The Election Of A New Staff Member

[Flame Dragon]

Using this to determine who will move on to the election portion.

 

[spoiler=Nomination Results]

Bird, Dova, and Fusion listed for posterity only.

 

For shorthand/recognition purposes:

(◊) is Parentheses

' is Speedroid

A Bigass Colony is ABC

bury the year is Rinne

Darj is Voltex]

HalloHallo is Rewas

I S A A C is Snatch Steal

Kazooie is Bree is Bird is Birdie

Kokichi Oma is Black (G A S P)

Lambdadelta is Hina

Mitch-Arei-Gensou-Engi-tan is Mitch

Order Mario is Saiku

"The Timekeepr" is Dae

The Timekeepr is Striker

White is Winter

W I R E D is Halu

 

Parenthesis: 14 (+1)

• Page 1: Speedroid, Thar, ABC, Yui, (Parenthesis)
• Page 2: Lord CowCow, VCR_CAT
• Page 3: Chaotic Angel, Rinne
• Page 6: The Nyx Avatar
• Page 7: Winter, Sleepy, Striker
• Page 8: Phantom Roxas
• Page 10: Fusion

Lord CowCow: 13 (+1)

• Page 1: Parentheses, J-Max, Black
• Page 2: VCR_CAT, Dova, (Lord CowCow)
• Page 3: Chaotic Angel
• Page 6: Tesability Black, Winter, The Nyx Avatar
• Page 7: Sleepy, Striker, ShimoHkun1
• Page 10: Fusion

Yui: 13

• Page 1: Darj
• Page 2: Lord CowCow, VCR_CAT, Chaos Sonic, Dova, J-Max
• Page 6: Tesability Black, The Nyx Avatar
• Page 7: Kid Gambino, ShimoHkun1, mido9
• Page 10: Fusion
• Page 11: Rewas

Black: 11 (+1)

• Page 1: Parenthesis, Winter, Yui, Halu, (Black)
• Page 2: Lord CowCow, VCR_CAT 
• Page 4: Sunshine Jesse
• Page 6: Krow
• Page 7: Kid Gambino, ShimoHkun1
• Page 10: Fusion

Sleepy: 9

• Page 1: Parentheses, Darj
• Page 2: VCR_CAT
• Page 6: The Nyx Avatar
• Page 7: Kid Gambino, ShimoHkun1
• Page 9: Winter
• Page 10: Polaris, Fusion

Chaos Sonic: 5 (+1)

• Page 2: (Chaos Sonic)
• Page 3: Chaotic Angel
• Page 5: Tesability Black, Saiku
• Page 10: Fusion, Winter

Fusion: 5 - BOWED OUT

• Page 1: Parentheses, Yui
• Page 2: Hina
• Page 4: Phantom Roxas, Sunshine Jesse

Hina: 5 (+1)

• Page 2: Winter, Halu, (Hina)
• Page 4: Sunshine Jesse
• Page 7: Snatch Steal
• Page 10: Fusion

Kazooie: 5 - BOWED OUT

• Page 1: ABC, Yui
• Page 2: Lord CowCow, VCR_CAT
• Page 3: Rinne

Sunshine Jesse: 5 (+1)

• Page 2: Winter, Mitch
• Page 4: (Sunshine Jesse)
• Page 5: Phantom Roxas
• Page 8: vla1ne
• Page 9: Speedroid

Darj: 4 (+1)

• Page 1: Mitch, (Darj)
• Page 2: Dova
• Page 7: Sleepy
• Page 9: Winter

Tesability Black: 4 (+1)

• Page 4: (Tesability Black)
• Page 8: vla1ne
• Page 9: Winter, Speedroid
• Page 11: Chaotic Angel

J-Max: 3 (+1)

• Page 2: Halu, (J-Max)
• Page 4: Phantom Roxas
• Page 9: Winter

Striker: 3 (+1)

• Page 1: Halu
• Page 7: (Striker)
• Page 8: vla1ne
• Page 9: Winter

Dova: 2 - BOWED OUT

• Page 2: VCR_CAT, Speedroid

ABC: 1

• Page 11: Darj

Catterjune: 1

• Page 4: Phantom Roxas

Krow: 1 (+1)

• Page 3: (Krow)
• Page 5: Death Metal

Saiku: 1

• Page 2: Chaos Sonic

Tormented: 1

• Page 8: Speedroid

VCR_CAT: 1 (+1?)

• Page 3: (VCR_CAT?)
• Page 4: Phantom Roxas

Snatch Steal: 0 (+1)

• Page 7: (Snatch Steal)

SK79LinkXyz: -1

• Page 3: (-SK79LinkXyz)

-----

 

This should be the complete list. If I have missed someone, perhaps due to being a nominee who was newly introduced that I missed while scanning, please let me know, so that I may fix it.

 

 

 

We've decided to take the top 10 which will be

 

Parenthesis

Lord CowCow

Yui

Black

Sleepy

Chaos Sonic

Hina

Sunshine Jesse

Darj

Tesability Black

 

We will be using the Alternative Vote method. It was outlined in the other thread, but so people know what to do, just order those names from most wanted to least wanted for the spot. You don't need to pick all 10.

 

PM your choices to the mod team (Sakura, Dad, Zai, Broken, and myself). We will be keeping track of the results. Full mod team can be found here.

 

Two other notes, neither of which are set in stone.

1) We are talking about the possibility of second also getting a mod slot. THIS IS ONLY A POSSIBILITY. I will say by Friday if it will be 1 or 2.

2) We are talking about making the votes themselves public to allow as much transparency as possible.

 

I feel both of these things could be important for how you vote and while, again, ONLY A POSSIBILITY, I want any important information in regards to this to be known.

 

End date for votes is Sunday 11:59 PM PST.

 

Edit: End date added

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Might want to link to all y'all's profiles/write down the exact current name. Took me a moment to remember what Sakura's name was atm

[Flame Dragon]

Fair note. I've add a link to the mod team list.

[Ryusei the Morning Star]

Uh, the votes being public or private need to be revealed before we vote 

 

Speaking for myself, I atleast might change my vote if you guys make it public 

[Northern Sage]

Do we PM all mods or just one?

[Flame Dragon]

Uh, the votes being public or private need to be revealed before we vote 

 

Speaking for myself, I atleast might change my vote if you guys make it public

 

This is why I announced the possibility now. I'll announce that Friday night like with the number of new mods. It burns two days, but thats only half the time. And you can still work on the ballot in the mean time.

 

Do we PM all mods or just one?

All mods. It will result in the team being flood with PMs, but I'm pretty sure this was the know when we were discussing it and no one said anything. I want to guarantees nothing gets overlooked for some random reason.

[Darj]

Leaning towards a public poll, with anonymous votes, and locked so users cannot simply switch their votes back and forth, but allows change through a moderator in the off chance there are changes of mind.

Also, will the nominated users be required to post their proposals, as a campaign of sorts? If so, IMO this thread would be a good place to do so.

[Blake]

Leaning towards a public poll, with anonymous votes, and locked so users cannot simply switch their votes back and forth, but allows change through a moderator in the off chance there are changes of mind.

Also, will the nominated users be required to post their proposals, as a campaign of sorts? If so, IMO this thread would be a good place to do so.

 

Public poll was already turned down. It’s too easy for people to funk with votes that way, as opposed to a 1-and-done vote via PM.

 

You can’t simply lock the thread, because that means no new votes could come in, unless the thread was unlocked just for someone to vote.

 

Seconding the thing about discussing why someone should vote for you.

[Flame Dragon]

Leaning towards a public poll, with anonymous votes, and locked so users cannot simply switch their votes back and forth, but allows change through a moderator in the off chance there are changes of mind.

Also, will the nominated users be required to post their proposals, as a campaign of sorts? If so, IMO this thread would be a good place to do so.

I like the current "PM the active mod team your votes and we'll run the numbers" since it won't cause the members to want to change votes based on how things are going and is better suited to Alternative Vote. I'd like to have how the final vote played out public to maximize transparency for why the winner won.

 

Yea, you are free to use this thread to sell yourself for the job.

 

Also, just a reminded, please PM the whole active mod team. Its annoying, I know, but I want to make sure nothing gets lost in the shuffle.

[Darj]

Then, would it make sense to have a locked poll that only mods can adjust just to keep track of the standings and show them to the public? Although this could influence some user movements like pushing up the candidates with the lower votes at the time.

[Dad]

You can't vote in a poll if the thread is locked.

[Darj]

I see. The idea is pointless in retrospect. You mods can always keep the standings in a thread, but it's not even necessary to know them, and they could even influence users and skew results.

[Blake]

Personally, I would wait until the voting ends to publicize votes, if you choose to. It makes sense to prove the validity of the votes. However... I would probably ask the members to tell you in PM if they're okay with their vote being made public. It's understandable that some may not want it to be known who/where they voted for someone. You could also say the opposite, and ask for them to tell you if they wish to remain anonymous, which takes more liberties but also makes the process much smoother.

 

I'm going to wait to vote until I see what people have to say. I have a basic idea of how I'm voting, but that could still change.

 

Also, um... when does this stage end? The last stage didn't really have a time frame, but it feels like the actual voting should have a solid end date.

[Phantom Roxas]

You say we don't need to pick out all ten, so say that there are people I really do not want on the team. Would it be better to leave them off my voting list entirely, or would it be better to rank them low to better reflect my opposition to them?

[Dad]

You say we don't need to pick out all ten, so say that there are people I really do not want on the team. Would it be better to leave them off my voting list entirely, or would it be better to rank them low to better reflect my opposition to them?

 

I would say leave them off of your list entirely.  It makes things simpler.

 

 

Personally, I would wait until the voting ends to publicize votes, if you choose to. It makes sense to prove the validity of the votes. However... I would probably ask the members to tell you in PM if they're okay with their vote being made public. It's understandable that some may not want it to be known who/where they voted for someone. You could also say the opposite, and ask for them to tell you if they wish to remain anonymous, which takes more liberties but also makes the process much smoother.

 

I'm going to wait to vote until I see what people have to say. I have a basic idea of how I'm voting, but that could still change.

 

Also, um... when does this stage end? The last stage didn't really have a time frame, but it feels like the actual voting should have a solid end date.

 

As far as an end date goes, we haven't 100% settled on anything yet.  But I believe Saturday would be reasonable.

[Blake]

I already gave a bit of a speech on page 1 of the nomination thread, but I suppose I should do one here, as well.

 

If I'm honest... I really didn't expect to be nominated by many people, much less enough to be consistently in the top cut of the nomination phase. I put myself out there because I felt like I would be upset with myself if I chose not to, and that maybe if I put myself forward, things would work out. I was pleasantly surprised as the nominations came in for me. Thank you to everyone who nominated me for this position. And anything I could say was really said already in the first thread, except for one thing...

 

I'm going to be up front: I have no immediate plans of action if I am elected.

 

I believe that plans put forward when you are asked about becoming a moderator or trying to sell yourself as one... Are just pretty words. It's not that the person saying them doesn't mean it, by any means, but that they often fall through, either due to opposition or to simply not working out. I have no desire to make grand promises that don't pan out, for one reason or another. There's no specialized section to tackle, and this election isn't for a Super Moderator position. Whoever gets elected will, realistically, not revolutionize the site. This isn't what you should be looking for right now, lest you miss the forest for the trees. This is for a normal moderator, not even a specialized moderator. They could grow into a speciality with time, or be moved there as needed, but... That just doesn't seem to be the aim of this election, at least not to me.

 

It should be looking for someone who can represent the changes the team is willing to make, and the memberbase with it. It's been a long time since things have been this smooth overall, and progress is a wonderful thing. And for a few of the candidates... I can see them serving as such. Others not as much. But I don't want to drag anyone down or push anyone too hard, so I'll leave commenting on that to my fellow candidates.

 

I'm not even having anyone proofread this. I want this stream of consciousness to go out there, regardless of any impact it has on my position in this election. I don't want this to be a post pushing myself, I want this to be a prompt for anyone voting to consider their votes by. It would make me so happy to be elected to a position where I can actually make a difference... But I want you guys to vote for who you believe benefits the site most, who you genuinely feel will lead to the betterment of the team moving forward, who you can believe in.

[Darj]

I would say leave them off of your list entirely.  It makes things simpler.

 

Alright. So if I understand the process correctly, we are voting with numbers. Then, if there are candidates I want to skip, I should start my vote with 10 anyway, is that correct? I mean, If I, for instance, only want to vote for, let's say, 7 candidates, my top candidate gets 10, then 9, 8, and so on until the last one gets a 4?

[Dad]

Alright. So if I understand the process correctly, we are voting with numbers. Then, if there are candidates I want to skip, I should start my vote with 10 anyway, is that correct? I mean, If I, for instance, only want to vote for, let's say, 7 candidates, my top candidate gets 10, then 9, 8, and so on until the last one gets a 4?

 

Not quite.  

 

You can start your vote with 1 or 10, it doesn't matter.  What we need to know is, in order, who do you want your votes to go to first?  

 

Your list could look like this:

 

 

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
5. E

 

Or it could look like this:

 

 

10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

 

As long as we have an understanding of you want to vote for before any other candidate, we will tally the remaining votes you've given (each is only worth a point).  So you're not voting with 10 points and spreading them out.  You're casting your vote for up to ten candidates in the order you choose, without having to vote for every candidate.

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

I've got some stuff to say in light of my now official nomination. Considering it's me, I think you will be surprised by my brevity.

 

The first is, well, thank you. To say I have an emotional connection to this site would be an understatement. It's been a part of me for my entire adult life, and I've made lots of friends here. It's helped shaped me into the person I am today, and if I'm being honest, many of the connections I've forged here are just as strong as those with the friends I hang out with every weekend. It's brought me some of my best times, as well as some of my worst. As far as the internet goes, this place is home to me. It just means a lot that the people here respect me enough to elevate me to this nomination. If any of you who nominated me, or anyone else, wants to talk to me about my views on the current state of the site, or just to shoot the wind, my inbox is always open. I don't have anyone blocked, and I'm always open for conversation.

 

Now for business.

 

In the nomination thread, I was one of the first people brought up. I was mentioned by Speedroid, who said something that caught my eye. She said that it seemed like I had a plan, and that I should be given the power to enact it. If you asked anyone who I've talked to extensively about the site, Black, CowCow, hell even Hina, they would say that I'm not the kind of person to hold back some master plan. So I'm going to say my plan right here, right now.

 

I'm going to keep doing exactly what I've been doing.

 

That might be disheartening for some of you to see, but I think it really is my biggest strength. It's no secret why this position is opening up. Communication has suffered, especially over the last year, and it recently was demonstrated that it's more than just a loud minority upset over it. What the team needs is someone with a drive to improve this site. A desire to fix these issues in communication, and help keep the team honest when they treat members unfairly.

 

That's what I've been doing the last year. Pretty much every single mod vs member controversy that has cropped up over the last year, I have involved myself in, to help reach a resolution. Some of them, I was at the center of, pushing the team toward improvement even when they insisted everything was fine. And, flame dragon can affirm, that as much as I have been doing in public, I have been fighting just as hard in PMs to mods, negotiating ways in which the team could handle issues better, and improve upon their mistakes.

 

So, if I end up getting voted into this open position, I'm going to keep doing that. All that drive I've shown over the last year, I'm going to keep up. Hell, I plan to work even harder this year than the last, because I know I can do more. With a position on the mod team, my points will be able to reach further, and I won't need to sift through quite as much for my arguments to reach the mod forum, because I'll be able to post directly to there.

 

But, if I don't get the position, that's totally fine, too. There are others in this election who share my drive to improve the site, and I'm sure that even if I don't become a mod at the end of all this, someone else will be able to do the mantle proud. And I will keep doing exactly what I've been doing. I will fight to improve relations between the mod team and the members, and keep both sides honest, just as I have. You can vote for me, or you can vote for someone else. No matter what happens, I'm not going to slow down one bit, I'm not going to give up, I'm not going to disappear.

 

I'm not some genius. I'm not an amazing debater, I'm not universally liked. I am not perfectly objective, and I lose my temper more often than I'd like to. But the trait I think I have, greater than anyone else here, is a drive to improve the way things are. I'd like to think that the work I've done over the last year really has helped things to improve. The existence of this thread helps me believe that. I'm going to keep on making this site better, no matter what my member group ends up being in a week.

 

See? Told y'all it would be brief.

[Yui]

1) We are talking about the possibility of second also getting a mod slot. THIS IS ONLY A POSSIBILITY. I will say by Friday if it will be 1 or 2.

As I stated during the nomination phase, a single mod would only just barely accomplish the goal of having more voices on the team. It should by all means be two mods, though I'll drop the stance about it probably being one new mod and a returning one since that happens to be perfectly likely considering this election's frontrunners during nominations. And if that doesn't turn out to be the case (such as if Black and I get it, or two people entirely new to the position), it should be fine anyway. Just one mod doesn't seem good though.

 

Anyway. I guess while I'm here, I should do this thing the other present frontrunners are up to with declaring their intent and then go cast in my votes. And my plans - should I end up returning to modship - greatly depend on what goes down with this election. Except, not really.

 

If elected, while I'll be primarily put on to be an extra voice for the team, I'll be looking at the threads and such Birdie set into motion during her brief stint as PR mod, and seeing about bringing those back into life and just in general improving member-mod relationships. The mod team has problems, and we all know it, but one of the biggest ones has consistently been for at least a couple years now that the team has an oddly rocky relationship with the memberbase. Working on improving our public relations should at least be a step toward fixing that. I also want to get the active mods to improve on their obvious flaws, but that seems to be something everyone's already working on. Good stuff, guys! Should the team decide two mods is a good idea (which it totally is) and I get put on alongside somebody who's new to the team, my immediate plan aside from the stuff I've already brought up will be helping them adjust to their new position. Having that power and responsibility all of a sudden can be a little daunting, so it's good to help make the transition to modhood for somebody new to the job as smooth as possible.

 

Honestly, I suck at planning. Feel free to quote and ask me about my intent as mod if anything about the above seems off. Now then, I've got some votes to cast. May the best man (or woman) win, y'all.

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

2) We are talking about making the votes themselves public to allow as much transparency as possible.

Also, don't do this. This is a very, very bad idea. Nobody thinks you and all the other mods are going to work together to rig this, and making votes public will just cause drama. Not "legitimate issues that are written off as drama". Actual drama that will help nothing.

[Darj]

Will also drop some words:

 

First of all, thank you to those who voted me. It's really nice to see that I'm not as unnoticed as I sometimes think I am, and that some of you consider me good enough to be nominated for a mod position. You may have been a few, but I truly appreciate each one of your votes and opinions.

 

Now, as for what I can offer. I want to start with, as some pointed out in the nominations, I have shown to be relatively collected, and will read/hear what you have to say. I can't say I'm perfect on this regard though, as my closest friend in YCM, as well as some YCMers I hung out with years back in Duel Portal groups may know by now, but I am aware of my flaws from back and then now, and I'm always working with improving myself.

Also, it should be evident that I'm not the most popular in the block, and I really can't say many users here actually know me well. And these may sound like negative traits to have but, I consider that here lies a strength: I can have a more neutral or impartial perspective, which may be of interest for you and the mod team.

 

So, I don't have big promises nor big plans either, but I'm really interested in becoming someone you can look for when you want to be listened. I may not be too active, but I spend enough time in the forum enough to notice many things, and in this way I have familiarized with most of you, even if we don't interact that much. This allows me to be more emphatic and understanding towards you.

 

That aside, I can say I will stick around in my preferred sections, although I have exploring more other sections so I am not completely isolated in Custom Cards and TCG sections. If there is anything I am planning, is supporting the ideas thrown in the "Revamping Casual Cards" thread. There is also a little project I have had in mind for a while, which is my own "Custom Card top picks" thread, if only as an attempt of promoting activity in CC, although this is something I can very well do without any mod position. I won't promise I will do this ASAP, though.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Why are we doing speeches? I HAVE NO NOTES

 

Uh..I mean all I have to say is that if I'm a mod I can make sure that people get heard better. And can, ya know...bring up the issues directly. I think most people know by now how I always respond if messaged and go out of my way to point out issues I see/people mention.

And I guess there's also how I'm actually pretty good at making sure people do things.

 

.....that's uh....that's all I got.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

I guess I better do something since most of the others are...so I'm gonna just be 100% truthful with you all.

 

-Music to Talk To-

 

Well, firstly I just want to thank those five who nominated me for this. To be 100% truthful, I didn't think I'd get any except for the 1 I gave myself. But, at the same time, I am truly thankful that others think I would do a good job as a Moderator. Truthfully, I really was wanting to be a Moderator ever since 2008 in November when I first joined. After all, who can say that they didn't want to be a Moderator when they first got here? A good portion would actually say they probably did. Nevertheless, I'm getting off topic...back to the matter at hand.

 

If I'm elected President Mod, I can honestly say I would do my damnedest to try and reestablish good terms between Mods and Members. As many people know, the relationship between Mods and Members has been pretty rocky as of late. And for the position of being that extra Mod on the team, I actually want to work and voice the Member's issues to the Mod team. Of course, everyone else has said that here as well and most of them will probably be able to implement it in a manner that I might not be able to. Nevertheless, I believe that I can do this if given the opportunity to. Hell, the least one can do, is try.

 

Now have I been like many of the others here and stepped up to the plate to help make the forum 100% great? I can truthfully answer with no. I've been somewhat of a recluse, hiding in namely the Creative Commons and RP. Used to be big in the C&O section, but alas, the Vongola HQ has had it's glory. I've been told that there has been little effort from me to help with things elsewhere in the site, this is true. In my time here, I haven't been too much help except when it comes to RP, Creative Commons, and a few things here and there. TCG and the like, I barely work in anything there. I suppose it's namely because of the structure there and my lack of knowledge about the Official Card Grammar and the like. Not only this, I haven't helped too much in regards to anything else, except for trying to better RP section.

 

But it's a new year...and I've been wanting and trying to find ways to help out more in the forum. And I honestly feel, like me getting my foot in this door is the one way to do that. I told you about me being honest in this...and this is me being honest. This might be a chance for me to help out a lot more than I ever did just hiding in RP.

[mido9]

Also, don't do this. This is a very, very bad idea. Nobody thinks you and all the other mods are going to work together to rig this, and making votes public will just cause drama. Not "legitimate issues that are written off as drama". Actual drama that will help nothing.

Fully agree, this is just going to lead to "X got banned, funk you mido/winter/rewas/whoever for voting for *whoever got him banned*"