With the recent staff promotion and RfS discussions, I've been thinking about how we might revamp the moderator position and acknowledgement. I had a discussion with SCM and JBed about it on IRC, and thought I should post my musings on it here. The key aims of this revamp would be to distinguish moderator and acknowledgement as two different roles/achievements, and to emphasise the role of staff members.
The current state of moderator and acknowledgement Currently, moderator is given more as a reward for users seen as deserving than as a set of tools and a position for an editor to effectively use. It's almost a rite of passage: do some work for a few months to a year, then get promoted to moderator. This work isn't always in the mainspace, either: there are a number of mods who were promoted primarily for their work with policy, the IRC, walkthroughs etc., further confusing the role. Despite it being a staff position, there are significant differences in how we treat moderators and their promotion. Acknowledgement is in a terrible state. People who receive it fall into three main categories: former staff members, those who have done enough work to be staff members but do not want the position and those who aren't quite deserving of moderator for some reason. It's basically seen as an inferior consolation prize, rather than something which is worth achieving in itself. There are no clear guidelines for achieving acknowledgement. Finally, there is confusion as to whether acknowledged users are staff members. The meaning of being a staff member There has been a heavy emphasis on staff members being made mostly to use tools, but I believe we have simplified it too much. Rights do not simply equate to tools, but also the responsibility to use them. Staff members are also expected to be knowledgeable about policy, participate in discussion and be held to a higher standard of behaviour. When we promote a person to staff, we are saying that this user is a person we trust to be a good example as an editor in multiple aspects. Administrators have more tools; thus, they are held to higher standards and have greater responsibility, and it is considered to be a more senior position than moderator. Designers and moderators, likewise, are considered to have more trust given to them than a normal user. Changes to moderator What does this mean for the moderator position? I believe we should modify it so that it better fits the role of a staff position. Like admin, modship should be given to people who have been editing consistently in the mainspace, have good behaviour, participate in discussions and will use the tools. However, the criteria we use will not be as strict or demanding as the ones for being an admin. Moderators are people the wiki community trust to use tools, but don't have the experience/consistency/contributions/desire/behaviour to become an administrator. This means that the position will now be more selective, and not given simply as a reward, but for utility. We may consider given the position more tools to emphasise this. Changes to acknowledgement I would like acknowledgement to be considered as something distinct to moderator - parallel, but not inferior. Acknowledgement would be given as a reward to people who have done excellent work for the wiki, but not in multiple aspects or consistently as a moderator would be expected to do. Examples of this would include:
Acknowledgement therefore takes on much of the "reward" nature that moderator used to have. It recognises major wiki achievements, but as it comes with no tools, it does not carry the responsibility or expectations of a staff position like moderator. This means that acknowledged users will no longer be staff members. They will have a separate page detailing their achievements and a separate badge. What this means for the RfS and promoting pathways When considering nominating a user for moderator, keep these new criteria in mind. Moderator will be more like a "junior admin" position in how it is perceived and achieved. These changes to moderator reinforce the progression of user -> moderator -> administrator, and it is expected that most users will follow this path. However, note that being promoted to moderator is a symbol of trust, consistency and good editing, and it is these qualities which are important. Thus, if one chooses not to be made a moderator, but displays the qualities we are looking for in an administrator, then a nomination to admin straight from user/acknowledged will be considered. Designer is a similar position of trust, and one can be promoted to admin from there. I think nominations for acknowledgement can also be handled by the RfS system, but setting up another page is fine. Current moderators will be grandfathered. TL;DR
Thoughts? | |||
Hm, I'm not sure how much I have to add, but I'll do my best:
And uh, I think that's it? EDIT: Just talked with Yuan on the IRC, and, it's less about making Designer a bridge to Admin and more about making the Mod -> Admin bridge less rigid. That is something I can wholly agree with, so my 3rd point no longer means anything. :D12:50, October 25, 2014 (UTC) | |||
BlueHighwind Q? 15:17, October 25, 2014 (UTC) TALK - So if you care to find me, look to the Western Sky!ツ: | |||
I don't see any reason to oppose any of this. It clarifies what a Moderator promotion should have been in the first place, and makes the Acknowledgement definition much clearer. It really doesn't make too much distinction because I think just about everybody who Social Medias either edits or used to edit enough to get Mod-ness. I still say that one should move up the ranks in a traditional manner, Regular -> Mod/Designer -> Admin. You should only jump ranks if you're the most incredible user we've ever had, the kind of person that works like a Triple JBed and has the demeanor of a saint. (Also I'm Grandfathered into the Mod position anyway, so my place is never threatened.) | |||
 Catuse says at 00:41, October 26, 2014 (UTC) "Somewhere a zealous god threads these strings between the clouds and the earth, preparing for a symphony it fears impossible to play. And so it threads on, and on, delaying the raise of the conductor's baton." | |||
Right now mods have four rights, plus everything autoconfirmed has. It might be worthwhile to shift rights around if we're giving mods more 'power' (view rights at Special:ListGroupRights):
Also...if we're trusting mods to be more responsible, maybe we could give them block and editprotected? EDIT: Time for a leak from the admin lab! <SomeColorMage> you know, if we could let mods have a limited block function, I'd be all over that, but we can't do that <SomeColorMage> seriously, there's a 2 hour block option good for shutting up vandals that we almost never use <SomeColorMage> but would be pretty useful for lower staff positions <+Catuse> JBed wrote some JS that's user group specific <+Catuse> It could probably be used to force mods to select 2 hours for block time | |||
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commenting because I see that I've been mentioned. I focus on major mainspace projects (i.e. FFXI articles) mainly because theres no one else on this wiki who is either willing and/or competent to do it. which isn't to say that I "do not have interest" in other areas, i just feel that theres usually already someone around who can cover other areas that I might be interested in. which is why when there was a lack of FFATB content i helped to fill that out. that being said I do prefer project-based work, and id like to believe my strength lies in an eye for preattentive visuals and aesthetic appeal, so I'm glad that my contributions had a major impact on both the sideicon and navbox template projects. anyway, since I'm one of the handful of people who actually hold an acknowledgement, I thought i'd give my 2gils worth as well. if acknowledged users are no longer staff, it wouldn't preclude staff from receiving acknowledgements would it? in other words, you can be a staff and be acknowledged as well yes? cos if not, and they're mutually exclusive.. then it does nothing to change the perception of acknowledgement being inferior. also, i hope we get another cute gif. | |||
Tia-Lewise - Tread lightly, she is near, under the snow. Speak gently, she can hear the daisies grow TALK - Summoner of Nyan 08:39, October 26, 2014 (UTC) | |||
Hang on a sec, users who are acknowledged are classed as staff members? I know they could choose whether or not to have the cactuar but uh...how can you be staff with no staff powers? Anyway, that doesn't matter so much. Onto the points. There seems to only be about four or five moderators who hold their position with a reason not relating to the mainspace, and three of them are inactive. This in itself isn't an issue right now as we're looking at pushing forward with something new, but I just thought I should point that one out. But yes, promotion to moderator definitely seen as a rite of passage, I remember in my earlier days working really hard just so everyone would notice me and promote me, and well, it worked, so no complaints there, but it's typical of the way promotion works, just as Yuan says. I'm all for allowing moderators to be able to edit protected pages. It's kind of unfair on them that they can't, it's like saying we're not letting them do their job because they're not a lofty admin. We know he or she isn't going to vandalise anything unless it's completely unintentional, let's at least give them this. I also like the idea of a basic 2 hour block if it's actually possible to do. I wonder whether Wikia would agree with that though. Also yes to mods having autopatrol, though the thing is useless and honestly, I stopped using it after about two weeks of being admined. On a final note: Uh, Grandfathered? *scratches head in confusion* | |||
@Cat/SCM: I like the idea of giving mods more move rights and autopatrol. If we could increase the number of uploads they get, that would be useful as well. No to the limited block, as it has very little use and would probably be rejected by Wikia. We seldom block people for that length of time. I would prefer no to editing protected pages as well - I feel this is one of the important admin rights, and we have to maintain that distinction as well. Consider also what pages are protected:
@Spira: My apologies for my misunderstanding. Yes, you can be acknowledged and a staff member. However, I will note that as part of the grandfathering, I would prefer that current staff members not be nominated for retroactive acknowledgement to avoid a flood of people being given it immediately. If they do something new which is worthy of acknowledgement, they can go through the same process as other users. Rewards for acknowledgement will be a new badge (Dancing Moogle or Chocobo), a blurb detailing your contributions on the acknowledgement page, and being immortalised in verse by Scathe or I. @Tia: Just stating it here so it doesn't seem like I'm ignoring you: they're currently floating in a quantum not-staff/am-staff space, so this is clarifying their role as distinct. | |||
As I've said on IRC, if the basic idea of this thread is to make the roles clearer and to make the RfS page less rigid, then I support. I don't have a lot more to add, though... | |||