My Rant about Mod Application's

[RaddishDew]

I understand you agree with them, but I didn't know before checking the alert who had posted it.

 

[MrKorrenian]

Urg braaaiiiins, I wouldn't criticise your, braaaaiiiins, points because, as you may have noticed in earlier posts, I agree with them, braaaaaaiiiiiiinss.

I like you

 

[K259864]

sorry for killing you korrenian, i didnt recognize you

 

[JokersMaze]

I don’t see why everyone wants exceptions to be created. If you want to be mod so you can help out the community, you can do it as you are now, you don’t need to be ranked up. As the players of MCSG, we can report and indirectly take action against hackers, spammers, and any other issues needing attention. People may say that age is a factor that should not be judged, but I find that it matters.
Like stated earlier, people of the younger crowd may have more free time, and are able to patrol the servers more easily. With the start of high school however, comes a greater workload, and more stress. Stress may lead to irrational decisions being made, and where there once was a great moderator, there is now a player who is eager to strike down the ban hammer. The younger crowd may not have much responsibility now, but as life outside of MCSG progresses, they will find themselves under more pressure, which may in turn affect how they act here.
I can never become a moderator. I swore in all caps once before I changed my mind set and got a temp ban. I still want to help the community though, so I’ll keep reporting and poking mods on teamspeak. You don’t have to be a mod to help out.

 

[Tigerstain]

I don't see where this stress and hormones thing comes into play on the servers. The way I handle my stress is burying myself in my schoolwork, I don't go onto MCSG to rage or to cool my head, or to even use it as a high and get away from the real world. I play MCSG for the pure fun of it, but while I'm having fun, why couldn't I be able to donate my time to the community?

 

[Mr Dice]

I don’t see why everyone wants exceptions to be created. If you want to be mod so you can help out the community, you can do it as you are now, you don’t need to be ranked up. As the players of MCSG, we can report and indirectly take action against hackers, spammers, and any other issues needing attention. People may say that age is a factor that should not be judged, but I find that it matters.
Like stated earlier, people of the younger crowd may have more free time, and are able to patrol the servers more easily. With the start of high school however, comes a greater workload, and more stress. Stress may lead to irrational decisions being made, and where there once was a great moderator, there is now a player who is eager to strike down the ban hammer. The younger crowd may not have much responsibility now, but as life outside of MCSG progresses, they will find themselves under more pressure, which may in turn affect how they act here.
I can never become a moderator. I swore in all caps once before I changed my mind set and got a temp ban. I still want to help the community though, so I’ll keep reporting and poking mods on teamspeak. You don’t have to be a mod to help out.

Let's take age out of the question for a second, as well as bans and anything else that can impede moderator applications. You've got Joe Bloggs, he's 20 and he really wants to help out the MCSG community, are you going to recommend that he not become a moderator? That he simply reports anything he sees. I certainly wouldn't, because becoming a moderator allows you to take a more active approach to maintaining a healthy pass-time. So why would it be recommended that someone younger does the opposite? And I think we've strayed a little too far from the point of the thread, we've begun talking about younger applicants in general rather than the exceptional anomalies we were originally referencing. Those candidates need to at least be heard, I'm not talking about a lowering of the age boundary, or a lowering of the maturity boundary, and I'm most certainly not talking about a lowering of standards, what I'm talking about is listening to those incredibly gifted few who just so happen to fall beneath the radar. I can't argue that we're missing out out on so many great candidates, because we're not, we're missing out on a few incredible ones. And I think it's about time we took our heads out of the sand and stop arguing for or against lowering the age boundaries, and start fighting to get the individuals the roles they so greatly deserve.

No two people are the same, so arguing that because you don't feel mature enough to do it at your age means that nobody your age could do it is a ridiculous argument to make, there are people far younger than me competing in the Olympics at a sport I love and cherish, but I don't argue that because I'm not good enough at my age, nobody younger than me will have the physical or mental ability to be better than me, because they quite clearly are.

If you've taken the time to read this I thank you, as I'm sure do those select few who I'm arguing for, I know I'm not a particularly well respected or well known member of the community, so my backing probably sways few people, but if it has, I've achieved my goal.

 

[MrKorrenian]

sorry for killing you korrenian, i didnt recognize you

Oh it's cool

 

[Aellios15]

If the world was to go to hell, the bullets you held were the amount of times you would survive an encounter with the bandits and hell-beasts that roamed a desolate and destroyed earth. A 13 year old roams the streets, in a bulletproof vest, holding a worn hunting rifle, a fire axe slung over his shoulder, he wears ripped clothes, but has seen enough and done enough unforgivable things to compensate for his age and immaturity. Hell, and experience forges a man as much as time does. He walks the streets and sees a group of badly equipped people, they are all 15 and walk inexperienced on the road, and past snipers nestled in the hills, he greets them and asks what they are doing, and they reply wearily that they must infiltrate a pharmacy to help with the arrhythmia of a fellow teenager, 18 years old but a good friend of the group, the child looks at the rag-tag group and decides he will aid them.
Would the 18 year old who would plan the operation from his bedside and deathbed DENY the child with equal skill as the most skilled and experienced member of there group to aid the group in infiltrating the pharmacy? Does age really matter in this situation?
In reality, age is the amount of time resting upon the solemn earth, surely if a child could best a man at his literary skills, his knowledge, and have reasonable and achievable ideals for the world and community he wishes to aid and the abilities to do so with others whom share the ideals of his peers he should be allowed access. Age matters in situations such as buying alcohol, as it kills brain cells and it is more handleable at an older, more mature age, age matters in situation where the creation of sustainable life hangs in the balance, but does age matter in keeping justice? Lucidictive makes a point that the middle-school dwellers and their hormones may isolate them from the larger more respectable and reliable group, but is this enough of a reason to discriminate from younger age groups from obtaining power? As life goes on people become colder and bitterer, children expect for everything to succeed and be happy, and strive to make everything right, more older people accept that this may not be the case and head for a middle ground, but if humans require passion and enthusiasm to make things right to possibly achieve there goals and the optimum outcome, then children themselves work in a better and in different ways to adults, not in a disastrous way childish way, but in a good way. Surely combining two large groups to create a more balanced and happy community us beneficial to both the groups in question AND the community they wish to aid.
I am 12. I have moderating experience in other communities, I keep peace on servers and follow protocol and do things the way I consider right, I solve issues just like the more experienced and older people on the servers. Due to my age, I have lot's of free time, and possibly do more work than the upper echelon does as a unit.
This is my honest opinion.

While your post was probably one of the best I've read thus far pertaining to this subject it's sadly flawed. Your story that you tell at the beginning doesn't quite coincide with your point. The fact that the thirteen year old has experience and knowledge doesn't really make him more of a candidate to do the job in a real world situation. This story more closely relates to children in militant groups which is something no really civilized culture would allow to happen within their ranks. It also more closely relates to your point about alcohol as both can be a detriment to their health and worse even take their lives. This is too dramatic to really relate with the subject at hand.

As a moderator you're expected to be able to follow a guidelines when doing your work which is really takes no skill or knowledge to carry out. However, good moderator is expected to you show good judgement in all of your actions, children are notorious for have less than mediocre judgement which makes them less qualified to be a mod. All of the actions one would make within the community directly reflects upon the staff and children are good at making themselves look foolish and immature when with friends or when they lose a game; even mature people will do this to a lesser extent which is another reason for them not being selected as moderators.

I'm 18 and I've handled situations here on mcsg that involved seeing and reading things that wouldn't be appropriate for someone under the age of 18 to handle. I've seen things I wouldn't allow my 14 year old brother to see or do and therefore I feel people in that age group aren't right for a position as a moderator. Everyone here is calling for exceptions to the rule but honestly I believe the age limit being 15 is the exception. There was a time when it was 18, there were reasons for this then and as I've stated previously this is still true.

To summaries all of my previous posts, it's not all about knowledge, skill, or commitment that make people eligible for a position as a moderator, but all of these things in addition to age and maturity. Moderators encounter many things each day as they're fulfilling their duties that would be considered to be rated mature; meaning that such content isn't suited for younger people. There are younger mods here on mcsg as they were moderators before the rules changed but even these people I don't feel are really old enough to deal with some situations. While it seems like an unfair and unjust thing to prevent people below the age to be accepted; there isn't a real need for exceptions to current rule of 15 because it can be easily argued that 15 years old is in fact the exception to the previous rule of 18.

I've encountered some people with amazing levels of commitment and skill that would be a perfect candidate for moderator once they're of age, e.g. Korrenian. I've known him for a while now and I do know that he would make a great moderator but he's simply not old enough based on the responsibilities he would inherit by being promoted to moderator. I cannot honestly say exceptions to the 15 year old rule need to be made to be fair to people like Korrenian because of the numerous reasons I've stated in this post and many before in this very thread. In conclusion, exceptions to the rule of age shouldn't be made as younger individuals simply lack the maturity*
to fulfill their duties as a moderator.

*Mature: Pertaining to or characteristic or full development.

 

[Sammoko]

Hate to say it but these 'immature' 13/14 year olds do have a very strong argument. Most of these players that are younger would make brilliant moderators.

I think having the NO EXCEPTIONS rule too make it easier for Sr.Mods to pinpoint the applications so there is less to read from,this isn't a bad thing as it would is very understandable.

 

[Aellios15]

Hate to say it but these 'immature' 13/14 year olds do have a very strong argument. Most of these players that are younger would make brilliant moderators.

I think having the NO EXCEPTIONS rule too make it easier for Sr.Mods to pinpoint the applications so there is less to read from,this isn't a bad thing as it would is very understandable.

I've never said they didn't make a good point, I've simply said that even with their point it's not enough to justify removal of the no exceptions rules; they make brilliant points and even do so in a very creative and unprecedented way. However, this doesn't compensate for what they're suggesting.

 

[iBilbo]

I will offer my 2 cents here:

Both sides make a good point. Maturity is hard to judge based on a small application. This is probably the main reason for the age limit. The higher the age, the more likely to be mature enough to be a mod. I personally would love to be a mod, but I can't for two reasons: 1. My account is shared and my brother is not willing to be a mod. 2. The age restriction. I'm 12 and I didn't know what to expect when clicking on this thread. What I found was a very strong argument, and the longest posts I've ever seen on the MCSG forums. Personally, what annoys me about MCSG moderators is that I often see 2 moderators on one server, when they could each be on different servers, banning twice the hackers, and making MCSG a better place one match at a time.

Back to my 2 cents of advice (I got sidetracked while writing), I know a lot of people my age, and even people older than me that would be horrible as a moderator, because of immaturity. I once ran a Tekkit server for my friends and it blew up. Basically everyone in the school who played Minecraft was on it. I needed moderators and ops, and what I found was that most people my age were really (and I mean this when I say this), really bad mods. They would still do things that were explicitly against the rules of the server, and didn't even ignore their responsibilities. But there was one. One great moderator, always knowing what to do and did a great job keeping the server clean and free of hackers and griefers. His name was creeperbillybob. He plays on these servers, and he is the same age as me. He was a great moderator.

The point I am trying to make is this: Most 12-14 year olds are immature, and are not worthy. However there are some who really make great mods. I think that there should be a much more involved process with becoming a mod. The application should remain the same, and if the person has potential, but is underage, there should be a further process like a trial moderator position. They could have the power to kick people for swearing, caps, and other offenses like that but no banning. These people would be closely watched by a senior moderator and if they do a good job after a week or two they could be a moderator. If they proved to be immature, they wouldn't become a mod.

Maybe I'm totally wrong. Maybe I'm out of my mind. Maybe I'm being immature myself. I just think that the process could use some revision.

 

[Howsie22]

I will offer my 2 cents here:

Both sides make a good point. Maturity is hard to judge based on a small application. This is probably the main reason for the age limit. The higher the age, the more likely to be mature enough to be a mod. I personally would love to be a mod, but I can't for two reasons: 1. My account is shared and my brother is not willing to be a mod. 2. The age restriction. I'm 12 and I didn't know what to expect when clicking on this thread. What I found was a very strong argument, and the longest posts I've ever seen on the MCSG forums. Personally, what annoys me about MCSG moderators is that I often see 2 moderators on one server, when they could each be on different servers, banning twice the hackers, and making MCSG a better place one match at a time.

Back to my 2 cents of advice (I got sidetracked while writing), I know a lot of people my age, and even people older than me that would be horrible as a moderator, because of immaturity. I once ran a Tekkit server for my friends and it blew up. Basically everyone in the school who played Minecraft was on it. I needed moderators and ops, and what I found was that most people my age were really (and I mean this when I say this), really bad mods. They would still do things that were explicitly against the rules of the server, and didn't even ignore their responsibilities. But there was one. One great moderator, always knowing what to do and did a great job keeping the server clean and free of hackers and griefers. His name was creeperbillybob. He plays on these servers, and he is the same age as me. He was a great moderator.

The point I am trying to make is this: Most 12-14 year olds are immature, and are not worthy. However there are some who really make great mods. I think that there should be a much more involved process with becoming a mod. The application should remain the same, and if the person has potential, but is underage, there should be a further process like a trial moderator position. They could have the power to kick people for swearing, caps, and other offenses like that but no banning. These people would be closely watched by a senior moderator and if they do a good job after a week or two they could be a moderator. If they proved to be immature, they wouldn't become a mod.

Maybe I'm totally wrong. Maybe I'm out of my mind. Maybe I'm being immature myself. I just think that the process could use some revision.

I've just read through this topic and I must congratulate everyone on their very excellent arguments. But this is easily my favourite as it expresses exactly the point in the topic itself. First I would like to agree to the fact that the mods are constantly travelling in packs of 2-3 even four in the case of a few, this not only builds tension on the players themselves but reduces the chances of finding abusive players. I also personally find this very unprofessional and I have actually stated this to a few of them myself. My constant answer is things like, "It Doesnt matter" "Grow Up and stop complaining" etc etc. But EXTREMELY unprofessionally I have had responses like, "Girls just want to have fun" "Mods like to party together" "I will kick you if you dont stop annoying us"

I am sick and tired of it, honestly it is so unprofessional and rude for such pristine members of MCSG to be acting this way. Obviously the point iBilbo is trying to make is that Moderators should not be judged on their age, but their maturity and record on the MCSG servers. It should also be judged on their willingness to help out on the servers.
Also as a note, I am not talking about ALL the mods, the majority of you are doing an excellent job, but quite honestly, playing on the au servers myself, the mods that play on the au servers are very much like what I have stated above and this is unfortunately all I ever see from moderators anymore. I cant wait to see the agument against me Thanks if you read this through your awesome...