- October 7th, 2009
How many posts have you made in the forum?
- 11767.
Without posting your age, are you old enough (and willing) to risk seeing adult content when screening posts that are waiting for moderator approval?
- Yes, I am old enough and I am perfectly willing to view such posts.
How many days a week do you usually visit CS?
- 7 days a week.
How many hours per day do you usually spend on CS, on a day that you do visit?
- On weekdays I usually spend - at the very least - 3 hours online, but that is very rare. Most weekdays I spend around 5 - 6 hours on CS. On weekends I'll spend a good 12-16 hours on CS.
Have you moderated on any other forums before? If so, please link to them:
- I have moderated on several other sites before. I've been an Artist and have now become both Artist and Admin Assistant on Chibifurs. Unfortunately, the site basically imploded from problems with coding and the link no longer works. However the site is starting up again, I'm not allowed to link to it until it opens. Alhough as some proof that the site exists, we were hiring staff here until recently, and I posted several times answering questions.
I am also an group moderator on dA in a group here with about 300 members. I often have to decide whether art is appropriate for the group, and whether it belongs in the category it is submitted to. I have also been in charge of a couple big threads here on CS, including Light On Lights Off and Adopt a Newbie and I will expand on those threads later.
Why do you want to be a Global Moderator?
- I want the position because helping people is something I've enjoyed doing for a long time. From the FTT to AAN, I've been helping out members daily. I just realized I knew an answer to a rarity question or that there was no newbie adoption program, and I decided to do something about it. I can always, and will continue, to help people out for the rest of my life - I enjoy it too much.
Being able to answer someone's question, reporting something harmful to CS, knowing that I just gave a newbie someone who would lead them through CS, that is what gives me that warm fuzzy feeling because I've lent a helping hand. That's why I keep doing it - not because I want to give myself a good impression so I can be a Global Moderator and be 'important', but because I enjoy helping keeping the forums clean, helping people, helping the site grow - I want to make a lasting and positive impression on CS.
I already do the best I can now to help make CS better and to keep it clean (even if this means just reporting a rude message or an inappropriate image that hasn't already been reported/seen, correcting someone, etc), however I believe I can do more as a Global Moderator as I will be able to jump into the situation directly and get to the root of the problem.
Can you think of any particular skills you can bring to the position?
- Of my skills, the first and foremost I think is my ability to run threads and handle large amounts of people. I have run Adopt A Newbie for nearly a year now, and hosted Lights On Lights Off for the past two years. In both threads I was faced with problems like fights, rule breaking, troublemakers, and repeated questions. I learned how to handle these things in a calm and collected manner, and how to become the unbiased observer who could handle disagreements. I was able to set down rules and enforce them, while still being open-minded about the way I ran things. In AAN specifically I took in newbies that were more difficult to deal with and was able to help them, and I also found new and improved ways to make the thread run better. In LOLO, I had to deal with 1000+ users on a daily basis (if only for a month) and I found myself quickly adjusting to the leadership role.
I have also been frequenting the "is this a fair trade?" thread from as early as May 2011. Over time I managed to build up my knowledge of rarities and now I find people coming to me specifically and asking me questions. I especially love that I'm able to teach others on the FTT and help them with their trades. I want to keep learning so I can keep helping and in turn, keep teaching. I've also been answering and welcome people on the Help & Intro boards, not only to help, but to learn what I can. I've been learning a lot about the CS rules and specifics in the past months, allowing myself to understand and follow the rules as well as I possibly can, and help teach other users about these rules. I know these kind of things might be more of what a General Helper is expected to do, but I think that any staff should be open and friendly to the community as well as being willing to help people when they need it.
I have also used the Oekaki quite a bit here, and I enjoy using the program. I have explored Oekaki and learn a lot about it, and I've striven to continue learning more about so I can learn about and know every aspect of CS. One last, final skill I feel I might have is actually connected to my job in real life. Though I don't like to tell people, I am in the US Coast Guard, and I've come to understand that at times information cannot be handed out, no matter how insignificant it might seem. I know that the position requires confidentiality, and I know how to maintain confidential information, especially in such a large community. Having this job has also taught me how to deal with excessive stress, and how to be ready for something at any time - not only this, but it has also taught me how to manage my time efficiently.