Where has all the "good" mods gone?

[SwissyCrazyDay]

When we define a "good" moderator, we generally prioritize these ideals: efficient strategies to defuse arguments, a fair and just way of disciplining individuals for breaking rules, knowing when to stop a conversation before it goes too far and so on. I have not seen any of the moderators presenting these ideals.

This past week has had multiple incidents involving politics, racism, sexism and so on. Now, as expected of a normal server with mods these situations SHOULD have been defused efficiently, resulting in a satisfying conclusion for both ends of the argument whether its a mute or a warning to move on and change the topic. In my time of playing on the Parkour server, I have witnessed at least 10 of these incidents, all of which have gone on for too long and has started to spark insults and major arguments involving quite a number of participants. This is clearly a high number of incidents considering my short time of playing on the server and is extremely embarrassing; we need to address this.

There should be a standard and a set of guidelines that should be fulfilled when selecting a moderator, such as experience, activeness and their abilities. Unfortunately, for all of the moderators that have been put up to the test (incidents such as above) they have proved to be inadequate and absolutely inefficient.

Starting off, the moderator generally tells the incident partakers to change the topic, this happens for at least SIX TIMES before they actually start to make a move on it, and by then most of the incidents have gone on for too long and has resulted in a major argument. The moderator then proceeds to an abrupt conclusion by muting at least one side of the incident partakers; proving to be inefficient and resulting in more arguments over a period of time.

These moderators are ABSOLUTELY inefficient at fulfilling their role, and this applies majorly to the Chat-moderators who have proven to be extremely incapable of fulfilling out what their position is required to fulfill.


Personally, I believe that most of the moderator population in this server merely has their title because they want to have a position of power over the community, and do not actually wish to fulfill their role efficiently at least. This has to change.

 

[Proteges]

Hey there mate,
I find it disturbing and disappointing that you think this way about the ManaCube staff team. Each and every Moderator, and chat moderator has received specific training in these types of scenarios to make sure that they conclusively end properly. You must understand that the staff team are humans, we're not robots which means that we are not perfect and we cannot follow everything to the precisely perfect command. We always try our best in these types of situations and I do agree with you that we've had a lot of issues regarding Parkour over the past months and that's only going to get most likely worse from time to time. We always have to follow a specific code when punishing players which means that we cannot blatantly mute people out of the blue for minor incidents. As you mentioned above staff members have been telling rule breakers to 'change the subject' we do this instead of muting someone instantly so that they can get a sort of warning so that they won't do it again. If we were to not follow those rules we'd have a lot of players confused and in distress about their 'false punishment'. You must understand that dealing with flame wars/arguments is basically a riot, the staff members are riot control and to simply put it in a way for everyone to understand there are many more players than staff members usually involved in arguments so we must make sure that everyone is punished and treated fairly.

We're always open and available for feedback on these types of issues so I'm not saying that the staff team is perfect. I do appreciate you giving us this valuable information and feedback on how our staff team is performing but I do believe that you could have worded it differently that to outright accuse staff members of being unprofessional and lazy. Staff members know a lot about our codes and guidelines more than any other ordinary ManaCube player, we've got a specific way of doing it that you and the rest of the player base will not understand, before knowing our way of working it's a bit disappointing to accuse others of such things. Aswell as the fact that Chatmods on parkour have not accustomed to the way of parkour as they are a 'chatmod' this means that they're a Moderator on a different section of the ManaCube network and they can sometimes get a bit distressed in large flame war situations that might specifically only happen on the Parkour server. They're definately trying their best and it's not an easy job being a staff member.

 

[kxe]

Hello SwissyCrazyDay.
-
I understand where you're coming from, parkour has the most toxic chat due to its large player base and that's why we have mods and chatmods for.
While it may seem like we're doing nothing, there are many things going on behind the scene that goes unnoticed by the player such as warns and mutes being given out, discussion between staff members on punishments, etc. Just because the player does not see does not mean we are doing nothing. We handle situations case-by-case and every situation has a different outcome. We are all trained by the helper and mod management team to deal with different situations but there's no way that we can be trained for every single situation there is due to the limitless possibilities. Moderators are human too.
-

Starting off, the moderator generally tells the incident partakers to change the topic, this happens for at least SIX TIMES before they actually start to make a move on it, and by then most of the incidents have gone on for too long and has resulted in a major argument. The moderator then proceeds to an abrupt conclusion by muting at least one side of the incident partakers; proving to be inefficient and resulting in more arguments over a period of time.

We tell players to drop the topic as a warning, if they don't we will /warn them. Some reasons as to why we repeat it are because players may not have seen the first warning, other staff members are dealing with that player and we don't want to interrupt them, etc.
As to the comment about the abrupt conclusion, the conclusion was not abrupt. We warned and muted as you mentioned here so I'm not sure what you are trying to say.

resulting in a satisfying conclusion for both ends of the argument whether its a mute or a warning to move on and change the topic.

-

Personally, I believe that most of the moderator population in this server merely has their title because they want to have a position of power over the community, and do not actually wish to fulfill their role efficiently at least.

We do not. Abuse of our powers will lead to a demotion. If we only wanted a position of power over others we would not have been chosen as a staff member/demoted as it would be pretty obvious that the only thing we want is power.
We appreciate feedback and constructive criticism but saying we only want to be a staff member so we have more power over the community is too far. We volunteered as staff because we want to help the community and keep the server clean while making sure everything goes smoothly, not because of 'power' and command permissions.

I hope this post clears up any confusion you may have.
-
Best wishes,
kxe

Credits: Thank you @Samanthaa_x for some points mentioned in this post.

 

[warlord9120]

Hey!!

First of all, I'd like to thank you for sharing your opinion. I can see that you actually care enough about the community to feel this way. I'd also like to apologise that certain events made you feel this way, which I understand. I know players have a perspective on what happens as they see it quite often. Parkour especially is a pretty hectic environment that is a challenge to moderate. This is why I would like to give a staffs side perspective :D.

To start off, our helpers undergo a process. They are indeed checked on activity, helpfulness and some other qualities. These all fall under the process of applying and making it through the reviewing stage. After they get accepted, they recieve training by the Helper Management Team that has also been trained to do this. Once they have been promoted to helper, we don't let them go yet. They recieve full support and are followed up on by an assigned Mod+ and can always ask for help from anyone of the staff team.

Since they got trained, that also means we have rules. We have specific guidelines that we are supposed to follow. I know that from a players view, they can't always see how we handle things. These guidelines help us to be fair in our punishments and make it easier for us to staff. I'd also like to point out that parkour is a difficult server to staff because of the many players that all interact with eachother. I'm sure you've noticed chat can get really fast, which can be hard for one staff member to keep track of.

I'd also like to mention that all of our staff members volunteer to help out the community. Sometimes, we get some hate by players, but we'll gladly take that as it's evened out/made worth it with the friendly messages we sometimes get. I sincerely hope you are able to see that as it would make me upset that someone has to feel like this. If there is a specific staff member that you think does abuse, you can always report them here. If you believe you can help us out on the staffing side of things, I invite you to apply for helper. Hopefully, you'll be able to help us make the server a fun and safe environment.

I hope you have an amazing day and that you continue to enjoy our server,
Warlord9120 <3

 

[anxi]

Pro, Kxe & War have addressed this amazingly <3 But just wanted to say, as a staff member that's been apart of ManaCube for quite a decent amount of time, I can tell you right now that we cannot satisfy everyone. This is unrealistic. I can guarantee you there will be someone that complains, no matter what we do. I have been in those situations before, and I'm sure many staff members have been too.

Now, as expected of a normal server with mods these situations SHOULD have been defused efficiently, resulting in a satisfying conclusion for both ends of the argument whether its a mute or a warning to move on and change the topic

We always try to address the situation calmly & fairly but as mentioned earlier, we are not perfect. We are human beings that can make mistakes.
Also for future reference, it's best to report staff members directly to admins right here if you feel as though they have been abusing their power. These reports should be backed up with evidence (screenshots, videos etc) and shouldn't be created as a personal attack on a staff member.

We are always trying our best to help whoever we can, whenever we can. Our job is to hopefully make your experience on the server a little better. But unfortunately as I said earlier, we cannot please everyone.

Thank you for expressing your concerns & I encourage you to talk to a staff member about any other concerns you may have,
Anxi

 

[SwissyCrazyDay]

lol everyone who responded to this is a moderator smh

 

[Sonic_Raptor]

lol everyone who responded to this is a moderator smh

Do you want to add to the discussion rebut what was said or communicate your understanding of the opinions and views provided to you?

 

[SSM_GOD]

I'm just a bit confused as to why some players get 17 verbal warnings before they're muted.

 

[AlfieJay]

Firstly thought the title was a reference to Shrek 2 (if anyone wants to make a parody, would cameo)

Secondly there's a few reasons why people might get more warnings than others. Here are some of the most common I find myself and other staff members encounter:
- Staff believe they can diffuse the situation without having to punish players involved, which is advised when possible
- It's borderline and the staff member doesn't feel comfortable punishing without more context or inappropriate behaviour
- The player's next mute is very long and the staff member doesn't want to give out a really long mute for minor rule breaking
- Multiple staff members are discussing how to deal with the player and they've deemed it's not worth punishing until they've decided

I'd take this with a grain of salt but unless I've forgotten any the reason usually fits into one of these

 

[⠀⠀⠀]

I'm right here dawg, watchu mean

 

[Ambiebearr]

Parkours chat is... Special.. As someone who mains parkour i've gotten used to how fast it goes and how toxic it can be that whenever I switch to aether or oasis, hell even kitpvp i'm surprised by the lack of toxicity- If you can't handle the chat you can turn it off but it's not the staff's fault that the frick fracks (idk if im allowed to swear) all seem to target parkour-

 

[Lofi]

Parkour is certainly an... interesting place. You gotta remember, the chat can be frantic, hectic and almost impossible to keep up with and pick out certain messages at times. Moderators do their best to control chat and a big part of their job is relying on the community to help report these players. If more people report the rule-breakers, moderators can do their job to the extent you seem to want. And always remember, if you aren't happy with the chat, then instead of adding fuel to the fire by telling them to stop, simply report, inform staff and help them do what they need to do!

 

[Acrellux]

First of all, have* in the thread title name

These moderators are amazing. @kxe , @Anxi , @Kingaroo , @Hayleyx , @Samanthaa_x , @Ashley_Marie , @Mik , @Shinxray , @AlfieJay , @Christian , et cetera, are all trying their best to keep things stable around the server. Parkour is extremely hard to control sometimes when there are 100 people all spamming sex or gay or furry or something else. I've seen many of the staff mute many people on Parkour. They're able to tone things down after a bit.
What's important to remember is that these moderators are volunteering to keep the chat stable. They are also human. If you want a perfect server with bots keeping things calm, get out of here, right now. You also have to remember that the server doesn't revolve around your experience, though the mods are trying their best to boost your satisfaction.
All in all, you're being very rude to the staff telling them that all of the good staff have gone, when so many staff online are loving and kind and they're always attempting to eliminate the wrongdoers.
If YOU think you should become staff and ban/mute/kick/warn/anything everyone and "make the server great again", do it here

I hope you don't speak of mods like that again

Acid

 

[SSM_GOD]

First of all, have* in the thread title name

These moderators are amazing. @kxe , @Anxi , @Kingaroo , @Hayleyx , @Samanthaa_x , @Ashley_Marie , @Mik , @Shinxray , @AlfieJay , @Christian , et cetera, are all trying their best to keep things stable around the server. Parkour is extremely hard to control sometimes when there are 100 people all spamming sex or gay or furry or something else. I've seen many of the staff mute many people on Parkour. They're able to tone things down after a bit.
What's important to remember is that these moderators are volunteering to keep the chat stable. They are also human. If you want a perfect server with bots keeping things calm, get out of here, right now. You also have to remember that the server doesn't revolve around your experience, though the mods are trying their best to boost your satisfaction.
All in all, you're being very rude to the staff telling them that all of the good staff have gone, when so many staff online are loving and kind and they're always attempting to eliminate the wrongdoers.
If YOU think you should become staff and ban/mute/kick/warn/anything everyone and "make the server great again", do it here

I hope you don't speak of mods like that again

Acid

why are you commenting on a resolved thread? pretty much everything you said was already said. this was dead and now you've put it back into circulation :clap: <3
Not to start another rumor, but kind of seems like you're rushing for post/reactions

 

[Acrellux]

why are you commenting on a resolved thread? pretty much everything you said was already said. this was dead and now you've put it back into circulation :clap: <3
Not to start another rumor, but kind of seems like you're rushing for post/reactions

I didn't realize the thread was dead and I didn't realize I acted like I was rushing for post/reactions

...

 

[SwissyCrazyDay]

First of all, have* in the thread title name

These moderators are amazing. @kxe , @Anxi , @Kingaroo , @Hayleyx , @Samanthaa_x , @Ashley_Marie , @Mik , @Shinxray , @AlfieJay , @Christian , et cetera, are all trying their best to keep things stable around the server. Parkour is extremely hard to control sometimes when there are 100 people all spamming sex or gay or furry or something else. I've seen many of the staff mute many people on Parkour. They're able to tone things down after a bit.
What's important to remember is that these moderators are volunteering to keep the chat stable. They are also human. If you want a perfect server with bots keeping things calm, get out of here, right now. You also have to remember that the server doesn't revolve around your experience, though the mods are trying their best to boost your satisfaction.
All in all, you're being very rude to the staff telling them that all of the good staff have gone, when so many staff online are loving and kind and they're always attempting to eliminate the wrongdoers.
If YOU think you should become staff and ban/mute/kick/warn/anything everyone and "make the server great again", do it here

I hope you don't speak of mods like that again

Congratulations, dickhead for making me open this forum again. Just because you may have spoken to some of the moderators and know them somewhat personally, even to the point of considering them an acquaintance, it doesn't mean they are a good moderator. Also, it's pretty fucking funny how every single person who rated your post positively was a moderator.

"If you want a perfect server with bots keeping things calm, get out of here, right now" - Considering how unskilled the current moderators are, this does seem somewhat plausible. Will I "get out of here, right now?" Maybe, but just because you decided to light this shit on fire again, I won't.

"you're being very rude to the staff telling them that all of the good staff have gone" - So what if I supposedly seem rude? It doesn't change the fact that I posted this thread so that I can provide CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, and if you're going to take such immaturely, then i suggest that you "get out of here, right now"

 

[anxi]

Will be locking this thread now as your concerns have been addressed, and this will most likely develop into a flame war or argument more so than it already has.
If you wish to report a staff member for abuse of power or something similar, feel free to do so here.
Thank you for expressing your concerns.