NationStates Jolt Archive

Yes. The mods themselves. This has no connection to my forumban. I'm simply wanting to make this thread after a thread and a few MSN conversations with some other NSers.

Generalites: What do you think of the mods? (Don't mention names)

Mods: What do you think of the players that you survey? (Yeah...I hope I don't have to tell you not to mention names as well)

Have we ever even discussed this on general? The mods, admins, players, and the politics of NS? I think not.

Discuss your opinions and whatnot.

I like the mods, generally speaking. Without them this place would succumb to spammers, wordgames, and more self-appointed NS Royalty than you could fist at.

I'm getting a picture of that Far Side strip, you know, God at his computer? Only instead of God you have Euroslavia, and instead of 'SMITE' you have... well, 'SMITE' come to think of it.

*Flees the wrath of the Mods* ;)

I think posters call upon the mods inappropriately fairly often, and that mods often ban people for ridiculous things.
Edit: Melkor Unchained is all right, though.

I like the mods, generally speaking. Without them this place would succumb to spammers, wordgames, and more self-appointed NS Royalty than you could fist at.
Recently the question was asked that if some spammers actually did better to the forums by socializing and allowing for people to get to know each other better before they debate and possibly start flaming each other.

Recently the question was asked that if some spammers actually did better to the forums by socializing and allowing for people to get to know each other better before they debate and possibly start flaming each other.
Exactly.
Plus, what’s wrong with word games?

I think that the mods are part of a super-secret conspiracy dedicated to taking over our minds and replacing our organs with gorgonzola.

I also think that I need to go to sleep before I go totally insane.

Exactly.
Plus, what’s wrong with word games?
I never saw the harm in word games. Allowed people to have fun with each other in a non-sexual way.

This reminds me of abstinence-only education. Where it just promotes the opposite.

Colodia, that may be so, but I'm not here to socialize. And there are better forums for word games.

I think the Mods are hot. Hot in a highly erotic, sexually electric way.

I never saw the harm in word games. Allowed people to have fun with each other in a non-sexual way.

This reminds me of abstinence-only education. Where it just promotes the opposite.
You have an extremely odd mind Colodia.
That has to be the biggest leap in thought I have seen in at least twenty minutes, on this forum.

Colodia, that may be so, but I'm not here to socialize. And there are better forums for word games.
The spam forum is not General. You don't see enough Generalites in the spam forum. They're too busy debating abortion, religon, and Bush over here. Which is spam itself, when you think about it. Mindless rants about the SAME THING.

And debating is socializing in it's own sick little way.

Euro's alright. But the Mods do seriosuly need to be less serious. I miss the good ol' days when there was far less Mod-policing

The spam forum is not General. You don't see enough Generalites in the spam forum. They're too busy debating abortion, religon, and Bush over here. Which is spam itself, when you think about it. Mindless rants about the SAME THING.

And debating is socializing in it's own sick little way.

I didn't mean the spam forum. I meant someplace else. But we're not allowed to whore forums on this forum so lets just say its a regional forum.

And if you wanna get technical, all human interaction involves socialization, so really we don't need to do something to increase socialization when everyone socialized (in our own sick ways) all the time here anyway, no? But I actually meant socialization in the making friends, hanging out with people way, which is something I get elsewhere. (I work at a brothel.)

Um.... I love them !!!! * shifty eyes*

Seriously though, I think they are neccessary, and do a pretty good job at keeping the whackos at bay.

I love the mods, for the most part., and respect the work they do. However, I do wish that they'd participate more in the going ons of NS than they do. I'd feel more..comfortable, I guess, knowing that they kept in touch with their Generalite/RPer selves (some still do, I know, and the others may or may not have the time, I don't know).

I do think that they have helped General, but I do miss some things that really helped keep its spark..Such as word games. Some forms of spam can be productive, but the kind where you just run through a thread, flail about, shout off random things and try to derail a serious thread are something that do need taken care of.

I've not really had much of an interaction with any of the admins, so I can't really judge them.

In all seriousness, I'm not sure if getting tapped to be a Mod is a blessing or a curse. Not only are you blaimed for just about everything when someone disagrees with Mod action, but you are more or less removed from the general debate. I mean, how often do the Mods get to play in here, beyond their own personal loves?

And when they do, someone will almost always state that the Mod is using his/her status to infulance the debate.

It seems that if you're such a good player, they make you a Mod so you can't play any more. :(

In all seriousness, I'm not sure if getting tapped to be a Mod is a blessing or a curse. Not only are you blaimed for just about everything when someone disagrees with Mod action, but you are more or less removed from the general debate. I mean, how often do the Mods get to play in here, beyond their own personal loves?

And when they do, someone will almost always state that the Mod is using his/her status to infulance the debate.

It seems that if you're such a good player, they make you a Mod so you can't play any more. :(
It seems like a lot of mods stop getting involved with the forums after being modded, yes, but there may be reasons for that.

I've rarely seen someone cry "Mod abuse!" in a debate when a mod is expressing their non-mod opinion. It's usually pretty clear between the two.

I've rarely seen someone cry "Mod abuse!" in a debate when a mod is expressing their non-mod opinion. It's usually pretty clear between the two.
Hmmm, maybe it's just our local Dark Lord then, I've seen it happen a few times when he gets into a heated debate, usually with someone new.

In all seriousness, I'm not sure if getting tapped to be a Mod is a blessing or a curse. Not only are you blaimed for just about everything when someone disagrees with Mod action, but you are more or less removed from the general debate. I mean, how often do the Mods get to play in here, beyond their own personal loves?

And when they do, someone will almost always state that the Mod is using his/her status to infulance the debate.

It seems that if you're such a good player, they make you a Mod so you can't play any more. :(
It's too true, kinda like becoming a ref in a game. No longer can you play carelessly...

Yes. The mods themselves. This has no connection to my forumban. I'm simply wanting to make this thread after a thread and a few MSN conversations with some other NSers.

Generalites: What do you think of the mods? (Don't mention names)

Mods: What do you think of the players that you survey? (Yeah...I hope I don't have to tell you not to mention names as well)

Have we ever even discussed this on general? The mods, admins, players, and the politics of NS? I think not.

Discuss your opinions and whatnot.

I like the Mods... don't anyone dis them :( , they're cool, we need them :D

Thanks guys, you're doing a great job :fluffle:

Perhaps posting threads at 12:45 in the morning isn't smart.

I think that the mods are part of a super-secret conspiracy dedicated to taking over our minds and replacing our organs with gorgonzola.

I also think that I need to go to sleep before I go totally insane.

DAMN! the secret's out!

I'm not a fan of too much moderation. I think it has a chilling effect on controversial posts and inhibits the personality of the people posting. Also I think that they're way too selective in their enforcement. I mean, I'm a nice, lovable guy, yet I've had five nations deleted.

I envy their big temples in their totally secret, not even existing, I will get banned for this, forum 7.

I think that the mods are part of a super-secret conspiracy dedicated to taking over our minds and replacing our organs with gorgonzola.

I also think that I need to go to sleep before I go totally insane.

I think I already replaced my gallbladder with Gorgonzola. And my liver with Soprasetta... Hmmmmm-I love them

I envy their big temples in their totally secret, not even existing, I will get banned for this, forum 7.

You know too much!

*BANNED* :p

I dont even know what a mod is....

You know too much!

*BANNED* :p
May I say Euroslavia, that you are one of the few moderators whom I respect. You earned your place.

In all seriousness, I'm not sure if getting tapped to be a Mod is a blessing or a curse. Not only are you blaimed for just about everything when someone disagrees with Mod action, but you are more or less removed from the general debate. I mean, how often do the Mods get to play in here, beyond their own personal loves?

I try to stay here in General as much as possible, as I hope you guys notice. I've been a Generalite from the beginning. Yes, in many ways, what you say is true -- it's mixed -- but I see it as a way to support the game and forum that's given me so much fun.

Personally, I would say that a high percentage of posters -- probably in the high nineties -- never hear from a moderator. It's only a very small percentage of the total NS population that seems to run afoul of the rules, to be honest.

And when they do, someone will almost always state that the Mod is using his/her status to infulance the debate.
True enough.

It seems that if you're such a good player, they make you a Mod so you can't play any more. :(
Eh, somewhat. I will admit that since becoming a Game Mod, the stuff you guys DON'T see me working at seems like it takes the most time.

But hey, there are perks -- like abusive telegrams telling me I suck, people flaming me on IRC, you know, things anyone would be happy to hear. ;)

Funny thing is, when we warn you, it's almost never personal -- it really is, "You've tortured the rules till we have to do something." Since you mentioned your recent ban, Colodia, let me ask -- was it ever discussed in the IRC channel I run, or were you ever made to feel unwelcomed there?

I'm not referring to anyone here, but there really are people -- and you already know who they are from interacting with them yourselves -- who take joy in being the biggest possible assholes to the largest possible number of people. They say the things which are calculated to be most hurtful, they cheat and are bullies of the worst sort -- and letting them have free reign would hurt this forum rather than help it. There is a reason Max and [violet] decided to elevate the first mods from the player pool -- and unfortunately, a reason the rest of us have been added to the squad.

Do I regret becoming a moderator? Rarely. I wish more people would actually interact with the moderation squad in a non-adversarial way, because they are funny, smart, creative people. Thing is, when the only interaction you have is when you're being scolded, you'll never see that.

There's tons more I could say (but I'll spare you) but I've a feeling that those who are hardcore anti-mod won't be swayed and to the rest, I'm just telling what you already knew/suspected.

Funny thing is, when we warn you, it's almost never personal -- it really is, "You've tortured the rules till we have to do something." Since you mentioned your recent ban, Colodia, let me ask -- was it ever discussed in the IRC channel I run, or were you ever made to feel unwelcomed there?
Well I think Nath-something tried to push my buttons a bit. Not sure which channel you ran.

EDIT: Apart from that, nah. People were nice.

Colodia, why did you get banned anyways? http://67.18.37.17/1424/192/emo/shiftyeyes.gif

Colodia, why did you get banned anyways? http://67.18.37.17/1424/192/emo/shiftyeyes.gif
I found out where Max lived and socked him in the face because of his idea of making us pay for NS2. ;)

Well I think Nath-something tried to push my buttons a bit. Not sure which channel you ran.

EDIT: Apart from that, nah. People were nice.

#nationstates_general. ;)

#nationstates_general. ;)
Yes, yes. But 99% of the time it was all fun and good.

I found out where Max lived and socked him in the face because of his idea of making us pay for NS2. ;)
Oh, ok. Carry on then.

I found out where Max lived and socked him in the face because of his idea of making us pay for NS2. ;)

Hey, that's part of the non-disclosure agreement. ;)

I absolutely plan to name names!

I love Melkor Unchained. He's all snarly and bitchy and I like it!

Cog (who I haven't seen in AGES!) is just sweet. Way too reasonable, but you can't fault a person for just being like that. Kind of like what I imagine my little shoulder angel would be like. If I bothered to have one!

Kat, well Kat's a teacher and so am I, so I have a bias for sure.

Fris is kind of like Odin. When the hammer comes down, it shakes General:)

Euro has been very dilligent since becoming a Mod (I kind of worry he's going to burn out with all the running around he's doing!).

I like these people as posters, and I really have no problem with them as mods. They can have the job, as far as I'm concerned, cuz I sure as hell wouldn't want it! I haven't run into too many other mods, but I find that overall, the mods are fair, and open to suggestions. And if I had to put up with the mouthy shit they do, I doubt I could remain so even keeled.

So yay! Throw a party for the Mods! Melkor has to come naked though...
:eek:

So yay! Throw a party for the Mods! Melkor has to come naked though...
:eek:
Sure! Throw a party while I'm banned for speaking the truth about Forum 7!

Man I miss out on all the fun :(

Thank you Sinuhue, I aim to please. Although I must admit your attention has forced upon me a new strain when selecting my phrasing, as I would be most dismayed if I should fail to meet your most lofty expectations. Sometimes I can be slow to anger, but not if you know which buttons to push. I've noticed that very few have the courage to push these buttons twice.

I'm not sure about the nakedness though, as I prefer to avoid large groups while unclad. I appreciate the sentiment though.

Thank you Sinuhue, I aim to please. Although I must admit your attention has forced upon me a new strain when selecting my phrasing, as I would be most dismayed if I should fail to meet your most lofty expectations. Sometimes I can be slow to anger, but not if you know which buttons to push. I've noticed that very few have the courage to push these buttons twice.


I know I can get you to unchain yourself if I start yapping about banning smoking...I LOVE pushing that button! :D

Oh, and this recent stupid article about Nation States being a Neo-Nazi recruiting ground...where one mod was accused of 'skirting the issue' by discussing the forum rules...well...we don't need you to be the thought police. You manage to remind us to keep civil, and in my mind, that's more important than censorship. So piss on that author.

Though you should let me and Drunken commies do some puppet trolling just 'cuz we're speshul :cool:

Fris is kind of like Odin. When the hammer comes down, it shakes General:)



That's Thor dear. Though I agree with all your other sentiments. I'm fairly sure you could drag cog along if you got some DDR going.... from what I recall, he's quite attached to that. That would be an interesting party.

The Mods......yeah...... I'd do them

That's Thor dear. Though I agree with all your other sentiments. I'm fairly sure you could drag cog along if you got some DDR going.... from what I recall, he's quite attached to that. That would be an interesting party.
Yeah, Odin was the King of the Norse gods, but he was just an old guy who was missing an eye. It was his son Thor who kicked frost giant booty with his big ol’ hammer.

Oh, and this recent stupid article about Nation States being a Neo-Nazi recruiting ground...
Yeah, actually - about that article - my first thought was that the articlers were trying to lay bait and 'seed' NS with a whole new raft of Nazi-esque posters, thanks in large part to their reporting.

An attempt at self-fulfilling prophecy, or something or other (my head hurts for some reason, I can't seem to write effectively today, apologies).

I've had m-derators be rude to me before. One m-derator was reported in the M-deration forum, a while ago, and I did a search, finding that several months ago, he apologized to Nationstates for being rude. When those he insulted said that they forgave him, he said, "The apology wasn't towards you." Others flamed him for saying that, so he had the the thread locked.

On the other hand, I agree that a great deal of the rule-breakers are outrageously stupid. However, anyone who believes that the m-derators are 100% correct, all of the time, even after appeals, is sadly mistaken. After all, they are human beings, no different than any of us.

I've also noticed that those who consistently post in the m-deration forum have substantially higher chance to be deleted, themselves. Therefore, I recommend not posting in the m-deration forum at all. Let the m-derators do their own jobs.

For anyone who feels that they have been warned, banned, or deleted unfairly, join the Nationstates Freedom Pact (http://nsf.fapfap.org/). You don't need to sign anything, and there's no obligation at all, really. If you agree with the document and its guidelines, put "Nationstates Freedom Pact," in your signature. That's all.

That's Thor dear.

I know strictly speaking Odin doesn't wield a hammer...but after reading Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Thor seems too petulant to compare Fris to. So I'm changing mythology. Odin, with Thor's hammer:)

I know strictly speaking Odin doesn't wield a hammer...but after reading Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Thor seems too petulant to compare Fris to. So I'm changing mythology. Odin, with Thor's hammer:)

And his gauntlets too, or he won't be able to lift/move mjolnir about.
ok, I'm done being pedantic with what you're saying now. I'm just oddly hyper today.

The mods are great! They're the most kind, considerate...Help me! They have me tied up and threatened to dele...A Fatal Error has Occurred

Elevator music gently plays in the background

The mods are great! They're the most kind, considerate...Help me! They have me tied up and threatened to dele...A Fatal Error has Occurred

Elevator music gently plays in the background
Could be worse, I agree.

I mean, at least they don't call themselves, "The People's M-derators," and host their own newspaper, which tells us all that nobody ever disagrees with them, that the forum is doing great, and that those who do oppose them are murderous radicals that want to kill us all.

For anyone who feels that they have been warned, banned, or deleted unfairly, join the Nationstates Freedom Pact (http://nsf.fapfap.org/). You don't need to sign anything, and there's no obligation at all, really. If you agree with the document and its guidelines, put "Nationstates Freedom Pact," in your signature. That's all.
I’ve never even been warned, but I agree with the Pact. A link will be in my sig shortly.

We've totally discussed them, and they're teh awesome.

I was the best Mod everah! LOL j/k :p

I loved it so much I quit..lol

It's a thankless job, sorry, no, volunteer. It's not even a job, it's a volunteer position. So you have to kind of give the Mods kudos for that.

We've totally discussed them, and they're teh awesome.

Now say that without the gun pointed at your head ;)

Being a Mod is kinda cool because that little community of people is so awesome...but the work is pretty soul-destroying, you have to take breaks from it all the time because you realise you've spent the last month of gameplay deleting porn and spam, and that's not fun once the novelty wears off. Everything you do is also under scrutiny, and you do lose friends along the way, because inevitably some disagree with your decisions. And you're not really supposed to be caught with your hand in the cookie jar when it comes to invasions and stuff like that. :(

For most people, the bad would definitely outweigh the good. I quite enjoyed my time on the team, though.

Being a Mod is kinda cool because that little community of people is so awesome...but the work is pretty soul-destroying, you have to take breaks from it all the time because you realise you've spent the last month of gameplay deleting porn and spam, and that's not fun once the novelty wears off. Everything you do is also under scrutiny, and you do lose friends along the way, because inevitably some disagree with your decisions. And you're not really supposed to be caught with your hand in the cookie jar when it comes to invasions and stuff like that. :(

For most people, the bad would definitely outweigh the good. I quite enjoyed my time on the team, though.

I'd agree with that.

Yes. The mods themselves. This has no connection to my forumban. I'm simply wanting to make this thread after a thread and a few MSN conversations with some other NSers.

Generalites: What do you think of the mods? (Don't mention names)

Mods: What do you think of the players that you survey? (Yeah...I hope I don't have to tell you not to mention names as well)

Have we ever even discussed this on general? The mods, admins, players, and the politics of NS? I think not.

Discuss your opinions and whatnot.

We've never discussed the Mods themselves, eh? Come now, you've been around long enough to know that there have been many discussions about the Mods in General. ;)

Interesting idea for a thread though, and not any more likely to start a forum fire than any other thread...

We've never discussed the Mods themselves, eh? Come now, you've been around long enough to know that there have been many discussions about the Mods in General. ;)

Interesting idea for a thread though, and not any more likely to start a forum fire than any other thread...
Nothing comes to my memory. And I even remember the first topic made by one mod when we were Joltified. It was either Cog, Sirrocco, or Salusa. He/She/It said something along the lines of "Ha! First Jolt post!" and the other mods all got ticked cuz they wanted the glory. ;)

Anyway...Nah I doubt it. Considering this thread has attracted like...3 mods thus far. Any type of flamebaiting is destroyed upon manifestation.

Nothing comes to my memory. And I even remember the first topic made by one mod when we were Joltified. It was either Cog, Sirrocco, or Salusa. He/She/It said something along the lines of "Ha! First Jolt post!" and the other mods all got ticked cuz they wanted the glory. ;)

Anyway...Nah I doubt it. Considering this thread has attracted like...3 mods thus far. Any type of flamebaiting is destroyed upon manifestation.

As I recall, you were around for months before we moved to Jolt. So was I, and recall several discussions about Mods taking place. Maybe you simply were not online when those threads were active or something... :confused:

As I recall, you were around for months before we moved to Jolt. So was I, and recall several discussions about Mods taking place. Maybe you simply were not online when those threads were active or something... :confused:
Ah, well back then the situtation was slightly different for mods and the posters.

Ah, well back then the situtation was slightly different for mods and the posters.

True enough. Things have changed. Mostly in the way of getting more organized and eliminating more "spam".

We've never discussed the Mods themselves, eh? Come now, you've been around long enough to know that there have been many discussions about the Mods in General. ;)

Interesting idea for a thread though, and not any more likely to start a forum fire than any other thread...
Yes, but not everyone gets a chance to see them, during the ten nanoseconds before they're deleted.

True enough. Things have changed. Mostly in the way of getting more organized and eliminating more "spam".
What is spam? Is it not the sticky delicious substance that binds us all together?

What is spam? Is it not the sticky delicious substance that binds us all together?
http://www.flashasylum.com/db/files/Comics/vegas.gif

Yes, but not everyone gets a chance to see them, during the ten nanoseconds before they're deleted.

Ten nanoseconds, you say? The Mods must be getting even faster than they were previously... :D

But to be honest I'm not particularly worried about this thread and others like it getting deleted. It's the "Teh m0ds suckz0r!111" threads that tend to get the axe.

What is spam? Is it not the sticky delicious substance that binds us all together?

Ummmm...no. But that was a lovely definition nonetheless. :)

Some of them are ok, or even good guys, but some of them...

They ban you if you write that you believe in god and tell something against science, or if you are showing patriotic feelings towards your country, (nationalism) i won't say names of one moderator that banned me and some friends because i know, unless they live or come to germany or tell me where do they live, that if i ever cross paths with some unfair moderator, he will regret the day his parents meet.

Some of them are ok, or even good guys, but some of them...

They ban you if you write that you believe in god and tell something against science, or if you are showing patriotic feelings towards your country, (nationalism) i won't say names of one moderator that banned me and some friends because i know, unless they live or come to germany or tell me where do they live, that if i ever cross paths with some unfair moderator, he will regret the day his parents meet.

Oh dear. :(

Yep. I was on both sides of the fence... back during the Time of Troubles, back before most of yea youngin's were here. Yep. I was one of the first. Then I resigned. Good times. Good times.

As I recall, you were around for months before we moved to Jolt. So was I, and recall several discussions about Mods taking place. Maybe you simply were not online when those threads were active or something... :confused:
Given how horribly the previous server functioned, I'd say that it wouldn't be difficult to miss multiple threads.

Given how horribly the previous server functioned, I'd say that it wouldn't be difficult to miss multiple threads.

Good point. :)

Yes. The mods themselves. This has no connection to my forumban. I'm simply wanting to make this thread after a thread and a few MSN conversations with some other NSers.

Generalites: What do you think of the mods? (Don't mention names)

Mods: What do you think of the players that you survey? (Yeah...I hope I don't have to tell you not to mention names as well)

Have we ever even discussed this on general? The mods, admins, players, and the politics of NS? I think not.

Discuss your opinions and whatnot.

I sometimes wish the Mods would be quicker on the pickup when people start flamebaiting. And I wish they would come down as hard on the flamebaiters as they do on those who rise to the bait. doesn't seem like it happens that way, though.

On the other hand, in all fairness, the Mods are short-staffed, overworked, and as far as I know, do this for free, committing many hours of their lives to this for no compensation whatsoever.

for the most part, I think the Mods are fair...but there are times where I wish they would take the time to review a situation more thoroughly before handing out warnings/bans/DEATs and other punishments...I wish they'd take the time to discover exactly WHAT set off the other person, and at least dish out an equally severe punishment to the provoker as they do to the provokee.

Nothing comes to my memory. And I even remember the first topic made by one mod when we were Joltified. It was either Cog, Sirrocco, or Salusa. He/She/It said something along the lines of "Ha! First Jolt post!" and the other mods all got ticked cuz they wanted the glory. ;)


That was actually Myrth.

http://centerclick.org:81/previews/archive/simpsons/p.the_leader_news_report.mov.jpg

The mods are good. The mods are great. We surrender our will as of this date.

http://centerclick.org:81/previews/archive/simpsons/p.the_leader_news_report.mov.jpg

The mods are good. The mods are great. We surrender our will as of this date.

*takes a drag*

Yes they are. Pay no attention to the subliminal messages that are all part of the non-existent Mod Conspiracy.

This post is in full compliance with the Conspiratorial Moderator Oppression Act of 2004.

*SNIP*
*Bows deeply* I stand corrected then. It sounds close to a position I once held then, so I thank you Mods for the work we DON'T see.

And hope that you guys get a chance to partisapte more, even when warning people your posts tend to crack me up.

Some of them are ok, or even good guys, but some of them...

They ban you if you write that you believe in god and tell something against science, or if you are showing patriotic feelings towards your country, (nationalism) i won't say names of one moderator that banned me and some friends because i know, unless they live or come to germany or tell me where do they live, that if i ever cross paths with some unfair moderator, he will regret the day his parents meet.

For heaven's sake, making threats about what you would do to a moderator in a thread about moderators and frequented by them -- I'm sure you and your friends all showed impeccable judgment and the punishment you got was completely unfair. :rolleyes:

Anyone else remember Ur6? Anyone remember why he was banned?

I remember. There was some huge, and I mean HUGE mod crack down on spam. Like everything spam related was tossed out, way more strict than today.

Ur6 posted an image of a flag with the word "Spam" on it. That's it. He got banned.

I think that was the worst moderation in NS history, right there. I don't know if we had the Jolt forums so that he could be forumbanned at least, but still!

The mods are cool. I barely notice them in mod capacity - and when I do, they're shutting down somebody who triple-posted a blatant flame in misspelled sticky caps, so I'm glad for it. And in general, those who are mods tend to be mature and levelheaded.

We haven't discussed them recently, but back during phpBB they were discussed all the freaking time. Then they created a Moderation forum and that's where it generally goes now.

No complaints about the mods. most of the time, concerns about mod abuse are addressed and explained.

One question tho. is there like a Heiarchy within the mods? for instance, if two mods clash on a decision, is there some form of senority that takes place or is it resolved democratically with other mods?

Anyone else remember Ur6? Anyone remember why he was banned?

I remember. There was some huge, and I mean HUGE mod crack down on spam. Like everything spam related was tossed out, way more strict than today.

Ur6 posted an image of a flag with the word "Spam" on it. That's it. He got banned.

I think that was the worst moderation in NS history, right there. I don't know if we had the Jolt forums so that he could be forumbanned at least, but still!

Not quite. He posted thread after thread of word games and spam specifically because they WERE being cracked down on.

No complaints about the mods. most of the time, concerns about mod abuse are addressed and explained.

One question tho. is there like a Heiarchy within the mods? for instance, if two mods clash on a decision, is there some form of senority that takes place or is it resolved democratically with other mods?


If you check the sticky in the Moderation forum, it tells who's Admin, Senior Game Mod, Game Mod and Forum Mod.

In practice, if one of us has a question about a ruling that's being made, we discuss it. If we can't decide between ourselves, we ask a third mod what they think. It doesn't happen all that often and even when it does, in my experience, it's congenial.

I remember Ur6... I think I liked him... wasn't he a lot like LG, but not as flamboyant?

No complaints about the mods. most of the time, concerns about mod abuse are addressed and explained.

One question tho. is there like a Heiarchy within the mods? for instance, if two mods clash on a decision, is there some form of senority that takes place or is it resolved democratically with other mods?

Outwardly it may look like there's a moderator heirarchy- it is reasonable to assume that Admins outrank Senior Game Mods, SGMs outrank Game Mods, etc etc down the line to the forum mods.

In practice, there isn't really any sort of official ranking, not in that sense of who can overrule who. (Best summarized, in my opinion, by a picture somebody did to explain the moderator ranks that now resides on the NS Wiki):
http://home.earthlink.net/~tyrasis/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/commandtree.jpg

In fact, in all the time I've been a mod (and until we moved to Jolt, a full-fledged forum admin! I HAD THE BRACKETS OF POWER, DAMNIT! =p), I can think of maybe one or two incidents where one mod pulled rank on another, and none of these incidents were public.

Mods: What do you think of the players that you survey? (Yeah...I hope I don't have to tell you not to mention names as well)

Well, for the most part, very, VERY few people run afoul of the rules, so I don't have reason to interact with a lot of players outside of that small percentage who live to cause trouble.

While I would love to say the job is a pleasure, etc etc, fact is, it isn't. Some complaints or Getting Help requests are very simple and can be resolved in less than a minute (nation resurrections, reports of inappropriate nation names/animals/etc), while others can take hours, even days to obtain the relevant information, discuss the complaint with one or more of the mods, and render a decision. For example, it can take a great deal of time to sort out rings of UN Multies, eject them all from the UN, and make the appropriate warning tags on the guilty nations. In fact, outside of the very smallest UN Multi rings (2-4 nations), this can be a very time consuming task. (Personal record: A ring of multies, all one player, totalling 48 nations. This is of course excluding the National Stalinist griefer, who used a script and generated dozens of multies every night for several nights before an IP ban could be affixed to stop him.)

Sacrifices have to occasionally be made in the name of moderating the game- more than once (especially in the early days when the squad didn't have nearly the timezone spread it has now), we would get a really persistant, nasty little spammer late at night (Pacific time) who would keep getting deleted, keep making nations, and keep spraying obscene material all over the forums until either s/he got bored of it and gave up, or somebody who could IP ban the idiot got online. Many times I was the only moderator on at the time, and would go without sleep just to keep these kinds of idiots from doing much damage.

It is enough to turn even the most bubbly optimist (believe it or not, I am/was very optimistic about other people!) to an embittered, seething cynic. To vent off such dangerous emotions, such amusements as The Bastard NS Moderator from HELL (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=282874) and its ongoing progny, Return of the Bastard NS Moderator from HELL (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=384991) were born, serving the dual purpose of allowing the moderators to vent off frustration/anger/etc in a way that would not harm any of the players, and even amuse them. At least, everybody who's comments seems to enjoy the antics of Reploid Seductions, KatScanandBan, Frisbacteria, Myrph, SilliusSuckupus, and the rest. We're still trying to coax a "Bastard Game Admin from HELL" post out of [violet] about the fictional game admin [violent], but I rather imagine hell will freeze over before the bastard game admin can take her throne there =p

And I apologize for babbling, but this does appear to be a rather intrigueing thread.

http://rpstudios.ian-justman.com/junk/CGgoods/Modsig2.JPG
~Evil Empress Rep Prod the Ninja Mod
~Master of the mighty moderation no-dachi Kiritateru Teikoku