Staff Audit and Critique: Please post your thoughts here

[Alex]

Okay, here goes. Going to preface this by saying that I'm sure you're all good people and I get on with a good deal of you. This is strictly commentry on moderating skill and I have no wish to have it be taken as a personal attack on any of you.

X-Soldier
As far as I know, X has always remained unbiased and level headed when shit is about to get real. Maybe I just get this impression since I can’t really recall him ever posting in any of the forum’s past really dramatic threads, but I doubt it and even if he had, I’m sure I would remembered if he had been being antagonistic. Regardless, if I was going to PM an administrator with any of my gripes then I would probably send it to him.

Mako/Xellos
Speaking of exacerbating things, I’m sorry dude, I know you’ve apologised, but I’ve raised concerns in the past about your attitude and the way you treat members in the past. I genuinely thought we’d gotten past this, but the events of the last few days raised all those old concerns as well as adding a generous helping of discomfort about the way staff would treat any problems I might have or warnings I might make. The contemptuous dismissal of the latest problems as the continuation of several members personal vendetta against Ryu, and the complaints of others as shit-stirring was pretty shocking behaviour and I like I said in the other thread, seriously makes me worried about what kind of attitude the staff room has developed towards sections of the member base they don’t like.

Aaron/V
Aaron, you’re a mate, but being honest here, I haven’t really been happy with a lot of the actions you’ve taken since assuming your moderating role alongside your tech admin position. Whilst your handling of and commitment to the technical side of the board has been top notch the way that you deal with members you don’t like is definitely not on. I don’t want to use the word ‘persecution’ because that might be taking things a little too far, but you do seem to relentlessly go after members you have a personal problem with. I don’t get the impression that you’d ever really back down or be willing to reach a compromise in any argument, even though I’m sure you would. I kind of share CK’s concerns that you’re kind of a different guy when you’re a moderator to when you’re not, if you were on the other side of the staff room over the past few days I sincerely doubt that you’d taken the position that you did on FFOF.

Yopy/Cthulhu
Not really a whole lot to say here. Yop definitely knows his stuff when it comes to keeping this place up and running and his calm demeanour is always appreciated when it all starts kicking off. I guess if I had to hazard any criticism is that I noticed over the past few days he was with chiming in that staff should have been more open about their decision making problems. Makes me think he could have maybe done more to hammer this point home in the staff room. Maybe.

TresDias/Ariadne
No complaints or criticisms here. Could probably do with being a smidgeon more active (which I’m sure is definitely out of his control). Has a very good, approachable attitude.

Adri/Harley Quinn
No complaints here, I guess. Even if the task of moderating the RP section is pretty redundant as not much ever needs doing. Don’t know how active she is in the staff room either.

Ryu
Not a lot to say that hasn’t already been said, so I’ll keep it brief, since I have no wish to add to what have probably been a rough couple of days for him. First, some praise: to my knowledge he’s never been abusive in his moderating power or condescending in the way in which he debates forum policy with the peanut gallery, at least to my knowledge. When it comes to Ryu the issue to me personally has always been one of attitude. I have yet to see a debate, even one that wasn’t meant to be taken seriously (like the Alien Astronauts one) where he doesn’t come across as incredibly arrogant, difficult to get on with and as though if your opinion does not fall in line then it isn’t even worth considering. I just think that this attitude could only be a hindrance to his moderating abilities, as people are far less likely to find him approachable or feel comfortable showing him their concerns.

MOG/mister butt naked
I know MOG and I have butted heads a lot in the past, but now that we’re past that he’s shown to be one of this forum’s most capable members of staff. His interpersonal skills between members and staff are absolutely first rate and he has a great commitment to actually resolving issues rather than just calling the issue itself ‘bitching’ or ‘whining’.

Road/Rick Grimes
Aside from the awesome level-headedness that Road shows during times of great drama, he’s pretty noticeable for his lack of affiliation or bias when it comes to matters of members vs. Staff. The last time I reported a complaint against a member of staff, he was the one who called them out on the offending post and genuinely made me feel like staff had actually listened to something I’d said.

Tennyo/Morgause
Really nice person, really absent as a staff member. I can’t honestly remember the last time I saw her pitch her opinion out here on the rest of the forum. So yeah, could be more assertive and involved, I guess. She seems to be very approachable if you’d ever have a problem, but I would be concerned about her ability to argue that problem on my behalf in the staff forum.

ForceStealer/Vash the Stampede
Pretty much the same as Tennyo. But I don’t really see him around enough to form a decent opinion. Or maybe I’m just having a mind blank.

hitosura/Rygdea
The same as Vash, sorry, I don’t see him around enough and we don’t run in the same circles so it’s very hard for me to criticise him.

 

[CK]

I somehow forgot hito sorry dude. ._.

I know he does a lot of translation work on the site but as a moderator on the forum I really don't see him do much which is probably why I forgot him. D;

 

[Joker]

Jumping in here - was not infracted for backseating. Friendly pm from Road about not doing it.

 

[Alex]

Edited accordingly. Sweet Catch.

 

[Madame Mayor]

I want to start this by saying I have specific expectations for someone who is staff and that's what I'm using for these reviews.

Staff members are just regular members who have been appointed extra power to help settle problems. This requires a higher degree of common sense and understanding of the rules. Because not everything can be written in stone and just because it's not, doesn't mean it's not disruptive and needs a mod to make the decision on what to do next. That's the mod's primary job, making decisions for the forum community and using their mod powers to do this.

Staff have to be able to get along with people, or else they will cause more drama then they stop. It's also a lot easier to stop drama between people when they have respect for you. So someone who has a large percentage of the forum’s respect is also necessary.

Lastly, I repeat, staff are just regular members. You are members who give your time to help make this board run smoothly, but any feeling that you are above anyone for any reason is out of the question. Your decisions should be the ones that help us all have a better time here. You are the ones we trust and respect to make the right calls.

I'll echo what Alex said that really, most of the mods I don't know on a personal level, this is just about what I see with them as a moderator themselves.

X-Soldier - I don't see you getting involved very often but I also don't see you ever causing drama or feeding the flames, which earns you my respect as an Admin/Mod.

Mako/Xellos - Just like everyone else I didn't appreciate the attitude I saw while being linked to FFOF. The attitude that you are above us, and that anyone making a complaint was doing it for another reason. That is exactly the attitude that has made me not report any staff in the past.

Yopy/Cthulhu – I appreciate your view that the forums are for all of us and that you are opposed to the Staff VS Us mentality. You also have my respect for that and just the way you run the site in general.

Aaron/V – Probably the only serious problem I see on staff at the moment. I see Aaron causing more drama than he stops, and as a mod, that just isn’t cool. You personally attack multiple members especially when they don’t agree with you or your decisions on staff.

The need for everything to be written in stone makes me question your ability to mod at all. If you can’t actually use common sense, and this hasn’t worked for you in the past, could it be you rather than the method? Because the Ryu situation was a perfect example. If you can only mod by a specific set of written in stone rules, then I don’t see how you are even moderating at all rather than just parroting rules. Anyone can do that. What we need from staff are people who interpret what has happened and deal with it in a way that’s best for the community.

I also don’t like your attitude at times that this is your board and you are the head/judge/jury/master/etc. of it. Maybe you don’t even realize it but you come across like a dictator of this place.

As a tech admin you get five stars and TLS has been in great technical shape since you started that work (obv can’t blame you for what happened recently so this is based on what I know you are in charge of technically).

TresDias/Ariadne – No complaints with Tres. I actually appreciate that he’s not afraid to speak his mind. He has my respect and I feel he’s approachable.

Adri/Harley Quinn – She was elected to mod the RP section and I think that’s great to have someone in case they do need mod help there, especially someone heavily involved in the RPs who understands what’s going on. Really I’d say if any reviews of her need to be done, it’s by the RPers because that’s who she’s in charge of, and so I’ll leave it at that.

Ryu – I’ve said how I feel about this situation already. As a mod, Ryu’s alright. I think he uses his common sense more than any other mod to deal with stuff and for that he gets my respect. I do think he has some member issues though that make me concerned when he gets involved with people who are known to dislike him. I think what (Kat?) said about him maybe trying to incorporate smilelys and thanks into his forum routines would help, but ultimately that’s for him to decide because that’s a change in who he is and how he does things. I just think it was a good idea to help so people don’t feel as intimidated by him and to know when he’s joking around or when he agrees or is laughing at something with us.

In terms of front page stuff since I see you doing a lot of that I want to say thanks. Your content helps keep that front page alive and while I don’t read all of it, you do a lot of work which is great.

MOG/mister butt naked – Mog is great and I guess I wasn’t around when members had problems with him because I’ve always seen him as one of the most loved staff members. I appreciate any time he comes into a thread to give his input because he knows how to actually stop drama or help reduce it.

Road/Rick Grimes – Feel similar with Mog, about knowing how to stop drama. I also appreciate his ability to call out other staff when they are screwing up.

Tennyo/Morgause – Very approachable, but I as others have said don’t really see her doing a lot of moderating. We want your input on this stuff Tennyo, and want to hear it more often even if other staff members have said their piece. The more opinions we get the better we can try to solve things. So my advice would be to get more involved if you can.

ForceStealer/Vash the Stampede – I feel like I don’t really know Force all that well even as a mod. But I also feel like he’s great for going between front page and forum stuff. That’s all I really have to say about Force sorry.

hitosura/Rygdea – Hito does some awesome translations. I’ve also seen him not afraid to tell staff they are screwing up. Overall, great front page/moderation I don’t have any complaints. I would say though I see Hito more as a front page person and I’d like to see him get involved in more moderation as well because I normally appreciate what he has to say.

 

[Tifabelle]

I will add my two cents later when I'm not being lazy.

But Brooke as a staff member, just saying. Think about it.

 

[Octo]

Regarding rules.

I'm seeing a lot of people saying that we don't need rules and it should all be common sense and stuff and I agree. It should be. But it isn't.

I don't think drama would be avoided completely by having some sort of framework, its impossible to avoid drama whenever human beings are concerned.

I just think we need to achieve some sort of consistency here. Can anyone honestly say that some of the drama we have here wouldn't be minimised if the Mods were singing from the same hymn sheet?

That doesn't mean that there is no room for leeway, Mods should be able to use their own judgement but right now it just seems a bit chaotic. How something gets dealt with depends on the Mod, and then we get people feeling like they've been persecuted unfairly, or others percieved as getting off lightly becuase they're friends with a Mod.

Or situations where someone oversteps a the mark...taking something too far because there is no defined boundary - and this isn't talking about this recent incident. Just in general.

The way I see it it feels like some members are more likely to be dealt with depending on how well known they are, what (if any) history they have with the mods and other people. Which is all well and good but sometimes it comes across like a popularity contest.

Sometimes this board feels like that scene in Goodfellas, where Ray Liotta says an innocuous comment and then Joe Pesci jumps upon him

Sorry if this comes across as rambling. I've just had some delicious wine. If people disagree with me thats fine but I'd like to discuss it some more if thats possible.

 

[Super Mario]

Harley Quinn= Im assuming this Adri? If so i hate to be that guy whom everyone is going to call a douche for this but sorry no its annoying to see happen on every community. She kisses ass, gets a mod spot then disappears for ever and doesnt do anything that would warrant staying on staff, heck shes barely on enough to warrant being a member. Shes a repeat offender of doing this on pretty much any community, and its been fairly annoying to see her repeatedly brown nose into a mod position and then just AFK.

I'm sorry eddy but this all wrong judgement on your part. She never did brown nosed or attracted any sort of negative actions that would warrant such criticism, she did her job well on RP modding back then (when it was high on activity) and she did it well now. She's never done this sort of thing, I know her and I can be certain she did it as a call of duty to the job by the community and not through brown nosing.


My comments are based solely on some observations and how I see it on certain events or situations and does not reflect on how they'd handle my problems to certain extents, I'm only commenting and bringing in my views on staff and I'll try to be as fair as possible without any backlash, but comments are welcome to me if you feel it is unjustly said. I may not be the most serious tool or the most contributing member of the community, but I'll try my best to aid in this development for progress.

X-Soldier
X, you've been an okay guy and civil person when it comes to handling any sort of accusations/drama/situations done against staff OR members from the past years I've seen on ACF and TLS. I may not appear much on your scope of problems until the Aaron incident, but I can vouch that you're doing a terrific job in handling the forum's needs when people asks for your help. I speak based on views of your efforts done on other places of the forum and not my own as I've rarely faced any problems on the board.

Mako/Xellos
Hallo mako, Due to the amount of profanity you tend to use against your pleas or various other cases with members, I find it very hard to pin point how you would handle problems with us and your fellow staff members in general besides reflecting them away and passing it off as infantile attempts of shit stirring. I felt from the posts you and tifabelle have been conducting at FFOF gave me a very doubtful opinion on how you would be able to answer and come up with solutions to problems such as what had occured with Ryu. I'll understand if you may not like how I posts or how I behave, (given my recent actions) but I hope you would lessen your use of sometimes rude approaches to your members as well as your fellow staff. Bring an air of comfort or willing hand to help rather than pass our problems or certain situations off as immature rants.


Aaron/V
I don't know where to start or what to start saying for Mr. Aaron. I was sort of disappointed by how he readily was able to disable my priveleges over simple matters without sending me a message or informing me of the shift of rules to such strict levels. I do however, favour his handling of the technical side of tls, it is one of his best contributions and for his talk in politics (it keeps me well aware of the changes in amurika and has me aware of global affairs well in hand), but thats beside my point. Point is, he can be sociable and dedicated to his role as tehc admin. But I'm afraid if he will so callously disable my rights as a member, deny me my right to question him by passing my calls for discussion as drama stiring and then blame it on my faulty understanding/punishment imperative/whatever, then I will have to question his roles on other areas of the community other than the tech admin side. I don't also like how you brush aside some of my concerns or act all authoritative when I believe the final verdict goes to yop. that incident also made me think that if you've got two faces in handling the forum, then on a personal level we are unable to stay friends or have at least a healthy interactive conversation on the community in general. (Not that my blabbering is considered one for 'healthy' and interactive) This extends to the new members and other well renowned members as well, they'd be intimidated by your methods, they won't actually have faith and respect in your capabilities on handling dramas or various other activities here should you remain as you were to me that time. Keep in mind, I wasreluctant to type all this out in fear of being passed off , but I want to add my say into this as well. Its just what I think and what I have observed from your ways in recent times.


Yopy/Cthulhu
I would like to congratulate him on his efforts to keeping the peace and even have room to spread his humor around sometimes. It's hard to criticise or pinpoint any flaws, he is truly adequate and excellent in his role as the admin and overall overseer for this community. I would personally say that had you taken the lead in ACF instead of its owners, we would not have lost her. Your act of allowing us to express our opinions openly is much appreciate in times like these.


TresDias/Ariadne
He's very welcoming to me when I face problems with forum stuff and open to speak with other personal matters. He's also civil and willing to listen to both sides as X is and I commend him for this trait. I wouldn't mind turning to him and there's hardly anything to say, activity-wise its no problem as he's got his life to handle as well as this.

Adri/Harley Quinn
Nothing to note, there's hardly any activity in the RP forum but Dessies. I'm certain she can handle any responsibility when it arises and I believe that she has earned the title.

Ryu
Ryu! I've never gotten my chance to say my part on a proper level during FFOF and the thread here before everything was resolved, and there's no need to. Let things roll slow and well to help rather than cause more problems. You're one of the few I know will lend out a helping hand despite your strange attitude with women, knack for debating and moderating abilities. I'm sorry this problem had to escalate badly because of my part in defense of Bex, but I believe that if you keep yourself at shoulder's length of troubles like these then I believe you can push through your moderating like before. I still wish you would respect other's wishes in keeping deleted content as deleted rather than bringing it back up, the original poster might feel offended and violated of their rights of privacy. I hope you dont get demodded but if there's no choice, I hope it'd be temporary. There's also the question of attitude, I implore you to keep a level head rather than become to eloquent in explaining (not for me, but for others lol) your actions that has a tone of understanding and respect, not of arrogance and authority. And lastly, (I know I'd get shot for this as it was in my intended post last night) please allow some certain respect/decency towards women around here, I know I'm not one to talk but you've got more weight and repute to be careful about than I do.



MOG/mister butt naked
First I would like to say sorry for acting like an idiot when we first met back in '09, you've come a long way since! I'm glad you're now capable of following up with any issues as your time permits and allow us to better get along. I've not yet encountered any scenarios or situations where your help is needed, but besides X, Tres, Road and Ryu, I'll be sure to ask for your help next time around!


Road/Rick Grimes
A man of honour, I've known you for a while, since 07 I think? You've become better with time, I've not been following you much but you still have that charm and neutrality needed to keep the situation alright without allowing it to get worse. You're always there to advise me should I cause too much trouble and I thank you for that, I'll prevent myself from getting out of hand next time. You've got a reasonable vibe to you as Tres, X, Mog and Ryu have so don't lost it!

Tennyo/Morgause
Tenny, you're cool and you get along with alot of people so well it's great! I've yet to see you pitch in other issues with staff, and honestly I wish you would involve yourself in staff affairs more. I feel it'll give me confidence to come to you for help should problems ever arise.


ForceStealer/Vash the Stampede
Force is okay in the community as a whole, I've not seen him other than LTD so I can't really say much about you. Hmmm... Will get back or change my views as I look around more.

hitosura/Rygdea
hito's just come back so I have no clear view on how he handles things. Pretty popular though, so I think I'll let him carry on his contributions via translations and other mod work should I have any in the future.


That's my say I guess, I'm usually a frequent poster and I do tend to make mistakes so this is as far as I can go in saying what I can for the staff.

 

[Madame Mayor]

I'm seeing a lot of people saying that we don't need rules and it should all be common sense and stuff and I agree. It should be. But it isn't.

I just want to point out that I'm not saying 'down with rules' my point is that just because something is left out of the rules doesn't mean mods can't deal with it and part of their job should be dealing with the stuff inbetween the rules.

And also that sometimes making sure everyone obeys the rules to a T just makes this place a lot less fun to be around especially when the rule breaker isn't actually causing any problems. That's where common sense has to come into play. We didn't have this problem before, but it's become a problem over the last while.

I will add my two cents later when I'm not being lazy.

But Brooke as a staff member, just saying. Think about it.

Oh ya and this has been brought to my attention over the last week by multiple people. Tbh I'm not sure how I feel about the idea but I think atm we need to deal with the current staff and not really think about adding until that's been sorted out.

 

[Octo]

I just want to point out that I'm not saying 'down with rules' my point is that just because something is left out of the rules doesn't mean mods can't deal with it and part of their job should be dealing with the stuff inbetween the rules.

I totally agree. I'm not asking for some sort of epic D&D style rulebook. Just some very simple things, most of which are a result of past drama and learning from it.

And also that sometimes making sure everyone obeys the rules to a T just makes this place a lot less fun to be around especially when the rule breaker isn't actually causing any problems. That's where common sense has to come into play. We didn't have this problem before, but it's become a problem over the last while.

Yeah, I love that this place is for the most part very relaxed and there is a flow to the forum. When rules are too strict it just gets ridiculous. Like on Gamefaqs where even saying the word 'Gay' has become a moddable offence, regardless of context.

I agree if a rule breaker wasn't causing problems, or if there was no malice intended, then just being told 'actually, can you stop doing that please' should suffice.

I hate to bring up the AKA field thing again, but at the time people were saying it wasn't a problem and stuff like 'oh how hard can it be to keep track of people'

Newer members (and I still include myself in that) felt like it was yet another barrier making it difficult to integrate here. The attitude that 'people should know who people are' just came across like we have a gang here and if you don't like it get lost' (though I know that wasn't the intention)

Hell I still have trouble now and Its great having the Aka field to make things easy.

What I am trying to say in a rather long winded way (sorry!) is that sometimes people approach these things from the point of view that we've all been here forever, everyone knows how things are. When it isn't the case, and sometimes I feel like thats what people are saying when they say 'common sense' they actually mean 'the status quo' (though I know that isn't always the case)

 

[Tetsujin]

I'm not asking for some sort of epic D&D style rulebook.

We would have enough geek manpower to accomplish this, however.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Might as well throw my own biased oppinion in on this hmm.

Cthulhu:
As far as Admin's go you can't get much beter than Yopy, he is extremely active and actively shows that he caresabout the memberbase as well as what is done with the site. If it weren't for him Im certain the site would still be down and no-one would be able to post anything.

V: I actually don't mind Aaron as a person, I know I tend to argue with you alot when drama arises but that's mainly due to the fact that anytime you get an iota of moderator power you turn into mr pseudo nazi.
Your quick to point blame and pass off comments made by people as "being biased" and tend to write lengthy posts that don't solve anything.

Your attitude on ffof was ridiculous and when I took the quote of your oppinion about the memberbase of tls you were quick to try and backtrack your own post and just as tls was back online my signature was "magically removed"

However it's not just because of the way you were acting towards me that annoyed me, your comments towards others on ffof were belittling and condescending.

X-SOLDIER: X is an amazing guy and rarely takes sides when drama appears, personally I think he is amazing at what he does and is the a really great guy to talk about FF related topics with.

Xelloss: Im actually really impressed by your apology but the expression too little too late comes to mind. You have provenly jumped down members throats (my own included) when you believe your not getting your own way. Your quick to give out warnings for the tiniest of comments often passing it off as people being "biased" against members. However you defended Ryu by passing his own actions off as "you just don't get his humour" which in my oppinion is showing yourself to be biased.



Harley Quinn: Adri is awesome, although her section is rarely in need of moderation.
If anything is needing to be done in the rp section then she does it which is what you want from a moderator.

Ishtar: I wont even bother writing my oppinions here, you all seem to think anything I say is clouded by a deep hate but actually it's more just because of the way he talks to people that I dislike him. Although I will say it took alot of balls to contact the members the way he did and he gets a little respect from me for that.
But even then I have to sidewith mog's statements that even though the apology was sincere it still managed to have a large undertone of "But it's not my fault"


mister butt naked: Me and Mog have bumped heads in the past but tbh he IS really good as a mod and his posts tend to often be very helpful, even with the recent drama.



Rick Grimes: Daniel is great, he got voted in by members if memory serves and is one of the only mods who doesn't side with a particular party and instead makes his own decisions and often comments when both sides are being knobs (thanksforthatyoucunt) that said he is really active and does his job well.

Tennyo: Nice person and all that but I don't see her doing alot .....

The reason I haven't listed any other mods is because (A) they are either FF staff and I don't read FF threads so don't ever notice them or (B) I don't know who the fuck they are.


So yeah, thats my 2 cents not that anyone gives a shit

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Regarding rules.

I'm seeing a lot of people saying that we don't need rules and it should all be common sense and stuff and I agree. It should be. But it isn't.

I don't think drama would be avoided completely by having some sort of framework, its impossible to avoid drama whenever human beings are concerned.

I just think we need to achieve some sort of consistency here. Can anyone honestly say that some of the drama we have here wouldn't be minimised if the Mods were singing from the same hymn sheet?

That doesn't mean that there is no room for leeway, Mods should be able to use their own judgement but right now it just seems a bit chaotic. How something gets dealt with depends on the Mod, and then we get people feeling like they've been persecuted unfairly, or others percieved as getting off lightly becuase they're friends with a Mod.

I don't want to disrupt the flow of folks posting their feelings in here (and I hope I'm not), but I think it would be irresponsible of me not to jump in real quick and provide a word or two about this concern.

I think the chaotic look of things has less to do with few stringent rules being in place and more to do with a failure on our part to communicate whenever someone has reported something. Going forward, we want to make sure that when someone reports something, we at least send them a message to let them know their concerns were investigated.

Really, not informing people like that has been a mistake we have made, and the haphazard appearance on things is our fault. We have no one to blame but ourselves. If someone reports something, it's because they were concerned about the community. It means they care. And they need to know that their concern is appreciated. It should at least be acknowledged with more than an automated response saying that the post has been reported.

I'm sorry that we as a group, and that I personally, have not done a better job of that. I care about this place, and I appreciate that you guys do too.

From the staff side of things, it can be easy to forget that you guys can't see everything we can see. Hell -- and this is somewhat embarrassing -- I only found out the other day that when someone gets a warning or infraction, only those capable of issuing warnings and infractions are able to see that the offending post was moderated.

One other thing before I forget -- it probably does look like how things get handled depends on the mod who issues the warning or infraction (again, due to our lack of following up with whoever did the reporting), but literally every warning and/or infraction gets discussed. It's often the same two or three who end up issuing them (I think I've handled one in the past month, even though I've commented on far more than that), but everyone in staff can offer their input, and we try to reach an agreement before a final action is taken.

Hope that helps explain some things. And, again, I'm sorry for the lack of follow-ups; we will be doing a better job at this, I guarantee it. Carry on.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

And, again, I'm sorry for the lack of follow-ups; we will be doing a better job at this, I guarantee it. Carry on.

Emphasis on this. Please note that later on we'll all (as in, all of us, not just Staff) round up and discuss the stuff posted in here together. So I ask you guys to hold off on responding to Tres post and save your thoughts later. Until then, please continue with the critiques. I assure you they are being heard.

 

[Dana Scully]

Administrators:

Cthulhu: Nothing but respect for Yop, brings that vital mix of humour, technical know-how and objectiveness that is vital for any server admin. plus he's dutch

V: I think your biggest issue Aaron is that you can get really defensive about things, and when you get defensive you get kinda stupid. I think that defensiveness stems from your passion for a lot of topics, and that passion is great but in order to make a good admin, imo, you have to be able to hold that back when necessary. I think if you worked on that you could be great, you're well-spoken and very active and willing to get involved with the community, so major points for all that. As a tech admin, zero complaints.

X-SOLDIER: Objective, rational, well-spoken. All around great admin.

Xelloss: You've already gotten a lot of (deserved) flack for what happened on FFOF. I think you handle all the small stuff really well, but when shit really hits the fan you start slinging insults at people who disagree with you rather than really listening to what they're saying. All that said - I'm still left with the impression that you're an okay mod who's usually a cool guy and is willing to recognize when he's fucked up. You just gotta get a leash on those knee-jerk dismissals of yours.

Super Moderators:

Ariadne: Tres is a cool guy who doesn't afraid of anything. With the exception of a couple of cases in the LTD he's always handled himself well and he's very easy to get along with.

Harley Quinn: Can't really comment on Adri's modding as I don't spend much time in the RP section, but from what I know of her personally and given her love of Dessies I'm confident her modding is FULL OF CAPS LOCKS more than acceptable.

Ishtar: Pretty much everything that's needed to be said has been said in the other thread, but I'll just summarize: he's intelligent, obviously very knowledgable about FF7, very active on the board, but also very hard to relate to and has a bad habit of coming across as holier-than-thou.

mister butt naked: Mog's cool, and despite RL often making him late to the party (which, to be clear, is not a criticism) he always works to try and get shit actually done. /respect

Morgause: Pretty much what everyone else has said Tenny: I would love to see you be more active as a mod. From talking to you in IRC and stuff I think you could really offer some calm insight when things get heated.

Rick Grimes: Nothing but respect for Road, he's objective and rational and is always willing to call out stupid shit when he sees it, regardless of who it came from.

Rygdea: Zero complaints. Revels with us common folk down in General Discussion and does Japanese and all that shit and just a really cool dude.

Vash the Stampede: Again, zero complaints. Except he'll steal ammo like a little bitch in Uncharted

Site Staff:

Cloud_S/Dark and Divine/Glitterberri: Don't really know any of them that well but from what I've seen of them they all seem to be solid contributors to the site.

KuraudoStrife: who?

pESCAbAdA: who?

Pixel: Does lots of great things for the site and seems like a cool dude.

Shademp: Regularly blows my mind with the amazing tidbits he drags out of FF7's code. Awesome staff member.

Moderators:

DNA: Can't really comment, don't know him well enough.

 

[Hisako]

I like to think that I can offer my opinions differently as one of the people who avoid the LTD thread like it was genital warts, so I'll give it a shot. People just seem to... not be themselves in there sometimes.

Cthulhu: Yop, you're a legend. You've been arguably one of the most level-headed and consistent forum members, let alone admins. I have nothing but praise for the effort you put into keeping this place on its feet, and there's probably no-one else I'd rather have with the keys to the castle, so to speak.

V: Aaron, I think that it's common knowledge that you gotta work some things out of your system. Some things you just gotta chill out on, dude! Let things slide every now and then, and don't get caught up in semantics. A lot of the conflict I see in the General section is all about semantics. And you're probably one of the most intelligent dudes on the forum, but at the same time it seems like its both your best and worst quality, if you know what I mean. At the very least, I have always considered your more serious posts to contain as much thought and consideration as you possibly could towards a serious topic, no matter how right (or wrong) that thought and consideration is. And that's something to be respected.
I understand people's gripes about your eagerness to establish things as rules, but personally I think to refer to your efforts as dictatorial or totalitarian or something as extreme as that, is really absurd. And I also don't think you're as causal of the drama as others might. Arguments between people are waaaaay too complicated to pin all of the blame on a single person. For better or worse, you're an integral part of the moderation of these forums. And I can only see that getting better. Fight the good fight!

X: Sometimes you seem to keep a lower profile than the others. I don't know, that's just the feeling I get. It's neither a good nor a bad thing. I don't feel like I should have complaints about the way you roll, and you seem to get whatever task is on hand for you to do, done.
And it's really nice to have someone that likes to sit on a fence sometimes. I still think Yop is the master at it here, because he simply spreads his lack of fucks everywhere, but I really appreciate someone who makes a conscious effort to avoid being on one side of an argument.

Xelloss: Oh, Mako, you're a crazy sonofabitch. You can get a little hot under the collar sometimes, I think, but you keep a lid on it most of the time, and you tend to do an overall good job under duress. I feel you're also an integral part of the admin group, even though you seem to have been non-existent from the forums for very long periods of time. Or at least in the General section. Even though sometimes people feel like you brush them off, I think ultimately you come off as someone who gives a damn about what goes on here, and that's something to applaud.

Ariadne: You're a cool frood, Tres. I think you're a great asset to the group, just goin' about your business and having a blast most of the time. You just seem to have always been there when need be, when shit hits the fan. You might not necessarily be the first to show rapport to the forum base, but it feels like you're there in some form or other. Even if only to thank posts, lawl.

Harley Quinn: Really adri you have like the easiest job out of all this bunch. For what it's worth you're pretty swish at it

Ishtar: Ryu, over the years I've known you I've never really gotten to know you (score one for d&m yeeeaaahhh), even though we post in roughly the same places and interact on a fairly regular basis. The LP was sort of my first window looking into the personality you had. Despite the way you post, the way you type and the way you present your arguments, etc. my surprise was basically how much of a regular dude you sounded like in Skype. It just doesn't really come across in the way you post and respond to things.
And it took all this recent stuff for me to really get to know you, and with all this stuff on IRC has given me insight to the way you think and react to stressful situations like this. You type like a robot (admittedly a very strange, misinformed robot), but in the end you're just as human, just as fallible and just as... wrong as the rest of us. I've never had a sense of that high-horse attitude as others seem to have had, but I could imagine that getting on people's nerves. After what I considered to be pretty much heart-to-hearts on IRC, though, I never really doubted that you had actual remorse for what you did, and that you genuinely believed that something else was at play here (no matter how small), other than your stupid, stupid actions.

I think the fact that your actions as a mod have actually helped form tangible contributions to the website means so much, and makes you an invaluable asset to this forum. But you just need to try and sound like you're talking more from the heart, rather than from the brain all the time. Even though you're not actually talking from the brain very much.

mister butt naked: What can I say about Mog that hasn't already been covered? Only that I wish you were around more often and not tied down by your postings, I guess. There's a solidarity that forms around you whenever you make your contributions, but at the same time whenever you go missing from the forums for some period of time, I feel part of the forum goes missing with you, yknow? And I know you're a real do-er rather than a say-er, and that getting things done is what you're all about when you're being a mod, but sometimes I wonder if there are just too many things to say and suggest and not enough time/resources to put them on the front page. I suppose that's what the community is for, though, and barring that you're a proper decent ideas man that can unify a bunch of people even when they're at each other's throats.

Morgause: Tenny I love you so much and I think you're the sweestest thing in the group but I think everyone sort of... overshadows you, y'know? Seems like you throw in a few kind words of insight here and there, and let the others build on that. But maybe that's enough, yeah? Still, a lot of the others believe you could do more, and I think you might just be the most empathetic of the lot. And genuine empathy for a community equals someone who can care for all parts of the people, equals the best quality of a good moderator.

Rick Grimes: I don't think I've ever directly struck up any sort of prolonged conversation with you, Road, but during the time on the forums the main thing that stood out to me is that you say it like it is without ever losing your shit over it, or making others feel like shit. Even when they've done something wrong, to me the tact with which you word your posts makes every bit of advice an easier pill to swallow than if it had come from someone else. And that gains massive points for me above just being able to say it like it is.

Rygdea: haha, how many ways can you say "making a comeback"? I really enjoyed your presence whenever you were lending a hand in the front page stuff, and then at some point you upped and left! Doesn't seem like you've changed much now that you're back. But that's a good thing! Always happy to see a post from you.


Cloud_S: I haven't really spent a lot of time in the Final Fantasy section of the forum, so I'm not really qualified to make any real judgement besides what I've seen on the front page. I have noticed your posts here and there, but besides that I can't really say anything bad about you. So that's a good thing.

Kuraudostrife: Again, I don't really hang around the Final Fantasy section all the much, so I can't really gauge your activity.

Dark and Divine: Ditto for this.

Glitterberri: In fact, I barely even remember that other staff exist outside Pixel, Cloud_S and Shademp. Maybe you're all like a templar society secretly making
things happen with Pixel as your avatar /squints

Pixel: If my (very limited) knowledge about how this forum came to be is right, I would rate Pixel right up, up, up there with the best of them. I believe that if TLS didn't have Pixel to keep things fresh, much like Yop does as an admin, the website would be in the shittiest, sorriest state. You might not have the hugest presence on the forums, but every single tangible contribution you make to TLS is absolutely immense. I tip my hat to you, good sir, and I hope that everyone here who has ever been to thelifestream.net does so too. Because you deserve it so much.

Shademp: I think the things you do sometimes are a product of dividing by zero. Like, I will literally look at some of the things you give to the community here and go, "HOW DID YOU DO THIS AND IS THERE A DIPLOMA FOR IT". But like Pixel, I don't feel you have a really big forum presence. At least, not in the General section. But contribution you make I will always find a pleasure to look out for.

DNA: I don't really know you all that well, because you're such a damn Halley's Comet. Come by every once in a while, leave a string of fun things to look at, and then disappear for a while again.
Everyone has their reasons, though, so it's not as much of a complaint as it sounds like.

So I guess what I mean to say is that I think the mods and staff we have, it's almost as good as we can get. And even if our faith in these people have been shaken a bit, we as a community always pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and get around to figuring out how to get stronger from it. And I think that all the people I know in these groups have earned their right to have that position.

ed: woah i did get a bit wordy there didn't i

 

[looneymoon]

I just want to reiterate Alex's post that I think everyone on the mod team are pretty cool people and I haven't had a personal run in with any of them. Most of this is from what I've observed just reading threads and stuff.

Admins

Yop
Never had much of an opinion of him until FFOF. He was pretty much the only mod/admin I wasn't actively annoyed with when reading through that thread. I think he does a really good job at being impartial when dealing with issues, which is something we can all really appreciate. Very good with not letting personal opinions affect decision making, very open to member opinions, and just handles things in a very calm manner. Very in tune with asking members what they think, very involved and active, was quick to get the site back up and running and just... yeah. Good at dealing with/mediating big issues. Couldn't ask for anything more really!

X-Soldier
Really nice guy who I enjoy talking with on the forums. Very friendly and makes efforts to be approachable with members. Not quite as active on the larger problem solving front as Yop from what I've seen on the boards, but I can't say that for sure because I dunno what kind of conversations happen between mods. So I think it'd be nice if see saw him weigh in a bit more if anything? That said, if I ever had a personal issue on the forum, he'd probably be the admin I'd be most comfortable going to.

Mako
His attitude on FFOF kind of disturbed me, to be quite frank. I know he apologized but it's still very worrisome when there has been a history of this behaviour. I don't want to say too much more since it's all been brought up, just that I hope he continues to improve in the future. As a person he seems pretty cool and well-humoured. Despite his belligerence as an administrator, he seems like someone who knows how to get along with members.

Aaron
Probably the admin/mod that made me most uncomfortable with his handling of things not only on FFOF, but matters in general. It's very strange because as a member I really enjoy his input - I tend to agree with his opinions and really enjoy his political threads. As an admin it's like a complete 180. He becomes needlessly defensive, attacks people he simply doesn't like, becomes incredibly condescending and dismissive towards people who disagree with him and just... yeah.

I also take issue, like Brooke said, his compulsive need to have everything written down. It makes it seem like he doesn't know how to execute judgement effectively. That coupled with his tendency to attack people, I have concerns that the implementation of cold-hard, written down rules will only contribute to that behaviour. It all strikes me as incredibly authoritarian which exactly the opposite of what I think we're all trying to aim for.

On the tech side of things I can't say because idk. But on that note, wasn't he originally brought on staff solely as a tech admin? Were we ever made aware of him ever being made a general moderator? If not, that's something I really don't appreciate because I feel any addition into staff (as someone who deals with members) should be done with member approval.

Mods

Ariadne
No complaints or criticisms here. He's a good guy and he always has valuable input as to how things are handled. He's very respectful when calling out people on their crap, even staff members. He has my utmost respect.

Road
I managed to have a conversation with him a few days ago that I really appreciated despite it being very brief. Before that I never had much of an opinion of him. Very objective and level-headed and just great really. Like Tres, he's very respectful when calling out people on their crap, even staff members. In the midst of all the FFOF stuff he was the only one that reassured me that individual opinions of the members of the board actually mattered so yes, much respect.

Ryu
As a mod, Ryu is fine. I said a lot of what I think of him personally in the other thread. In terms of modding, I've never seen any huge issues. In the past however, I've felt perhaps unfairly singled out for something I wasn't solely guilty of. I didn't actually care then, nor does it bother me now, but I couldn't help but get the impression that perhaps he's more ready to jump on people he disagrees with than people he's friends with. Then again, it was one thing a long time ago that I don't really give a shit about and I haven't had any issues with his modding since then so it's probably a non-issue by now. The only real thing I could suggest to him is perhaps trying to be more approachable.

Mog
Apparently he's had issues with people in the past, but the fact that he's moved past that and has become one of the most valuable members on staff is very, very commendable. I think, of the whole staff, he is the most proactive which is incredibly necessary in getting shit done. When it comes to resolving stuff, there always needs to be that guy that's like "hey, we can talk about issues all day but what about actually DOING something??? He's that guy. So yeah, all in all he's great and I appreciate him a lot. All of the respect.

Adri
Can't really levy any criticisms since she's really the RP person. So I'll just use this space to say fuck you keeno hahahahahahaha jk adri u r a doki anime.

Tennyo
Tennyo is very sweet and I like her a lot as a person. That said, I don't really see her doing a lot on staff? I would be comfortable talking to her about any problem should arise, but I wouldn't be confident with her speaking on my behalf when it comes to them. I'd really just like to see her be more outspoken, especially if she thinks something is bullshit.

Force
I'm kind of drawing a blank here. Never had a problem with Force. I've seen him interject in threads when things were getting out of hand without it getting personal, which is good. He does some really good things for the forums, like the awards and stuff. I mean, he did miss some nominations, but I think he DOES take measures to try and improve them every year so that's good of him. Yeah... kind of hard to think of really anything else to say.

hito
kawaii baby. It's hard to remember he's a mod because he left us sob because I consider him more as a friend than anything. He's too kawaii for me to be like "hito member234324 is being mean to me go punch them in the face " Plus I don't know what he really does when it comes to moddy type things. He does have great opinions and things I just wish he was around more

 

[Gym Leader Devil]

Alright, I put this off for a good long while to really think about the issue at hand, and now I'm gonna throw my thoughts out there. I'm lazy, and its much easier to just say nothing than repeat "I have no opinion" over and over, so if I don't know enough about someone and/or their mod habits, I'm just gonna leave them out entirely. For instance, I don't visit the RP forum here, so even if it needed lots of moderating I'd have no idea how good Adri is


Administrators:

Cthulhu: Yop, I'm glad I started hitting TLS on IRC and got to talking with ya more. You're a cool guy (especially as tentacle raping, sanity shattering, eldritch things go) and I was missing out on said coolness for the most part before. I see you a little different than some I think, rather than not taking sides at all you seem to be on EVERYONE'S side. You want any genuine problems that may exist to get real solutions, so that everyone involved can get back to enjoying themselves. It makes you easy to talk to, whether it be serious discussion or random silliness (note, silliness may be largely Lovecraftian in nature and thus not all that random). Keep it up dude.

(also fuck you and your downplaying of the praise you're getting in here, stop being a shy little bitch and take it)

V: You and I don't cross swords really. We sympathize with each other's insomnia, your political thrads are my main news source (again, I be lazy), and as a member you seem perfectly awesome. Now, you've never had to moderate me I don't think, and I don't pay the most attention when it happens to other people (this applies to just about everyone else on the list btw) but a lot of what's been said here does ring true from what I have noted. You get defensive pretty easy, and you do seem rather anal about the rules. Further, at times it seems like you are a firm believer that the best defense is a good offense. So when the defensive side of you comes out, you seem to go on the attack instead of calming shit down. I've seen you handle problems on the forum in a calmer and more level-headed way, so I know you can do it. Might just want to go a little more Zen on the matter, and I think you'd find things easier both for the members you deal with and yourself.

X-SOLDIER: Is an awesome guy I'd trust to handle anything, if I needed anything handled around here. He's easy to talk to, and when drama comes knocking he is pretty good at de-escalating the situation and getting people to cool their tits. When he gets into this sorta shit, it seems his first priority is to get them to actually talk about it as opposed to slinging insults and bringing up old butt-hurt. And just once or twice, I have seen him drop the friendly atmosphere he usually carries and let folks who have stepped far out of line that he will stop being so damn nice if they don't knock it off. That's also an important quality in a mod.

Xelloss: While some of this man's past behavior may not have been the best, I speak from recent experience in saying that he CAN be perfectly approachable when he has to moderate you. I got a warning not too far back that I mostly understood, but wanted to clarify for the express purpose of making sure it didn't happen again. He answered all my questions without argument, made sure I knew not just what I did but explicitly how it had been wrong. Stick to what you said in the apology you made dude, and I think you'll continue doing fine.

Super Moderators:

Ariadne: Despite not really getting to talk to the dude all that often of late, I consider Tres one of the best friends I've made here on TLS. Like X, his approach to moderating seems more about provoking thought and discussion of a given problem as opposed to meeting it with a forceful "STOP DOING THAT RIGHT NOW!" or similar. I have seen the man diffuse potential issues in just that way, or better still by getting the participants of said issue laughing at the whole thing. Dude has outstanding control of himself on the boards as well, it takes a lot of pushing to get him to snap and lash out at anyone. Further, when he DOES snap, he takes his lumps and mans up to what he did.

Ishtar: Ryu, I gotta admit I don't get some of what the other folks round here say about ya man. I think I get you most of the time. I don't find you arrogant, for the most part. True, you like big words and technical sounding language but on the occasions you've used such that I didn't understand I was never afraid to ask what the hell you meant. And you've never, EVER seemed to be looking down on me when you provided an explanation or reminder of what they meant. You've had a lapse in judgement here and there, but who the fuck hasn't honestly? Some go better than others, and the most recent one was pretty out there, but everyone fucks up. And you sound like you're more than just sorry it happened, but that you genuinely want to learn from it and have folks learn about you in the process. As for your moderation, even when you're enforcing something under protest you don't skimp on what needs doing when you see it. Aside from that, I'm too new, comparatively speaking, to know any biases you may have/have to deal with from others, nor do I pay much attention really to other folks getting warned and the like. So yeah, I'm not suited to make a call on what others have claimed there.

mister butt naked: MOG, dude, I don't know you half as well as I should. We just don't seem to cross paths much, either as two members hanging out or as member and mod. I have seen enough to echo what others have said about ya: you get shit done and you don't stir up much fuss when you do.

Morgause: Tenny, you are awesome as fuck and shouldn't change a thing. I've seen several others who say they don't see you do much, but I know (at least a possible part of) the reason for that. You don't do shit in public, much. When someone is causing a genuine problem that isn't being dealt with (possibly even if it is) on the boards, you take it to the source. I speak from experience, a couple of times I've gotten into some sort of drama, and you didn't post about it. You PM'd me and gave me a chance to knock it off. If that's your chosen method of trying to deal with things, then of course it wouldn't be overly visible to the forum at large. Also, being a sweet and friendly person, you have some of the same skill at diffusing situations and getting folks talking their shit out that I credited X and Tres with. And you're one of the most approachable folks I know of around here. I've gone to you with potential problems and questions many times, and you've never let me down. Not even once.

 

[Cookie Monster]

I'm on Staff, but I'm still a member, so I'm just gonna throw my thoughts out there to keep the pot stirring.

Cthulhu: PH'NGLUI MGLW'NAFH CTHULHU R'LYEH WGAH'NAGL FHTAGN.

X-SOLDIER: You're probably the best all-around staff member we have here. You do just about everything and more for this place even though most of it goes unnoticed. I hope you know your efforts are greatly appreciated man.

Makoeyes: Grandpa with borderline dementia. You're a great guy and you're funny as hell. But, honestly, I miss the old Mako. You used to be much more active, like Dacon and Aaron. Around a year and half ago you just sort of fell off the map. I remember you took some time off to deal with personal stuff, but when you returned you weren't the same. Now, it seems like you tend to hang around the LTD and occasionally you post elsewhere. That's not to say I don't appreciate your dedication to the LTD. There probably isn't another staff member here other than Ryu that has enough patience to deal with that thread. However, as an Admin, you really need to branch out to the rest of the forum. Another issue I have is that you tend to overreact when something really dramatic happens. You're quick to take action without really understanding what's going on. Doesn't help you much. Just relax and you'll be fine man.

Aaron: You're easily one of the most dedicated people I know. You have a strong presence at virtually every forum you're a part of, as a staff member or not. Technically, you're very quick to help members in anyway you can. Posting stats, name changes, adding hacks, etc. However, when it comes to moderation, you get defensive. I know you have a hell of a lot of experience when it comes to moderating forums, and I think that wealth of experience hurts you as much as it helps. You've dealt with a lot of shit at ACF, FCF, and you're still dealing with a load at FG. I think this has caused you to become a bit over dependent on the, "rules." When shit goes down, you become like a goddamn judge and/or legislator. And recently that approach has hurt you. Although you bring up solid points when making your arguments, you do it in the most condescending way which causes you more trouble. You really need to work on that, bro.

Mog: All-Star much? You have a long history my friend. Staff aside, you've become one of the most favored and valued members here, period. Those that have been here from the beginning know how much you've changed, and those that haven't appreciate you just the same. You're goal oriented, and you're always there to push us and help us finish projects. Also, I think you really understand how this community feels and operates, and that gives you a great advantage when helping us deal with problems. So, just keep it up, man.

Tres: I love you. Much of what I said about Mog also applies to you. You disappeared for awhile, so I think some people here have forgotten how great of an addition you've been to staff. You've always had a solid head on your shoulders. You may not be the person issuing the warnings or infractions, but you're always there to throw in your two cents in when a decision needs to be made. So, I've always appreciated your participation as a staff member. Another All-Star right here ladies & gents.

Hito: Stay active you wanker. I don't need to repeat how much we value your presence here.

Forcesteeler: You're always active, always there to contribute during staff discussions. I would just like to see you take more action as far as issuing warnings and infractions. I think you've only issued two this year, lol.

Tennyo: The staff sweetheart. You're always making suggestions and you're always the first to volunteer to speak with members personally. Tennyo is also a great mediator. So, if you folks need something to be relayed to staff, she's a great person to go to. Funny watching her get assertive tho, lulz.

Ryu: You're never afraid to take action when necessary. You contribute a lot to the front page, and you have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to FF. You already know what you need to work on, so I won't bother repeating it.

Adri: I've known this girl for a long time, and I've never known her to kiss arse to get a staff position, so I dunno what the hell that was about. She was actually selected by staff to replace Meteo when he left. Given your position I suppose you try to stay out of staff discussion, but you're always there to call us out on our bullshit when you sees it. Props for that.

DNA: If our GFX section were more active, I know I'd see you around more. Too damn bad the majority of the talent from ACF fell off the map when it got shut down.

Site Staff: You guys are the MVPs of this place. FULL STOP.

 

[Joker]

IT'S MORPHIN' TIME


Yop: You know, it's like everyone else says. You are one of the most calm, relaxed dudes I've ever seen and it makes me wonder if you're Tranquil... and it's an excellent quality for the admin and lord of all he sees to have. When people have issues, big or small, you seem genuinely willing to help, and are never a dick or condescending about it, even when the member is being a derp (YOU KNOW LIKE THAT TIME I COULDN'T LOG IN AT FFOF BECAUSE I'M A DERP AAAAAAAA ;.; ). You come off as very approachable, and I often find myself wondering why I don't have you on MSN, because I'd swear that I do and it's weird. Cheers, man.

X: I think my only real issue with X is that sometimes I don't see him around for long stretches at a time (or maybe it just seems that way, idk). But again, everything that everyone has said thus far rings true here, as well - if I had a problem or serious issue with something, as far as admins go, I'd say he'd probably be the first person I would go to (Yop seems very busy ;.; ). Also seems like a pretty cool guy, though I'll be the first to admit that I have no way of knowing this for sure.

Mako: Tbh, Mako...I think you have a bit of a habit of jumping into something without knowing what's going on, and then, if someone starts telling you what's actually happening, it comes off like insubordination and you start in on them, and every other word is some form of "fuck". The thing at FFOF didn't help, either, I think, because I thought you came off as very condescending and superior, and as though the opinions of people that weren't "directly involved" (in the case of recent events, Bex, Ryu, and Shademp) didn't matter, because they either didn't know what they were talking about, or weren't in any way affected by anything that had happened. It's not like people were trying to force any action out of Ryu himself (imo), but rather that people were trying to make it clear to staff that stuff like this DOES have an effect on everyone, and that, as such, we would really like to be heard. It just sort of came across like you didn't really care. I've read your posts, and seen you apologize, but I am still left with a great deal of uncertainty and doubt here, though I'm definitely willing to give you the benefit of the doubt here. I truly hope that my truth/faith/hope/whatever you want to call it is not misplaced.

That said, I think that your call to duty is very strong, and that you are very passionate about the site and forum, and really want us to just continue to grow and be more and more awesome. The only other thing I'd suggest is to try to venture outside of the FF section a bit; I think that if people (me, in my own mind ) got to know you a bit more, it would facilitate the staff/member relations thing a lot.

Also you live really close to me and it scares me (lol)


Aaron: More or less what several other people have said. It seems to me, in the entire time you've been here, that when someone disagrees with you (on even the most innocuous subjects sometimes), it goes from a simple disagreement to a much longer, drawn-out and heated discussion - where you get extremely defensive over something so simple - and that's when you start to be a bit condescending and rude. This seems to hold especially true for people that you do not get along with well (Vendel and myself being the best examples I can think of off the top of my head). And it just...the things you say and do make it come across as being very condescending, and as though you're the only person whose opinion matters and the only one that can possibly be right. It makes you very unapproachable, imo (although we do obv have a bit of history with each other, as well). Additionally, I do feel as though the seeming bias you have against those members colors your judgment as a moderator (which, incidentally, it was my understanding that you were only brought on as a tech admin under the condition that you stay out of the moderation of the site, as this had happened before - I could be wrong, ofc). If I report a post, I genuinely feel as though it isn't taken even remotely seriously, most especially if the post is yours (which has happened before in the past - apparently there was a discussion about removing my ability to report posts or ban me for abuse of the report function?). I don't know. I don't think my thoughts here (in this post, for the most part, but most especially in this section of it) will be taken seriously, simply because we do have a history and it will be written off as bias. As someone said before (don't remember who?), I think that, of all the staff, this is the only serious problem I see.

And the fucked up thing is, we used to be friends, up until one little joke. But what will be, will be, I guess.

That said, I also know you are very involved in the site, helpful to members, and do a great job as the tech admin (fuck we didn't even have a proper mobile skin until you made it - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS).



Mog - best moderator on the site, bar none. This guy here. God. Damn. I remember my first year here, where a whooooole lot of people had very real, very serious problems with you, myself included. But what was crazy about it was that as much as I disliked you, I also thought that there was a really cool, funny guy in there. And after we approached you with our concerns, it was like you were a totally different guy. Even without him being in the Navy so my ass doesn't have to defend the country, I honestly and truly respect and admire this man so, so much. My only issue is that he's not around as much as I'd like XD THAT AND HE DOESN'T HAVE A HEADSET/GET ON XBL ANYMORE 8[ but yeah, man. You're always wanting to improve things, keep things active, make things light and fun and enjoyable, and of all the people I've seen, you're the very first person I'd go to if I had a problem, simply because I know you don't feel like you're entitled to the job or anything, and that you know that everybody makes mistakes sometimes, and that it's important to learn from this - the 180 you've done is testament to that, and yeah. Nothing but respect.


Road: It always seems like you're forced to be the go-between for staff and members You always approach everything with a very cool, calm demeanor, you admit when people are making good points AND you call them out when they're full of shit, but you do it all in a very palatable way that doesn't come off as being a dick. When you talk, people listen, and that's a very important quality to have. For a while there, I wasn't super happy about your not being at the board at all, but now that you're active again, it's nothing but aces. Much respect, man.

Tres: When you were first appointed as a moderator, I was one of the bunch that was very against it - not because of anything you'd actually done, but because I had no fucking idea who you were. I had never read a single one of your posts before, because I couldn't recall seeing you post outside of the FF sections (where I rarely go). I'm glad that staff DID listen to us and have you kind of tell us about yourself and stuff, and I'll be the first one to admit that I was wrong to doubt and damn glad that I was wrong. You are one of the most down to earth, approachable people I've seen, and I know that you've always got the best interests of the site and members in mind. I think that that time you went into the new LTD, blasted a member for being just...well, you know...and then took your lumps without complaint or trying to weasel out of it was just...I really respected you for that, stupid as it sounds, because while you did break the rules (big time ), the fact that you did it because it was the "right" thing to do, and then didn't budge an inch when it was time to pay the piper showed to me what kind of guy you are. While your taste in porn leaves SO SO VERY MUCH to be desired (), you are, imo, an integral part of staff and I'm glad you're here. Cheers, man.

Hito: Hito is a great staff member...he just hasn't been around up until recently. But from what I've seen, I definitely feel like I can go to him with any issue and know that he'll listen and take it seriously. No problems at all here, just...stay active pls :panda:


Force: Force can be a bit of a derp sometimes, but I know he's always got the best interests of the site in mind. He seems less active lately (though that could be my imagination), but other than that, no complaints. Well...maybe that he seems a bit on the pacifistic side sometimes, trying to break things up before things have hit a point where they need to be proactively broken up. Keep up the good work, man. (can we please have one nomination for things next year? ;.; )


Tennyo: When it comes to Tennyo, I look at her from three perspectives - the mod, the member, and the RP'er. As a moderator, I think the only thing I can say is that sometimes it feels like she has a bit of a nonpresence...she doesn't get involved in discussions when the time has come to speak one's mind. I can't really comment beyond that, really. I guess "speak up more" is the only thing I have to offer here. (well...besides HE WASN'T MASTURBATING TENNYO GOD )

Ryu: Already said everything I have to say here.

Adri: Let's all be honest here. Adri doesn't do shit. Literally, she doesn't do a goddamn thing. That said, she IS the RP director, and there's not really much to DO but when there's something to be done in the RP section, she's on the ball, and I know she butts heads with the staff on issues in the staff forum as well. In short, Adri basically just keeps her moderation to her section XD if I had a complaint, it's that she's so, so, so, SO, SO loud. :x


Everybody else: I don't go to the front page, so I've got nothin'.

 

[Tifabelle]

Hopefully I'm able to articulate myself well enough. I just want to thank the staff for giving everyone the opportunity to freely express their opinions and concerns on this matter. I would like to see more input/feedback from the staff in this thread, if possible. :3

ADMINS
Yopy: Honestly there is only high praise for our god-like admin. You are a chill guy, and are always willing to listen to everyone (even tho you hate teh dramaz). You just want everyone to post and have fun. You're equal and fair and smart and active and approachable. You would most definitely be the first person I'd go to with a problem. And it isn't even hyperbole when I say you are absolutely everything anyone could want in an admin. Basically, you're perfect

X-Soldier: You're a great admin, always willing to listen to problems and step in when help is needed. You're fair and open-minded, which are wonderful qualities. I've never seen you lose your head or get angry, but instead calm and rational which I think can be contagious qualities in heated arguments. You're very active and I love seeing you post around the forum.

Xelloss/Mako: Before everything happened, I don't think we had any (or much) interaction. The things that you said had really upset me because I felt like my concerns weren't even registering, and were being completely brushed off. You didn't even know what situation I was referring to, and yet were very quick to tell me I was wrong and should basically stfu. Not only that, the fact that you and aaron weren't really concerned with Ryu's actions, or even your own, was incredibly frustrating. TLS is a community, and we all want to work together to make sure to avoid problems in the future. You've apologized and seem to have realized what went wrong, so as long as you are genuine and actually stick to it, I think you'll be fine. (and for the record, I did receive a personal apology from mako as well )

(I'd also like to note with regards to what happened at FFOF that sometimes people just want to express concerns. You know, it's not always about creating dramaz or w/e. You just want to be heard and have a discussion about something that bothered you. And I think staff as a whole have to be willing to listen to said concerns rather than be quick to assume it's shit-stirring.)

Aaron: I'm going to do what I call a compliment sandwich. Jokes aside, as a technical administrator, you are great. You're always quick to solve problems, answer questions, etc. Even if you don't know the answer, you always try to find it.

My critique comes in on how you handle personal issues or arguments. You have an air of superiority as a moderator which is a huge turn off. I even feel like you think you're above Yop which really gets under my skin - as if you are the end all and be all of forum staff and your word is law.

And the things that you said over at FFOF, while shocking, really explained a lot of your past behavior. It seems to me that you start or exacerbate arguments and drama, rather than actually solving it. You make things personal when they're not, as well, and I find you using your position of authority to attack others. You drag out disagreements for far longer than they need to be, probably because you want to get the last word in. I feel like you make things worse and nothing actually gets done, or things are basically you're way or the highway.

Your regular inability to show good judgment, fairness, equality, common sense, etc is really concerning considering your role as an administrator. This is actually a major hangup of mine because you make decisions based on what you personally want rather than what's good for the community.

While I would have no problem coming to you with a technical question/problem, any personal problem I might have, I would avoid you like the plague. I wouldn't even want you involved or made aware of it, if at all possible. I just would not want to hear from you at all. Which as an admin is terrible. Even saying all this and giving my honest opinion, I'm worried that it'll come back to bite me in the ass later. ;.;

You need the respect of your memberbase to be effective, and if I may be frank I don't think you have it. I honestly feel that your position is a perpetuating problem.

All that said, I really do think you're a cool dude who contributes a lot to the forum. You always post important stuffs and generate discussions. And I've enjoyed talks we've had; I wish you'd go back to IRC.


SUPER MODS
Ariadne/Tres: Not much to say about Tres. He's very bright, and very open with his opinion. I find myself wishing I could articulate myself as well as him, especially considering he always finds a way to say exactly how I feel on a subject. Occasionally you get heated in the LTD, but I chalk that up to "we're all human". I'd like to see you post more outside the FF stuffs

Harley Quinn/Adri: As far as I'm aware, Adri isn't expected to mod outside the RP, in which case she does a great job. I'll leave her to the RPers to evaluate.

Ishtar/Ryu: I said all I needed to in the other thread. cba to repeat myself. Except for a few hiccups, a good mod and very helpful. And you always help out with the front page as well.

I am wondering, now that it's been a while, what the ultimate decision regarding recent events was?

Mog: We haven't interacted too much, and your real life keeps you in and out of the forums. But the fact remains that you are without a doubt one of the more down-to-earth mods here. You're never afraid to call someone out on bullshit, and are a man of action prepared to better the community. The one complaint I have is that you have big ideas, but don't really have the time to see them through. I would have absolutely no problem coming to you for help if I had a problem.

Tenny: Despite what others have said, I can say that I have been reprimanded by you. I think you have a soft touch, which is a great quality and a perfect foil to some of our harsher or quick-to-anger mods. You always keep a level head, and are a more under-the-radar type mod. Don't be afraid to be open and honest with your opinions on matters, and jump in because you always have something to offer.

Road: You always seem quick to action, and want to solve problems immediately. You're a good buffer between staff and members when things go awry. You're good a dealing with issues and I'd have no qualms about coming to you for help.

Rygdea/Hito: You haven't been around much since I've been a member, but I can honestly say it's nice to have you back. You've made me laugh, and you work hard on translations which I think are one of the greatest assets of the site. And regarding the most recent situation, I appreciate the way you handled it. You were very open-minded and willing to find an amiable resolution. I hope you stick around

Vash/Force: I know real life keeps you away recently, but otherwise you are a very active mod, and step in before things get out of control. You've always helped me when I needed it. I loved your front page series on the ending dungeons you did a while back as well, and if you ever had an interest in doing something like that again, I'm sure it would be great.


SITE STAFF & MOD
Pixel: Obviously you keep the main site up and running between the audiobooks (which are probably the most popular thing), and the LPs, and the music. Basically without you, the front page would be a dull place indeed. It's a lot of work, but it's something that is appreciated by both member and non-member alike.

Shademp: Your article series is wonderful and entertaining. I think you've been a great addition to site staff, and I was happy to see you participate in the LP as well.

Cloud_S: You don't post much, but I do appreciate your rips of logos and character art, etc.

Others: I don't really know well enough to say anything. As far as I know, I haven't seen them do much, lol. In fact, I'm not even sure I know these two at all: KuraudoStrife, pESCAbAdA

 

[Joker]

I was wondering...there was mention before about staff being more open with the forumites about what's going on behind the closed doors of the staff section. I was curious as to what kind of discussion or reflection has been happening in regards to the handful of threads related to the recent goings-on.


ed: also, to whomever re-enabled the stats at the bottom of the main forum page - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I always navigate based on the "most recent posts" thing on the right and not having it was driving me nuts xD

 

[Cthulhu]

Right now, nothing much . I opened a thread about the 'what're we gonna do', but not much response was done to that.

 

[Tennyo]

Hey now I have posted in there.

On my way to work but just wanted to say that I have read everything in this thread and I appreciate all the feedback. <3

 

[ForceStealer]

There are 13 posts in it, to be specific