Plans For The Future

[Aix]

I feel like all this drama is really over the top for a declining forum. Yes, we're declining. Maybe someday we'll get a second wind, but I doubt it. Doesn't mean we're close to our deathbed, I'd wager we have at least a few years left because we have core members who still treat this site as their internet home and the occasional new member who wanders in and settles down. Considering this, we're not setting down a new Constitution for future generations of this site to help it thrive and prosper, we just need to make things orderly and fun to live out the rest of this site’s lifetime in peace. So let's keep cool, please?

Anyway, I just wanted to give my thoughts on how things should proceed.

1. PUBLICIZING DISCUSSION
Regarding the transparency issue, I think it wouldn't hurt too much to simply move some of mod discussion out into the public forum. There are some stuff that would be better discussed among mods only (mainly to deal with warnings and punishments, because that's just asking for a shitstorm), but most of site changes and plans shouldn't have to be first formulated in some top secret meeting room. I can't think of anything to hide; mods should be able to survive under the scrutiny of the public.

The greatest benefit would be that we would be able to have more and varied voices, which is always a good thing as we get more suggestions and more options. In the latest PR nomination, there were some nominations that should have been made, but weren't. The other thing is that letting it out exposes the weaknesses of the mod team, if we funk something up, people can point out why. Nothing to hide, guys.

Possible problems would be shitposting and things that don't need to be in the thread that members inevitably post, so let's still make it a forum that only mods can post in so it doesn't dilute the serious discussion. Another thread can be made to allow members to voice their opinions. It can be argued that we can remove stupid sheet from the mod discussion thread and open to the public, but there's too much stuff that falls into the cracks of the grey area between worthy of mod action and not worthy of mod action. An example of this grey stuff is Winter who is a plain detriment to most if not all discussions.

This is a small community, so I feel this sort of setup is possible. The original system saw its best use when YCM was flourishing with more members.

2. ORGANIZING THE DISCUSSION
Bad communication is not only a flaw of the mod team, but also the members. We should strive to keep the objective of each discussion clear. For example, when we elected the PR mod, we should have debated what the precise criteria are, because everyone had slightly if not completely different ideas about the traits necessary for PR mod. The moderators really did not properly consider public approval as a criteria for a PR, and I think we should have touched on it a bit.

3. CLEAN UP THE MOD TEAM
One of the major problems of the mod team is our inactivity. So much discussion gets stagnated and stalled because of mod inactivity. Besides mod nominations, most of what happens is a result of a single mod spearheading it. Recently it was all Black. Before it was me, Night, and maybe others I don't remember. This is simply because mod discussion is stupid slow when people don't post and it even falls off our minds.

A common argument for keeping mods is that there is no need to demote them, but having a small and active team helps with coordination and decision-making. It allows all of the team to be on the same page and there is no uncertainty from waiting for inactive mods to weigh in. Quite a few problems I recall were caused by the team not being on the same page and I don't doubt it would cause problems in the future. Any inactive moderator returning would undoubtedly not be on the same page.

I'm going to weigh in a tiny bit on mods that I have something to say about.
 

evilfusion: I really think evilfusion is a good mod. He is professional and he is the voice of prudence in the mod team. However, it's been argued that this doesn't work when he's so inactive nowadays, his prudent judgement is no use if he's out of touch with the situation. I think that if the mods can't explain to him the situation reasonably well, then any judgement to be passed by the mods will be questionable.

Night: He's wanted to move on for a long time and we can agree that he's basically gone. We can keep his empty account as a mascot. "Promote" him to God. However, he's not part of the mod team any more.

Rai: He's just not really here.

Roxas: I feel like the reason we've never questioned him was because he has been a moderator for a long time. However, I believe he needs to be looked into. He seems too biased and he has been childish regarding Winter.

Aix: I'm stepping down. Only reason I didn't do this before because I thought maybe in the future I'd like to dick around with my mod powers some more. But no, my interest in this site is dead, my attempts to revive it have just revealed how dead it is. Nai has to drag me into the mod forum and I just half-ass it, so there's no benefit of me being here. Maybe you can make Zai an RP mod, though RP never needed much moderation.

This thread looks organized, but I just wanted to put out some unrefined/unrevised opinions I had before I just call it quits. What are the Plans For The Future? Well, I'm going to stick around a bit out of curiosity, and then put this site behind me. Good luck with your plans in the future.

[Blake]

Well... Maybe I didn't make as many enemies as I thought I did.

 

My own weigh-in was more widespread, but I'm glad to see I'm not alone in some of them. And I';m sorry if I rubbed you the wrong way. Given timing, I think this is unrelated, but want to be safe.

[BANZAI!!!!]

I feel like all this drama is really over the top for a declining forum. Yes, we're declining. Maybe someday we'll get a second wind, but I doubt it. Doesn't mean we're close to our deathbed, I'd wager we have at least a few years left because we have core members who still treat this site as their internet home and the occasional new member who wanders in and settles down. Considering this, we're not setting down a new Constitution for future generations of this site to help it thrive and prosper, we just need to make things orderly and fun to live out the rest of this site’s lifetime in peace. So let's keep cool, please?

 

Anyway, I just wanted to give my thoughts on how things should proceed.

 

1. PUBLICIZING DISCUSSION

Regarding the transparency issue, I think it wouldn't hurt too much to simply move some of mod discussion out into the public forum. There are some stuff that would be better discussed among mods only (mainly to deal with warnings and punishments, because that's just asking for a shitstorm), but most of site changes and plans shouldn't have to be first formulated in some top secret meeting room. I can't think of anything to hide; mods should be able to survive under the scrutiny of the public.

 

The greatest benefit would be that we would be able to have more and varied voices, which is always a good thing as we get more suggestions and more options. In the latest PR nomination, there were some nominations that should have been made, but weren't. The other thing is that letting it out exposes the weaknesses of the mod team, if we funk something up, people can point out why. Nothing to hide, guys.

 

Possible problems would be shitposting and things that don't need to be in the thread that members inevitably post, so let's still make it a forum that only mods can post in so it doesn't dilute the serious discussion. Another thread can be made to allow members to voice their opinions. It can be argued that we can remove stupid sheet from the mod discussion thread and open to the public, but there's too much stuff that falls into the cracks of the grey area between worthy of mod action and not worthy of mod action. An example of this grey stuff is Winter who is a plain detriment to most if not all discussions.

 

This is a small community, so I feel this sort of setup is possible. The original system saw its best use when YCM was flourishing with more members.

 

2. ORGANIZING THE DISCUSSION

Bad communication is not only a flaw of the mod team, but also the members. We should strive to keep the objective of each discussion clear. For example, when we elected the PR mod, we should have debated what the precise criteria are, because everyone had slightly if not completely different ideas about the traits necessary for PR mod. The moderators really did not properly consider public approval as a criteria for a PR, and I think we should have touched on it a bit.

 

3. CLEAN UP THE MOD TEAM

One of the major problems of the mod team is our inactivity. So much discussion gets stagnated and stalled because of mod inactivity. Besides mod nominations, most of what happens is a result of a single mod spearheading it. Recently it was all Black. Before it was me, Night, and maybe others I don't remember. This is simply because mod discussion is stupid slow when people don't post and it even falls off our minds.

 

A common argument for keeping mods is that there is no need to demote them, but having a small and active team helps with coordination and decision-making. It allows all of the team to be on the same page and there is no uncertainty from waiting for inactive mods to weigh in. Quite a few problems I recall were caused by the team not being on the same page and I don't doubt it would cause problems in the future. Any inactive moderator returning would undoubtedly not be on the same page.

 

I'm going to weigh in a tiny bit on mods that I have something to say about.

 

evilfusion: I really think evilfusion is a good mod. He is professional and he is the voice of prudence in the mod team. However, it's been argued that this doesn't work when he's so inactive nowadays, his prudent judgement is no use if he's out of touch with the situation. I think that if the mods can't explain to him the situation reasonably well, then any judgement to be passed by the mods will be questionable.

 

Night: He's wanted to move on for a long time and we can agree that he's basically. We can keep his empty account as a mascot. "Promote" him to God. However, he's not part of the mod team any more.

 

Rai: He's just not really here.

 

Roxas: I feel like the reason we've never questioned him was because he has been a moderator for a long time. However, I believe he needs to be looked into. He seems too biased and he has been childish regarding Winter.

 

Aix: I'm stepping down. Only reason I didn't do this before because I thought maybe in the future I'd like to dick around with my mod powers some more. But no, my interest in this site is dead, my attempts to revive it have just realized how dead it is. Nai has to drag me into the mod forum and I just half-ass it, so there's no benefit of me being here. Maybe you can make Zai an RP mod, though RP never needed much moderation.

This thread looks organized, but I just wanted to put out some unrefined/unrevised opinions I had before I just call it quits. What are the Plans For The Future? Well, I'm going to stick around a bit out of curiosity, and then put this site behind me. Good luck with your plans in the future.

 

Sad to see you go kid. Was looking forward to working with you.

 

I made my thoughts about the mod team self-policing clear in the mod forum, might as well do so here too. I think its a good idea and we should hold ourselves more accountable to be active and productive.

 

Also giving me RP would make me the happiest duck on earth <3

[Ryusei the Morning Star]

Thank you for your civility in this Aix

[goddamnit names are a pain]

I told this f***boi yesterday I was working on this post.

Oh well.

But yeah, it's pretty much exactly this.

I'll make some bigger remarks later, but basically I 100% agree with this post.

 

Currently the mod system has too many inactive people, and as a result, this whole PR mod thing was handled rather shoddily.

 

I still plan on addressing specifics, but basically: mods shut down candidates for their own reasons, which was a fallacy of sorts, rather than addressing specific candidates in the thread, save for Black and a handful of other rare times. The opinions for nomination going forward need to be public, made 100% clear, and need at least half of the mod team discussing it.This time....was kind of terrible. Zai was nominated with little to no support, and apparently received ample votes "from the mod team". That logic is unsound, because we never got to see most of it, and because this was supposed to be in the people's hands. Plenty of other candidates stepped forward and were shot down for reasons I still question and would like to see information on. If there exists such public information, please link me, as I have missed it. 

 

Also, the system purge is direly needed because the current one has too many bricks in it, even aside from the people that already have shown time and time again they don't deserve to be a moderator.

On another note, a new super mod or two would be needed and desired, but that's another discussion. I don't entirely see candidates on the current mod team for it, either.

 

 

EDIT: Also, while I can't change sheet, I'd think Zai would fit RP mod more than being an PR mod. That's all.

[Blake]

If we have the second PR Mod being cleared up, due to Zai moving to RP... I'd be willing to support Hina as the second PR Mod.

 

I know it's not neccesarily a choice ANYONE would agree with, barring maybe 3 people, but... Yeah.

 

But only if more of the team gets cleaned up.

[Ryusei the Morning Star]

 I'd think Zai would fit RP mod more than being an PR mod. That's all.

Seconded. Birdie seems like she can hold that front down pretty well based on my convos with her. If she's holding her own, I don't see why Zai shouldn't slowly progress to being a RP mod in due time

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

I hope you'll stay around, maybe this forum will change with the new leadership. I opposed Zai as a PR mod, but if he's gonna get back into RP, that section might come back to life. We've just lost a lot of people recently. Kook, Spinny, etc. I'd suck to lose another vet permanently from the forum :/

Since this is my section I should say.

Zai is always into RP he's just slooooow.

And RP isn't dead. Far from it. It's actually extremely active.... >.>

 

A-anyway. Aix I knew you were leaving at some point but still. I am experiencing many many emotions and I'm sure you understand it quite well so um...

Bye bye? I am not sure if you're leaving entirely or not ^^;

Can I have RP via marriage?

I will read the rest just felt like saying that.

[BANZAI!!!!]

If we have the second PR Mod being cleared up, due to Zai moving to RP... I'd be willing to support Hina as the second PR Mod.

 

I know it's not neccesarily a choice ANYONE would agree with, barring maybe 3 people, but... Yeah.

 

But only if more of the team gets cleaned up.

RP doesn't really need much moderation. Between Nai and myself simply being on the mod team, it should be fine. Its been growing slightly, but hardly enough that it requires dedicated attention.

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

RP doesn't really need much moderation. Between Nai and myself simply being on the mod team, it should be fine.

dorian, too.

 

OT: I knew this was coming, and agree with everything here, as would be expected from me.

[Aix]

Since this is my section I should say.

Zai is always into RP he's just slooooow.

And RP isn't dead. Far from it. It's actually extremely active.... >.>

 

A-anyway. Aix I knew you were leaving at some point but still. I am experiencing many many emotions and I'm sure you understand it quite well so um...

Bye bye? I am not sure if you're leaving entirely or not ^^;

Can I have RP via marriage?

I will read the rest just felt like saying that.

Maybe in the future I will pop into RP, but really, currently, I visit this site maybe twice a day at most for a minute or two to scroll through the front page and not really visiting any sections.

[Wahrheit]

Is there some internal mod policy that mandates a 100% roll call vote before taking any action at all? How exactly does this lead to stagnation?

[goddamnit names are a pain]

If we have the second PR Mod being cleared up, due to Zai moving to RP... I'd be willing to support Hina as the second PR Mod.

 

I know it's not neccesarily a choice ANYONE would agree with, barring maybe 3 people, but... Yeah.

 

But only if more of the team gets cleaned up.

Many people have shown that Hina or Gigs fits the bill, even if the mod team has their "issues" with it. They really should be able to weigh in (the mods), but for this particular mod, they should have the least amount of say.

The biggest issue people have with this particular nomination is that it looks like you all went and had your own election as mods, which isn't okay, lol.

I appreciate all the effort you put into discussing candidates in that thread, but you are almost the only mod to do it, which is another part of the issue.

 

Simply put, the lazy mods and busy mods need to go. Even if this site doesn't warrant much moderation, it does not excuse BAD moderation.

Thanks for retiring in what little style you had, Aix mah boi

[VCR_CAT]

I'd be willing to support Hina as the second PR Mod.

 

This is the part where I weigh in, and say I do not. While I know I should trust that Hina is able to put the effort to be the approachable person looking out for everyone that we want the PR mod to be, I can't believe myself when I say those words. I would honestly prefer that someone else be considered for the position.

[Ryusei the Morning Star]

If rai is being retired, why not make Hina a General mod, and put giga in the role of PR

 

Dad the alum general mod has a pretty good relation with Hina (seeing that he supported her in her modship quest) surely he can keep her under his wing for a while to assuage VCR's concerns

[Tourmaline]

I'm willing to let myself be on a tight leash under Dad as well because my desire to be an excellent caretaker and moderator are very sincere.

[goddamnit names are a pain]

 

I'm willing to let myself be on a tight leash under Dad as well because my desire to be an excellent caretaker and moderator are very sincere.

And here I was expecting you to want to be on a tight leash under Dad for other reasons.

 

But yeah, Hina and Gigs have my full support if the mod team goes with an approach like this.
They sometimes go misunderstood, methinks, but both of them have also shown the capability and sincerity in doing the job.
As well as the level headed-ness.

 

Point number one should go without saying, but yeah, people, discuss that too.
I addressed it a few times, though it might have been missed in what all I said.
tl;dr, You guys need to be public about opinions and stuff as a whole, not just mod nomination, but especially so.

 

EDIT: I swear this sheet used to merge posts.

[Sleepy]

It is definitely true we have some issues in this site.

 

Mods don't act out of malice or anything like that like Winter seems to imply, but perhaps they have gotten progressively more loose and tolerant about their own practices, relied more and more over time on discussing at the mod forum when in many cases the transparency problem would have been easily fixed by discussing at a public place. They also have grown more lenient towards inactivity. Less and less mods are required because one can't expect some of them to even appear at all. This needs to be fixed.

 

Though the regular members aren't off the hook either. Many regular members don't know how much a position can burn one out, and I've only lead a small club and a couple group projects in the past to testify. People sometimes just don't cooperate. You can have the best intentions at heart and big plans, but if nobody else even flinches it all just gains weight.

 

A few friends and I over the years have gotten our own momentary bursts where we tried to revitalize CC for example. We'd eventually post at every thread of the front page of our target section, and in my case it'd be as detailed as possible and we'd make some entries of our own, only to finish up tired and burdened and have little to no feedback or replies even from the threads we posted on. Maybe it would be better if we somehow could agree to do this at an agreed upon time/date and hope for said appointment to be one with more other members. We maybe could start something up. Bottom line, the community putting in effort is essential to make efforts for improvement work at the community. A plan falls flat and I've seen mods accused of not having the right mindset or not putting in effort.... I want to believe otherwise and have seen most mods try something up at some point at different sections.

 

I have my doubts on how much it can prosper though since some factors are just plain out of anybody's power. Yugioh's game state is bad. I don't think it has much it can do because it isn't a game that can backtrack easily, but in one way or another it affects this site. Then the card maker which has been outdated and broken for a while now, essentially rotting away at the entrance of the page which is sad because that's exactly how I originally came to this place. I just wanted to draw my cards and then post them for others to see how cool they were, and I eventually grew roots here and improved in a lot of ways. The few members nowadays that do make it past those hurdles might be turned off by the lack of activity on their content or by a bad first impression, which I've seen even some more regular members leave for something I missed.

 

 

 

Will miss seeing you around. You are one of the members I recognize by name and even if we don't chat, this forum is part of my world and I still deem you part of this forum as inactive as you might be. I hope the best for you in the future and hope the site can at least maintain itself, if not prosper in the future. Cheers and I hope you enjoy whatever you move on to in your life. One only truly gets old when the nostalgia for old days and people outweighs our present and future and the world starts leaving us behind in another age. I know you'll stay for a little while so this is a rather unnecessary farewell-like message, but I'm feeling a little older ^^"

[Sethera]

Aix I'm sad to see you go.

It was fun to tease you and call you a scrub. And complain about your laziness. Now that you're leaving, I don't know who I'm going to fire shots at anymore.

 

In all seriousness, you were one of the first people to, well, not reach out to me, but accept me, and not ignore me. You were fun to be around and a nice person. It was always great being in RP chats with you because you came up with some of the most insane, OP ideas, plus you spammed scenery porn like it was going out of season. When you were active, you did quite a bit, showing that you can do some pretty amazing things when you try. You're a happy, eccentric nerd and proud of it.

 

So...I'll miss you, you big lazy scrub.

[)e//!s0P]

I'm sad to see you go. I time to time go to your faq post and use it for stuff.

 

 

 

Thanks for your service.

[Dad]

I'm willing to let myself be on a tight leash under Dad as well because my desire to be an excellent caretaker and moderator are very sincere.

 

You don't need to be on some leash from me.  You're not a God damn house pet.  You've shown the ability to reign it in when it's necessary, and to distinguish bias from stupidity.  There's a funking reason I vouched for you.  And for some funking reason it angers the funk outta me that you feel like you need to be under my beck and call for a funking job you already know you can do.  "Believe in the me that believes in you."

 

Aix: I'm stepping down. Only reason I didn't do this before because I thought maybe in the future I'd like to dick around with my mod powers some more. But no, my interest in this site is dead, my attempts to revive it have just revealed how dead it is. Nai has to drag me into the mod forum and I just half-ass it, so there's no benefit of me being here. Maybe you can make Zai an RP mod, though RP never needed much moderation.

 

Aix I known you for a long time.  I think long as I been a member here.  Just wanted to show my appreciation.  You've been patient, hard working, and though you weren't the first to turn the RP section around, your effort there has caused it to blossom.  Thanks for tolerating this guy right here, and the rest of the section's bullshit.  That ain't to say you ain't been around nowhere else.  But it's how I know you, and how I met you.  You're leaving some big funking shoes to fill.  I only hope the section makes it without you.

 

Sayonara.  And I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for.

[Tourmaline]

You're right. That was uncharacteristic of me. Thank you for punching me in a Kamina-esque manner.

 

I don't need to be on a leash. Not for anyone. Rather, I would prove my merit through effort and, separately, discussion with Dad if any help is needed. I have all the confidence I could do the job very well and better than most of the moderators the site has had. I have the willpower and dedication to duty and excellence for it.

 

Edited for eloquence. One ought use the gift of the gab if they can.

[Ryusei the Morning Star]

Giga for PR mod guys?

 

If anyone has consistently tried to move the site towards unity, it's been him. Fresh Blood might not be a bad thing

[Dad]

Giga for PR mod guys?

 

If anyone has consistently tried to move the site towards unity, it's been him. Fresh Blood might not be a bad thing

 

Idk how true this is since I was absent for the whole scandal nonsense or w/e, so you won't get any argument from me.  Feel free to ignore this post.  My support is irrelevant.

[Ryusei the Morning Star]

Idk how true this is since I was absent for the whole scandal nonsense or w/e, so you won't get any argument from me.  Feel free to ignore this post.  My support is irrelevant.

Overblown or non-existent in pear's case. There's a ton I don't agree w/ pear on ranging from rep quotas to politics, but one cannot deny that he's been busting his ass going around talking to everyone trying to broker a ceasefire. The mod team may have issues with him, but I think we've established the mod team's needs aren't supreme here. You're gonna have to work with people who might at first make you uneasy. Pear has tried to bring back CAC with his DP thing. He's certainly made the whole last 2-3 days less explosive than they might have otherwise been. He's got support from YCM's left and right. 

 

He's a guy that y'all should give a chance to. Look Aix is right, YCM is rotting from the inside. We're hemorrhaging veterans. Spinny and Raeg are gone guys. It doesn't matter if you're worried some mole existed (there was none) or if you're still hung up about some year old drama with sakura. Move on and look for YCM's future. 

 

Pear needs a seat at the table