Selecting a new Discord mod, plus an announcement.

Subject: Selecting a new Discord mod, plus an announcement.
Author: PoorCynic
Posted on: 2019-12-18 19:09:51 UTC

Sounds the trumpets and various alarums, for it is time to select a new mod for the PPC Discord!

This new mod will join Delta Juliette, Maslab, and Akrinor in being... chat-room janitors, if you will. The Discord has spent a good chunk of time discussing what makes a good mod, and I'll put up some of their suggestions here:

Available. A mod has to be, if not active all the time, at least around for sizable periods.
Visible. A known quantity. Not necessarily an oldie, but certainly someone the room knows.
Approachable. No one should be scared of the PPC mods (well, not in the 'tyrant' kind of way). Members of the Discord should feel comfortable approaching moderators for help, both publicly and privately.
Impartial. Mods should be able to keep a level head and see both sides of a situation, even it's a situation they might be involved in. Although that does fit in rather nicely with my next point...
Know when to ask help from your fellow moderators if a situation seems too out of your comfort zone. The mods are a team, and have to work together.

If you would like to nominate someone to be a Discord mod, please name them in a reply to this post and go over why they would be a good choice. Please do not nominate yourself. If you are nominated and do not wish to be a moderator, that's fine. Just go ahead and post saying so.

Some of you might be wondering why we need another moderator. What about me? Well, there's the thing. I have decided--after a great deal of contemplation--to step down as as the PPC Discord admin. My replacement for admin will be determined and selected some time before the end of the year.

It's been a long time coming, if you think about it. I'm not really a member of the community anymore. Not in the sense of 'being an active writer or RPer' or what have you. I haven't written anything PPC-related in what feels like eons. I haven't posted on the Board in what feels like longer (disregarding that recent bit of housekeeping). I'm grateful for my experience in the PPC for many reasons--my writing has improved, my ideas have gotten sharper, I've met wonderful people--but I think it's time for me to finally move on.

Thank you all so much for your time and attention. Catch you on the flip side.

PoorCynic

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Selecting a new Discord mod, plus an announcement. by PoorCynic on 2019-12-18 19:09:51 UTC Serious business

My vote’s on Larf (nm) by WolfQuill on 2019-12-30 21:36:56 UTC Reply
VOTING FOR DISCORD MOD HERE by PoorCynic on 2019-12-26 19:56:30 UTC Reply
The nominations are in and it's time to make a decision. The three nominees are:
1. Thoth
2. Larfen
3. Helsinki
Please only vote once. The votes will be finalized and tabulated on Dec. 31st.

I cast my vote for Larfen. by Aurora Morningstar on 2019-12-31 10:43:57 UTC Reply

I mean, all three options are people that I feel make very good candidates for mod personality-wise, and if there was more than one position, I'd vote for more than one. But, as multiple others have pointed out, Larfen fills the main gap in time coverage, so I'll vote for him based on that if nothing else.
If I have to pick one... by Granz the Ice Cream Monarch on 2019-12-31 08:38:44 UTC Reply

... I... think I would pick Thoth. If I have to pick.
Voting on Thoth. (nm) by Calliope on 2019-12-30 22:12:22 UTC Reply
Voting for Larf- they're all good choices, but improving time coverage sounds like a good idea. (nm) by Cicada on 2019-12-30 21:23:20 UTC Reply
Hel (nm) by Thoth on 2019-12-28 17:07:56 UTC Reply
I vote for Larfen by Akrinor on 2019-12-28 11:10:12 UTC Reply

Larf has been around the community for years, and is well-liked. He spends a lot of time on the Discord server, and is in a different timezone than both the Seattle group and me, which would help improve mod coverage, especially in the European early morning/ American late night slot, when Delta and Mas are falling asleep and I'm not entirely awake yet.

In addition, and at the risk of sounding like a HR person, I believe that he would bring very valuable new perspectives to the Mod team.

~Ak

And no, that freshly dug hole behind me is definitely not for hiding dead drifter bodies. (nm) by Akrinor on 2019-12-28 11:12:35 UTC Reply

I vote for Larfen, a most reasonable and level-headed fellow! (nm) by doctorlit on 2019-12-27 12:27:55 UTC Reply
I vote for Thoth to be the admin! by SomeRandomPersonAccount on 2019-12-27 11:44:11 UTC Reply

Yes, I still vote for Thoth. No, this isn’t a second vote, it’s the same vote. ~SomeRandomPersonAccount
Casting a vote for Helsinki. (nm) by Iximaz on 2019-12-27 04:27:30 UTC Reply
I vote for Larf! by Mattman The Comet on 2019-12-27 03:10:17 UTC Edited Reply

No dead drifters around here, no sirree
Vote for Larf! by Scapegrace on 2019-12-27 02:27:37 UTC Reply

Larf's awesome, and definitely didn't kill all those drifters!
I'll vote Thoth. (nm) by Cassie on 2019-12-27 01:17:41 UTC Reply
Thoth! by Larfen on 2019-12-27 00:32:27 UTC Reply

The guy's like always around and he's chill as hell and actually knows all the rules and all. If you told me he had been a mod the whole time I'd probably believe you.
I formally vote for Thoth. by Helsinki on 2019-12-26 23:39:59 UTC Reply

He's a solid dude. He's mature and responsible. I think he could budge Thor's hammer if he tried.
My vote is for Larfen! (nm) by Neo Skater on 2019-12-26 23:03:18 UTC Reply
I vote Thoth by Novastorme on 2019-12-26 22:59:18 UTC Reply

I mean given I nominated him it should be obvious, but figured I'd put it here.

Nova
Just to check, we're doing an approval vote, yeah? (that is, pick all candidates you like) by Tomash on 2019-12-26 21:48:08 UTC Reply

Seeing as that's how most elections seem to be run around here as far back as I can remember.
I vote for Thoth (nm) by Ozzielot on 2019-12-26 21:11:19 UTC Reply
I approve of Thoth, Hel, and Larf. (nm) by Tomash on 2019-12-26 20:21:51 UTC Reply

Hey PoorCynic by SomeRandomPersonAccount on 2019-12-26 14:52:09 UTC Reply

Sorry for causing some trouble when you were the admin of the server, but I hope that I don’t cause any for the next one.

But I want to thank you for upholding the constitution when I did something wrong and stupid( from a few occasions this year). I don’t know how to explain how much that actually means to me.

I hope that you will have a worthy successor that can work with the rest of the moderators PoorCynic!

-SomeRandomPersonAccount
Fond farewell. by Cicada on 2019-12-22 06:14:11 UTC Reply

I haven't known you as long as many others, but I have felt your presence. It's been great having you as a mod on the Discord- you're everything you described and more. I'm glad to be the latest of many people benefiting from the advice articles you've written about writing and betaing. Take care!

Thank you! by PoorCynic on 2019-12-22 19:51:53 UTC Reply

I'm glad you've been able to glean some good advice from those articles.

I have no strong feelings one way or the other, so... by Neo Skater on 2019-12-21 01:11:15 UTC Reply

Goodbye, PC! See you around!

Farewell. (nm) by PoorCynic on 2019-12-22 19:52:10 UTC Reply

Nomination by Thoth on 2019-12-19 16:35:33 UTC Edited Reply

First off, I've apparently been nominated. Wow. Okay. I mean... I could do the job, I'm more surprised that anyone considers me a mature and responsible member of the community. But if I do become a mod, I'll do my best to uphold that trust.

With that out of the way, I have my own nomination—Helsinki. Hel (who you may have previously known as Maxwell) is approachable, even-handed, and consistently keeps a cool head. They'll say what needs to be said and proposes rational solutions to problems that arise. They're frequently online and very accessible. I think they would make an excellent mod.

Late, but yeah, I'm up for nominations. by Helsinki on 2019-12-26 23:39:02 UTC Reply

I haven't responded to this thread at all because I was unsure as to what to say - I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a mod, if this was something I'd be up for, and I've certainly taken my time in getting back to this, just lurking and reading all the responses. I've come to the conclusion that yes, I'd be able to do the job, and I certainly am not shrinking away at the prospect. I've done a lot of moderation on other servers, Discord, TF2, Minecraft, etc, and I'm not unfamiliar, and I think I've held a pretty level head when it comes to serious discussions on the server. I try and be active, always read the backlogs, and I think I have a decent standing with most people. Either way, whether or not I'm a mod at the end of the day, I'm still myself, and still do what I can to help. (But I think there's better fits for this job than myself. :P)

Nomination by Grundleplith on 2019-12-19 16:33:35 UTC Reply

I nominate GMA/Geema/GoodModAddict as he seems to fulfill the requirements set out in the above post.

1) I see him frequently active in #badfic at least, and in VOIP, meaning that he's available. (though I don't usually participate directly with him or anyone in the latter due to my going to bed early most nights) 2) Visible: [Insert LIZARD SECKS joke here]...ahem. Aside from the memes, I'd say he's well known for digging up and through horrendous badfic and generally can be seen as being present in the chat. We all know who GMA is. I think. 3) Approachable: He qualifies for sure, although it's hard for me to really quantify. I can't speak to any particular instance that shows this, but he's generally come across as forthcoming and friendly? 4) Impartial: I haven't really seen him under pressure/in tense situations much as far as I recall, but he's been willing to look at both sides in the one disagreement I do remember having with him. Guess that speaks to #3. 5) See #4, I guess

I respectfully decline. by Good Mod Addict on 2019-12-19 16:36:28 UTC Reply

Thank you, really, but... I don't think I would be a good fit. When things get heated in the Discord, I tend to mute the channel and walk away. That's not what I would want from a mod. We'll find someone good for the role, though!

I'm sad to see you go, PC! : ( by doctorlit on 2019-12-19 12:50:46 UTC Reply

I know I'll still see you in that other Discord server, but . . . I'm sad I won't get to hear more from your characters any more.

I feel like there should be more to say, but . . . I just don't know what to.

—doctorlit

Seconding this. by Neshomeh on 2019-12-21 15:51:29 UTC Reply

I've been trying to think of something more to say, but doc pretty much covered it. You've always been a voice of good sense and an advocate for the betterment of the community. I've always enjoyed your writing and your characters. I'll miss you, and them.

On that note, a little housekeeping: Would you like anything in particular done with your characters' pages on the wiki? Are they officially retired, or simply inactive?

May I continue to refer to Gremlin, and possibly Xericka and Aiden, too, sometimes?

It's not often I get a chance to ask these questions. Thanks for that.

~Neshomeh

Thank you and doc both for the kind words. by PoorCynic on 2019-12-22 19:50:59 UTC Reply

I appreciate it, and I'm glad I got to know you both through this strange little group.

I don't mind you referring to the Nyl-Teng family. Heck, if you wanted to actually include them for small cameos, I wouldn't mind. I know your abilities and think you would do a fine job capturing their voices.

As for the character pages, just leave them inactive. Who knows what slim chances the future might hold?

I would like to put my vote in. by Mattman The Comet on 2019-12-19 02:36:02 UTC Reply

In my opinion, Larfen would make a fine mod. Well regarded, and can handle a timeframe our current mod team aren't usually awake for.

Folks, by Larfen on 2019-12-27 00:30:05 UTC Reply

So first off, I've really gotta apologise for my total non-presence on the new Board as far, despite being pretty active on the Discord. I've been sorta too busy to figure out logging into the place, not to mention that span of time where I just thought the RP Board was... the whole Board, and, uh, et al et al, so on.

Secondly, sure? If people reckon I'd make an alright mod, sure, I'm up for it. I think I get too heated about politics here and then but I can certainly cut that out for the sake of being like mature and all.

It's up to the votes, I suppose. But, sure, I'm up for it.

My Nomination by Novastorme on 2019-12-18 20:59:40 UTC Reply

So I guess I'm getting this started then?

Right, so my nomination is Thoth, and my reasoning is this: 1) He's well known. I think it's safe to say almost everyone is at the very least aware of Thoth, and that's a good thing. 2) He's fairly active, and seems to be happy engaging people in chat. 3) He's approachable. Personally I feel like I could go talk to him and be comfortable knowing that he'd be there to help. He's not scary, he's nice and friendly. 4) He's got a good sense of fair. While I'm aware Thoth has said that he would have a hard time monitoring the salt channels, I still fee like he's the sort of person who knows what's fair and is willing to see both sides of the situation and if he has a hard time dealing with the salt, well... 5) He's the sort of person that can delegate. Or at least, that's how I feel. And while this may come up more often than not in the salt chats, I feel like Thoth is the sort of person that knows when to back down or ask for help.

So TL;DR (I guess) I feel like Thoth is a well known, decently active person who is easy to approach and talk to who knows what fair means and has a good head on their shoulders which can allow them to help solve problems. But who also knows his limits and can ask for help when the situation is more than he can handle.

Thus I nominate Thoth as the next Mod of Discord.

Nova P.S Apologies for the repitition, I've only just noticed it.