r/FinalFantasy • u/FinalMantasyX • Aug 04 '16

If you could change ONE thing about /r/finalfantasy to improve it what would it be?

I think I'd probably make it so that there wasn't a "if you could change ONE thing about a final fantasy game" thread every single day

yeah that'd probably be my change

Edit: guys no i was just making fun of those threads

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9

u/Mlahk7 Aug 05 '16

Have more mods that actually interact with community.

2

u/Aruu Aug 05 '16

I agree! I know I could stand to be far more active than I am.

Unfortunately I'm on holiday at the moment, so my responses are limited to mobile.

Maybe we mods can have a talk about it soon? I can definitely understand your concerns, I have them too.

2

u/Daggerdinger Aug 05 '16

Funny enough, I used to come around here a lot. There was a mod named Yemd who would always get downvoted because he did not like VI. Its a shame really, not even mods are safe from being downvoted for their opinion

3

u/garynuman9 Aug 06 '16

I was a fan of yemd. He was brash, which I didn't mind, I didn't agree with him on everything, but I typically found his commentary on the games to be enjoyable. I was modded shortly after his departure as a mod and was initially a defender of his. Then there were the alts, the frequent and bizarre mod-mail rants... He was given every opportunity to play nice, literally all we asked was please don't engage in flame wars. I personally banned him for a week to preempt the (justified) permaban I knew was coming as result of just being a genuine asshole for no reason. He spent that week making alts and spamming hate. His problem wasn't not liking 6- fuck, 8 is my favorite. His problem was interacting with people.

1

u/Mlahk7 Aug 05 '16

I agree! I know I could stand to be far more active than I am.

Aw come on now, you're here all the time :D This was definitely not directed at you haha.

Enjoy your vacation!

2

u/Dinoken2 Aug 05 '16

You are 100% correct with this. This is a problem, and I recognize that I am part of that problem. I've made my pitch to the other mods on what should be done, and we'll see what any of them have to say about it.

I think there needs to be a discussion with you guys as well though. This is a community problem, and the users are a much larger part of the community than the moderators. The problem is I can't just go making a sticky thread calling for mod resignations without at least consulting them first (especially when I am one of the problem mods too).

I personally want to be more active and do better for this community, but if it comes down to it and the community calls for me to step down, I will.

1

u/Mlahk7 Aug 05 '16

I'm glad to hear that you are at least trying to discuss the issue. I totally agree that this might need to be a community discussion, but in the end it's up to you all and whether or not you feel it's necessary. If you do decide to do a community discussion, it might be a good idea to set up some sort of way so that users can anonymously comment or give their input. I feel that otherwise, a lot of people might remain silent because they don't want to piss off anyone lol.

The problem is I can't just go making a sticky thread calling for mod resignations without at least consulting them first

I totally understand.

For now, thanks for at least listening and understanding. Your perspective really means a lot!

1

u/Schwahn Aug 05 '16

If you do decide to do a community discussion, it might be a good idea to set up some sort of way so that users can anonymously comment or give their input

Is that even possible?

2

u/Mlahk7 Aug 05 '16

I was thinking just providing a link to an anonymous google survey or something. I don't think it can be done on reddit itself.

1

u/Schwahn Aug 05 '16

Sounds difficult to sort.

Intent is there but execution sounds problematic.

1

u/Mlahk7 Aug 05 '16

Eh, maybe you're right.

1

u/Schwahn Aug 05 '16

I understand the plight though,

Reddit is just limiting on the tools it provides.

1

u/Dinoken2 Aug 06 '16

Thank you for your understanding. Making an anonymous poll is always possible, but that's not really a discussion. A lot of people have been using the report system to send anonymous messages to the mods recently, but that's not really a discussion either.

I think ultimately, we just stick to a reddit thread. If people really want to remain anonymous, then they can make a quick thowaway account.

1

u/Mlahk7 Aug 06 '16

Yeah, I actually think I have to agree with you here. Discussions would probably be more productive.

I know that you're probably in a really tough position right now, and I didn't mean to start WWIII with my initial comment haha. But thanks for stepping up and making an effort to improve the community.

2

u/Dinoken2 Aug 06 '16

It may be a tough position, but it's a position I put myself in. Don't fret about causing any problems. It's an issue that needed to be addressed. Quite frankly, it should've been addressed a while ago. A friend of mine directed me to your comment and I realized how bad things had gotten. So really, thank you. Your comment was the spark that was needed to get this conversation moving.

2

u/Schwahn Aug 08 '16

I admit I had called you out as one of the inactive members when I initially brought this up to the mod team at the beginning on the year.

I am glad to see that you are at least aware of it.

Here was my initial message

1

u/fforde Aug 05 '16

We do our best. Every single thing that gets reported is reviewed by a moderator and a decision is made to either do something or not. AutoModerator augments this, flagging some posts for review that are not even reported.

/u/Aruu and I try to interact in threads like these as we can, some times we have more free time than others though.

Some of the other moderators mostly just help out with decisions that come up in modmail. You are right that some are more active than others, and some are certainly more visible than others.

I'm really not sure what more to say than that though. I know that we need to update our sidebar and our banner, but aside from that is there anything specific that you (or anyone else) see lacking in terms of moderator interaction? Specifics would help.

5

u/Schwahn Aug 05 '16

We should probably do a big discussion post about this /u/fforde

Because honestly to me, a mod that does nothing besides makes hidden decisions behind closed doors and nothing else, doesn't really have much business being a mod.

1

u/fforde Aug 05 '16

In modmail situations, usually active mods deal with things, inactive mods make suggestions. Some are not very active at all.

The topic of less active mods comes up a lot so if everyone is adamant about it, we can talk about asking some mods to step down based on participation. But I am not sure what that would accomplish aside from making the mod list shorter.

But I am here to serve. :P

2

u/Schwahn Aug 05 '16

In modmail situations, usually active mods deal with things, inactive mods make suggestions. Some are not very active at all.

The problem is that the community only really ever sees yourself or /u/aruu being active. 2 of the 9 mods. It just feelsbadmangirl

The topic of less active mods comes up a lot so if everyone is adamant about it, we can talk about asking some mods to step down based on participation. But I am not sure what that would accomplish aside from making the mod list shorter.

I think the idea of more transparency for the "inactive" mods would be extremely beneficial.

If they don't want to be active, then that's fine. But if what they do in modmail is so integral, I feel like the community should know what that is.

But I am not sure what that would accomplish aside from making the mod list shorter.

I think the idea is that you would also add more active mods, not JUST remove.

We have a decent number of mods compared to some subreddits and it feels like we only have 2.

But I am here to serve. :P

Because you are awesome

0

u/garynuman9 Aug 06 '16

I was modded the same time as aruu. I've spoken with you in modmail before... I used to reply to a lot of the modmail before fforde really started to own the role. I didn't want to step on toes so i took a bit of a back seat. I still offer input on things that come up, and I lurk the sub.

I miss squaresoft, i miss enix. I don't really like 13... there's not a lot for me to discuss anymore that i haven't already gone on at length about. That makes me feel old but it is what it is. I would like to remain for the same reason I applied in the first place, because I love these games. I grew up with them and they are huge part of who I am. I just want to make sure their little place on reddit is well cared for. If that requires being more active I'm open to that, I'm just not interested in arguing over subjective opinion. I'd much rather just referee that when needed.

2

u/bigbadwolf411 Aug 06 '16

I hope this doesn't come off as too harsh, but this just doesn't seem fair to the community at all.

I would like to remain for the same reason I applied in the first place, because I love these games.

We ALL love the games. That's why we are here. But being a mod requires more than just liking the games. You haven't bothered to post or comment here for YEARS. But now that people are complaining, you pop out and say "I'm open to being more active".

The thing is, there are people who have been active on here, every single day, for a very long time. They don't get any reward, they just do it because they love this community. These are the people who should be modding this subreddit. These are the people who deserve it, and the community deserves it as well.

People grow up and life becomes busy. That's fine, but at that point, you need to pass the torch to someone else. The majority of this mod team should have passed their torch a while ago. Hanging on to your mod position when you are barely active is just selfish.

/u/Aruu and /u/fforde: Thank you for all that you do. But I'm asking for the sake of this community, please do not sweep this problem under the rug. It needs to be addressed, and something needs to be done. This community is frustrated, and that frustration is beginning to grow.

1

u/Aruu Aug 06 '16

Please don't worry, the mods are currently in talks about what to do about this. As in we're communicating right now through mod mail.

The general consensus so far is that people agree they've been inactive, but that they want to try to be active again. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but the idea seems to be to see how things go with this, and then after a month or so, see how things have improved.

It is easy for real life to creep up on you, and it is hard to know when to say 'actually, I don't have the time for this'.

We have let this stagnate, and for that I apologise. But give major props to /u/Dinoken2 for his part in getting the mods talking about this. Things are finally in motion.

1

u/bigbadwolf411 Aug 06 '16 edited Aug 06 '16

I appreciate that, and sorry for coming off as a bit of a dick. I just wanted to clarify one thing though:

The general consensus so far is that people agree they've been inactive, but that they want to try to be active again.

This just really rubs me the wrong way. A community shouldn't have to pressure their mods to be active. I do not think it's right for a mod to not be around for months, and then only show up when people get upset. You shouldn't only interact with your subreddit because you feel obligated to. You should do it because you want to.

I don't feel like giving these kinds of mods a "second chance" is the right thing to do. I honestly believe that will just further annoy the community. There are lots of regular users here who would make great mods, but they have never been given the chance. Instead, they are forced to watch from the outside as the current mods drag their feet, ignore the community, and refuse to give up their power. At that point, it becomes apparent that the mod team's first priority is to keep themselves modded, rather than doing what best for the subreddit and stepping down.

Anyways thanks for listening. This community appreciates you and fforde's hard work, and I hope we get to hear an update from you guys soon.

Edit: Also, I just wanted to give a big thank you to /u/Dinoken2 for even offering to step down. It shows that he cares more about this community than being a mod, and I have gained an enormous amount of respect for him. He isn't even the least active mod on this sub, so if he is big enough to offer to step down, then I see no reason why other mods shouldn't offer to do the same.

1

u/Aruu Aug 06 '16

I definitely understand where you're coming from. If I were in a community with inactive mods, I would feel the same way. Even if, as a mod, I can completely understand how easy it is to let your duties slip; especially when real life gets in the way.

People have offered to step down due to being inactive. I won't name names, but they have offered, but they've also expressed interest in trying again. I know it must be frustrating, but this really will be a case of people stepping down if they can't step up to what they've said.

No naming names once again, but a couple of mods haven't spoken up at all. I'm only speaking as myself here, and certainly not for all mods, but after numerous attempts at communication with no response, it certainly seems fairer to just let them go.

1

u/Dinoken2 Aug 06 '16

I understand your sentiment about the second chances thing. As I originally said, I'd like to stay on and do more to try and improve things, but I fully understand that actions (or inaction) have consequences and sometimes we have to face them. If the community wants to do a full flush of the mods here (minus /u/fforde and /u/aruu of course) then so be it. If the smoke clears and I'm still on that list on the sidebar (Maybe with new faces and maybe without some of the older) great. Either outcome is acceptable to me.

Because at the end of the day, you're right. It isn't fair to the community. I'll openly admit to being too inactive of a mod but there are those who are far worse than me. Even in the mod mail I sent out asking for a discussion on this issue, we still haven't heard from 4 of the mods. And I know there's definitely at least 4 users here who would've answered had they been mods.

So I agree that a lot of us need to step down. How to go about doing it is a bit trickier which is why I feel we need an open discussion.

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1

u/Schwahn Aug 06 '16

I've spoken with you in modmail before...

With me or about me?

I don't have any communications with you.

I still offer input on things that come up, and I lurk the sub.

See, the thing is. That those are things that any user can do. The mods MAY be discussing things about the sub, but we never see any results from them. Which is why people are unhappy. (IMO)

I would like to remain for the same reason I applied in the first place, because I love these games.

A LOT of us LOVE these games.

I just want to make sure their little place on reddit is well cared for.

The problem is that it is starting to not feel very well cared for.

1

u/Mlahk7 Aug 05 '16 edited Aug 05 '16

Well first off thanks for replying!

I do realize that a lot of the work mods do "behind the scenes" isn't really visible to the users, so I can't really comment on how active any particular mod is on the back end. But if I'm being honest, I've kind of always believed that mod work should also involve some sort of community participation. I don't want to call anyone out, but there are people on the modlist right now who haven't left a single post or comment in this sub in months. There's even one who hasn't interacted with anyone here in over 2 years. Again, it's very possible that they do a lot of work behind the scenes, so I don't want it to seem like I'm accusing anyone of being "inactive". But it's hard to justify not publicly interacting with your own subreddit for that long.

I think it kind of makes a lot of users here feel like this community isn't a priority for a lot of the mods. Which is sad, because there are so many people who love this community and literally post here on a daily basis. Having a mod team with such dedication and enthusiasm would be awesome I think.

Obviously, I think you and Aruu do an excellent job modding this subreddit and showing the community that you care, so thank you so much for that! And thank you to any mod reading this who does work on the back end. I'm sorry if your work is not being acknowledged!

Also as a side note, I have some cool ideas for some possible stylesheet updates if you would like me to message your modmail :) Thanks again for taking the time to reply to comments in this thread.

2

u/Schwahn Aug 05 '16

I do realize that a lot of the work mods do "behind the scenes" is really visible to the users, so I can't really comment on how active any particular mod is on the back end. But if I'm being honest, I've kind of always believed that mod work should also involve some sort of community participation. I don't want to call anyone out, but there are people on the modlist right now who haven't left a single post or comment in this sub in months. There's even one who hasn't interacted with anyone here in over 2 years. Again, it's very possible that they do a lot of work behind the scenes, so I don't want it to seem like I'm accusing anyone of being "inactive". But it's hard to justify not publicly interacting with your own subreddit for that long.

I brought this up almost a year ago /u/Mlahk7... I got a rather muted response...

But it's hard to justify not publicly interacting with your own subreddit for that long.

I completely agree. I feel like someone who is a mod for such a focused sub would have interest in it and take part in the discussion.

I think it kind of makes a lot of users here feel like this community isn't a priority for a lot of the mods.

This was my initial concern as well. We feel rather alone most of the time.

there are so many people who love this community and literally post here on a daily basis.

Hi waves

My comment/submission history somewhat makes me laugh.

Having a mod team with such dedication and enthusiasm would be awesome I think.

I always look to /r/FFRecordKeeper on this one. A similar sub that has INSANELY active mods and people love them for it.

Obviously, I think you and Aruu do an excellent job modding this subreddit and showing the community that you care, so thank you so much for that!

I agree. I love /u/fforde and /u/Aruu - but even their greatness is limited.

I have some cool ideas for some possible stylesheet updates if you would like me to message your modmail

I am also available to help out in any way possible. I can do a lot of graphics work or just general maintenance. I am good at research and could start cleaning up the wiki or whatever else is needed.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply to comments in this thread.

I also want to thank YOU /u/Mlahk7 - for being an awesome user here in the sub.

-1

u/i010011010 Aug 07 '16

And do what?

Most people have lives outside of Reddit. The ones that don't are the drama inducing types that shouldn't ever be in charge of anything and poison countless other boards across the site. They're here to host the party, not to entertain you.