Well, it's been quite the experiment, but after months of talks, the mod team has agreed that The Mod Thread no longer serves as a beneficial tool for the mod team to use. A few thoughts before we put it down and move on:
1. This is actually the second Mod Thread, created because the original thread was used by some users to attack the mod team and bring forth accusations without any evidence to back them up. The new thread was created to start anew and have a thread where real discussion could happen between mods and the users affected by moderation. Despite this, the thread has once again been derailed in a plethora of ways.
2. The Mod Thread at its core is flawed, in the sense that we wanted the thread to spark discussion between the mod and the moderated user. However, the moderated user has a hard time talking with us when they're banned and can't post in the thread when their moderation is given. Most of the time, it's other users that pick up their case and present it to the mod team (and this in itself isn't a bad thing per se). But this leads to another flaw in the Mod Thread.
3. We ask that users don't backseat moderate, but this thread asks users to backseat moderate. The thread has gradually turned into users taking the role of a moderator and to give their take on a certain decision or moderation. The thread is counter-intuitive to the rules we have set in place.
4. Unfortunately, the thread has turned into a glorified soapbox for some users to push their agendas or to perpetuate their own spotlight.
5. Theres other things, but the point is this: the Mod Thread has become a burden on the Mod Team. It's counter-intuitive and has turned into something it wasn't supposed to be, all while ignoring the audience that it was supposed to cater to (the moderated user). Our entire mod contact system has been flawed, in that it's extremely cumbersome for a moderated user to have a voice, and this thread hasn't helped. It's only created middle men in the best sense, and agenda pushing at its worst.
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For now, we'll be pushing our new mod email so that anyone, including moderated users can finally contact the team. The entire team will have access to the email and can answer questions or comments from there. As we move forward we'll continue to push other ways of mod communication, as Tachi and Trucks create awesome new features on the site. But for now, we'll be closing down the mod thread and pusing our new mod email.
vgchartzmods@gmail.com
Thanks to those who were great users in here and used the thread to its fullest. We appreciate you more than you know. But with the site finally opening up for us all, it's time to improve and move forward.
-Smeags and the Mod Team.
