Intoxicated
Andrew
Posts: 3,230
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Post by Andrew on Jul 29, 2010 21:38:31 GMT 11
A Quick Guide to Moderating A HEALTHY MENTALITY It is important to approach modding with the right mentality to avoid burnout.
i. You will improve over time. A common concern is how they stacking up against other mods. Instead of comparing yourself, learn from them. Take note of tricks and things you like[ to improve the quality of your own work. Remember: the Administrators promoted you to staff so they clearly deem you to be worthy. As long you are trying your best you are good enough to be on staff.
ii. You don't need to mod threads every day to help out. Staff discussions to spur site development, Game Corner, Estate Hunts, Egg Requests... all of these may seem small but very quickly add up and are important updates. Every little bit helps. Do not undervalue your contributions if that's what you have the time and energy to do.
iii. Avoid modding if you don't want to. This might sound contradictory as avoiding backlog is very important but, forcing yourself to write is the easiest way to burn yourself out. This is particularly pertinent when you are new to the job and eager to help out. A burned out Mod is far less useful than one who only posts when they feel they can.
iv. You are not alone, you are part of a team. No question is stupid. Anyone will be more than happy to help you out just like we all help new members. After all, more mods keeping the site going means less work for each individual.
v. Don't cling to guilt. You are still a member of the community. Participate in events, activities, and continue progressing your character(s). If you find mod duties become a chore or you just don't have the time or energy, take care of yourself first. Stepping down for a break is beneficial to everyone.
AVOIDING SPECIAL TREATMENT & BACKLOG i. No one is owed a mod reply. We are all volunteers pitching in where and when we can. ZZ strives for mod responses within 5 days but do not let that become a burden of expectation. The Mod Centre form is there as a gentle reminder of any thread that may have been waiting long; not a demand. And if a request isn't submitted it's fair to assume they are not bothered by the wait.
ii. Be as unbiased with your moderating, using RNG, as you can. In some cases their Pokémon are going to have to faint whether they like it or not. However, you are allowed to deviate from the calcs if you feel they have done something to deserve the win despite all odds. Such as particularly great story-telling, inventive battling/use of moves, or maybe it's a brand new member stuck in an awfully unlucky situation. Think of it like the Amie feature from the games, or more open like a battle from the Anime.
iii. If the oldest threads require lengthy responses and you just don't have time you are allowed to pick and choose a thread that is quicker. We'd prefer you did what you could instead of straining yourself. We expect that this won't be abused and ask that you avoid playing favorites when choosing what threads to mod.
REVIEWING CHARACTER APPLICATIONS All full mods (not trainees) are allowed to approve new member applications. Here are a few things to help you judge whether an application is okay, and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask any of the staff.
i. Check that the minimum requirements are met from the Character Rules. If a profile seems to lack substance, give a few suggestions on what details could be improved.
ii. Spell check. If an app is near illegible then their posts aren't going to be much better. Help them then and there instead of letting it grow into a problem.
iii. If you suspect someone has stolen an app copy and paste a couple of lines into Google and search: "<copy pasted lines here> site:proboards.com" If you find the app was stolen please bring it to the attention of an Administrator; do not approach the member yourself.
iv. With Canon characters it's extremely important that the writer stays true to the character's personality. Be sure to check that the writer stays within reasonable boundaries before accepting. Usually, we ask for the first character to be an original one.
v. Characters have to start fresh. No preset teams, badges, IPF/TR ranks, etc. If they're from another region starting fresh in Johto that is probably acceptable.
RESERVING POSTS Once you've responded to a thread, please remember to remove it from our Mod List.
i. Short-term reserves last 24hrs. It is the most common thing you'll see. This is the 'Reserved' post we all make to tell other mods that we're working on a reply. You can reserve a thread up to 24hrs like this, and if you cannot make the reply within that time you should remove your reserve so the member's thread can be replied to ASAP by someone else.
ii. Long-term are for when a mod has a small plot/special story planned. As a mod you are allowed to come up with personalized stories and special NPCs not found in the area if you have some inspiration and time to dedicate to the thread. In such a case you would merely put a note somewhere stating "Thread Reserved by <Name>", and then also add it to the Special Threads Plot Tracker in staff. By reserving a thread long-term, you are expected to be active with replies.
You can even give away special items. Just use the staff tracker to get the okay.
BATTLES AND UPDATING PROFILES Try to alternate battles between wild Pokémon and Trainers. Use your initiative. Also, always send out the first Pokémon so the member can attack in their next post instead of wasting a turn accepting. For Staff, here is a handy checklist for encounters.
i. When rolling a Wild Pokémon encounter remember to check for a shiny.
ii. Remember the New Trainer Protection rule. For both Bicycling and Capturing Fainted Pokémon.
iii. Update their Party and Inventory after each item use and encounter. Capturing a pokémon still gets the party levels as it would have if the wild pokémon had fainted.
iv. Outside of journeying, it is considered a kindness to other mods to update yourself when possible. Record what you're updating and note it as 'self-updated' so others know it is done. In cases of purchasing, it is common to update everything except the currency yourself so another mod can simply verify you had the necessary amount. When doing inventory or party shuffles outside of RP threads you can use the Pokemon/Item Updates thread to record your changes.
v. Always check with a member to see if they actually want their Pokémon to learn a new attack or evolve where appropriate.
vi. Trainer battles net money and sometimes other rewards. Be sure to check the relevant area Guide when someone has defeated a trainer. Be sure to give reasonable prizes if using an original NPC. When money needs to be updated, post in the Transactions thread and a higher member of Staff will take care of it for you.
vii. Many trainers have more than 1 pokémon so be sure to check that all of them have been defeated before giving out awards. These details can be found in the guides provided in each particular town or city or in the Secrets board for some quests/events.
Guide written by: Streamlined by Lamont
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Ultrascrublord
Alex
I'M BATMAN!
Posts: 1,828
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Post by Alex on Jul 30, 2010 7:44:24 GMT 11
Very nice, thanks for posting it.
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The Shadow to Your Light[M0n:-6000]
Alice Crysis
And the lights go out...
Posts: 236
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Post by Alice Crysis on Jul 30, 2010 23:42:16 GMT 11
I wish more sites had such well-organized instructions for Moderators to be, or even those just wishing to refresh themselves. Keep going with it![/font]
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latani
Determination!
Posts: 5,310
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Post by latani on Jul 31, 2010 17:55:45 GMT 11
Definitely a very handy guide - should help new mods adjust easier ~
Fantastic work Andrew, thanks for creating it. ^w^
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Post by Sophie Martin on Aug 1, 2010 3:03:53 GMT 11
Andrew, is it weird to say I love you for posting this?
In any case, this rocks, and I'm so grateful for it
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Ultrascrublord
Alex
I'M BATMAN!
Posts: 1,828
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Post by Alex on Aug 14, 2010 11:30:00 GMT 11
Well, with Andrew's permission I've got a couple things to add to the thread since I felt that they fit in with the thread's theme.
First off, (This one is mainly for trainees/new Mods of course.) if someone asks/nags/begs/pleads/demands/anything for a post before they've waited five days, do not, I repeat, DO NOT reply for them. That may sound mean but if a Mod does post when asked, people begin to expect daily posts, which they expect from any Staff member, not just the one that already replied to them.
If we only posted for the people who asked, we would never get to the older threads, sure it's nice to reply to the people you like or talk to, but the people that have been waiting deserve a reply just as much, if not more. It's not really a rule for Modding (Nor do I think it should be.) but it's generally a good idea to post from the oldest threads to the newer ones. As this helps prevent getting a backlog in the threads.
A member expecting daily posts from the Staff is very, very distracting for everyone. Some people want a daily post even without a Mod doing giving them a post when asked, but I've seen (From doing it myself.) that when you reply for someone that asks you for one, they expect you to always post for them.
I know there was one member that constantly asked me for posts, I did reply a few times but shortly after that I explained that members need to wait for five days before asking. So what did the member do? As soon as Aries became a Mod, they started begging him for posts, which I'm sure was my fault for not starting out by saying no.
Now, I admit that this wouldn't always work, some people just want posts 24/7 regardless of if anyone else got their own post. When I was a new Mod, I'd been asked several times a day by one member for posts, even when Scott, Arz, and Art all told that person that they weren't supposed to ask until five days had passed. Like I said, this does sound very mean, but it is not meant to sound as if every member will/has done those things. But aside from Mods being busy/having a dead muse/being inactive, I think this is the largest reason we get a backlog.
Another thing I noticed is that several Staff members post for a person that just got a reply (As in a couple hours or at least less then 24 hours after the threads had just gotten a reply, anything above that isn't really an issue.), sometimes it doesn't matter if they were even asked or not. Is that a bad thing? Not really, but by concentrating only on threads that recently got posts, it does help add to the backlog that gets left for the rest of the Staff which should probably be where the focus of Modding is.
Point is, while neither of these things is actually a bad thing, they can both just lead to members expecting a new post whenever they want one, which will not only annoy you, but being constantly asked for posts will also bother your fellow Staff members. Not to say that newer threads should be ignored for the older ones, but Staff members should try to maintain a balance when possible. With the recent additions, this should be fairly easy once we get everyone out in the field, so maybe this is a moot point but I felt it needed posting.
Second thing is going to sound even more mean. Don't be too nice to the members. I've seen several threads where a Battle was made so easy that there was no risk at all to the member's Pokemon (As in never being hit, every move of the enemy failing, that kind of thing.).
Or not even that, sometimes it's just having a Pokemon show up that the member wants, sure that might just be them getting very, very lucky with the RNG (As in finding that one common they happen to want. It is possible but not at all likely since for example, in NBT you're more likely to run into a Spinda, which has a 1/6 chance of being the one you find, compared to when you are trying to run into that one common you want, which is a 1/8 chance just from the amount of commons, adding in the fact that you check for Spinda or an uncommon first it's a 1/10 chance.), but that seems unlikely to me.
Now I'm not saying to Mod threads so that they don't ever get the Pokemon/types that they do want, I'm just saying don't give it too them simply because you know they want it. It's not really against the rules but I know it happens sometimes, and we aren't supposed to be giving them the Pokemon that they want. Thing is, that this is basically an honor system deal, there's not really a way to prove when it's from the RNG or a Staff member being overly nice.
Not trying to say the Staff tries/means to go against that, just that if done on purpose it's because we felt the need to be nice to someone. If we do that, we need to be just as nice to everyone else, we can't give anyone special treatment unless we give it to everyone. If Mods give out whatever a member wanted all the time it defeats the purpose of having the 5-page rule.
But that's all there was for encounters, so back to Battles. A few of the Battles I've seen, specifically ones with Silver, have given the member's a Type disadvantage, a level disadvantage AND a move disadvantage in one Battle and the member's Pokemon still won the Battle easily or kept it fairly even for the entire Battle.
I'm all for trying to be nice and friendly with the rest of the site's members, but there truly is such a thing as being too nice. We are pretty much encouraged to faint a Pokemon if they have more than one, but it's rarely ever done, even against a Gym Leader or Silver. Now I don't mean that we should try to be mean to the rest of the site, but I just find that it gets boring to get whatever you want all the time or win easily. It would also get people thinking more about what they do in a Battle, which in my opinion would be a very good thing.
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Intoxicated
Andrew
Posts: 3,230
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Post by Andrew on Dec 12, 2012 4:01:20 GMT 11
Updated the guide with new information and made the layout more readable.
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Missingno.
Lamont
Posts: 21,910
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Post by Lamont on Jan 22, 2019 10:02:52 GMT 11
Updated the guide to be more reading-friendly (shorter & to the point) and added a highlighted some of the smaller important details that were maybe being missed.
Such as Short Term Reserves being OK for up to 24hrs if you really need/want a particular thread to mod.
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Post by arkayne on Feb 17, 2019 1:45:22 GMT 11
It's very helpful. Thank you.
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Missingno.
Lamont
Posts: 21,910
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Post by Lamont on Dec 25, 2023 3:41:26 GMT 11
Updated the 'Battles & Updating Profiles' section with a new 'IV' bullet point. Nothing 'new' per se, just finally have it officially written down for everyone ^^
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