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Subject: Why I(and should also be you) Don't Want To Be A Moderator
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I should first probably mention that I have great respect for all the good the moderators do, and how hard they work. Anywho, moving on:

I'll be the first to admit that when I very first joined B.net, I wanted to be a Moderator. Whether I said it or not. I forum copped. I posted in the Septagon. I even tried the whole ghey "anti-conqueror" deal(lamer than lame).

What saddens me most, is that it took an entire year for me to realize that mods are normal guys like me and you, and are no better and no worse. It also took me that year, to realize I would never want to be one. It took a lot of experience of being banned, , seeing others deal with mods, and moderating in private chapters to reach this conclusion. My hope is that I can convince you not to waste a year in lameness.

With all the talk of people sucking up to be moderators and crap, I felt it prudent to explain why I would refuse modship, if for some reason it were ever offered to me.

Reason 1: Time. I do not have time. I spend about an hour on the internet on the typical day. Only about 15-20 minutes of that being on b.net. Is that enough time to be an effective moderator? No way. The more active mods spend hours every day, doing this crap, for free. It's a huge investment of time.

Reason 2: People giving you crap. You ban 1 person, and you get an angry PM. Then, you tell him why you banned him. He throws a tissy fit like no other via PM. Then, he goes to a private chapter and tells all his buddies about the oppression and wrong banning. So you get unbanned users talking crap about you on the forums because they were told incorrectly that you treated their "pal" unfairly.

Reason 3: Death threats. They happen. Ask a mod.

Reason 4: PMs. Recon recently posted a pic showing that he had about 130 PMs. I would die if I had to read that many. I hate it if I have to read 2. And then those people expect a reply. If you don't reply, more crap is given to you via PM and forums.

Reason 5: The suck-ups constantly PMing you about spam threads. And even worse, going into every thread that is possibly spam and saying "3....2....1....locked!"(yes, I used to do that, I won't lie).

Reason 6: Can't decide on severity of punishment. Warning? Vacation? How long a vacation? Things aren't always so black and white. It isn't always either ban them or they aren't in trouble at all. Many a time I've been given a warning by moderators, and I've seen many warnings be given to others. Also. The lower moderators, as far as I am aware, cannot alter the length of bans. So giving someone, say, a 3 day ban, is a lot of effort(have to get someone else to do it for you basically).

Reason 7: Spammers intentionally trying to piss you off. I'm talkin about the kind of guy who goes in New Mombasa, and creates a thread about Cats vs. Dogs. You give him a warning and lock the thread. He creates it again. 2nd strike, 2nd lock. One more time, and you've had it. You ban him, and you're back to the PM problems.

Reason 8: Responsibility. Life's full of responsibilities. Sometimes, you've had enough of it, and don't want any more of these responsibilities thrown in your hands. Moderating is a HUGE one. You really, I'm sure, don't want that much weight on your back.

There's more, but that's all I can think of for now.

So, I hope you now understand why you do NOT want to be a moderator, you moderator wannabe you. Don't waste a year like I did. Time is all too precious.

[Edited on 3/14/2007]

  • 03.14.2007 6:04 PM PDT

Why the hell are you looking at this? Get out.

And no group invites, you jerk. I'm not interested.

Nope, I still do. I'm not really doing much to attempt accomplishing that.

[Edited on 3/14/2007]

  • 03.14.2007 6:07 PM PDT

Sandswept Studios Design Director

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~~Pardon Our Dust.~~

My eyes hurt.
I'm just going to let you know that. My eyes hurt.

If you ask any moderator, they say they should've taken the blue pill. Good advice, I suppose. Too bad if many people were asked (read: you won't be asked) to be a moderator, they would accept it because they think they can take a few beatings with a wet noodle, and uh, what's so bad about Hippo tongues?

  • 03.14.2007 6:13 PM PDT

-*sig under construction*-
Achievements are like...

After reading your post, I still want to become a mod. I have the time to become one, and I don't think that many of the issues stated would be a problem for me.

  • 03.14.2007 6:14 PM PDT
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Imagine.

I'm not a suck up,i once was and i once tried like you, to become a mod. I gave up on that and went back to being my old trickster smart ass self. I like it better this way. But i wouldn't mind being a mod.

  • 03.14.2007 6:18 PM PDT

I, myself, feel that all of that responsibility, increase in PMs, and being badly spoken of is nothing, aslong as I know I would be helping the forums. I don't believe sending moderators spam threads and threads in need is suck up at all. I do it all the time, because I truly want to help the forums. I have plenty of time on my hands and I am on almost 12 hours a day, for me non of your reasons concern me. I think you are looking at all the selfish reasons of wanting to be a moderator, some people actually want to become one so they can help.

[Edited on 3/14/2007]

  • 03.14.2007 6:18 PM PDT

Sandswept Studios Design Director

Visit us and check out our games at Sandswept.net!

~~Pardon Our Dust.~~

Actually, being a moderator would make me fear days like this.
You guys are not being nice. :P

  • 03.14.2007 6:26 PM PDT

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” – Psalms 46:1-3

Hmmm sorry but you are just making this thread to "suck up" and it is garbage and I think it should be locked because.

The only reason you made this was for reverse psychology in hopes that they would think ooh he doesn't want to be a moderator lets ask him to be one you my good sir are pathetic.


Good day. I said good day sir!

  • 03.14.2007 6:29 PM PDT
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Imagine.

Posted by: angry0lbgrampa
Hmmm sorry but you are just making this thread to "suck up" and it is garbage and I think it should be locked because.

The only reason you made this was for reverse psychology in hopes that they would think ooh he doesn't want to be a moderator lets ask him to be one you my good sir are pathetic.


Good day. I said good day sir!


Shut it gweedo.

  • 03.14.2007 6:30 PM PDT

I'll sign that dotted line.
Being a mod would probably be way too brutal.

Nice post after today Kilroy.

[Edited on 3/14/2007]

  • 03.14.2007 6:31 PM PDT
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Imagine.

Posted by: The Slayer
I, myself, feel that all of that responsibility, increase in PMs, and being badly spoken of is nothing, aslong as I know I would be helping the forums. I don't believe sending moderators spam threads and threads in need is suck up at all. I do it all the time, because I truly want to help the forums. I have plenty of time on my hands and I am on almost 12 hours a day, for me non of your reasons concern me. I think you are looking at all the selfish reasons of wanting to be a moderator, some people actually want to become one so they can help.


I think that your just trying to get little somewhat meaningless name under your tag called "Forum Ninja", Oh and the white text never the less.

  • 03.14.2007 6:32 PM PDT

Why the hell are you looking at this? Get out.

And no group invites, you jerk. I'm not interested.

Posted by: A Swedish Dude
Posted by: The Slayer
I, myself, feel that all of that responsibility, increase in PMs, and being badly spoken of is nothing, aslong as I know I would be helping the forums. I don't believe sending moderators spam threads and threads in need is suck up at all. I do it all the time, because I truly want to help the forums. I have plenty of time on my hands and I am on almost 12 hours a day, for me non of your reasons concern me. I think you are looking at all the selfish reasons of wanting to be a moderator, some people actually want to become one so they can help.


I think that your just trying to get little somewhat meaningless name under your tag called "Forum Ninja", Oh and the white text never the less.
Well I think you guys need to quit accusing people of being suck ups and jerks. >_>

  • 03.14.2007 6:35 PM PDT

Posted by: A Swedish Dude
Posted by: The Slayer
I, myself, feel that all of that responsibility, increase in PMs, and being badly spoken of is nothing, aslong as I know I would be helping the forums. I don't believe sending moderators spam threads and threads in need is suck up at all. I do it all the time, because I truly want to help the forums. I have plenty of time on my hands and I am on almost 12 hours a day, for me non of your reasons concern me. I think you are looking at all the selfish reasons of wanting to be a moderator, some people actually want to become one so they can help.


I think that your just trying to get little somewhat meaningless name under your tag called "Forum Ninja", Oh and the white text never the less.

Actually, no, I truly want to help. I don't even have to be a mod to help and it is fine if I am never going to be one, as long as I can help by contributing. So please do not start a senseless arguement with me.

  • 03.14.2007 6:36 PM PDT

Sandswept Studios Design Director

Visit us and check out our games at Sandswept.net!

~~Pardon Our Dust.~~

Posted by: A Swedish Dude
Posted by: The Slayer
I, myself, feel that all of that responsibility, increase in PMs, and being badly spoken of is nothing, aslong as I know I would be helping the forums. I don't believe sending moderators spam threads and threads in need is suck up at all. I do it all the time, because I truly want to help the forums. I have plenty of time on my hands and I am on almost 12 hours a day, for me non of your reasons concern me. I think you are looking at all the selfish reasons of wanting to be a moderator, some people actually want to become one so they can help.


I think that your just trying to get little somewhat meaningless name under your tag called "Forum Ninja", Oh and the white text never the less.


Yes, yes. And you're posting this to look like a good member to get the title under your name, because obviously the moderators want a smarter guy who can evaluate situations.

Why, my goodness! That's what I'm doing right now as well!
What a vicious cycle. :\

.. Seriously, some people help to help, some people help to try to get some fancy position. Either way? Helping happens. Achronos, the moderators, and the web team can easily see who is the real culprit of brown-nosing and bad 'forum copping' and the like.

  • 03.14.2007 6:36 PM PDT
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Imagine.

This is true yes, but also I'm just stating my opinion and trust me I'm very opinionated and I usually express myself no matter what others think.


Posted by: ALIENwolve
Posted by: A Swedish Dude
Posted by: The Slayer
I, myself, feel that all of that responsibility, increase in PMs, and being badly spoken of is nothing, aslong as I know I would be helping the forums. I don't believe sending moderators spam threads and threads in need is suck up at all. I do it all the time, because I truly want to help the forums. I have plenty of time on my hands and I am on almost 12 hours a day, for me non of your reasons concern me. I think you are looking at all the selfish reasons of wanting to be a moderator, some people actually want to become one so they can help.


I think that your just trying to get little somewhat meaningless name under your tag called "Forum Ninja", Oh and the white text never the less.
Well I think you guys need to quit accusing people of being suck ups and jerks. >_>

  • 03.14.2007 6:37 PM PDT
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Imagine.

I've already stated I've been through the forum cop go getter. I'm only in the Septagon because the flood has crap threads up Atm. Or I'd be there.

  • 03.14.2007 6:38 PM PDT

This is my second attempt at posting because the first one just brought me back to the homepage.

I try to help people, I really do, but most of the time I just don't know the answer. In one thread, someone asked about the symbols next to the threads, and I just made a guess based on observation, I admit that I was partially wrong only to be corrected by the judicious and wise evilcam. At one point I wanted to be a mod, but now if offered I would take it but eventually I would resign because I would not have time to be as diligent as I would like to be. The mods here should, in a sense, be ''looked up to''. They give up a lot of their time just to make sure that people aren't complete jerks on the forums and they make it a nicer place to be. This is the only community that I'm a part of, and I'm proud to be a part of this community even though I'm constantly bashed by friends and family for being on this site way too much. The way the community stays the way I like it is because of the moderators. They manage to keep everything under control. Without them, I don't think I would be a part of this. When someone makes a "dumb" or pointless thread, for lack of better verbiage, I can't help but hope that nobody will respond to it. But, inevitably, there's always one person who replies with "ur mom" or some other inane statement which moves it back up to the top and then it just snowballs from there. In some respects I want to be a mod, but overall I don't think I would want to be. I'm too indicisive.

  • 03.14.2007 6:40 PM PDT
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Posted by: angry0lbgrampa
Hmmm sorry but you are just making this thread to "suck up" and it is garbage and I think it should be locked because.

The only reason you made this was for reverse psychology in hopes that they would think ooh he doesn't want to be a moderator lets ask him to be one you my good sir are pathetic.


Good day. I said good day sir!


Reverse psychology, eh?

Hmmm.....yeah! that would TOTALLY WORK! Cuz Achronos and the mods are SO dumb enough to fall for that!

*rolls eyes*

  • 03.14.2007 6:42 PM PDT
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Destinypedia - The Wiki for Bungie's Destiny
Posted by: DEATHPIMP72
Anyone but Foman. He smells like cheese.

Note: After reading this post, call me a suck-up or kiss-ass if you want, but you'd be wrong. I have no need to kiss anybody's ass, and indeed am old enough, mature enough, and successful enough in my real world career that I do not feel any need to kiss anybody's ass.

Moreover, using the term "you're a suckup" is really just vernacular for saying "I can't think of any legitimate counterarguments."

So spare us all your bull-blam!-.


Anyway, I think that the desire to be a moderator must be a personal preference. It is a hard job and clearly not for everybody. Your list of reasons that some people might not want to be moderators is certainly accurate, but I disagree with your overall tone of trying to persuade EVERYBODY not to become a moderator.

Some people like this kind of thing and some don't. For those people who think that moderating is appealing merely because it is a position of power, I hate them and everything they stand for, and I pray that these people never make it to ninja status. I cannot stand the thought of anybody sitting at a computer and salivating over the opportunity to blacklist somebody - it's both disgusting in a way and disturbing in others. Many chapters, who will not be named here, are horrifying displays of what the real forums would be like if these kinds of individuals became moderators. Petty squabbles, unjustified punishments, and overproud boasting run rampant in many of the groups.

But for those of us who do not see moderating as a power trip, and prefer to be leaders, there are many valid reasons that we WOULD want to become moderators. Ironically, these reasons are actually often the same as the reasons that you've listed NOT to become a moderator.* Having Responsibility:
Some people like having responsibility. This is how CEOs, politicians, and other various kinds of leaders are born. Sure it's hard work, but a leader craves that work and feels a sense of responsibility and pride. In their own way, moderators are leaders: they guide the forums, they keep things clean, and, like Achronos mentioned before, they indirectly are often seen as the voice of Bungie.

You raised a legitimate concern: some people want to become moderators for the wrong reasons and, like you, later realize that they didn't factor in how hard it would be.

But this does not mean that everybody feels this way. Those of us who do not get scared or apprehensive at the thought of having more responsibility are the kind of people that SHOULD want to become moderators.

* Hard Decisions and Challenges
Decisions can sometimes be hard to make, but some people excel in making them. To again analogize to the real world, look at judges in courts around the world. They face decisions that are far beyond the level of difficulty that anyone in these forums will ever have to make. Yet they do not shirk this duty. Rather, they embrace it. I am so impressed with the decisionmaking process of judges in the court systems that I wrote a paper about it for my law school scholarly writing requirement.

People who may wish to become moderators (again, those who wish to do it for the right reasons) embrace the mental challenge of deciding the fate of a bad post or bad poster. Moreover, they love the fact that there is a set of rules (much like the "law" in the real world) that must be applied to the facts of the case. Every post is different, and sometimes it is not so obvious whether a post should be locked (see This controversial thread and Achronos's reply regarding locking it on page 5 of that thread).

For people who relish the challenge and opportunity, moderating can be an intersting and fulfilling way to spend your free time outside the real world.

* Hate Mail - Not a Problem
The moderators with whom I've had in-depth discussions without fail say that the hate mail does not bother them at all. This, however, would obviously not be true for everybody who became a moderator.

Those who are able to take the good with the bad and just let it roll off of their shoulders are the kinds of people who would excel at moderating. Provided that they meet the other traits of a good moderator, they are the individuals who will continue to want to moderate despite the hate mail.

* The Suck-ups and the Spammers - Not a Problem
I have asked moderators many times in my role as an interviewer for The Guide how they feel about PMs and MSN Instant Messages regarding bad posts. I have asked them both on and off the record, to see if I'd get a different response. To a person, they always say that they appreciate it and it occasionally makes their job easier. And I believe them when they say it.

People who despise suck-ups should probably not become moderators. So in that respect, you are right. People who do not mind it and do not allow suck-ups to lull them into a false sense of superiority are the kind who are proper to become moderators.

As far as spammers go, similar rules apply. Some people get personally offended and/or stressed out by people trying to piss them off. Others just kind of shrug it off. Any good leader is going to have to deal with, at some point, somebody who is PURPOSELY trying to piss them off. If you can't deal with it, you shouldn't submit yourself to the role of leader. If you can, then you are right to want to become a moderator.

* Most importantly, Making a Difference and Helping the Community
Gosh, this one is self-explanatory. If you care about the Community, what better way to do it than to use your abilities to clean up the forums and your newfound recognition to start great Community projects that bring people together and make them proud to be a part of all of this?

In conclusion, many people have a legitimate desire to be a moderator. And it is not for power hunger (I, for one, have plenty of power in the real world. Having "power" on an internet website is completely irrelevant to my motivations to do or be anything) or for more respect. It is rather for the reasons I have outlined above, which are just as valid as your reasons for NOT wanting to be a moderator.

Like I said, it's not for everyone. But it is for some.


[Edited on 3/14/2007]

  • 03.14.2007 6:55 PM PDT
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Well I apologize if you took it to mean to EVERYONE. It's more aimed at the "suckups." After today, with people harshin my buzz, I'm in a less-than-cheerful mood, and wrote this to scare off the people who think they can handle, when they're wrong.

However, if this thread DOES NOT bother you AT ALL, then, maybe, just maybe, you have what it takes to be a mod.

  • 03.14.2007 7:02 PM PDT

Tom Achronos
Bungie.net Overlord
twitter: http://twitter.com/Achronos

"I have no words that would do justice to the atrocities you commit to the English language, as well as your continued assaults on the concepts of basic literacy and logical reasoning."

Hence the number one rule in becoming a moderator - no existing moderator ever asked to be one. You hear the mods say it all the time... but I don't think some of you realize that they aren't joking - if you ask to be a mod, you aren't the type of person we want.

People who PM me (I've gotten three just today) who inform me they would be good moderators almost automatically exclude themselves - you don't ask for it, you rise to meet the challenge asked of you.

When we do look for mods (and we're not right now), we ask people who we think (through their actions) would be a good fit, not people who ask to for the responsibility. Given the somewhat anonymous nature of the forum, that seems to be the best policy.

  • 03.14.2007 7:04 PM PDT

because if seeing is believing,
then believe that we have lost our eyes

If they ever asked me to be a mod, I would at least wait until after the massive amount of Halo3 threads stop showing up in The Underground. I honestly wonder If The Underground will ever go a week without one. Evilcam is probably one of the biggest forum cops I have ever seen. I wish he had more time to post what's on his mind.

I would also wait until I quit making typos and sentence Fragments. I don't think you could find a post longer than three sentences I havn't gone back and edited.

edit: Speaking of typos, I think there's only like 3 other people who havn't capitalized the first letter in their b.net name.

[Edited on 3/14/2007]

  • 03.14.2007 7:31 PM PDT

Posted by: WolfmanMaverick
You people have just sent my sides into orbit. A bunch of MLG try hards sucking the dick of some supposed pro half the thread hasn't even heard of. Classic.

How come stuff like this wasn't in the handbook?!?!?!?

Oops. Nevermind. I thought that Cat in The Hat was our handbook. Silly me.

  • 03.14.2007 8:23 PM PDT
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Posted by: Achronos
Hence the number one rule in becoming a moderator - no existing moderator ever asked to be one.


Kilroy, there's your solution, and anyone else thinking like you... Ask to be a moderator... ;)

  • 03.14.2007 8:26 PM PDT
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If they made me a moderator, I would abuse the "edit post" button. I already do that in one of my groups, and I am now a thread stalker. I feel I'd piss a lot of people of with things like

im in ur postz, editin' ur wordz

if I did that in public forums. Actually, I probably would do that for the hell of it. :) Hence the reason I shouldn't be a mod.

EDIT: I think I posted this in the wrong thread... They all have shiny gold emblems. Curse the overlord's burst of activity! And all the toilet handles who made it possible.

[Edited on 3/14/2007]

  • 03.14.2007 8:38 PM PDT

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