Damage Control

[Blake]

In the past, the member group Damage Control served as makeshift mods that could be promoted without the use of the Admin CP. For a while after the first glimpse of the Admin CP, the group was still used by mods as damage control alts, both for anonymity with certain warns and the like (mostly outside of the assigned section when the need arose) or to use certain abilities that moderators lacked for some reason or another.

It was also used to test moderators-to-be for the job and their proficiency.

My suggestion would be to use this group for the mods hired more as custodians than leaders.

Not saying it applies to any mod in particular, but it does open up the possibility of having more staff without having more moderators with absolute power, as I know the staff feels like it has very few candidates when it comes to specific sections.. The group could easily have its permissions edited to just make them beat cops, in a sense. Still a part of the system, but more for the sake of tending to the peace and quality of a section than being the leader(s) that work to improve and fine tune the section.

They'd be fairly easy to deal with if they abused, and any misuse of power could be undone. You could even make them section by section with permissions, if I'm my mistaken, so you wouldn't have a general Damage Control stepping in on a TCG argument, though that might be counterproductive.

Nonetheless, this also helps the staff find out who deserves to rise to the rank of moderator, as you can see who acts how in a sort of power, and then aspirations and such could be taken into account along with their usage of power.

It could also give the DCs time to come into their knowledge/proficiency being perfected (loose usage) in sections like CC or CW before being asked to step forward. Attempts to help the community that really stand out could easily be used in moderator promotions, as this gives those who can do good for the sections but might not be a leader a stage.

More for in the future, overall, but I feel like utilizing the DC member group or equivalent could prove to be a great boon.

[Makο]

...This feels like a weird thing for me to say, but wouldn't this mess with the makeshift balance between mods and normal members?

 

I've been getting a feeling lately that, considering YCM's activity, we might have too many mods. I mean, for all I know there might've been a bunch of demotions, but still...

 

It's just, when I look at the bottom of the list, and the ratio of mods/normal members is like... I dunno, 4/24, something's kinda off.

 

Could just be my weird sensibilities.

[Maeriberii Haan]

...This feels like a weird thing for me to say, but wouldn't this mess with the makeshift balance between mods and normal members?

 

I've been getting a feeling lately that, considering YCM's activity, we might have too many mods. I mean, for all I know there might've been a bunch of demotions, but still...

 

It's just, when I look at the bottom of the list, and the ratio of mods/normal members is like... I dunno, 4/24, something's kinda off.

 

Could just be my weird sensibilities.

 

We're actually quite lacking in mods currently, in my opinion, especially since quite some of the team are not actively around enough.

As for the idea...not sure how to think about it for now. It definitely worth being considered, at the very least.

[CLG Klavier]

Even though we lack mods...it's not that this site is dropping to degeneracy and anarchy. There is occassional spam/flame wars, but that's it really, things are mostly peaceful. No support.

[Blake]

Even though we lack mods...it's not that this site is dropping to degeneracy and anarchy. There is occassional spam/flame wars, but that's it really, things are mostly peaceful. No support.

That has nothing to do with the post, though.

In name alone I mentioned the old Damage Control group, but mentioned it in a manner it had been used before and a new one, not as the name suggests.

If you want to oppose, fine, but at least read what the post is about. We do need more moderators as leaders, and I proposed a stepping stone to such, as there have been cases of members more fit to this plan than straight-up moderation happening in the not so distant past.

[CLG Klavier]

You could start reading MY posts and stop assuming I never read yours. I did it, and I still don't feel a need for this, since as I said, there's very little "damage" around to "control". If it goes for cleaning up topic titles and such, maybe I could agree for that, but I still feel it's unneeded.

[Smear]

I don't see why it would be a bad idea tbh.
Support from me.

[Blake]

You could start reading MY posts and stop assuming I never read yours. I did it, and I still don't feel a need for this, since as I said, there's very little "damage" around to "control". If it goes for cleaning up topic titles and such, maybe I could agree for that, but I still feel it's unneeded.

I just said Damage Control applies to an earlier group, not the actual concept.

Okay, let's give a little backstory.

CC had mods elected. Janitors mostly. One of which was fired, one of which left, one of which is still here. Arguably, only one of them was for to moderate, but the section requires lots of attention.

Now the problem is that, instead of leaders, we got janitors with glorified statuses. Not people who would lead sections ahead, people who would clean the trash. And that's what was sought in the first place.

My proposal boils down to reviving/reinventing this member group with the intent of having janitors for important sections AND sorting out potential candidates in the long run by giving them a stage to perform on.

Instead of janitors with power that can take up leading positions, we can have them as DC/equivalent and wait until a good pick for a leader makes themselves apparent. A few of the team boil down to glorified custodians, anyways.

[CLG Klavier]

Ok, now THAT makes sense and sounds logical.

[Rodrigo]

Due to reasons that some people already know, I support this.

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

So it lets them trial-run potential future mods by giving them smaller responsibilities, while also helping to solve forum maintenence problems, should they arise?

support.

[evilfusion]

Come to think of it, I'm not sure why we DON'T use the Damage Control group anymore for fresh mods, especially because Damage Control doesn't have nearly the potential power scope that regular Mods have, and they themselves aren't at the same level of Supers.

 

Originally, to my experience, Moderators lacked the ability to promote someone to a higher group such as Mod, Super Mod, or Admin. Only Admins (YCMaker) could do this, and he was scarce even then. Damage Control was a permitted group to be promoted to.

 

They were used as alts in some cases because of how Moderator power extended only to specific sections, but DC had no restrictions like that. How this was done, I'm not even sure. And when I got my full promotion, YCMaker had somehow botched it so that I and a few others literally had less power than when we were set to Damage Control. So, I used a DC alt to actually do moderation tasks.

 

In any case, this is a good idea.

[Nathanael D. Striker]

You may be onto something. If this was in effect when I became a mod (I would have been DC), then the uprising that came after wouldn't have happened. And Black, I wasn't fired. I voluntarily agreed to the vote and resigned after it concluded. Being fired would have meant my powers were stripped from the beginning.

So yea, support. And maybe I can*shot*

[Lunar Origins]

I fully support this; while I think we're fine on moderators at the moment, we do lack in culling back things that can be avoided.  Having a damage control subgroup would allow for better policing and give members that actually want to help the site (by telling other people to stop, or reporting people) something to back up otherwise empty verbal warns.

 

It's also a good way to test the reliability of someone who could receive a future promotion, as well.

[Simping For Hina]

I volunteer as tribute. 

[Nathanael D. Striker]

I volunteer as tribute.

Line starts over there since I would like a chance for redemption. Also, it'd be nice to hear from other mods.

[Tentacruel]

If the mod team thinks it will be useful, I'd say go for it.  Support.

[Simping For Hina]

Line starts over there since I would like a chance for redemption. Also, it'd be nice to hear from other mods.

Please do not spam, we are trying to control things around here. Bad enough you're damaging it all. 

 

Support is given, though, to this Damage Control member group- janitors. 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Guys I think it should be decided IF this will be a thing before we try and say who should get it.

 

And that being said I think it's a perfect idea to help make things a bit easier to deal with.

Support.

[Blake]

Basic ideas for application:

• There should be a thread for applications to become Damage Control
• There should be limitations on applicants, such as post count, general activity level, and maybe a few other factors. While post count is a bit barbaric, I don't think 1000+ posts is going to weed out too many applicants, and the mod team could always make exceptions for those who stand out.
• Potentially set a limit on how many DC to a section. CC could get away with, say, 3-4~ DCs, but I doubt a section like Showcase would need more than 1, if any. Giving the bigger sections these DCs also reduces the amount of reports filed per person, making the workload much smaller per person and increasing efficiency, in theory.
• As stated, this can be used to find moderators for the future, as it will reduce the amount of random members being promoted without any idea of what they'll do in power. It gives them a potential to show what they would do and make an impact as someone with the ability to improve the section, with or without the full leadership position. It can also be used to groom them for such/

 

Basic ideas for the group/rules/suggestions:

• Like I said before, possibly limit DC to certain sections, if possible. This way, they're completely contained, and any damage they can do would be easily undone.
• Maybe remove their ability to edit posts that are not their own so that they cannot, say, delete a person's entire first post in RP or equivalent. They would still be able to hide posts, so the ability to edit posts seems superfluous and dangerous.
• Hold them to a standard. If they do not appear to be pulling their weight, be it reports or keeping people in line, remove their power. Deadbeats need not apply.
• Have them sanction wars/events/debates/contests/etc., and oversee them. This can increase the skills of the DCs in an attempt to groom them for potential moderator positions in the future, as the need for one arises. A higher level of understanding of the sections that they policed as DC is optimal for a moderator to have, and makes them a much better leader of the people.

 

Felt like I had more to say but I dun derped.

[Nathanael D. Striker]

You didn't derp Black, you covered most if not all the essentials there. From the looks of it, seems entirely reasonable and well thought out. *applauds*

Though, there are a bit of logistical things to consider like if DC gets access to the Mod Forum and stuff like that. Though, that's relatively minor compared to what's already out.

[Flame Dragon]

While I'm not sure how much use we'll be making out of it in the near future, it is something we should (will based on the mod comments) certainly consider more going forward. I mean, at the very least, its an option we have that we haven't looked at and that is certainly a mistake on our end.

[Night]

While I'm not sure how much use we'll be making out of it in the near future, it is something we should (will based on the mod comments) certainly consider more going forward.

 

Pretty much. 

 

This has always been an option, we just never really utilized it either because there was never a need for it or because it just seemed unnecessary. Practically, the biggest reason for enacting this would be to give potential mods to be a trial run prior to actually promoting them, generally however if we're planning to promote someone and there's any doubt whatsoever in regards to trust, chances are they shouldn't be promoted regardless.  

 

That being said, I've recently proposed in the mod forum that we should be more involved in overseeing new moderators to ensure they're actually doing what they're supposed to be doing, in the past we've pretty much just promoted people and let them pretty much just do whatever, not actually ensuring their upholding their duties. This would essentially assist in that, for that I do like it. Plus the extra bit of protection can't possibly hurt. 

 

I don't however see us ever promoting individuals solely to be DC's nor should they have access to the mod forum and the porn stash along with it. Especially not something absurd like 4 for a single section, far too many cooks in the kitchen. 

 

Activity is never really an issue, most of the time there are about 4-6 of us online regardless and reports tend to get dealt with in a timely matter, we don't need janitors, we've got enough as is. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

[Goose]

I doubt we need this but I'd love to have more of a chance to become mod so I'm down.

[Sleepy]

From what I understand here, mods don't particularly need extra help currently (for the most part), but the idea itself is still well received enough to get some consideration. Besides, as said above; it cannot possibly hurt.

 

I don't see why one wouldn't support the idea, even if just to keep it in mind. Maybe in the future if there is an increase in activity, it'd be a good choice to put it in motion.

 

I personally would like helping out the site, but have never postulated myself as a mod candidate because frankly speaking I don't think I have what it takes to be a leader around here and come up with great innovative ideas to improve some place constantly, though I could do janitor work even if as temporary as a seasonal job, but I guess it is stated above that you won't be likely to promote people without them having the confidence or the goal to eventually rise up to mods. Guess so much for that....

 

 

Anyways, I support~

It can come in handy in the future.