Moderator initiation?

And, if I could add, it would help if you were a member of ATS for more then just 1 month.
It's like a job, you have to work your way up in order to gain benefits.

[edit on 26-12-2006 by Slash]

Conspiracy Master, I've never been a mod but I've been around ATS long enough to tell you everything you need to know about them. They're qualified members who are invited to volunteer, and their function is to preserve the orderly environment that they, as members, have long enjoyed. It's not glorious, it's not lucrative, and I'm told (and see here) that it often entails dealing with people who are very mad at you for no good reason.

Don't see it as a test of your worth as a member to attain moderator status. It's not a perk, it's a service to the community. They don't have any authority apart from the owners, they don't really get perks as far as I know, they just help out because they like ATS.

If you want to help out, or be a member of note, there are things you can apply for. You can apply to be a scholar and have your name on some of ATS' best and most referenced content. If you were an absolutely stellar scholar, there's always a chance that the owners would invite you to be one of ATS' Conspiracy Masters- there are threads detailing how that works in BQB.

You can be a fighter in the ATS Debate Forum or Politics Head to Head Forum and become very well known there.

You can help with the Tinwiki and eventually apply for editorship.

You can write in the collaborative fiction or short stories forums.

Or you can just be an active prolific and intelligent member.

There's plenty of room on ATS for self-promotion, as long as it isn't at anybody else's expense and as long as you comply with whatever rules the OWNERS lay down for THEIR PLACE OF BUSINESS.

My advice, take it or leave it, settle this matter in private with the staff and go on to be an active member- all that ATS has to offer is unlocked in this way, and this way alone.

Edited for redun-dun-dancy

[edit on 26-12-2006 by The Vagabond]

Edit to add one more thing, regarding the term "initiation". The FSME initiation involved womens clothing and a HUGE paddle. I don't think we want to know about the moderator "initiation".

[edit on 26-12-2006 by The Vagabond]

Originally posted by The Vagabond
My advice, take it or leave it, settle this matter in private with the staff and go on to be an active member- all that ATS has to offer is unlocked in this way, and this way alone.
[edit on 26-12-2006 by The Vagabond]

okay then ill take it as it is. i would rather be a member my whole life then be banned for doing something stupid.

Vagabond

The FSME initiation involved womens clothing and a HUGE paddle. I don't think we want to know about the moderator "initiation".

Klieg lights, film rolling, an intravenous krill infusion and a very hungry penguin...

I've said too much!

Sounds more like a fetishists club somewhere in Alaska than ATS. So yeah, I think that constitutes saying too much

Move along, move along, nothing to see here.

!FLASH!

Deny ignorance, post quality over quantity, love your fellow humans.

Originally posted by The Vagabond

Sounds more like a fetishists club somewhere in Alaska than ATS.

Do you think it's a coincident that all the mods are driving Audis?




ach, I guess I said too much as well...

[edit on 2006/12/26 by Hellmutt]

Mods are picked when ther are seen to be fair, non-bias, tolerant, able to take flak and not ban as revenge, upto date on current threads, and most importantly...online for about 4 days a week.

Good guess, as this is pretty much right on the money....
I'll add to that...(and all of this is before becoming a mod)

Have shown that even when the talk heats up, an ability to stay cool, calm, and collected.

A genuine desire to see ATS succeed.

The desire to help out.

Attempting to diffuse flame wars, etc. as a member.

The process goes something like this:

The owners (3 Amigos) see the need for new moderators and/or super-mods.
They then ask for other mods to suggest possible candidates, generating a pretty big list. Those that get the most votes of support are then quietly U2U'd and invited to join the staff. Those that accept, become Mods. (well, after drinking some blood from Geronimo's skull and all that...but that's just ritual stuff...)

There are many who realize they don't have the time, etc. to accept. even. Modding is volunteer work, simple as that, for those who want to make ATS a better place, and keep the peace.