Davy Crockett wrote: Thanks guys. What I would really like to be involved in is the quickness of being able to ban and/or mute someone almost within minutes of being posted on blacklist if proof is valid. I'm interested in the fragrant abuses that there is no denying the offense. I am in a position to be able to do that, I believe I could provide a service to the game and the players we all love.
As for the grey areas, well I would probably want to leave that up to the WIG and the other experienced moderators. Many grey areas may be grey to one person but not grey to another and I believe the currant moderators do a good job at that. Perfect, well hard to tell because if they make one group happy than they upset the other side. THATS A TOUGH JOB FOLKS.
Thank you for the endorsement, DC. I appreciate your respect for what we Mods do. No, it isn't easy. In fact it can, and frequently does, ruin your personal playing experience. I, for one, spend an inordinate amount of playing time instead sitting dead still, negotiating in chat with some misbehaving player or one who can't or refuses to understand the simple logic of how these things should ideally work, Mods are bombarded with attack chat in-game from players, usually noobs and often but certainly not always kids, busy testing the limits of what they can get away with. Defiance of authority is to be encouraged in our youth, but it derails your game and you rarely get back on track. My 200 kill games would be 300s if I weren't constantly besieged with pleas from abused players asking me to step in and take action when I've only just entered the mission. On some days it's all you find yourself doing; no major kill scores, no hangar arson, just busting jackass after jackass. Believe me, it grows old fast.
But we Mods do it because we're devoted to keeping the game fair and clean, a place for kids where parents (many of whom play, themselves) can trust that nothing inappropriate is likely to assault the senses of their children when in our care. Sure, we volunteer to do this for free, but there isn't a single Mod who doesn't take that responsibility deadly seriously. I want those young Dogfighters treated as well and with as much concern as I'd want my own to be treated were I to have had any.
Joaquin appointed a nearly complete new complement of Mods not too long ago. The process was an major, one time undertaking that demanded his attention and required a fair amount of time. We Mods feel that we're adequate and equal to the challenge. Adding more Mods to wield more authority to Mute and Ban more noobs and trolls is like trying to turn back the tide with a Swiffer wet mop. The database can be adjusted to auto-censor more and more words and word variants, it just takes time. I spend more time in there lately, I've seen the trolls. They're kids seeing what they can get away with. No amount of additional Mods is going to stop that pattern. Consider the scale of the influx of new noobs blitzing through the noob server in a matter of days and arriving at "the show" with zero etiquette, politeness or in-game respect having been instilled in them from the fellow clueless underage noobs with whom they been playing for a week or two. They come from the wild west with little skill, attitude aplenty, no frame of reference for "game cops" or rules or protocol or common courtesy.
Will all that having been said before and more eloquently, there's this; since the Mods were appointed a number of new squads have been launched. Of these squads most will either peak and never grow stronger, a select few will take hold, build, gain respect and be able to compete with many of the mid-range and higher squads. Enigma being by far the most respectable of the two or three pre-M.O.M squads I've never had any qualms about there being two Enigma affiliated Mods. But to add another M.O.M, Black Eagle, NLR or CAC member would be to overlook such stellar candidates as Zebraup repping his new squad, or COBRA, his, or Reckless, whom I find to be a thoughtful, balanced, fair-minded and dedicated young man and a member of an un-represented squad.
For obvious reasons I would love more than anyone to see another M.O.M as a Mod if for no other benefit than intra-squad conflicts and politics, but the group we have now does remarkably well in keeping these flaps in check and preserving our high mutual regard. Martin would make a brilliant M.O.M Mod. Von Len another, and YEMX I'd trust with my kids. (if I had any) Zebraup from his squad, VonKopp and McFate from theirs, Black Flag from his...and what I regard as the most logical approach, unaffiliated players like Samweb, 1001, CRAZYWOLF. Honest, forthright, personable, clean, respectful players who play a lot, have a passion for the game, could be trusted to keep personal considerations out of the process...I could go on.
I do not doubt for a moment Davy's sincerity or that he'd bring every resource he has to bear on the gig. And I do not know of any pressing need perceived by Joaquin to immerse himself in the Mod hiring process when emergency game glitch issues created by last weekend's defective update need to command his full attention. I don't want his eye off that ball until soldiers can once more walk to tanks, lag is reduced back to barely playable levels, flight feels less like a nightmare slog through molasses while dragging an anchor...and Windows players are segregated to the new Siberia server where they'll never darken our doorway again. (sorry Two Ton, I'll stake you to an Android tab)
Meanwhile we Mods continue to do what we do and do it rather well, if the daily bitching from banned players is any indication...perhaps some help down the line at some point will be worth exploring then.
--w--