okay, here goes. STAND BY FOR SPAM.
@MichaelMrozek Treating comments like a discussion forum is counter to the stack exchange format. The comment system even tells you that you should take it to chat if you wish to have a discussion. Someone who has steadily provided valuable answers should be aware of the SE model, so hopefully a small nudge would be enough to make them understand what is and what is not appropriate.
@StrixVaria I think we have the opportunity to expand into some of these areas, but we're going to need to 'jumpstart' the feedback loop here. I think we need to use our resources wisely on things that are likely to cause the greatest return on investment for the site.
@TimStone This is kind of what I was getting at when I said in my nomination that we're in the big leagues now - we need to be aware that although video games are fun, we've also got a responsibility to live up to the SE brand. I don't want this to go to the extreme of becoming a boring and bland place to be, but I think we should be aware of our responsibility.
@GraceNote I feel like as I gained in reputation, all of my posts were already viewed and held to a different standard than other users. Plus, all of this is google indexed, and despite my desire for anonymity I'm certain someday this will be tracked back to me. I've tried to always post responsibly and recognize that what I post is a matter of public record.
@Noctrine I try to only vote on a question if I feel like I could justify my vote on meta at a later date. I think I'd want to keep this in mind no matter how significant or insignificant my moderation actions are.
@JohnoBoy I think it can sometimes be problematic, which is why I don't have some of these badges already. On the scale of offenses, however, I feel like it's probably more on the "mild annoyance" end of the scale. I want to believe these people are interested and investing in the long term health of the site.
@badp DOTA games are this way for me. The questions and answers read like absolute gibberish. Things that require immediate attention are generally obvious regardless of the context, and in these instances in the past I've asked for help on chat from people who are more familiar with the terminology.
@NickT As much as I'd love this, I don't think it's possible. So much of this site operates in a gray area that is neither black or white. However, we all have a little bit of moderator power in us to make calls about these gray areas, and that's what makes the site great. As a "big M" Moderator, I'd want to explore what can be codified and make sure that it is clear.
@LessPop_MoreFizz New users are always going to be an issue - this is actually a good problem to have! New users don't tend to read first before they jump in to participate, so we have to be gentle in our reminders so as not to scare them off. We also have to remember that things that are obvious to us as "power users" are often completely oblique and nonsensical to outsiders.
@Resorath The moderator's job is to intervene in exceptional situations. Most of us 'non-mods' have a limited moderation ability however, and that means that we need to communicate clearly and work together. I abhor close/open and comment fighting, since I think it sends a bad message to the community at large.
@GraceNote I'm a very logical person, and I like to look at issues from different perspectives. I think I'd bring a calm presence and a balancing force to the moderator team.
@LessPop_MoreFizz Infra-red.
@LessPop_MoreFizz Downvoting is what happens to bad questions here. However, I think we need to be careful to make sure we explain clearly how to properly participate in the site. Downvoting is an anonymous process, and should be accompanied by suggestions for improvement wherever possible.
@StrixVaria Sometimes fun crutches require reevaluation.
@LessPop_MoreFizz I see many downvoted questions and answers in a given day, so I'm not sure what is meant by "downvote-phobia." Many of the flags I've personally sent up were answers that should have been comments instead. I think this is mostly because of new users who are unaccustomed to the SE model. This is a new concept for the gaming community, and we should expect a learning curve.
@NickT I think closing it, but commenting on the question about how it could be improved is a good first step. If the asker abandons the question, depending on how different the "good" question is, I would either edit it or ask a new question.
@AshleyNunn I don't think every flag needs a comment - when it's clear that the person meant to be offensive, there's no need to engage them directly. In most cases though, I feel like when we give anonymous feedback about something, we should be following that up with a suggestion to the person in order to help them be a better contributor.
@StrixVaria Incent people to play these games, and ask questions, and more questions and answers will appear. There are many ways of doing this, and I think the current and past promotions are evidence of that. I think we can reach out as "G.SE ambassadors" to these communities to an extent as well, although this can be tricky, as this type of activity is often viewed as spam.
@spugsley I think when a question sparks a discussion on Meta, that meta thread should be linked from the question's comments. This brings the asker into the discussion, and gets them involved in determining the question's fate.
@Noctrine Tags. Tags are a big, fat, nasty mess. I do my part to try and bring them to everyone's attention whenever I can. I still think we're quite far from a comprehensive policy on them, however. Our efforts thus far have been taking a squirt bottle to a house fire. I don't know that we (as a community) are "ready" to call the fire trucks though :)
@LessPop_MoreFizz I think some questions regarding emulation are not legally problematic. DOSBox, for instance, is perfectly legal. As far as a blanket "NO EMULATION" policy, I'd have to disagree. However, wherever we start to cross into morally or legally gray area, I say we stay away from that. (I've said as much on meta)
@badp In general, I believe moderators can do many of the things normal users can do, but without as much required oversight and without reputation requirements.
@LessPop_MoreFizz Tagging policy is the problem - we really have only vague guidelines. If I was in charge, I'd probably come up with a list of "meta tag exceptions" (which must have a justification for survival) and game tags, and then burninate the rest. I don't think we can make progress on tags without a) a policy that makes it easy for everyone to understand if a tag is "good" in most cases, and b) a mass tag burnination to remove the bad tags that already exist.
@NickT The community owns the post (everything's creative commons here) but I do think we have a responsibility to honor the owner's intent to an extent. This means we have to balance the responsibility of making the information useful and relevant to future visitors with damaging the effort put into the post in the first place.
@FallenAngelEyes I put together a list of three things that are our major challenges going forward. I'd say the biggest of the three is building our community and making it a welcoming place for new members. Without this core community, or if it becomes an exclusive club, we'll stagnate and die out. I want to focus more on cooperation for shared success than competition for individual success.
@NickT This happened, so you don't have to wonder! You can read about it on my nomination, or in
this meta post where I responded. I don't like to fight for fighting's sake. I'd usually rather apologize and try to understand the other person's point of view.
@badp I'd have to say that I don't always see a unified front from the moderation team, and I'd like to get us all on the same page. I think as moderators, we're acting independently, but we should demonstrate a unified front towards the userbase at large, if possible. I'd like us to agree on things whenever possible, or at least hash out our differences on meta, before making important decisions.
@LessPop_MoreFizz I've actually been experimenting with doing this via userscripts, but I suck at the "firing lazers" art :) If someone wants to help, at least us "in the know" types could get our lazers. Wouldn't help new users, but maybe if we demonstrated feasibility and awesomeness we could get this picked up by the StackExchange overlords.
@Noctrine Oak I think is a shoo-in. Wipq. is polling very well and I've been impressed by his calls of late. Mark and I have been at odds a bit lately, but I think he'd do right by the site.
@NickT I think there are some good, interesting questions in the plot/lore department that are interesting to people and a good fit for the site. However, there's a lot of bad. I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but I do think we need to be careful with these types of questions.
@GraceNote SO MUCH TYPING, holy moly. I think as with any new job, becoming moderator would yield a period of time wherein I get "trained" on my new responsibilities. I expect to go into this in "learn and absorb" mode. I've always been pretty fast at this sort of thing though, so I hope you guys elect me so that I can start helping even more.
@TomWijsman If there's something that can be done at a higher level (ie, something an employee can do) then notifying them is probably the first step. Beyond that, you just have to be vigilant and remove any offensive material, which is generally pretty easy with the sophisticated tools at our disposal, and the number of eyes we have on the site.
@Gilles As I said before, I think the moderation team needs to have a unified front whenever possible. I'm willing to put aside my personal feelings if the consensus among the mods or the community is that I'm incorrect on a subject. Taking a step backwards and considering the issue on a larger scale usually convinces me that most disagreements are pretty trivial, and not worth being divisive over.
@Oak The short answer is "this site keeps me sane." I am a passionate gamer, and if I had my way I'd spend all day playing games. But, I can't, for several reasons that I could mention. I get perhaps 2 hours a day to play these days. This site fills that void. I can spend just a little bit of time here and think about, research, or answer a quick question and blow off some steam. It's a way for me to pursue my hobby without neglecting my other responsibilities.
@Oak This network "clicks" for me, as I'm a big proponent of open content, helping people with their issues, and a huge gamer nerd. I love the SE model, because I think it makes it possible for the "right answers" to be heard and kept relevant. I've jumped on every opportunity to contribute more, and I don't think I'm near full output potential yet.
@Oak .... plus, I mean, they give me free games. How cool is that?!? Kidding aside, I feel like I'm getting to know people better every day, and you guys make me smile and laugh, and I enjoy spending time discussing things with all of you. As long as the lazers need charging, I'll help turn the crank.
