2004. I spent the next two hours laughing to myself - I could hardly even translate the things I wrote. One classic example was in a recommendation thread somebody was asking for a Slice of Life / Comedy anime to watch, and somehow I recommended "Berserk is raelly gud youd like it heaps!!!!!!". It must've been the most recent anime I'd finished or something. Anyway Tony K would always respond so politely and I was never really told off, by today's standards and enforcements I'd have been banned almost immediately. The mods have really changed the way they monitor the quality control in each thread and it is really impressive. This is one of the few anime forums I've visited that don't dedicate entire threads to "lol lolis with guns" type discussions. ANN is the safest website to come to ask a question or identifying an anime or discussing the news, all thanks to the mods.
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10円



Joined: 17 Jan 2007
Posts: 605
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 3:11 am Reply with quote
Sure, I'll give some thanks to the moderators. It's a thankless job so here's your chance to get some praise for once.

dormcat wrote:
In no way I'd belittle the contribution of my moderator colleagues, but please allow me to rant by quoting this paragraph about army staffs from a friend of mine:

Zonble wrote:
參三搞一個示範、搞一堆戰備的東西三不五十就獲得什麼主官的嘉許,參四可以把裝檢成績弄得很出色,他們要把業務做好,就是交出亮麗得成績單。但是參一不然,做得好的參一業務是讓人感受不到的,就像是人不能離開空氣,但是卻感受不到空氣的存在,所有人都以為他的放假、他的晉升他的退伍令是天經地義,該休假的時候,假單就該自動生出來,參一會屌,但是參一不會爽,參一更不會紅,更有可能的是,參一會很黑。

Translation: S3 makes a training demonstration or some emergency mobilization stuff can receive recommendation from commanding officers every other week; S4 can have impeccable records on equipment maintenance. If they do their jobs well, they'll have nice honor lists. Not for S1. A good S1 is never felt, just like men can't live without air but no one really feels about its existence. Everyone thinks that his R&R, promotion, and honorable discharge are his birthrights; when he wants an R&R, the pass should descend from the heaven into his hands. S1 can be bossy, but S1 won't be easy, and never will be popular. In the worst case, S1 can be hated and despised.

Being an S1 myself back in my days of ROC Coast Guard, the recent accusation of us taking Korean bribes has severely demoralized our motivation. Maybe I was born with this fate (my father was an S1 in the Army as well)...


That has to be the most obscure and esoteric rant I've ever read.
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Mirrinus



Joined: 31 Jan 2007
Posts: 230
Location: La Thiene Plateau
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 3:19 am Reply with quote
I'm very thankful for the mods, who keep this board relatively free of useless posts made by people who go out of their way to prove to us that they have nothing of value to say. Quality of discussion on this forum is thankfully above average.
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 9902
Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 3:25 am Reply with quote
10円 wrote:
That has to be the most obscure and esoteric rant I've ever read.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staff_officer
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10円



Joined: 17 Jan 2007
Posts: 605
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 3:51 am Reply with quote
dormcat wrote:
10円 wrote:
That has to be the most obscure and esoteric rant I've ever read.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staff_officer


The post's references weren't unknown or incomprehensible, just completely unrelated to the forum. Metaphors are fine in small doses, but when your post is 99% metaphor, well, it borders on needless obscurity.
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