Not to single you out LOON, but this is what now gets on my nerves.
I used to be the same way, kissing all the moderators asses.
Did it get you anywhere? Were you invited to join the staff?
Over the years, I've grown up. When I started posting on this forum, I was roughly 14 years old. I'm now 20 and I've seen a lot of things happen overtime. One of the things I've noticed is that members rarely ask to be a part of the mod squad.
That's because ASKING to become a moderator is a guarantee that you'll never be invited. Then again, some members try to demand promotion, and while providing amusement for all, that's spectacularly less successful.
Now though, people kiss ass and let all of those above them know that they are appreciated for the hard work they put in. Now, is it really hard work? Don't you just click a few buttons mods and maybe type enough to give reasoning behind your action? Hard work? You've got to be kidding me.
Wow. If this is what you think, it's no wonder you're complaining. You've got to be kidding
me. You probably think that we sit around the secret mods forum, watching free porn, making fun of all the commoners, and persecuting helpless n00bs. You couldn't have a worse idea of what it's really like.
Search on my posts - see how many I've made about playing GT4 compared to how many I made about playing GT3. See how many have become posts like this - administrative rather than actually oriented to information and content. I used to be one of the mainstays of the GT3 Writeups board - I don't think I've had time to do even a single GT4 race report. If I did, it was so long ago I can't remember it.
Der Alta has it even worse - he's taken on the unenviable task of fighting spammers behind the scenes. That occupies so much of his available time that he hardly gets to post publicly on
any subject.
Whether you choose to believe it or not, the staff spends a huge amount of time discussing appropriate discipline and requesting peer reviews of our own actions. Especially when a particular staff member conflicts with a specific user, there are constant requests to have multiple mods examine the handling so that we're sure that our own emotions and prejudices are not driving our responses. If you don't think that takes a lot of time, consideration, and
work, then you're very mistaken.
Let's put it this way - if we put as little effort into this job as you seem to think we do, someone would have banned you already just to shut you up. And that's not intended to be a threat in any way - it's intended to illustrate my point.
Don't doubt for a second that at age 14 I wasn't obsessed with this site and ass licking in each direction I could. You mods have a job outside of your job. You all regulate the forums and make sure useless stuff is deleted. I hate seeing the vacuum cleaner members we have sucking up to the staff these days. You guys are here to make sure hings for Jordan run smoothly, but you all get nothing in return except the ability to ban, move, and maybe alter forum settings. IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL. If I were ever given a moderating option, I'd pass like crazy. I've been here 5 years.
And your length of time here is relevant... how? I'm not sure where you're going with this. I've been a GTP member since May 2002.
I was invited onto the staff exactly 9 months after I joined. Did I spend that time ass-licking my way here? I was totally surprised to see that PM from Jordan. Heck, two years later I was equally surprised to get promoted to admin. I know from experience that most of the other staff members were not expecting their invitations either.
Der Alta and I keep our eyes open for people to recommend the next time a staff position needs to be filled. We discuss them with Jordan and modify our opinions as we see those people develop and interact with the community. Of course you can only take my word for it since even the other mods can't see that list, but there are no ass-lickers. There are only intelligent, constructive members that we think would be able to enforce Jordan's rules and who share the same ideals the staff does.
I really think it's a stretch to consider the desire to have a coordinated, well-integrated staff who share a common goal to be the same thing as encouraging ass-kissers. There are several people I would really like to see get the badge because I think they'd do an excellent job at it. Unfortunately at the moment we are pretty well staffed and there aren't any openings. If we were looking to reward ass-kissing, I'd just promote my favorites myself, since I can do it. But that's
not the way things are handled.
I've seen 5 years of total ass [l]icking and people who make good posts for the soul purpose of maybe becoming a mod.
And... how many of the ass kissers have made it onto the staff? None. Obvious hinting is just as sure a way as asking outright to guarantee that you'll never get the nod.
Seriously - Jordan is the one who makes final decisions on all staff additions, with our input. Do you not see the sense that he chooses people who share HIS idea of what HIS forum should be? We recommend people who are long term, constructive, contributing members, and who we think fits Jordan's vision. The staff has a remarkably unified idea of what a well-run forum is like. You may think that means only suck-ups get to be on staff. We think that means that we only look for people who share our view of a great forum.
I have seen since this place was an MSN Community the changes that have ensued. I'm not happy at all.
With no anger and no offense intended: Why not just find a forum that better suits your desires? There are dozens of active GT-based forums out there. Many are founded or run by ex-members of GTP. Most have a looser rule structure, because they can afford to have one due to their smaller member bases. I'm sure you can find a home that doesn't make you so unhappy.
I don't like all the changes that GTP has gone through, either. But a lot of positive things have happened, even if it is no longer the small, tightly-knit clique that it once was. Pining over that lost innocence is pointless at best. In all sincerity, the ability of this community to absorb the staggering number of new members that we have over the years is a tribute to the stamina of all the regular citizens.
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