LogFAQs > #971991172

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Yeah, but the problem was never necessarily even whether or not her actual moderation history was fair, but that the mere existence of her mod power itself was causing a significant backlash.

That is basically the first point I made, as I recall. Even if I didn't outright say it.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

So long as none of those mods or admins ever came to PotD (which none of them really did), they'd never really see anything different.

It's almost enough to make me suggest that part of the modding process should be to go to a given applicant's "home board" and ask the people who know them best if they'd trust them with mod powers. If a ton of people are screaming no or begging you not to do it, maybe it's time to start asking why. But that has flaws of its own, and would actually require work from notoriously work-adverse admins, so it's probably not a great idea either

I definitely would have liked a venting process to make sure the applicant is suitable rather than looking at their clean mod history and what they say on the application. Don't even ask the community directly, but look at the active messages to see what is frequent as a location, and get a sense from the board(s) what the general attitude is. THEN ask questions if necessary, on a dedicated alt account not tied to running the site.

See, what boggles the mind about Ail's ascension isn't how you think. It's that it was clear back then that the mods only worked when a post was marked by 2-3 or more people who didn't have high moderation histories themselves, plus marking accuracy because lone markers whose failed attempts at pointing out ToS breaking posts must be swept under the rug. I'm getting sidetracked, there, but the fact of the matter, the wrench in the works when thinking about the whole thing, is that it was clear Ail was entirely active. One potential analogy one could come up with is comparing most mods to stores of gunpowder, some wet and most dry, that only really do anything when the conditions are right, and in comes a radioactive isotope that is Ail. Even without seeing the boards' attitude toward her, the admins could, should have known she was too active for the role. Proper vetting could have prevented that.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I've mentioned in the past that I post on Reddit all the time now. Only one (former) PotDer knows what my user-name there is, but I'm probably posting there more now than I do here. If this site dies tomorrow it'll be more of a whimper than a bang from my perspective.

Sure, it takes time - but this won't be the first or the last site I've spent tons of time on that I eventually watched die. I've been on the Web since there's BEEN a Web. I know first-hand that nothing lasts forever.

Likewise, but I did have to throw a joke at your expense. =)

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I'd argue the board/site started dying because spin-offs pulled people away, and then the very nature of the Internet and social media in general shifted due to factors that had nothing to do with the site itself. Larger social trends had more to do with it than the actions of any single person.

I suppose there's an argument to be made that it was her divisive presence that led to the first spin-off boards in the first place, which in turn inspired the later ones by example, so you could say she still had an indirect influence on one of the factors that eventually started killing the site. But even the spin-offs were probably a minor factor, since for every old user who left a new one came in. It wasn't until that influx of new blood stopped that the losses became significant. Sure, people might nostalgically say "Man, whatever happened to so-and-so" or "Man, all you new people kind of suck, I miss all the old guys", but it wasn't really until the site as a whole became pass that it really became a major issue.

As fun as it is to talk about Ail like she's the Devil of a long-forgotten Age, it's not really true.

She made at least one spin-off board, or helped run it at least, and caused at least two or three to be made, but those posters stuck around here WHILE she was doing her thing. It was during the calm, your alleged "new normal" that some of the posters drifted away from here. They saw a drama llama was gone, and needed a new plane to feed; the spin-off boards that had already been in place became their new feeding ground. They only ever came back here when Paradiso's server went under one of its dozen-ish times. Not to be part of the community, but to do as hungry beasts do when their hunting grounds are on fire.

Even back then, the amount of new blood this site received was severely limited, less than it was pre-Kat Pager. Ail didn't attract anyone, but various consequences having to do with how the forum was made or run, such as key features being missing, all coincided and gave people less reason to stick around. Why stay somewhere bareboned with the moderation staff being how it was, when you could go to a free or low-cost forum with a bargain? None of the Gamefaqs mods, more of the up-to-date features! Kat Pager happened, and some of the regulars here at the time realized they didn't need or want to be here.

Far-Queue posted...

Man, it's been a while since I've seen PO Wall of Text with both barrels. This Ail fella must've woke the kraken

Even I knew back then she was something of a control freak. I tried telling her in the friendliest way possible to tone it down, especially on a site full of 13-to-15 year-olds. Sadly, I was too socially awkward back then due to my own issues I wouldn't even begin addressing until I was in my early 20s. I don't think I ever got the point across to her. C'est la vie, I guess.