Should their be an age limit on mod app?

[Lululioness]

I love how you included getting active member in your list XD.

Teehee

 

[Gunnishone]

Most of this thread has restored my faith in the maturity of MCSG! So many long a detailed and meaningful posts, that's great to see .

Now, about the age limit. I think it has basically all been discussed here, but I'll quickly say something. Most of the time, maturity is built with age. So in most cases a 16 year old is going to be more mature than a 12 year old. It's just like drinking alcohol and driving a car (both of which are great examples). There are age limits on things for a reason.

So yes, I definitely think there should be an age requirement for moderator.

It's scientifically proven that people who are 16, are more mature than those 13 or younger. Sure, their actions may be different, but the bottom line is if they want to help, they can handle the position better than those younger then them, and they also can be calm and collected under some form of pressure where those younger may not.

Show me those studies!

I don't even get why people want to be mod in the first place. It'd be like my own personal Hell having to deal with so many people in one sitting.

Since being a moderator I have taken on new responsibilities, helped people out, taught people things, met new people, had people gain respect for me and I have had fun.

That said, at one point no, I would not have wanted to become mod. But as I have played on MCSG I have come to realise that I enjoy helping people. Sure you get people that abuse you each and everyday, but when you can help a new member join their first game of survival games; that makes it all worth it.

(I know you could do the above without the moderator rank, but as a moderator your help seems to be more...acknowledged)

 

[xSwagGiraffe]

Yeah LeafyGreenTee is like 19, that means he's mature. We should definitely give him a chance at mod!

 

[Gunnishone]

Yeah LeafyGreenTee is like 19, that means he's mature. We should definitely give him a chance at mod!

Just because he hacked doesn't mean he's not mature...

 

[Br00k]

Well we all can say this goes down to one thing and that is being mature as said many times before we don't want 12 year olds going around like " er magarwd I died by dat stupid noobb haker ./permban guythatisnothacking2002 stoopied noob haker killng me. Because well that just bad that mod will probably not last that long. Even if you are "mature" surely if you are waiting 4 or 3 months is fine if you have to wait 1 year or 6 months then you should apply for one. But I am not even going to bother until I am 14. Why? Because I don't really see the point because it might cause to much trouble eg Dis guy got mod when he was 13 why can I not? And really why do I need mod at the moment. When there is plenty of staff at the moment that are on the age limit.

 

[BlueHeron]

Zeppy. That's why.

 

[ScrewYouGumby2]

It is not possible that all 16 year olds are more mature than 13 year olds, I mean, most of them probably are but there are lots of immature 16 year olds I know, and a lot of very mature 13 year olds I know.

This is true to a certain extent, there are people who do not have the mental capacity to function at their age, so yes you will be more mature than people who are even 20 years older than you. The average 16 year old is quite a bit more mature than the average 13 year old.

Being smart is no guarantee of maturity, nor are grades. The only thing that you have proven is that you are committed. Education is not essential for success in the real world take a look at Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. None of the three have a university education, but they were all amazing at what they did.

Perhaps to the senior staff it isn't practical to try to interview all of the 13 year olds that think that they are mature enough to be moderators when you have five 15 year olds that are likely more mature.

Have you considered that perhaps the kid who is failing school is going through the divorce of his parents? Or the death of a sibling? There are so many different reasons for success and failure, from reading your post it is quite evident that your parents support you quite a bit, and give you the home you need to thrive while others are not so fortunate.

From past experiences, I simply can't find this true. (Note: Before I say this, I'm not trying to give myself an ego boost; it's just the best example I could think of.) I am an Eagle Scout, the highest possible rank in Boy Scouts of America. I'm 14, and most other Eagle Scouts are 16-17. One of the main things you have to do to earn it is plan and develop a service project. Comparing mine to another one I volunteered at, I had my project much more planned out, under control, and organized than the other one. And trust me, there is a lot of pressure not to screw up in front of the adults that are going to decide if you earn the rank or not. When I went for my final review with a District Board I was passed unanimously without even being asked to leave the room for discussion. As I said earlier, I didn't go through all of that to feel good about myself, but show that there are definitely younger people that can handle things better than those older.

All that this means is that you care more about being an Eagle Scout than these other people.

 

[RC_4777]

All that this means is that you care more about being an Eagle Scout than these other people.

Not necessarily. These people were about to age out. They had just a few months to complete this, and they wanted it. I had 4 years. Also, my leaders had the liberty to not let me work on it. One of them said that normally if someone my age approached him about Eagle Scout, he'd tell them to wait. My maturity was very important in that decision.

 

[ScrewYouGumby2]

Not necessarily. These people were about to age out. They had just a few months to complete this, and they wanted it. I had 4 years. Also, my leaders had the liberty to not let me work on it. One of them said that normally if someone my age approached him about Eagle Scout, he'd tell them to wait. My maturity was very important in that decision.

After reading your first post, I am still not convinced that this is the case. You said that you had an excellent project, which I will not doubt. I think that if these older people wanted to become an Eagle Scout they would have put just as much time into it as you. When you get older you have more responsibilities and more worries on your hand. A 16 year old quite possibly has a job and school grades that are actually meaningful because they will need the grades to get into university. A 14 year old doesn't really have to worry about much at all.

You might be mature for your age but it is just that, mature for your age. That is no guarantee that you are more mature than an average 16 year old.

 

[Col_StaR]

It's scientifically proven that people who are 16, are more mature than those 13 or younger.

Show me those studies!

I knew someone was going to pull the "science-says" card, so I decided to use my own resources and do my own research. I pulled a good article from the Journal of Adolescent Health titled, "Adolescent Maturity and the Brain: The Promise and Pitfalls of Neuroscience Research in Adolescent Health Policy", published on June 4, 2009. The abstract is given HERE, the abstract is given HERE, and I think the section that is most portent to this discussion is given HERE.
For those of you who have never had to look into peer-reviewed academic sources, here's your introduction.

Summary: Despite constant anecdotal evidence from members outside of the research community, there is not enough evidence of a definite maturity age-limit to support a magical age-based maturity limit; indeed, that idea of definite age being an influence on behavior was a socially-constructed idea before modern science could map our neurological nuances. What they do agree on is that the brain goes through certain phases of growth and development, that period of development continues until about age 30, and that further research between neurodevelopmental processes and real-world behavior is needed before any conclusions can be made. Thus, social policy that claims to be scientifically backed have a rather large deficit of the actual scientific backing, but are generally accepted regardless.

To put this into focus of our discussion: science doesn't yet have any conclusive answers about age limits, neurological development, and behavioral changes (yet). As such, our social policy of age limits for mod applications is still very much a case of society setting its own rules based on a specific expectations and modes of behavior.
But this also explains why there are so many different stories going around of different-aged people doing different things: everyone's brain and behavior is so vastly different from one another. Because of this, generalizations are bound to be inaccurate (or accurate to a certain degree), so exceptions to the socially-accepted norms (such as "13 year olds are immature" and "21 year olds are very mature" are bound to exist.

We have the age limit to cast a wide net over candidates, whom are at an age which we arbitrarily agreed are most likely to be mature and capable of handling responsibility and power. But at the same time, we have the age exception process to handle all of the outlying exceptions that are out there; those applicants are then put through some rigorous tests to have them prove that they are genuinely exceptional and deserving of the same privileges as their older peers. We have a moderator application that is highly flexible and effective... even if applicants take a while to screen (and we get 30+ per week to go through too).

But yeah, I'm enjoying this conversation, perhaps because I'm usually the one who gets asked this (in a very angry, "Y U DENY MY AGE ACCEPTION? I AM VERY MATURE AND U DON'T KNOW IT BECAUSE UR BAD AT U JOB."

If you disagree about there being an age limit you're basically delusional. I honestly don't even believe in age exceptions, cause the true examples of age exceptions: (Duckluv, Darkrai, Tironas) all gave up their positions after having the job for like a month.

At the same time, there are a handful of 13 year old mods who are still staff here coming up on 3+ months now. Don't let a few bad examples ignore the good ones.

Most young people cannot deal with the organisation skills required to be a successful mod.

While organizational skills are important, the most essential thing we're looking for is emotional control, mental stability, and social comprehension, three elements which are normally wrapped up into the convenient term, "Maturity." We can deal with people being disorganized, especially since we can train through that or design a system for them that works. But we can't teach people how to not fly off the handle at a few teamers if they can't control themselves due to a lack of neurological development. We look for good, stable candidates, then we train them to do their job; hiring the other way around almost never works.

 

[Mlpoknzaba]

While organizational skills are important, the most essential thing we're looking for is emotional control, mental stability, and social comprehension, three elements which are normally wrapped up into the convenient term, "Maturity." We can deal with people being disorganized, especially since we can train through that or design a system for them that works. But we can't teach people how to not fly off the handle at a few teamers if they can't control themselves due to a lack of neurological development. We look for good, stable candidates, then we train them to do their job; hiring the other way around almost never works.

This is kind of what I meant, but I tend not to post massive replies to stuff often. (and I never seem to achieve the clarity I am aiming for, which you can)
Anyways, my point is still valid, as many young people lack "emotional control, mental stability, and social comprehension," as you so aptly put the term.


Also, as older people have lived longer (duh) they tend to have built up a larger and more sophisticated vocabulary than younger people. As you have proven, using 'big words' makes you sound authoritative, and mature.

 

[Joel/MadDawg]

Like RC said, I cannot find this true.
That year, I managed to;

Become House Captain and SRC President
Get Straight As in both semesters.
Organise the Market Day stalls for my grade (60 kids)
Get my idea picked for the Australian National Museum's replacement of K-Space
Get the top shifts at the school canteen (which meant more free food... Nomnomnomnom)
Get Active Member on the MCSG forums (hurhurhur)
Win the Australia National Schools Teams Championship in the Girls Primary Division as Captain of my team.
Coordinate the Yearbook 2013

This list makes me feel bad about myself