Do we really need both admins and moderators?

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm personally leaning toward not doing that...

..and there are several reasons for that. First off, being an admin is already a massive undertaking if you actually want to keep an eye on everything happening here and keep this whole community under control.
Not to mention how ridiculous it gets when someone tries to complain: for example, if Daniel Ward87 posts a warning in the Religion section and then someone comes running to complain... to whom? To Daniel Ward87 himself? 🤣
Honestly, it's just silly..
I used Caterpillar as an example because it always feels like I'm the one getting picked on by the women here... so you can look at this thread from a feminist perspective if you want.😳

And please don't tell me they should just go to one of the other two admins to file a complaint. Let’s be real—neither I nor anyone else on this forum is going to believe that one admin would just swoop in and overturn a decision made by another admin who thinks they were right to issue a warning.

At the end of the day, the reality is that our admins are already busy moderating the high-traffic threads, which require a huge amount of focus on their own. Claiming you can simultaneously maintain control over the entire forum while moderating intense individual threads without making a single mistake is, in my opinion, a massive overestimation of what any one person can handle.

So, I really think it would be a good idea for them to reconsider how they structure their schedules.😳

rustydrifter10 said:Look, as an admin, I don't believe I should be stepping in to moderate unless it becomes absolutely necessary—unless there’s really no other way to handle things. I mean, I'm still technically on the roster, even though I barely touch moderation duties anymore due to certain practical constraints... it just doesn't make sense otherwise. Currently, over at Gastronomy, I'm holding down the fort until we can find some solid reinforcements. It's a similar situation with the rest of the admins; many of them are also serving as moderators on various forums, but let's be clear—this is all temporary. So, in essence, we’re all acting as moderators for specific, situational reasons rather than in any traditional or classic capacity.

rustydrifter10 said:As I’ve mentioned before—and I really feel the need to clarify this point—the decision to install us as admins was made primarily due to certain technical requirements and practical necessities. It wasn't an arbitrary choice, I suppose; there were specific operational reasons behind it that necessitated our roles.

Is the font size insufficient? I mean, I might be overthinking this—perhaps my eyesight isn't what it used to be—but I can't help but feel that the current typeface is just... lacking. It feels a bit small, doesn't it? Maybe it’s just me, or maybe I’m being overly pedantic about the visual layout, but I find myself squinting more than I should have to. I guess it could be an issue of accessibility, or perhaps just a matter of aesthetic preference, but I’d argue it makes the reading experience unnecessarily taxing. Just a thought. 😕

Look, admins shouldn't be acting as moderators. The current admins were only set up with moderator permissions for certain technical reasons, not because they’re meant to be permanent mods. I already went over all of this with you in a different thread, so I really don't see why we need a whole new topic for this.

Adding to what Nicholas King quoted here:

rustydrifter10 said:But right now, while we're working on those PDF files where we've been installed, it's actually an admin responsibility. Part of that process involves us finding moderators who can step in and take over for us. Like I said before, we aren't just there to moderate; we have other administrative duties to handle too.

Same here, honestly. Where I was stationed, I was basically just there as backup—just another person on the hook for incoming reports. Except for at the VP, though. That place is my baby and I’m not going anywhere 🙂

Well, you guys went ahead and trashed my thread immediately... you could've at least given me a little bit of a hard time first 🙂
That was definitely intentional.. I know how you all operate 🙂

shouldn't the superadmins be the ones actually serving this purpose?

hollowtrucker77 said:Shouldn't the superadmins be handling that?

Well, they actually do, at least for the PDF sections where that's needed. We're also aware that we're short on a supermoderator right now—we know it, and we're actively working on getting someone in place. For instance, Gastronomy doesn't have a supermod at the moment, and while bliss is covering for Zodiac, I'm mostly over there dealing with other things anyway. As for the Religion section, until some of the ongoing changes are finalized under the supermoderation of Stryker, mellowraven22 is helping out over on Off just to help manage reports until we can find some extra backup for Dimi.

Hey, how’s it going...
if you ask me, that right there is exactly where the weakest link in this whole forum management situation lies.

rustydrifter10 said:Mostly they just serve their purpose, at least for those dealing with PDFs. We definitely need a supermoderator—we know that, and we’re working on it. Gastronomy doesn't have a supermod right now; bliss is handling Zodiac, though I'm mostly over there for other reasons. As for Religion, until certain changes currently being overseen by Stryker at the supermod level are implemented, mellowraven22 is helping out on Off to handle reports until we can find some backup for Dimi.

See, that’s where I start questioning things—this is a forum with thousands of active users, and are you seriously telling me it's that hard to find about 10 people in the short term to set them up? If they don't cut it within a month, just swap them out. 🤷

I mean, come on, this isn't a session of Congress; once you pick someone, you aren't stuck with them for four years, and if they turn out to be a dud, you won't be facing some state investigation for six months if you let them go. 😁
That's one of the things Seth and I have been grumbling about—that you guys move way too slow!
I really think you should aim for faster turnover. Maybe someone you thought would be great will fly away like a dove 🤣 after a few days, or maybe someone unexpected might actually surprise you. 🤷

hollowmason64 said:See, that’s where I start questioning things—we have a community here with thousands of active members, so are you seriously telling me it’s that much of a struggle to find maybe ten people to step up in a short timeframe? If they can't get their act together within a month, then just swap them 🤷
.

Look, we don't appoint moderators for just ten days; we bring people on for the long haul. Sure, if we realize we made a mistake immediately, we can pull someone off the team the very same day, but we really hate making a call if there's even a shadow of a doubt about the decision. And like I've mentioned a few times now: we hold our positions temporarily due to various technical and administrative requirements, not strictly for moderation duties. I don't want to keep going in circles with this, because it should be pretty obvious to everyone that we aren't here just to moderate—whereas moderators *are* specifically here for that role (and disclaimer: I am definitely not saying moderation is "just" anything; I truly respect the weight and responsibility involved). We aren't just moderators; we are administrators performing administrative tasks, which goes way beyond simple moderation.

Plus, finding a candidate who checks every single box, meets everyone's standards, and actually wants to take on the responsibility of moderating is a lot tougher than it might look on the surface.

Out of all the subreddits that come to mind, the lack of moderators is only really palpable over on Trash and Gastronomy. It’s different over on Religion—that community just has a different vibe, and Stryker NYC hasn't really positioned themselves there as a technical support resource anyway.

Where exactly is this moderation gap becoming such an obvious issue? I mean, what is it specifically that's actually bothering you?

rustydrifter10 said:That's where we stand right now. It’s just temporary—mostly due to some technical hiccups and a few administrative things we need to iron out on our end.It’s about more than just handling the moderation side of things, too.

Look, whether your username happens to be sitting next to some PDF file or not, having admin privileges basically means you've got the green light to jump in whenever things get messy. If a situation starts spiraling and the mods currently on duty can't quite get a handle on the chaos, that's your cue to step in and clear things up. 🤷

Nicholas King said:Where exactly is this moderation issue hitting so hard? What's actually bothering you, specifically?

It’s not that I’m personally stressed about any of this, really. I'm just asking because there are a few different things on my mind, and that's just one of them.
Whenever things go sideways—or let’s be real, when everything just hits the fan—you always hear the same old excuse: "Oh, we didn't have enough moderators on duty." Honestly, what a joke. It's such a tired line. 🙄

I’m feeling a bit bummed out right now because one of the great mods from ZK just left. I’m assuming she decided to move on, since there wouldn't have been any real reason to kick her out.

hollowmason64 said:Look, whether your username happens to be sitting right next to some PDF file or not, doesn't really change the fundamental rule here. Having admin privileges basically gives you a permanent green light to jump in whenever things start getting chaotic. If a situation blows up and the mods on duty can't get the crowd under control by themselves, you're expected to step in and clear things up. It's just part of the job description. 🤷

Look, we aren't getting any reports or other technical details right now—and honestly, I’d rather not dive into that anyway because it’s totally off-topic and involves some pretty sensitive info that I don't feel comfortable just tossing out there. Besides, there’s a massive difference between popping in for a few hours versus being here for a day or two. It just so happens that since the mods aren't around, we really need to have everything installed so we can monitor those PDFs properly, which is a whole lot easier when you actually have the software set up on your machine.

hollowmason64 said:I’m honestly feeling a bit bummed out right now because one of the really solid mods from ZK just left. I’m assuming she decided to move on her own accord, because there was absolutely no reason for them to let her go.

Honestly, that’s got absolutely nothing to do with what we're talking about right now.