Stream Moderators - Out of Control?

[TomBobBlender]

I have been receiving vague, unconfirmed "he said/she said" statements describing our stream moderators as the following: rude, power-hungry, bullies, trolls, harsh, unfair, invincible and relentless. Comments also seem to suggest they drive away newcomers with their lack of patience to help them get acquainted to registering/identifying/stream rules, or come off as malicious and rude. This was also claimed to be the reason to eventually halt any hope for growth, as well as driving away veteran members as they watch others get mistreated.

I do not like reading messages like these. It's not what we're about. I will try to outline my vision of my stream moderators/community.

My intent with the stream rules is to protect and maintain a social environment acceptable to everyone. As long as they are followed, there is little to no reason anyone should be unhappy. It must seem apparent to everyone that I am an unusually patient and gentle person who will take the extra time to make sure you know how everything works. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of people like me out there. Trust me, I've been around long enough. I can also affirm that my selection of moderators are far from my personality, but that doesn't necessarily make them bad people. That just means they are not me. Their actions, however, can speak volumes, and that seems to be the 'issue'.

That being said, they have NO reason to be rude or disrespectful to anyone for any reason. While they may not be an extension of my personality, they ARE an extension of my help and work ethic. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and as equals regardless of your rank or length of time here. Even if you were a malicious twerp who had it coming, they are to remove you, and privately notify you why you were removed (in case you somehow didn't understand). They should never single you out, allow others to gang up on you (especially take part or instigate), or insult you over personal matters. Innocent debates/disagreements have a different place in this context, as long as they don't escalate into mud-slinging insults. People should not be made fun of/ostracized for poor spelling or using shorthand. If it's not hurting anyone, leave it alone. If you are asked to stop, and it is a reasonable request, you should do it (applies to everyone).

If you did something wrong, you need to own up to it and accept it. Just because you were banned or kicked doesn't mean they are being mean. It's a big part of why they volunteered to become moderators. If you felt it was unjustified/personal attack, contact me immediately. I always follow up with what you have to say.

Just because they are moderators does not mean they are any better than anyone else. All that means is that I entrust them with additional duties that I cannot otherwise do due to not being around or being occupied running a segment on the show.

Everyone who participates in the chat are required to read, re-read and comprehend our stream policies. If you are out of line, you will be dealt with. If you take it personally, then the fault is your own. I think that is all I have to say about this.

With all of that said, if there are any concerns, topics or thoughts you would like to discuss regarding this matter, now is the time. You do NOT have to refer to specific people if you are not comfortable with that, but your input is the only way anyone will know what's on your mind. Suggestions for improvement? Changes in order? Anything. If you are not comfortable responding here, but still wish to respond, you can contact me privately (Skype: TomBobBlender, or email: TomBobBlender@aol.com ).

Thanks for your time, guys!

<3 Tom

[empressdonna]

If you don't mind, I'd like to pop in my two cents on this subject.

I may not be around from time to time - but I try my best to treat every member of the chatroom as equals and try my best to fairly judge everyone.

There may be times where I have come off as a few things listed above, but it comes with a reason behind it.

rude, power-hungry, bullies, trolls, harsh, unfair, invincible and relentless

I'm quoting this line and will note where I feel I have been these things and where I know I need to work on personally.

rude - I try my best not to be rude to people. There is a few times when I have been though and if you feel like I've been rude to you at all over the course of the time I've moderated here - just drop me a private message and I will apologise.

Sometimes I let my emotions/tiredness take over, so I can lash out - and I know I have a few times - that's why I often apologise even if I didn't say it rudely because reading in-between the lines, it might seem like I am.

power-hungry - I don't think I show this trait.. I might be wrong, but I don't mean to seem power-hungry at all. I do this because I enjoy the chatroom and I want to help Tom moderate during the times other moderators may not be around.

bullies and trolls - I put these two together because they can each lead to each other. I personally don't mean to bully or troll anyone. Usually I am just trying to make my point clear, but if it comes off as bullying or trolling - again, PM me and I will apologise because I don't mean it that way.

harsh and unfair - again, putting these two together. I'm going to say it straight - I've seen people being told off by myself and other moderators and then turning around and doing the same thing again.

Some things we really ought to take to PM and sometimes in the heat of the moment, we forget (I know I have on occasion) but it's generally a policy to be told off once and then kicked/banned.

Sometimes I've known myself to give people several chances before the eventual kick/ban, because I tend to think on a forum moderator level - where some forums have a three strikes then you are out policy - but in other cases, it will be one warning, and then kick/ban. It really depends how severe the thing you have done is.

I don't mean to be mean, I don't mean to be unfair - but I don't think it's right to let people go by with several warnings from several moderators and still not get why we are telling them off.

invincible and relentless - We might be a bit relentless at times, but again, I personally do this to make sure the rules are followed. If you aren't following a rule and have been told off - I try to deal with it in the best way I can.

We aren't invincible - we are humans after all - and we do make mistakes. But if you ever think we don't clarify something well enough, just PM one of us, and I'm sure we'll take the time to explain it as indepth as possible.

So again, to sum up, if you've had a problem with myself personally, PM me here or on the forums and I will apologise to you and try my best not to treat you that way again - but you've got to remember that sometimes, I'm just doing what I'm here to do - moderate.

[Stuart444]

I'm just going to outright say that NO current mods are abusing their powers.

They do what they have to, people break the rules, they will kick and ban if needed. If they are new, the mod(s) that are there may be more lenient on them in case they haven't read the rules (which they really should) or don't totally understand the rules.

Most mods also tend to BEND over backwards to help new people, including repeating instructions several times and trying to work with them the best they can without actually getting them to install REMOTE software (such as team viewer or something similar) just to help them.

I know you won't reveal who/whose complained and they won't come forward either with their 'arguments' but I'd be willing to bet that they are part of a problem and feel victimized by the mods when said mods are just doing their job, what they volunteered to do and if they can't do their jobs (making sure people follow the rules that are outlined in the 'stream rules' thread) then what is the point in having stream moderators at all?

So at the end of the day, the current stream moderators have just been doing their jobs, making sure people follow the rules, helping new people, etc. There is absolutely no mod abuse in that and honestly, when I say 'current' stream moderators, I mean each and every one of them.

Now unless those who have an issue with the way they do their jobs come forward to put their case on the table for everyone to see, then I'd consider this issue closed as their is no way to argue against the legitimacy of their cases (including examples) without having them put on the table for people to see.

I hope I've made myself clear.

[yuki_fox_demon]

This honestly upsets me. I dont really think most people realize how difficult it can be sometimes to figure out if someone is technically breaking a rule, and what rule it should on under, and what the punishment should be. If we come off as rude, we don't mean to. Do we sometimes go a little far because we're having a bad day? yes. should we? no, probably not. but we're only human; we DO MAKE MISTAKES. the problem is, NO one ever COMES to us about this stuff.

if you guys think one of us has been too hard on you, then talk to us. PM us. send us a message on twitch. i guarantee we will respond, and we will explain to you why you were removed. but spreading rumors and whining about it on someone else's stream, or sending someone else in to talk about it will not solve anything. and honestly, yes. some of us have grown rather tired. most of us have been mods three or four years now. we've gotten tired of having to warn people over, and over, nad OVER again about rules that, by this point, they SHOULD be familiar with.

yes, i admit that i have been hard on people lately, and i have singled people out in the main chat. i apologize. i've been having a VERY terrible time since last summer, and sometimes I just get to the point where i dont want to deal with the daily BS that can go on in the chat and basically just say 'screw it'. i know i shouldn't have, and again, i apologize. i will say this, though. i don't believe ANY of the current mods have EVER kicked/banned someone simply because we're in a bad mood or for disliking someone. and i mean *ever*. yes, sometimes, we may be a little less tolerant than normal of certain behavior and what we might on one day give a warning for, we may just ban you for the next.

i personally think that the mods and tom should get together for a Q and A session; let the mods ask tom questions about what is and isn't acceptable, how to handle certain situations, etc.

[Foxtrot200]

To be completely honest, comments like these make me feel unappreciated, as though my services would not be missed if they were to suddenly end. I know this is false. I've contributed too much to the community for it to be true, but it still bothers me to think that some people think this place would be better off without me.

I really don't try to be rude or unfair. On the contrary, I try to be kind and fair because that's what I've been appointed to do, but as Yuki said, we are human. We aren't robots designed to enforce the rules. We have emotions and they can have adverse effects on our performance, I hate to say, but I try my best to control it to the best of my ability and ignore the chat when I know it'd be difficult. You have to give us a break every once in a while just as we try to give people who have obviously had a bad day some time to calm down before resorting to removing them from the chatroom. We want people to enjoy themselves here. I, myself, generally try to avoid situations where I would have to discipline someone I don't like or, at least, underestimate the consequences of their actions. I try very hard to make sure my actions don't fall under bullying and aren't fueled by my personal feelings.

The accusations of us being power hungry is false. Quite often, we question whether our judgement will fall under the rules and stop ourselves if they don't. You all know Tom as a kind and gentle person, but I've seen first-hand that he can get pissed if we show deviance from acceptable protocol. I've also been known to get after people if Tom doesn't get after them first. This also pretty much dismisses the "invincible" accusation.

I don't know if "trolls" is aimed at all of us or just a select few, which I probably fall under, but I can see where you're coming from; A few of the members in the moderation team have a strong sarcastic wit. I won't name names, but you must understand that they really don't mean any harm by it. It's just in their nature and part of who they are. I know I've been described as argumentative in the past, but honestly, when I get into a long winded argument about something as insignificant as whether someone is right or wrong in saying that dubstep is a valid music genre, I'm hardly being serious. Honestly, I couldn't care less, but the argument itself is all in good fun. If you think otherwise, just let me know. I'll try to tone it down. I don't want anyone to be upset with me over something like that.

Relentless? I honestly don't understand where this is coming from. Are we too harsh? Do we discipline too much? To be completely honest, I don't think the rules are unreasonable. They're really just common sense and if you act like a decent person, you shouldn't run into much trouble, so I think our responses to rule breakers, overall, are justified and misunderstandings are usually corrected.

If I'm doing something wrong, please inform Tom. I'll get the message one way or another. As stated before, people don't tell us these things. It's hard to fix things when we don't know what's broken. Instead of calling us harsh bullies or power hungry trolls, try explaining what we did wrong and please give examples. Otherwise, your claim is as trustworthy as a line on Wikipedia tagged with "[citation needed]."