• Guest, Help The DPF Community Thrive - Join Our Donation Drive Today!

    We're launching a special DPF Donation Drive to ensure our beloved forum continues to flourish. Your support is vital in helping us cover essential server costs and keep our community running smoothly — This is more than just a donation; it's an investment in the future of our community.

    Join us in this crucial drive and let's ensure our forum remains a vibrant and dynamic place for everyone.

    Please visit the DPF Donation Drive Thread for details and instructions on how you can make your donation today!

Saving DPF

Status
Not open for further replies.
Saving DPF

I would be in the same boat.

also, I’m sorry it can’t go without saying that Shakespeare is likely *always* the better choice when concerning matters of forums and pins. I mean, reading is cheaper for one thing and many people will always consider what you say to be 30% smarter just by referencing it.

However, to call these genuine concerns a bad scripted drama in a thread where no one can reply … that’s not a good sign =/
 
Just to further clarify:

The forum has changed and gotten quieter over the years. I don’t have any other ‘social media’ links, so i assume most have transitioned to Instagram and Facebook.

But to have a base of people care enough to talk about it rather than just leave is something that should be appreciated and not turn into a one sided conversation.

I say this will all respect and understanding to what goes into a forum. And I also say it because while I don’t post much anymore I love coming here for Disney news and I’d hate to see it go.
 
I have read your response and I hear your frustration and unhappiness. I need to consult with the other moderators to make sure we're on the same page before I reply; I should have an answer for you within a few hours.
 
dancecats said:
I have read your response and I hear your frustration and unhappiness. I need to consult with the other moderators to make sure we're on the same page before I reply; I should have an answer for you within a few hours.
Click to expand...
I really appreciate your attempt, Dance. I really do. But why do you "hear [our] frustration and unhappiness" now, and not before? It hasn't changed, so why should any of us to expect your answer to change? Either you want this forum to grow and change, or you don't. And so far, you've been pretty solid in the latter camp...
 
The Shakespeare comment was intended in reference to the ill-advised nullified rule, not the legitimate comments, concerns, and discussions that followed. It was meant as a joke that clearly didn't come across well; I apologize for that.

The reason the thread is (temporarily) closed is because we intend to systematically go through this thread, copy all of the outstanding points that need to be addressed into that one, and answer them there. Once all points have been answered, the thread will be unlocked to allow open discussion on anything that needs elaboration or that has not yet been asked and answered. The purpose is to allow us the time to thoroughly discuss the points and write the thoughtful and detailed answers the questions deserve. We also hope that it will prevent the same questions from being asked multiple times; nobody wants to answer the same questions any more than anyone wants to read the same responses.
 
You've had over two weeks... 17 days!! If the fact that you keep giving the same rote stalling tactic over and over doesn't show the dysfunction of the moderation of this forum, I don't know what does.
 
Tokaji said:
You've had over two weeks... 17 days!! If the fact that you keep giving the same rote stalling tactic over and over doesn't show the dysfunction of the moderation of this forum, I don't know what does.
Click to expand...
I understand what you're saying. I'm waiting for feedback from the other moderators before I address these points. I need to make sure that we're on the same page before responding. I hope to have an answer for you soon.
 
Anyone is more than welcome to have a say in the forum and, in fact, we encourage it. We are not telepathic; if nobody chooses to speak up, how are we to know anyone is frustrated, irritated, or unhappy with the way things are being operated? This is the first time you chose to speak up and we listened - and we will do so any time you bring something to our attention that requires discourse.

As for making changes to the moderation team, there is a difference between what one can do and what one should do. Yes, we probably do have the ability to add members to the team, but because we do not own the forum, it becomes a question of whether we should. You are correct in that a conversation concerning the day-to-day operations of the forum is well past due as your observations of Cicada's involvement are, unfortunately, accurate. But even having that conversation will be extremely difficult. The cessation of activity with the forum means that Cicada is extremely difficult to reach. starry_solo is the only moderator who is able to contact him; sometimes it takes hours, if not days, for her to get a response (and sometimes she has to go through his cousin to get him to respond). What seems like a quick, easy response and change to you is often the result of days of chasing from us. We have asked about adding additional DPF Staff every time we said we would and we have yet to receive a response from him.

Cicada does not want to be actively involved with DPF but he does not wish to sell DPF or transfer ownership. Everything that we do to carry out the day-to-day operations is in accordance with the wishes Cicada has left and/or conveyed to us in the rare occasions we have contact. We are just as frustrated with the situation as you are, but as the situation stands, we have to remember that it is his forum. While we understand and appreciate that many of you have contributed to the forum's operational costs, nobody here save Cicada ever had access to those monies, how they were spent, and knows if there is anything left to support the forum. If and when those monies run out, Cicada will or has resumed paying the operating costs out of his own pocket - and this forum would not exist without him making those monthly payments.

Because of this, we currently are taking your thoughts and feedback into account. We are trying to find a compromise that balances respect for Cicada's wishes regarding forum operation with its current needs. Please understand that these are not easy solutions and will not be reached in a week or two weeks or even a few months, but we are working on them because we want this forum to grow and progress. If you have any questions or concerns, as always, please do not hesitate to contact us; we are here to help and just a mouse click away.
 
If Cicada is unreachable, it seems clear to me that you will have to make decisions without his involvement. Right now it feels at times like nobody is steering the ship, and that’s just not sustainable.
 

I'm going to make part of this reply very simple and very easy: It's fairly obvious that Cicada has left the daily operation of the forum to y'all, yes? In that case, the creation and training of a skilled mod team is implicitly part of that daily operation. Getting permission from a person who obviously wants no part in that kind of thing seems pretty ridiculous from the perspective of a community member. I appreciate that you are trying to respect his wishes, but how do you respect the wishes of an absent leader? We have to continue on, change and grow with the needs of the community.

That being said, this is the more difficult part. I've spoken with many members of this forum who all share these concerns, and have also shared with me that the recent culture of moderation on this forum has been too closed, so that they don't feel comfortable coming forward or discussing these issues. They don't feel listened to, they often feel as if speaking up carries too many risks and that questioning the leaders in the past has led to reprimands, bad feelings, or a general feeling of discomfort. This is something that needs to be worked on, and that, to me, is the goal of more transparent moderation: creating a safe place for people to discuss issues with real consequences. Closing threads, deleting posts - these actions don't create safety. You keep saying members are free to speak up, but many don't feel safe enough to do so.

It doesn't help that y'all can't keep your own story straight. Sometimes there isn't a problem, and we need to shut up about it. Sometimes there is a problem, but it's not your fault. Most of the time you just make us wait for weeks to get the same answers. YOU (the mods) lead this forum. YOU run it. Not Cicada. You see the day-to-day needs and struggles of the community, and it is YOUR responsibility to respond to them, to serve these people. If you keep making these excuses, you are doing nothing but shoving your problems off on someone who obviously wants nothing to do with them. Please, for the sake of this whole community, take ownership (figuratively, if not literally) of what you already own. Act as leaders and help guide this community where it deserves to go. No more excuses. Please.
 
This situation is really echoing the one I had expressed earlier in the thread.

For that, I truly empathize.

In my experience, people left without a resolution and I ended up being less active there too. the eventuality was that the admin came out of his absence to inform everyone that the forum was too expensive to maintain and it was promptly shut down.

I think the one thing you (and all of us) can take comfort in, @Tokaji , is that they have not shut down these comments or this thread or at least not been instructed to do so. That means at least @dancecats is trying to do what is in their power.

when you are asked to freely volunteer to maintain a forum you love but do not have ownership, you really are tied to whoever owns the forum. There is only so much a mod can do if not given admin control or taken on the costs of the forum themselves.

I was hoping since @Cicada had posted kind of frequently since the April hack and was expressing that the forum was still making money, that meant he’d possibly be seeing these threads.

unfortunately, he’s hard to reach. And until he is able to weigh in, there won’t be answers
 
Yes, Cicada left us the daily operation of the forum. He elevated dancecats to an administrator so she could handle the mundane daily administrative tasks of removing spam and minor account hiccups like authorizing new accounts and access to the marketplace. He specifically said that all systems updates, changes to the forum aesthetics, and the like would remain under his purview. He appointed starry_solo and Ksnuggles as moderators to work with dancecats in daily moderation, which means ensuring the forum runs smoothly, stepping in to resolve any issues that may emerge along the way. He appointed other moderators; they still technically are active but range from rarely involved to completely inactive. If the full staff was involved, our coverage would be more complete. There is a NSFW comment about 'ifs and the queen' that will not be repeated here that can suffice and their continued status as moderators is a conversation for another day.

We have been making do with the remnants of the moderation team because nowhere in our directions is it stated, implied, or inferred that creating and training a moderation team is part of the daily operation. Just because we have the ability to do something does not mean we have the right or permission and disrespecting the wishes of an owner or leader, absent or present, inevitably will have consequences. For example:

Say you have access to your company's online headhunting account. Despite being an overworked employee, doing the job of 2-3 individuals, you love your job and would never consider leaving. You have been asking your supervisor, who is never around, to hire you an assistant. After being refused what you perceive as a reasonable request, do you have the right to just sign into your company's account and hire your own assistant? You have the access, you certainly can. But should you? Unless you are prepared to pay for the assistant out of your own pocket, the extra expense almost certainly will be noted on the company's payroll and you will be fired. You most likely will be fired anyway for insubordination as you have asked for, and been refused, that assistant.

We have had this discussion with Cicada more times than we can count. Every single time the forum has gone down, starry_solo has discussed the addition of new moderators and correspondents with him. If he wanted to add new staff, he would have done. Our concern is that if we disrespect him by ignoring his wishes, he will find out and that piper will be paid in a way that nobody wants: when the bill for DPF comes due at the end of the month, he will let it lapse and the lights will turn off. Permanently. He already has little-to-no interest in the day-to-day operations and is maintaining the forum at his own expense out of pure kindness. We are genuinely afraid that if we cross a line, he will decide that we are a white elephant and close us down.

Now to address, to use your words, 'the more difficult part.' We appreciate you voicing your concerns and we are always happy to listen, but perhaps you are not saying what you think you are. Perhaps we are listening (reading) closer than you realize or would like us to.

Part of building and maintaining a community is the ability to communicate effectively. It is absolutely wonderful that you have spoken with many members. All this proves is that you have the ability to network, a very valuable skill to have. But we wonder if you, a male, have ever played a game of telephone, which is almost a rite of passage among adolescent females? If you have, you will know that by the time the initial phrase filters through the line of players, it is so hilariously distorted, it is unrecognizable (which is the point of the game). Applied to real life, it is one thing to act as a representative of every individual you say has a grievance about how DPF is being operated. In the wise words of Taylor Swift, 'say it in the street, that's a knock-out; but you say it in a tweet, that's a cop-out.' Unless those members are willing to come forward and discuss their problems with us, it is very difficult to know what is legitimate and what is distortion.

One more thing. You accuse us of repressing and stifling free and open discussion. There are times when we close threads because we believe the drama quotient outweighs any benefit to leaving them open, but we still leave them available to read because we do not wish to suppress opinion and thought. If we truly did not wish to listen to our members, we would have closed this - and other - threads a long time ago, not to mention issued infractions and bans. Those who remember Dizpins - we know there are members here who do and we know who you are - how do you think 'Grandma' would have responded to threads like this?
 
With all due respect, if this is the situation DPF is in, DPF is already dead. This should have been shared with the community earlier, even if privately to come up with a viable alternative. The community of DPF deserves more than an absent ownership that would respond punitively in this manner, to sincere actions taken with the intent to benefit the community. But now, so many people are absent or disengaged that finding someone with the technical know-how and ability to organize the financial resources to set up an alternative becomes significantly harder. By perpetuating an obviously broken system out of fear, especially in light of what happened this Spring, the DPF community has been denied the best opportunity to rescue itself with the least collateral damage (lost members).

Is there anyone out there willing to setup and maintain a new forum? We need it yesterday, in order to live without a Sword of Damocles over the community's head.
 
I agree with @hopemax and @pretty_Omi

I also think it’s sad that the group mod response speaks almost as though you are addressing raging members trying to stir up drama. I haven’t seen that as the case here.

I think a handful of us are well aware that there’s a lot that has to be shut down and cared for behind the scenes. It doesn’t even take moderating experience to know that, so honestly anyone coming back to the site and supporting it shows the appreciation. The responders in the thread are not troublemakers here. Behind the scenes maintenance is appreciated and I don’t think the discussion here on anyone’s part is a lack of appreciation for that.

Unhappy members have been evident by the decreased activity and disappearing members. This site had the benefit of a discussion being started up - a testament to how much people actually don’t want to see DPF go. It took someone starting a site and articulating what a lot of people were feeling. That should be commended, not shot down because it was the only thread started.

I love this resource for Disney pin news, I really do. So here’s a voice that hopes the absent ownership and cost issues can be addressed and given a chance to find out what might help with maintaining. Wikipedia shamelessly asks for donations at a certain point every year. If DPF is really losing money and that’s the issue, let people know! Dollars spread out among many could go along way. But donations would also come with the responsibility. I’m not going to give money to something that can arbitrarily change or disappear.

These issues should have been openly expressed and the opportunity came at the April hack. Donations were mentioned but not in the dire state that DPF has become a charity case for someone who doesn’t even have interest in it anymore.

Starting a new forum comes with costs and risks losing good members and friendly usernames because it’s usually divided among a bunch of startups. So Saving DPF is something we all want.
 
Last edited:
The reason we did not share this information earlier was because we wanted to avoid causing a mass exodus from DPF. We were afraid that if the extent of Cicada's absence became known, the forum essentially would die.

I can only speak for myself, dancecats; anytime someone has come to me, I have always listened and been responsive. That has not and will not change. I have been part of the moderation team since DPF has been created, for almost 10 years. The moderation team has not given up on DPF, please do not give up on DPF.

Now speaking for the moderation team, we are here and listening. We have been closely reading your every comment and desperately trying to make the necessary changes to guide DPF into the next 10 years (and beyond!) If we wanted to stifle opinion, if it was not safe to come forward, this thread would have been closed and infractions/bans issued.

What will be helpful: please come forward, in a constructive and respectful manner, and let us know exactly what your problems with DPF are and how you would like them addressed/corrected. While we appreciate your passion and enthusiasm for the site, please remember that we are unpaid volunteers with feelings reading these comments and try to contain the hostility. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing. All opinions will be factored into the discussions we will have in determining DPF's new direction.
 

I think our posts crossed at the same time.

Biggest concern to me is that with all due respect, how can you guys bring about any changes if you can’t get a hold of @Cicada ?

I'm really not meaning to be flipped with that. You bring out valid points that you don’t own the site and therefore can’t make changes you see as necessary. I’ve been there. But there are no solutions until the ownership and costs can be publicly addressed.

The site needs more mods like you, @dancecats and less double standards when it comes to advertising (I’m sorry if that sounds accusative but it’s not towards you.) Either all or nothing - and I’m not talking eBay links - I think any collector can agree that’s kind of asking for trouble - But I’m talking about other disney news sites or even ‘click on this to get me visa money’. If mods are allowed it, normal members should be too. I’ve never had a problem with it until the ‘no outside links’ rule that thankfully has been modified (it has been modified right? Making sure I’m not misunderstanding).

Another concern is the hack happened because mods who were inactive left the site vulnerable. And a lot was lost from that hack. That’s a reason to see the blatant vacuum issues inactive moderation caused.

Again, a lot of this isn’t in your control. And that brings it back to the ownership and cost issues. I feel like I can start singing this with the hole in my bucket tune.

hope this input helps DPF and thanks for listening <3
 
I'd just like to put a note here that I fully agree with @Tokaji, @Story , @hopemax , and others and everything they posted. The accusation of hostility seems completely unfair. This community was amazing controlled and respectful during this whole sad event, and there were weeks between any mention or question asked as to what was actually going to happen. I don't think anyone implied that the volunteer team here was not working hard. But sometimes, a little transparency (even if it had been done on an individual basis) can really make people feel part of a community -- and I think that what a lot of us are feeling is that we were just pushed off the edge of a cliff without realizing that we were even near the edge. But "thank you" to @Tokaji and everyone here who has been so articulate about what a lot of us are feeling.
 
First, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, feelings, and input. Thank you for bringing up some valid points; we appreciate the opportunity to begin discussing these issues and, we hope, find a solution that can improve DPF and ensure it thrives for another 10+years.

Getting a hold of @Cicada is a challenge. We can tag him in threads, but whether he will see (and respond) is anyone's guess. It is not outside the realm of possibility that he sees these tags, at least on occasion, if for no other reason than to explain how problems he is tagged to sort mysteriously are resolved. But for the most part, we do not rely upon this method when we need to reach him. The most reliable way is through Facebook messaging, or if the situation is particularly dire, relaying a message through his cousin. As we have explained, @starry_solo is the only moderator who is able to reach him outside of DPF.

Among the conversations we have attempted to have with @Cicada is the funding and operation of DPF. We know that @Cicada has turned down offers to both purchase and sponsor DPF. The proposed sponsorships discussed range from selling advertising space to ... we do not even know. DPF's finances are just as much a mystery to us as they are to the rest of the forum. Beyond saying that DPF is expensive to operate, @Cicada has refused to discuss operating costs with any member of DPF Staff and insisted on retaining in sole control of the forum payment. It is not that we are refusing to discuss this with you, we do not have any information to share.

We can absolutely confirm that the 'no outside links' policy to which you refer no longer is in effect. It has been completely nullified, not modified. As was previously explained, it stemmed from a misguided effort to prevent people from creating accounts, spamming DPF with links for other sites, and leaving the community; in other words, using DPF as an advertising platform for their sites. To reiterate, we are continuing to disallow links to eBay and other secondary sales; it is the individual's responsibility to do one's research before agreeing to a trade or sale and as you said, allowing such links is asking for trouble.

We always have allowed the sharing of images from social media such as Facebook, Instagram, etc, and there is no reason for that to change. We just ask, and we do not think unreasonably so, that you do not share images that still remain private intellectual property (for example: unreleased internal images of upcoming cast exclusive releases). All of those sites have sharable and searchable handles that can be found by anyone who has an account. Because of this, we do not see a reason to allow direct links to those social media sites, just the sharing of handles; however, if anyone can present a clear and compelling argument to the contrary, we are willing to listen and reconsider our position. Links to Disney news sites and primary retail sites are welcome and encouraged.

But your point regarding those ... shall we say ... promotional links is well made and taken. We most definitely will discuss and address this very soon.

Now going back to the first quarter hack of 2021, we have heard that it might not be as simple as inactive moderators leaving the site vulnerable, although that certainly did not help. We have heard that the hacker(s) purchased a number of passwords that they used to sign into DPF. Would they still have been able to use these passwords if those inactive moderators were (more) active? That is unknowable; how often does one change one's password? Probably not as often as one should. And once the hacker(s) was in DPF, it was a matter of time before (s)he was able to hack into other accounts and delete two years of threads before we were able to lock them out and start repairing the damage. But regardless, the vacuum created by inactive moderators and correspondents is another issue that is high on our list of things to address.

Thank you for these first comments, we are off to a great start. Please keep the comments coming; please be specific in what your problems are with DPF and how you would like to see them addressed. We are reading closely and want to work with you to make DPF into the site it could - and should - be.
 

thank you for replying to the concerns I stated to the best of your ability @dancecats.

I’m really hoping the more we talk about our concerns it will eventually get the attention of @Cicada to answer the questions that you are understandably not in the position to.

I think considering the response to this thread it’s a given (which I’m sure you agree with) that no one is trying to undermine the issue of costs or ownership. You can own a site and take pride it in, but sites like these don’t become enjoyable and dear to many because of anything having to do with ownership, and I really do believe @Cicada even appreciates that point. So really, I hope the community is given a chance to help and talk about it.

I would agree too to keep comments coming. Restate questions and problems. Wishing the best still for DPF
 
A good way to deal with this is to have any account that hasn't been logged into for 60 days (or some number) automatically locks. In order for that person to log in, they have to click on a link sent to their Email after they login.

If they haven't logged in for over 6 months (again, or some number of months), just delete the account (or make it completely inactive where a moderator has to manually re-activate it).

I'm on another forum that I basically never use, and the forum automatically Emails me every 4 or 5 months telling me if I don't log in within 30 days the account will be deleted. If I no longer have an interest in what is on that forum, I'll just let it delete...
Forum's really shouldn't leave unused accounts in an 'active' state for very long, for exactly the reason that happened here...
 
With this forum software, I'm not sure what options you have, but it would be a good step to force a password reset after so long of not signing in, perhaps. That's a good idea!


Just a thought on this . . . if the hacker(s) had only been able to get non-Mod accounts, then they could only have spam posted and PM'd others. Without those Mod permissions, they could not have been able to delete all those years worth of content. This is something I have been fighting to implement on the forum I'm managing, as well. In the middle of setting a rule that if an account that has Mod privileges is not signed in for 30 days (unless the Mod has stated to other Staff a reason for being gone that is not a normal thing), then the Mod rights are revoked. Nothing personal to the member, just safety precautions. Admins, as well, actually. We have some rather inactive Admins, and we created a special group that looks to the public like they are a full Admin, but in reality, the account only has basic edit functions allowed, and can not handle the Deleted content or any of the Mod or Admin CPs. Again . . . simply security. If at any time, one wants to become "active" again, it is simple to reinstate the permissions.

An interesting thing that we've learned from and been working with our forum software provider is the fact that with all the stay-at-home orders and the amount of people just taking the unemployment money and not returning to jobs . . . the amount of online hackers and virus makers has so exploded that web security is completely different than it was in December 2019. Actually, they are really recommending that if you want your site to be a bit safer, to remove it from online for April 1st, which is one of the largest hack days in the year. Just toggle it off on the evening of the night before and then put it back on the 2nd. A lot to learn, anyway!


Addressing this issue in general . . . I think it is dead until Cicada is actually in on the discussion. If any and all fixes rely on Cicada (since even the working Admin does not really have Admin rights granted by Cicada), then further discussion is rather wasted until Cicada can actually join in and give a statement. If Cicada chooses not to enter any discussion, then I don't see much future in it. But, I hope for the best, and really hope that Cicada decides to step up to the responsibility.

In the meantime, we can trudge along as is. I really hope it returns and Cicada does step up, as DPF has been a really nice happy place for Sis and me and almost the only way we get Disney Cheer!
 
I've been meaning to post for a sec, but keep circling about on what I want to say.

First and foremost, I do appreciate @dancecats for their responses. I know it's frustrating to have one's hands tied, and to be the buffer that takes the blows.

And thank you too everyone who has made it a point to comment and address concerns. Even though language is sometimes charged, I know it is coming from a place of sincere desire to improve DPF.

As several have said, a lot of us feel like the site is leaderless, or at least with an absentee leader. @Cicada owns the forum and I will never for an instant insinuate anything less than the herculean task it is to keep something like this running. Having done something similar, all of the tedium sucks the joy out of the enterprise, and all you end up doing is patching and fixing and patching and fixing. It's an endless game of catch up where the only reward is something ~might not~ go wrong for a week. Maybe.

But I think that absenteeism is affecting the quality of life here on DPF. I'm not suggesting a coup or anything like that. But I think it would be in the forum's best interest that Cicada promote an ~active~ member as a sort of Second in Command. Someone who has authority and mechanical power to actually do things (like make mods) who reports to Cicada maybe once a month with any updates, but otherwise has the ability to do anything a super mod can beyond controlling the software itself.

I've said a few times, and I know everyone else has too, we need more mods. But I think we need a Super Mod too. One whom Cicada trusts to act on their behalf so they don't have to. One to whom the other mods can turn for clarification without going through the rigamorole of finding Cicada. Lives are busy, and I'm not saying Cicada should drop whatever and come back here. But I'm saying someone needs to be their active proxy or we are just going to keep chasing our own tails.

If Cicada doesn't trust anyone enough to do that, then that may be a different conversation.

As for the hack, security is obviously an issue. And I do think it a serious oversight that a mod's account remained inactive so long that it got hacked (if that's indeed what happened, it's hard to piece it all back together now).

Someone mentioned above about an "inactive freeze" for members and mods. I think that should ~absolutely~ be a requirement for mods. If you're someone who can't or won't check in once every 60 days, then I'm not sure you're the best candidate for a mod. And it's not for everyone! I couldn't think of something I'd want to do LESS than be a mod. But I think we've got enough people on here who would be a great fit for it.

Of course, the only person able to grant mod privileges is Cicada, as far as I know. Hence, back to our tail.

In the subject of mods, I'll just spitball some restructuring. Feel free to build off of, change, whatever. I'm just pointing to places that have specific needs that I think a dedicated mod would help a lot.

Super Mod - Proxy to Cicada, oversees other mods
Mechanics Mod - someone in charge of maintenance, security, forum announcements, etc. Responds to issues with the forum generally (maybe with Member Mod)
Discussion Mod - someone who monitors the Discussion threads to maintain integrity
Marketplace Mod - someone who monitors all Marketplace threads, closes finished threads, double checks threads limits, etc.
Game Mod - a dedicated mod who runs randomizer, maybe doubles with RAK or Secret Santa threads
Other / Anything Goes - a catch-all who can fill in as needed
Members Mod - someone who maintains new memberships, monitors "inactive freezes", name changes, password changes, etc. Responds to issues with the forum generally (maybe with Mechanics Mod)

That's six mods plus a super. Voting is easy, super is a tie breaker.

Again. These are just suggestions. But I think a team with dedicated members will help a lot, and take the onus off of other mods too. But "active" is the major thing.

Above all else, I don't think anyone is trying to be antagonistic here, even when language gets charged. I truly think we all want what's best for the forum. I do not think it's beyond hope. But I do think we are approaching an event horizon. I hope we can course correct


Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

MerlinEmrys said:
If Cicada doesn't trust anyone enough to do that, then that may be a different conversation.
Click to expand...


Some good thoughts there! I'll just add a bit, speaking form experience with Mod permissions on another platform, and I assume it is similar with this software.

Ultimately, Cicada would have to trust someone to make bigger, policy and member decisions. As you said . . . that's a whole ballgame in itself. Ultimately, it is the discussion that needs to happen for us to move forward truly.

A Super Mod would be an Administrator. Cicada needs an Administrator that they trust with member things and creating lower-level staff, and forum decisions in general.

A Mechanics Mod and a Members Mod would also most likely need to be Admins. To do full maintenance and security and member account things, I am assuming it takes Admin rights.

I think a Mod to just handle games and auctions is very good! Someone who understands the ins and outs of them and likes them and is a people person.

I would say that they need three Admins then, and at least four Mods, like you've suggested. Of course, I think that all Mods would be able to help keep discussions nice and basic member behaviour checked.
 
Thank you! This was the vocabulary I needed XD

All great suggestions!

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Menu
Log in
Register