If the store owner says that I can't trade in the premises, I'll just go outside. If he says that I can't trade within 10m of his premises, I'll go to 11 meters. If he says that he doesn't want to see me trading, I will put a basket over his head and continue trading.
Yes, he's a local legend. He's only known to take his clothes off before he goes into the Ladies' Lockerroom. Nobody knows what he does in there because he's invisible, but it's almost certainly tons of masturbating.
I'm worried too. I don't ever wish to see the MtgNews saga happen here.
It won't, and mod turn-over isn't a sign of that coming. There's not really any parallels to draw between happened to cause MTGNews' downfall and the current state of politics and things on MTGS. What has and is happening here is extremely mild. Most people don't notice what's going on here and the entire staff isn't going to walk out.
Hell compared to when this place first opened, this is like watching a fair breeze blow by...
I'm worried too. I don't ever wish to see the MtgNews saga happen here.
I would actually like to dig up numbers on that. People pushed for transparency and the staff said, "Sure. That's a great idea" and now because the general public can easily access the change log I wonder if it just looks worse. I actually have no idea what the old numbers looked like:
Total Moderators
Average tenure as a Moderator
Hours per day working
Member complaints per Moderator.
etc.
Despite the shifts lately it seems like it's been about the same group since I signed on considering how many people are on staff.
Its a problem of the mods. The community is so big it forms itself, it takes a flexible but at the same time rigid person to be a good moderator here.
I also would say its the choice in them.
Its not an easy job and you cant just walk into it thinking its all a cake walk. Any who walk into it like that should more so be removed or not even modded.
I'm worried too. I don't ever wish to see the MtgNews saga happen here.
Not even a small danger, both because the issues are pretty minor in comparison, and (frankly more importantly) because there's no-one of r_e's importance anymore to force people to leave.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Sing lustily and with good courage.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Keep in mind that mod burnout is often inevitable. If you've been working the beat for some 4-5 years, moderating daily on a volunteer basis, it will eventually overcome a lot of individuals. Turnover is natural to some degree. Especially if the individual is no longer playing or has lost interest whatever game the forum supports.
But really I don't see it as a bad thing, it keeps the site fresh.
To many things happening and a seemingly higher rate of admins/mods resigning than before is the issue here. Not to mention the recent upheavals and drama we are seeing. Although it makes for good reading but we can't help but felt worried it's happening frequently in a shorter span of time.
If the store owner says that I can't trade in the premises, I'll just go outside. If he says that I can't trade within 10m of his premises, I'll go to 11 meters. If he says that he doesn't want to see me trading, I will put a basket over his head and continue trading.
Yes, he's a local legend. He's only known to take his clothes off before he goes into the Ladies' Lockerroom. Nobody knows what he does in there because he's invisible, but it's almost certainly tons of masturbating.
But really I don't see it as a bad thing, it keeps the site fresh.
I agree it keeps the site fresh, but after a while they really are going to run out of people to promote through the ranks. There's only so many veteran members here who would be okay at certain ranks here, and they're going through them like water at this point (in a dramatic fashion, too).
About Frox: for nearly 10 years, Frox has been helping women look good and feel great in easy-fit, mix-and-match, and work-to-weekend with just a few pieces by helping them make the right choices when it comes to clothing and accessories.
As a person who's been here since the (second) beginning, and as a person who was on 'News, I can safely say there's no real comparison between here and 'News.
'News got hit with a totalitarian dictator who did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted and proceeded to ruin the site in many ways. It also went through a phase where there was an absentee owner/admin, and it got sold to someone new.
To many things happening and a seemingly higher rate of admins/mods resigning than before is the issue here.
You may want to keep in mind that there's also a lot of people on staff. Of course it's going to seem like a lot are leaving if we generally lose staff at a fixed rate. A tenth of the staff every quarter doesn't amount to much when the staff is only 15 people, but the numbers look scarier where you're talking about 50 mods.
Staff resigning isn't a big deal. Nine times out of ten, it's just because of burnout and/or more pressing matters in real life. Once in a while it's because of no longer enjoying the site or the game it's built on. It's only very rarely that a mod is gone from the staff for a worrying reason, and over time there's only one case of that happening where what happened is still a significant issue to me (though the reasons for that departure had less to do with drama on the site than with other things, which is likely why it still matters to me).
Not to mention the recent upheavals and drama we are seeing.
The site has seen worse. Though drama and upheaval aren't exactly rare things here, only relatively more uncommon lately. Perhaps it's just seeing far, far worse things happen here firsthand, but nothing going on in the past good while has been anything more than a molehill. Despite how some members choose to go on.
Although it makes for good reading but we can't help but felt worried it's happening frequently in a shorter span of time.
The sky isn't falling. Things are actually better now than they have been since the site began. If you want drama that's actually frequent, go back through the back end of this section to a time when there were a lot more big things happening. Looking through this forum, you really do have to go back before 2010 before get more than a handful of large dramabombs.
To many things happening and a seemingly higher rate of admins/mods resigning than before is the issue here. Not to mention the recent upheavals and drama we are seeing. Although it makes for good reading but we can't help but felt worried it's happening frequently in a shorter span of time.
But really I don't see it as a bad thing, it keeps the site fresh.
Over the sites I been on My faith in Staff has always been low and getting lower. My Faith in Community (depending on the site) Is mostly much stronger.
But granted I have been wrong before and in cases like this being wrong would make me smile.
This is also a good point. People want transparency, and they're getting it. The world of staffing a website like this isn't a pretty one. But like Nai said and I both said, you can't even draw parallels between staff changes here and what happened on MTGNews. That would just be people being alarmists at best.
As a relatively new member, I probably don't even have any right replying to this thread but I think maybe I might have something to contribute as a former moderator of a couple of business forums.
The Internet is a social enigma, especially when it comes to forums.
Things are said here that would never be said to another person face to face. The wall of impenetrability turns many people into anti social animals. There is no other way to put it.
Because of this, moderators have to put up with things that they'd never have to tolerate even if they walked a beat on a regular basis. Thus, burn out isn't just likely, it's inevitable...especially if you've done this job for a long time.
I would never take a moderator position ever again, even with a gun to my head. And the last thing I would ever do is start my own forum. That's one headache nobody needs.
I tip my hat to every single person who gives their time to this forum. What you're doing is harder than it looks. And it's a thankless job too. But I guess you already know that.
Some of the behavior I see here is appalling. There have been times I just wanted to leave. Today, under no uncertain terms, I made it crystal clear what I thought of this behavior in less than flattering words.
I made sure I had no infractions before I went on my tirade.
The message was harsh and the punishment was just. I'll take my medicine.
But mods don't really have that luxury. They have to be relatively civil to the membership as they need to strike a balance between discipline and alienating people to the point where they leave and don't come back.
It's a tight rope that isn't easy to walk.
As a mod, I probably failed that test many times when having to deal with some of the riff raff I had to deal with, which is why I would never take a mod job again. I'm not cut out for it.
So again, I applaud all of you who do this, but am not in the least bit surprised when somebody leaves.
What surprises me more are those who are still slugging it out.
You're a better person than I am.
Someday, unless I'm kicked out of here on my backside for speaking my mind too much (I have little tolerance for bad behavior), I'll probably have a few years and a few thousand posts behind me. And many more will have gone to moderator heaven.
And God forbid, somebody just might be insane enough to ask me to become part of this staff, if for no other reason than they're running out of willing volunteers.
There was a time I might have entertained that notion.
Today...I'd rather have my throat cut and fed to the sharks.
Transparency has shown that the staff has lost two administrators, and had one go on indefinite hiatus all in the course of less than one month, while a staff that has been on for only several months has been moved from Moderator to Administrator over the course of a few months, with the final transition happening during said fall of multiple Administrative staff.
Those are not metrics that inspire confidence, no matter what industry you're looking at.
(but in the interest of fairness, the indefinite hiatus is due to a family vacation rianalnn had been planning, so it's not right to claim that his absence has anything to do with staff retention)
Transparency has shown that the staff has lost two administrators, and had one go on indefinite hiatus all in the course of less than one month, while a staff that has been on for only several months has been moved from Moderator to Administrator over the course of a few months, with the final transition happening during said fall of multiple Administrative staff.
Those are not metrics that inspire confidence, no matter what industry you're looking at.
(but in the interest of fairness, the indefinite hiatus is due to a family vacation rianalnn had been planning, so it's not right to claim that his absence has anything to do with staff retention)
Eh. Metrics be damned, the current admin team is full of win. The job'll get done right.
Annie and Yukes hung in there for a good long time, and although their departures post-date my time on staff and I'm not fully apprised of the circumstances there, they certainly deserved a good rest. The admin position is best-suited for the young and time-rich, and none of the three of us who recently retired fit into that category very cleanly.
There also seems to be a lot of redundancy and new talent in the lower echelons of staff still, as of the mass hirings from several months back. Much ado about nothing, I think.
The only major fix for the site that I would suggest at this point is seeing whether Hannes is receptive to an offer to purchase - if anyone qualified is interested in that. I toyed with the idea for a time, but found more pressing issues.
If the store owner says that I can't trade in the premises, I'll just go outside. If he says that I can't trade within 10m of his premises, I'll go to 11 meters. If he says that he doesn't want to see me trading, I will put a basket over his head and continue trading.
Yes, he's a local legend. He's only known to take his clothes off before he goes into the Ladies' Lockerroom. Nobody knows what he does in there because he's invisible, but it's almost certainly tons of masturbating.
I'm worried too. I don't ever wish to see the MtgNews saga happen here.
It won't, and mod turn-over isn't a sign of that coming. There's not really any parallels to draw between happened to cause MTGNews' downfall and the current state of politics and things on MTGS. What has and is happening here is extremely mild. Most people don't notice what's going on here and the entire staff isn't going to walk out.
Hell compared to when this place first opened, this is like watching a fair breeze blow by...
(Also known as Xenphire)
I would actually like to dig up numbers on that. People pushed for transparency and the staff said, "Sure. That's a great idea" and now because the general public can easily access the change log I wonder if it just looks worse. I actually have no idea what the old numbers looked like:
Total Moderators
Average tenure as a Moderator
Hours per day working
Member complaints per Moderator.
etc.
Despite the shifts lately it seems like it's been about the same group since I signed on considering how many people are on staff.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
I also would say its the choice in them.
Its not an easy job and you cant just walk into it thinking its all a cake walk. Any who walk into it like that should more so be removed or not even modded.
Not even a small danger, both because the issues are pretty minor in comparison, and (frankly more importantly) because there's no-one of r_e's importance anymore to force people to leave.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
My Buying Thread
I find your lack of faith in MTGS disturbing.
But really I don't see it as a bad thing, it keeps the site fresh.
LOL
To many things happening and a seemingly higher rate of admins/mods resigning than before is the issue here. Not to mention the recent upheavals and drama we are seeing. Although it makes for good reading but we can't help but felt worried it's happening frequently in a shorter span of time.
(Click to enter the Frox Experience)
About Frox: for nearly 10 years, Frox has been helping women look good and feel great in easy-fit, mix-and-match, and work-to-weekend with just a few pieces by helping them make the right choices when it comes to clothing and accessories.
'News got hit with a totalitarian dictator who did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted and proceeded to ruin the site in many ways. It also went through a phase where there was an absentee owner/admin, and it got sold to someone new.
None of that is happening here.
My helpdesk should you need me.
You may want to keep in mind that there's also a lot of people on staff. Of course it's going to seem like a lot are leaving if we generally lose staff at a fixed rate. A tenth of the staff every quarter doesn't amount to much when the staff is only 15 people, but the numbers look scarier where you're talking about 50 mods.
Staff resigning isn't a big deal. Nine times out of ten, it's just because of burnout and/or more pressing matters in real life. Once in a while it's because of no longer enjoying the site or the game it's built on. It's only very rarely that a mod is gone from the staff for a worrying reason, and over time there's only one case of that happening where what happened is still a significant issue to me (though the reasons for that departure had less to do with drama on the site than with other things, which is likely why it still matters to me).
The site has seen worse. Though drama and upheaval aren't exactly rare things here, only relatively more uncommon lately. Perhaps it's just seeing far, far worse things happen here firsthand, but nothing going on in the past good while has been anything more than a molehill. Despite how some members choose to go on.
The sky isn't falling. Things are actually better now than they have been since the site began. If you want drama that's actually frequent, go back through the back end of this section to a time when there were a lot more big things happening. Looking through this forum, you really do have to go back before 2010 before get more than a handful of large dramabombs.
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains
People asked for transparency.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
Over the sites I been on My faith in Staff has always been low and getting lower. My Faith in Community (depending on the site) Is mostly much stronger.
But granted I have been wrong before and in cases like this being wrong would make me smile.
This is also a good point. People want transparency, and they're getting it. The world of staffing a website like this isn't a pretty one. But like Nai said and I both said, you can't even draw parallels between staff changes here and what happened on MTGNews. That would just be people being alarmists at best.
(Also known as Xenphire)
The Internet is a social enigma, especially when it comes to forums.
Things are said here that would never be said to another person face to face. The wall of impenetrability turns many people into anti social animals. There is no other way to put it.
Because of this, moderators have to put up with things that they'd never have to tolerate even if they walked a beat on a regular basis. Thus, burn out isn't just likely, it's inevitable...especially if you've done this job for a long time.
I would never take a moderator position ever again, even with a gun to my head. And the last thing I would ever do is start my own forum. That's one headache nobody needs.
I tip my hat to every single person who gives their time to this forum. What you're doing is harder than it looks. And it's a thankless job too. But I guess you already know that.
Some of the behavior I see here is appalling. There have been times I just wanted to leave. Today, under no uncertain terms, I made it crystal clear what I thought of this behavior in less than flattering words.
I made sure I had no infractions before I went on my tirade.
The message was harsh and the punishment was just. I'll take my medicine.
But mods don't really have that luxury. They have to be relatively civil to the membership as they need to strike a balance between discipline and alienating people to the point where they leave and don't come back.
It's a tight rope that isn't easy to walk.
As a mod, I probably failed that test many times when having to deal with some of the riff raff I had to deal with, which is why I would never take a mod job again. I'm not cut out for it.
So again, I applaud all of you who do this, but am not in the least bit surprised when somebody leaves.
What surprises me more are those who are still slugging it out.
You're a better person than I am.
Someday, unless I'm kicked out of here on my backside for speaking my mind too much (I have little tolerance for bad behavior), I'll probably have a few years and a few thousand posts behind me. And many more will have gone to moderator heaven.
And God forbid, somebody just might be insane enough to ask me to become part of this staff, if for no other reason than they're running out of willing volunteers.
There was a time I might have entertained that notion.
Today...I'd rather have my throat cut and fed to the sharks.
Moderators...I so do admire you all.
Transparency has shown that the staff has lost two administrators, and had one go on indefinite hiatus all in the course of less than one month, while a staff that has been on for only several months has been moved from Moderator to Administrator over the course of a few months, with the final transition happening during said fall of multiple Administrative staff.
Those are not metrics that inspire confidence, no matter what industry you're looking at.
(but in the interest of fairness, the indefinite hiatus is due to a family vacation rianalnn had been planning, so it's not right to claim that his absence has anything to do with staff retention)
Buy from me on TCGPlayer::Twitter::Flickr
Eh. Metrics be damned, the current admin team is full of win. The job'll get done right.
Annie and Yukes hung in there for a good long time, and although their departures post-date my time on staff and I'm not fully apprised of the circumstances there, they certainly deserved a good rest. The admin position is best-suited for the young and time-rich, and none of the three of us who recently retired fit into that category very cleanly.
There also seems to be a lot of redundancy and new talent in the lower echelons of staff still, as of the mass hirings from several months back. Much ado about nothing, I think.
The only major fix for the site that I would suggest at this point is seeing whether Hannes is receptive to an offer to purchase - if anyone qualified is interested in that. I toyed with the idea for a time, but found more pressing issues.
At least some good came out of this with the new procedures in Real Life Advice.
Anyway we still lost a mod and it's unlikely he's coming back.
That would be Navy Joe who posted the thread thanking the mods for getting rid of Kijin.
- H.L Mencken
I Became insane with long Intervals of horrible Sanity
All Religion, my friend is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination and poetry.
- Edgar Allan Poe
The Crafters' Rules Guru