JohnCapital
Slayer
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2006
- Posts
- 9,831
- Location
- Colorado
- Society
- Freelancer
- Avatar Name
- John Teacher Capital
It's time for me to step down as moderator for both PCF and EF. I'll still be on the forums, just as a lowly player again.
Before the rumors start I'll say this:
No person, nor event on the forums nor ingame made me quit. I simply don't have enough time IRL anymore. This has been planned for a long time now. Thus the reason why Serica was brought on and given time to learn the ropes.
I believe 711 has plans to bring on more mods. The trick is finding those rare people who are ethical and smart enough to do it, yet also dumb enough to take the job.
"Why don't you just keep your mod abilities and do it when you have time?"
Simple: I'm the type that if I have the ability, I'll take the responsibility. For about 2 years, I've been taking my lunch hour, driving down to the local library, and logging into the forum to do what mod work I could. More complex issues, requiring research, etc. had to wait until I got home after work. Plus modding almost all day on the weekends. I've had to make time for the forum almost every day for years now, just not as a player reading and making fun/informative threads, but as a mod having to deal with all issues. And quite frankly, I simply can't do that anymore.
A rare few friends knew that this was coming, and I appreciate you keeping your mouths shut about this. Thanks.
For those stat lovers among us, I'll give you this:
I started as a mod back on Oct. 14, 2009, back when we were all EntropiaForum, and there were no such thing as multiple planets. That's almost 1,700 days of being a mod. In that time, I handled reported posts, PM requests from both forum and ingame, plus the issues I caught on my own, etc. etc. all totalling over 3,500 mod actions. That's averaging over 2 issues every day without a break.
About payment:
For those wondering, no, I was not paid. Being a mod is a free gig. Disclaimer: One time, about 2 years ago, all forum mods were rewarded with a single "thank you" pack containing a Quad(L), Thruster(L), and 1 CLD. Other than that, it's been our pleasure to serve you all for free.
For those wondering about MA's hand on the forums:
At no time was I ever contacted by MA staff, nor did 711 make requests to me on their behalf, requesting special treatment. I received no PMs, or anything. Of the huge amount of reported posts, only about 6 of them in my 5 years as a mod came from MA/PCF staff. And notice they reported the post, just like any other forum user would. In those case, we did the same thing: Examined the post in question, determined what forum rules, if any were broken and modded accordingly. The very, very rare +reps I'd get from MA staff were never about a mod action, but always about a damn good post I made as a player. So sorry, rumor lovers. MA has no special hand in forum activities.
It was hard being a mod. I tried hard to moderate according to the spirit of the rules and stay as fair as possible. I had to moderate friends sometimes, because they also broke rules, on purpose and/or accidentally. They understood and kept themselves fairly clean on the forum. Maybe I just picked good friends. The point being, I treated everyone as evenly as I could. I wasn't perfect, but by definition, a mod can't please everyone, nor should they try. A few rare times (two, maybe?) 711 disagreed with an action I took and reversed/altered them. That's fine. As owner of these two forums, it's his right/privilege to rule as he sees fit. Also, I believe in those cases he was working with knowledge that I didn't have, so he could make better choices. I take his adjustments my actions as a compliment, in that it was done so rarely. Guess I was doing something right.
And before anyone feels the need to bring it up, yes, I was the only mod on the forum to also get temp-banned. I'm fine with that too. I lost it one day and 711 gave me a "time-out". He did the right thing.
To those I've banned, either temp or perm:
No, my leaving does not alter any mod decisions. They stand.
My thanks go to 711 (and Hanne for the short time I worked for her) for allowing me to be a mod. It's been fun. The vBulletin system running these forums, plus 711's way of setting things up in the "back office" (staff section) made handling things much easier than it could have been. Thanks to my fellow mods, also. I know most of them didn't have the RL time to mod much, but their help and input was always appreciated when it was there.
I've learned a lot of dirty little secrets on many of you forum users, but don't worry. If you can't tell by now, I learn, but don't gossip.
Some of you will want to reply and say you've appreciated my modding. Thanks. Others will reply to say that I'm the worst mod ever, that I'm a waste of DNA, the 4th sign of the apocalypse, etc. etc. Don't bother. I know pretty much what each of you think of me, and I'm comfortable with that. I'll end this way:
Some of you think I was too lenient. Others think I was too hard. Often on the same mod actions. To me, that tells me I probably did my job just about right.
See you on the forums.
Before the rumors start I'll say this:
No person, nor event on the forums nor ingame made me quit. I simply don't have enough time IRL anymore. This has been planned for a long time now. Thus the reason why Serica was brought on and given time to learn the ropes.
I believe 711 has plans to bring on more mods. The trick is finding those rare people who are ethical and smart enough to do it, yet also dumb enough to take the job.
"Why don't you just keep your mod abilities and do it when you have time?"
Simple: I'm the type that if I have the ability, I'll take the responsibility. For about 2 years, I've been taking my lunch hour, driving down to the local library, and logging into the forum to do what mod work I could. More complex issues, requiring research, etc. had to wait until I got home after work. Plus modding almost all day on the weekends. I've had to make time for the forum almost every day for years now, just not as a player reading and making fun/informative threads, but as a mod having to deal with all issues. And quite frankly, I simply can't do that anymore.
A rare few friends knew that this was coming, and I appreciate you keeping your mouths shut about this. Thanks.
For those stat lovers among us, I'll give you this:
I started as a mod back on Oct. 14, 2009, back when we were all EntropiaForum, and there were no such thing as multiple planets. That's almost 1,700 days of being a mod. In that time, I handled reported posts, PM requests from both forum and ingame, plus the issues I caught on my own, etc. etc. all totalling over 3,500 mod actions. That's averaging over 2 issues every day without a break.
About payment:
For those wondering, no, I was not paid. Being a mod is a free gig. Disclaimer: One time, about 2 years ago, all forum mods were rewarded with a single "thank you" pack containing a Quad(L), Thruster(L), and 1 CLD. Other than that, it's been our pleasure to serve you all for free.
For those wondering about MA's hand on the forums:
At no time was I ever contacted by MA staff, nor did 711 make requests to me on their behalf, requesting special treatment. I received no PMs, or anything. Of the huge amount of reported posts, only about 6 of them in my 5 years as a mod came from MA/PCF staff. And notice they reported the post, just like any other forum user would. In those case, we did the same thing: Examined the post in question, determined what forum rules, if any were broken and modded accordingly. The very, very rare +reps I'd get from MA staff were never about a mod action, but always about a damn good post I made as a player. So sorry, rumor lovers. MA has no special hand in forum activities.
It was hard being a mod. I tried hard to moderate according to the spirit of the rules and stay as fair as possible. I had to moderate friends sometimes, because they also broke rules, on purpose and/or accidentally. They understood and kept themselves fairly clean on the forum. Maybe I just picked good friends. The point being, I treated everyone as evenly as I could. I wasn't perfect, but by definition, a mod can't please everyone, nor should they try. A few rare times (two, maybe?) 711 disagreed with an action I took and reversed/altered them. That's fine. As owner of these two forums, it's his right/privilege to rule as he sees fit. Also, I believe in those cases he was working with knowledge that I didn't have, so he could make better choices. I take his adjustments my actions as a compliment, in that it was done so rarely. Guess I was doing something right.
And before anyone feels the need to bring it up, yes, I was the only mod on the forum to also get temp-banned. I'm fine with that too. I lost it one day and 711 gave me a "time-out". He did the right thing.
To those I've banned, either temp or perm:
No, my leaving does not alter any mod decisions. They stand.
My thanks go to 711 (and Hanne for the short time I worked for her) for allowing me to be a mod. It's been fun. The vBulletin system running these forums, plus 711's way of setting things up in the "back office" (staff section) made handling things much easier than it could have been. Thanks to my fellow mods, also. I know most of them didn't have the RL time to mod much, but their help and input was always appreciated when it was there.
I've learned a lot of dirty little secrets on many of you forum users, but don't worry. If you can't tell by now, I learn, but don't gossip.
Some of you will want to reply and say you've appreciated my modding. Thanks. Others will reply to say that I'm the worst mod ever, that I'm a waste of DNA, the 4th sign of the apocalypse, etc. etc. Don't bother. I know pretty much what each of you think of me, and I'm comfortable with that. I'll end this way:
Some of you think I was too lenient. Others think I was too hard. Often on the same mod actions. To me, that tells me I probably did my job just about right.
See you on the forums.
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