The Psychiatric Ward

It's a bit more than simply disagreeing with it, sphynxx. I truly believe his style of Modding to be more a detriment to the site than an asset. Well, at this particular point in time, anyway. Let me elaborate on this a bit.

There are different modding styles needed for different times through the site history. All really depend on the type of members, and the amount active at that particular time. It can really be broken up into two categories, though there are mid points in them.

Hard, fast, aggressive action - Mainly needed at a time when the site is extremely active and the numbers of members outweigh the number of staff. If the members get it in their heads that the staff are not going to take any nonsense, then they won't really act up. The upside to this is that less people act up. The downside is that it pushes people away from the site because no one likes being under the magnifying glass.

Any example of this would have been the time between 07, 08, and 09. A bit of aggressive modding could have been used. There were a LOT of active members back then, and the staff couldn't really cover it all, or so I would guess. They needed to think "I better do right or a Mod might get onto me". Or, something along those lines.

Relaxed, friendly modding - This is really needed when the site is in a dip, and needs more active members. If the members get it in their heads that they're near the same level as staff since the staff aren't big headed, they'll like it and become more active on the site. Upside to this is obviously the gain in members and activity. Downside is, things get pushed a little and some people could start to act up if there's no one there to put their foot down.

An example of when this might need to be used is now, actually. The site is losing more people than it's gaining. Less aggressive modding needs to be used, if any really any modding at all. The more members like the way everyone acts, the more they'll want to be here.

Now, people need to change how they do things as the activity on the site changes. Probably the best person usable in an example over modding now would be Volke. He actually cares and chooses every word he says before saying it. In just about every modding post I've seen him make, he says something along the lines of "Sorry for having to do this. Hope it didn't run you off or anything".

Even if you did get onto someone, using that attitude there would lighten the blow a good bit. They (The members) would think to themselves that staff are actually nice people. They would want to stay,and keep giving this site their activity.

I think Cross Stinger once referenced this place to a school by saying the Members were students, the Mods were teachers, the Smods were assistant principals, and the Admins were principals. Now, along with this, you have to keep in mind that this is a place meant for fun, not education. Keeping in mind that this place is for fun, what do you think the best teachers were at making things fun? Relaxed ones, or old butter nuts that smacked your wrist with a ruler (Deleted your stuff) every time you stepped out of line?

Personally, I would prefer a nice teacher if it's a small class, but a strict teacher if it was a larger class that could get out of hand easily (Because, it's not like the teacher could catch everything a large class did. Just enough to make sure the other students didn't attack you and get away with it). Hope you're getting the similarities so far.

All in all, the site is in a down moment and the main concern should be attracting more people to the place rather than keeping everything in perfect line (With the rules, I mean). We can't really attract all that many people if every kindness isn't shown to the members. We have to give people wiggle room.

Now, if you're wanting to know how to respond to situations, just keep this in mind: If you're going with the nice approach, don't use buttons unless absolutely necessary. Personally, I like this way, because more people end up liking you. In that particular topic that I linked to earlier, I would have either said nothing, or just made a post saying something to the effects of "Hey, I'm glad you like the site. Why not make a topic in the New Members and we'll all give you a warm welcome." If something like that was said and no action was taken, the member probably would have felt welcome and wanted to stay a while. If you're wanting to take the stricter approach... well it was posted by Filip in that topic. That member... probably won't come back, even if this site is attractive with the individual's interests.

Someone has to say something, or the same path will continue to be taken. Filip may not like the criticism. He may think it's disrespectful. Someone's got to say it though. =/