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Making Age Exceptions For Moderator

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HalfSquirrel

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NOTE: Please read the thread before you make a negative comment saying that this will never happen!

Hello MCSG forums! I’m guessing you read the title and decided to go and say “Age limit will not be reduced/removed, just wait until you’re the right age and apply then”. Well, that’s what I’ve been doing for the last year that I’ve been with MCSG. And I won’t even be able to apply anyways, as I don’t have TS and wouldn’t be able to do any of the required staff stuff there. As you probably know, the age limit was reduced from 16 years old with exceptions of 15 years old and a good application to 14 years old with a good application. We are very lucky to have this, but I can’t help thinking that they only did this because lots of staff have been resigning recently, and a bit because a lot of the forumers have been pointing this out and recommending an age limit reduction. I’m not suggesting we remove or reduce the age limit, I’m suggesting we allow for exceptions of any age. As you continue reading this post, you will also find AnonymousHelperPersonThing’s point of view on this topic below.

I understand that this would cause the Sr. Staff to have to look through a lot more applications from all the younger applicants, but there can’t be that many more than there usually are after this settles in. Just like now, they will be getting plenty of application from 14 year olds, but after some time, it will die down to normal. And there would be very few proper applications from the younger applicants, and the staff wouldn’t have to read those because they wouldn’t be very long and thorough or even using the proper template in some cases.

In our community, I have seen many people stay with us for a long time and many of them were of young ages. Anyone that stays on the forums for a noticeable amount of time eventually grows quite mature, whether they started that way or not. I have noticed many younger players and forumers among us that have always been nice, helpful and responsible. I’m sure most of the people in this community can name a few right off the top of their heads. These are some people that could make great staff members, but don’t get the chance to show it because they either don’t apply out of fear of getting denied for age, or they already did get denied for age even though they made a great application.

We also have many inactive staff members clogging up the Staff members page. Some staff get accepted to the position, moderate for a while, but eventually get bored of MCSG and just leave the community. They don’t notify anyone of this, so I guess the staff feels like they have no need to remove them from the staff (sorry if I’m wrong). I understand if they have given a reason why they are so inactive, but for the staff that haven’t been on in multiple months there is no reason to be gone so long if they are still a part of this community. Here are a few inactive staff members, or staff members that barely do anything on the forums, or even both:
Col_Star
IronFerret
CrazyDude47
Brilliantos
Calebrox124 (He doesn’t do anything on our forums, and he even plays the hive way more now, if he has something to say get him to say it then)
Wedtm (Even a developer...)
-<4, HalfSquirrel


And now, a second point of view from AnonymousHelperPersonThing.
Hey everyone.
As you've probably realized by now, this thread is mainly about the possibility of making exceptions with the Moderator age requirement.
You've all just read HalfSquirrel’s side of the story, which is quite similar to mine, but it's always better to include multiple POV's so you can really understand where we're coming from.

Before you think to yourself " You're only doing this so you can get mod" or "The age limit won't be changed, why make this post?", hear me out.
I am NOT creating this post for my own purposes.
As much as you may believe it's just for my own good, just so I can become moderator, that belief is wrong.
I've helped create this post, and I support this post because I think, not even including myself, there are numerous deserving candidates for the moderator position under the looming age of fourteen.

If you went over to the staff list on the forums today, you would find that there are around 80 moderators, Sr. Moderators included, but, ask yourself this, how many of those are actually active?
I would say maybe 30-35 of those 80 staff members are active staff members, all of the inactive staff being of the moderator and, believe it or not, admin position.
That's around 35 staff members to keep an entire community of 100,000 some forumers, and over 1,000,000 players on the servers in check.
Although this is slightly unrelated, I really think we need to look into the demotion of these inactive staff members.
Now, before you say "Just because they don't post on the forums, doesn't mean they aren't in game."
So?
As a moderator your job is to do both, moderate the forums and the servers.
You can't possibly tell me someone with maybe one post and two likes, who hasn't been seen on the forums since December, is a suitable moderator.
We need to clear out these inactive staff members so the community, and the active staff can really realize how short-staffed we actually are.

You're probably thinking, "So you want younger Moderators to be accepted just to fill the gap? You want mediocre applications accepted just for the sake of having staff?"
No!
What I want is exceptions to be made so that younger players with really good applications will have a chance.
Just a chance.
I don't want every 'decent' application to be accepted, because then we'd just have a bunch of inactive staff again.
The bar should be set high, if not higher than ever, so we will get only the best staff members, and I think there are some young people out there who, believe it or not could handle such a position (and no, I am NOT talking about myself.)
All I'd like to see is exceptions being made.
At this point, we could have the holy grail of all applications submitted by the person who really could be the best moderator we've ever seen, but if they're to young, it won't happen.
And, even if their application is accepted, that doesn't mean they'll pass the interview.
It's not a guaranteed chance for underage moderators, it's just the given opportunity to be a moderator at a younger age, for anyone who is fit for the position.
Continued in reply...
 

HalfSquirrel

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And now you're thinking "Why can't they wait like everyone else?"
Well, they can, but why?
If they're truly ready for the position, imagine how much they could do as a moderator in the months, or even years they'd have to wait before they're old enough.

Again, the number of under aged staff we would actually have would be severely low, but still 1, 2, maybe even 3 underaged staff member who do their job well is better than none, and is a contribution to the community and the staff, a contribution we need.

This thread guarantees nothing, it doesn't mean anything unless acted upon.
I don't want Jr. Mods, I don't want the age limit removed because I think it's there for a reason and it needs to be there, but I do think there should be exceptions for incredible applications and genuine candidates.

Don't bug staff members about it, don't put it in your signature, I'm not looking for a campaign, I'm looking for change, and change is up to staff.
Please, just consider it.
I know you've had issues with younger staff before, but that shouldn't curse the rest of us.

And finally, I'm not saying the Sr. Staff is doing their job wrong, by not making exceptions, because they simply aren't allowed to, and they've had bad experiences doing so.
You guys do an amazing job with what you do, but you need help, and I believe some younger people can do that.

I don't want a flame war on this thread, I don't want some kind of crazy revolution, I want changes to be considered and possibly implemented.

~Thanks, AnonymousHelperPersonThing

Note: Had to double post, thread was too long :p Sorry!
 

Tal_Pal

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Vey well put together I like it. I can see the benefits and downfalls of both sides but I'm not sure which I'd rather have. I think a general age limit is in order unless you think you have what it takes like you half to be 14 or older unless you present us an amazing mod app. I think there should be a little more lenience with younger mod apps. But I don't think the age limit should be changed. But that's just me
 

HalfSquirrel

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Vey well put together I like it. I can see the benefits and downfalls of both sides but I'm not sure which I'd rather have. I think a general age limit is in order unless you think you have what it takes like you half to be 14 or older unless you present us an amazing mod app. I think there should be a little more lenience with younger mod apps. But I don't think the age limit should be changed. But that's just me
That's exactly what this is suggesting. Not a change in the age limit, but a chance for exceptions to be made for younger applicants. Sorry if that wasn't clear in some parts, that was the original idea but we changed it because we thought this made more sense and might not have changed it everywhere.
 

Tal_Pal

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That's fine, it made enough sense for me to get what your saying and that's all you need.
 

FortiPlex

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I agree. MCSG is accepting applications that don't necessarily deserve it. Heck, even 10 year olds might be better than what we get now for moderation. I honestly think that the administration team need to really work on moderation system and how one individual gets in the team. You can't judge a person by the posts or likes; but the helpfulness and activity. We can have a list of people once a week (that the administration and moderation team chooses) and have the users on the website vote on who they think will serve well to the community.

Obviously, few people will get in the team, but it's not about getting the more numbers in a team. It's about the effectiveness of the team. And the security of the forums.
 

Tal_Pal

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ADD kicking in a bit :p same thing happens to me also but I don't mind making long posts if I want to
 
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