Can I be an admin?

[tommac]

I would like to volunteer to be an admin on this board. what do I need to do?

[Chunky]

id like to be an administrator as well. i volunteer too! i love baut!

[speedfreek]

In my experience it is the members who want or ask to be admin that are the least suitable for the job. It's like a secret society - if you are deemed suitable, you will be invited.

Merry Christmas everyone! :lol:

[Chunky]

In my experience it is the members who want or ask to be admin that are the least suitable for the job. It's like a secret society - if you are deemed suitable, you will be invited.

Merry Christmas everyone! :lol:


yeah i think thats how it goes.

All Hail BAUT!

[slang]

what do I need to do?

Not flaunt having been banned, perhaps.

[Gillianren]

Based on the recent promotions, long years of dedicated service are required, and a good thing, too. My experience with ToSeek goes back further than my experience with Antoniseb, but I have known both of them to be good at posting and moderating both. They are also very reliable. I don't see either of them as letting personal feelings, either good or bad, as getting in the way. I've seen them continuously following all the rules, being much less snippy than I am wont to be.

[tommac]

In my experience it is the members who want or ask to be admin that are the least suitable for the job. It's like a secret society - if you are deemed suitable, you will be invited.

Merry Christmas everyone! :lol:


I am probably the most suitable.

[tommac]

Not flaunt having been banned, perhaps.

I think being banned adds to my list of credentials

[Chunky]

hope you get it buddy!

for the record i dont know you 0.o

[Jens]

id like to be an administrator as well. i volunteer too! i love baut!

One important starting point is to use capital letters and apostrophes in your writing. :)

[Chunky]

As above, so below. awesome. freaking awesome.

[Ara Pacis]

Wouldn't another important qualification for being a moderator be knowing what forum a thread like this belongs in? Wouldn't "About BAUT" be a better place for this discussion?

[speedfreek]

I am probably the most suitable.

What is your subject, your field of expertise? Do you have some background in mathematics/physics/astronomy/cosmology that would be relevant? How good is your command of the English language? Are you both diplomatic and pragmatic?

What are the positive attributes that would make you a suitable candidate? :confused:

[mugaliens]

I think being banned adds to my list of credentials

Ummm...

[djellison]

In my experience it is the members who want or ask to be admin that are the least suitable for the job. It's like a secret society - if you are deemed suitable, you will be invited.

Merry Christmas everyone! :lol:

Couldn't agree more. the moment someone thinks themselves to be appropriate - they render themselves totally inappropriate imho. I have an admin team at UMSF of about a dozen people - all of whom I've personally invited - none of whom asked.

Doug

[BetaDust]

I think that is what makes BAUT and UMSF such great forums, Good Moderation.
The Admins of those forums are doing a great job in selecting their staff IMHO.

And for the OP, asking to be a admin.... tommac, why exactly do you want to be an admin? We have 4 very capable admins, What could you add?

--Dennis

[Chunky]

but if I was a mod. I would only mod OTB. Bc thems my peeps yo!
i post so many threads in there. hah. you should check my list. crazy stuff.

and im so good, i havent read the rules of baut and ive only broke them like 3 times :)

one time someone roported me so that doesnt really count...

[Nicolas]

dot, threefold

[SolusLupus]

Hell, I volunteer too!

I'd also like to be king of Mars and have a shiny hat.

[Tucson_Tim]

. . . ive only broke them like 3 times :)


Word! Yo, why they all up in your biznezz? Know what I'm sayin'?

[Gillianren]

one time someone roported me so that doesnt really count...

I'm confused. You still broke the rule, right? So why doesn't it count?

[Chunky]

I'm confused. You still broke the rule, right? So why doesn't it count?


bc i kept calling you man.

and got banned for three days.

i dont count that.


i think thats why. if memory serves me.

[Nicolas]

dot, threefold, again

[SolusLupus]

I think being banned adds to my list of credentials

I don't think that I've even been on or seen a single message board where this holds true.

[chrissy]

I would like to volunteer to be an admin on this board. what do I need to do?

:eh:

Maybe not get banned!! :think:

[Sticks]

You can not ask to be an admin, you are invited.

[Chunky]

do you have to be smart to be a mod :shifty:


i mean.. e=mc2 smart..

or.. capital letter smart hahahaha.

i poke fun

[mugaliens]

Hell, I volunteer too!

I'd also like to be king of Mars and have a shiny hat.

I hereby dub thee, King of Mars!

As for the hat, you'll have to settle for aluminum foil. Don't knock it, though - I heard a rumor that's what helped Phil throw off the mind control rays long enough for him to spot bad astronomy and start Bad Astronomy Bulletin Board.

I'm sure someone here's got a link to a picture or two...

[Nicolas]

And add a link to that beach pic while you're going through the archives.

[Spacemad]

I´d invite you to be an admin on the forum where I'm an admin but I don't know you & you've never posted there, besides being banned any time doesn't look too good on your CV!

A little humility also goes a long way!

[tommac]

One important starting point is to use capital letters and apostrophes in your writing. :)


what are you an english major? it slows down my typing.

[Gillianren]

I am an English major. Let me assure you that speeding up others' comprehension ought to be at least as important. An admin, or even just a mod, should endeavour to be easily understandable.

[SolusLupus]

I am an English major. Let me assure you that speeding up others' comprehension ought to be at least as important. An admin, or even just a mod, should endeavour to be easily understandable.

LOL i no wut u men, rit?

[HenrikOlsen]

wat?

[hhEb09'1]

if u can reed this, yur overcwalifide

[SolusLupus]

Okay, Tommac, let me review your resume...

Okay, so let's go over your qualifications, as you've explained in this thread:

1) You've been "banned" for breaking the rules.

2) Your punctuation and capitalization needs work.

Anything else?

[captain swoop]

bc i kept calling you man.

and got banned for three days.

i dont count that.


i think thats why. if memory serves me.

So it does count. You broke the civility and decorum rules. Maybe you should have read them after all.

Plus your earlier comment, being a Mod means covering all the forums, you don't get to pick and choose what you will Mod.

I don't see a past banning a a barrier to being a Mod, I have 3 day suspension from earlier this year.

[Nicolas]

Just a wild guess, are you in a hurry Captain? :)

[tusenfem]

do you have to be smart to be a mod :shifty:


Oh just smart will not get you anywhere on this board of moderators, you need to be more than that, but I cannot tell you, because I will have to kill you afterwards and everybody reading this thread. Sort of like mission impossible: this message will destroy itself in 5 seconds.

[captain swoop]

I was on the way out to the 'Anchor' for a Boxing Day beer :)

[SolusLupus]

This is completely silly. We are all "Admins". We have absolute authority over every single word we post. :)I'm pretty sure this definition rather confuses the meaning of the word "Administration".

It's like calling a voter a politician, because he has small influences on politics. Whille perhaps technically true, it makes the word more confusing and thus, less useful.

Now let's let those few who have, due to their extremely hard work (with no monetary compensation, I might add) and demonstrated capabilities, been selected as "BAUT Admins" get back to their many thankless tasks of keeping this environment the way we, the members, like it.

I hear that!

[SolusLupus]

Don't remember that part from the movie.

[mugaliens]

what are you an english major? it slows down my typing.

Only if you're a two-fingered hunt-n-pecker! As a touch-typist I've found that proper punctuation doesn't slow me down in the least.

Now - missing keys, hitting them twice, or not at all - that slows me down! But capitalizing letters, ensuring I'm using commas, apostraphes... I'm as speedy as I've always been.

[mugaliens]

Oh just smart will not get you anywhere on this board of moderators, you need to be more than that, but I cannot tell you, because I will have to kill you afterwards and everybody reading this thread. Sort of like mission impossible: this message will destroy itself in 5 seconds.

An hour and thirty-seven minutes and counting. Did you set the timer? Loose the safety?

You didn't??? That's the last time I hire...

Oh, hello, everyone...

[Frog march]

capitalisation is a good way to lose your whole post; just press "CTRL" instead of "shift" when typing "William"

[Nicolas]

Yes, but at least you feel you're alive with that kind of risk. ;)

[Jay200MPH]

I've done the whole "forum moderator" thing in the past (not here, obviously) and you couldn't pay me enough to do it again. While you guys were all congratulating the new "mods" on their "promotion" all I could feel was pity. Good luck you poor, poor people.

- J

[nauthiz]

I've done the whole "forum moderator" thing in the past (not here, obviously) and you couldn't pay me enough to do it again. While you guys were all congratulating the new "mods" on their "promotion" all I could feel was pity. Good luck you poor, poor people.

- J

I was thinking about the same. I stepped down from my first position as moderator on a forum (for reasons unrelated to modding itself). I'm now modding on another one, but it took a fair amount of the forum's owner repeatedly pestering me about it before I agreed. And even then I was drunk the when he got me to say yes. Which isn't to say that it's totally unenjoyable, but once you become a mod you can't really let your hair down on the forum anymore. And all the stuff that goes on behind the curtain can be time-consuming. Sometimes it does start to feel like a labor of love.

I can only imagine what it's like to take care of a truly large and active place like this one.

[hhEb09'1]

Good luck you poor, poor people.
You have no idea :)

[Tinaa]

Trial by fire!

[Susannah Dingley]

capitalisation is a good way to lose your whole post; just press "CTRL" instead of "shift" when typing "William"
That’s why I use Firefox with tabs. CTRL+W closes the active tab, not the whole window – even when there is only one tab, it just closes that tab and leaves the window open. And if you close a tab by mistake? CTRL+SHIFT+T brings everything back – including what you have typed of your post!

Firefox is just awesome. Just awesome.

[nauthiz]

Firefox is nice, but I still love my Splat key. It's nice and far away from the Shift key.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. :D

[Tinaa]

I would like to volunteer to be an admin on this board. what do I need to do?

You cannot volunteer. You have to pick the short straw. Antoniseb and ToSeek lost.

[Nicolas]

That’s why I use Firefox with tabs. CTRL+W closes the active tab, not the whole window – even when there is only one tab, it just closes that tab and leaves the window open. And if you close a tab by mistake? CTRL+SHIFT+T brings everything back – including what you have typed of your post!

Firefox is just awesome. Just awesome.

Just a small remark, but could you change your font, which is a print font, into a screen font? That would make your posts easier to read on screen. I don't know what it's called in English, but screen fonts are the ones without the small bars on the ends of characters. For example Arial is a good screen font.

Comparison to make clear clear what I mean:

T screen font
T print font

[pzkpfw]

Serifs?

[Nicolas]

I think so.

I shot the serif

[Bukovina]

I would like to volunteer to be an admin on this board. what do I need to do?

This board already has enough admins, and I'm not sure the position is suitable for a person of your standing anyway. So I am appointing you Special Executive Admin with Responsibility for Strategic Planning, effective immediately.

[Frog march]

you can be one of the admins who say 'Ni!'

[Sticks]

But first, we demand






A Shrubbery :D

[HenrikOlsen]

Asking to become an admin or moderator is the easiest way to disqualify yourself.

[Chunky]

But first, we demand






A Shrubbery :D
http://xmasoutlet.com/Photos/LCDT-701-24.jpg :whistle:

[mahesh]

I think so.

I shot the serif

in Times Roman, with a loaded pun, using a 30-06 partridge

[nauthiz]

Asking to become an admin or moderator is the easiest way to disqualify yourself.

I would really, really, really hate it if someone were to ask me to be a moderator. It would ruin the whole week for me.


;)

[spratleyj]

First of all when you ask for a job like this it makes people less inclined to even consider you for it. Because it demonstrates that you really yearn for the job, and thus shows that you're probably not that able or you wouldn't be so "desperate" for it. Now there are always exceptions to this, but as a general rule it's a good thing to remember.

Apart from that I think there are three things a moderator must be able to do:

1) You must have a command of the English language

While these posts aren't English papers they still need to be legible, and your post are often filled with heaps of mistakes, which make them dreadfully difficult to comprehend.

2) You must have a reasonable amount of scientific knowledge

I'm probably not qualified to judge your amount of knowledge, but from the limited reading of your posts you have a long way to go here as well.

3) You must know the rules, and be a good diplomat when resolving issues

Despite your pleads to the contrary the very fact that you've been banned probably disqualifies you for the job. If you can't follow the rules yourself, how can you enforce them?

[antoniseb]

If you have a sincere desire to be a moderator or admin here (or any other operation like this) I'd suggest reading the entire posting history of the seven people who just recently became moderators, and two who just became admins, as well as those of a representative sample of people who didn't... BTW, several other people were asked but declined the invitation, so this will have to be taken into account in your analysis.

After finding the traits that we seem to be looking for, exhibit only these, and wait for the next round of invites (probably in 2011). You might get lucky.

[Gillianren]

I have to admit, it would be nice to be asked. However, if I were asked, I would turn it down. I'm not of the temperament. Certainly I'm not stable enough. But being asked? That would be a sign of respect. Volunteering? Not so much.

[Fazor]

You might get lucky.
Heh, you just reminded me of a song that I've been listening to (it's on the CD that I currently have in my car) and decided is my new theme song.

Specifically, I decided that if I ever star in my own autobiographical sit-com, it will be the opening theme. The refrain goes "Even the losers get lucky sometimes." (Tom Petty)

I'll keep my fingers crossed!

[hhEb09'1]

I would really, really, really hate it if someone were to ask me to be a moderator. It would ruin the whole week for me.
Worked for me, sorta (http://web.archive.org/web/20020923125938/www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=2129&forum=6&12) :)

Just don't tell the other mods, someone deleted that thread...

[Argos]

I have to admit, it would be nice to be asked. (...) That would be a sign of respect.

Now that´s true.

I do not see scientific knowledge [there are mods who don´t show a level of scientific proficiency above the forum´s average] or good behavior [Captain Swoop has commented on that] as requirements. I do think a no-no for a mod is being a religious person above the average. That tend to have an impact on certain borderline discussions. After all, this is a science/skepticism forum.

It´s a little disappointing to see that most, if not all mods, are from the anglosphere and/or northern Europe. That leaves a slight taste of racial/ethnic prejudice, and I wonder if other members have captured it too. Consider this comment void if people like Sigma Orionis, suntrack2, Whirlpool [she´s in an interesting time zone], have been invited and declined.

And no, I´m not asking for, or suggesting, anything. My Ego is inflated enough for the things I do and have achieved in my neck of the woods. But, for the stars, I´d like to see more diversity in the mods corps.

[Nicolas]

Except for Suntrack2 and you Argos, I don't know anybody's whereabouts by heart (ok, mickal555 too, but he's not that active anymore). Well, except for Chrissy... And I do know that ToSeek and STS61 must live in the USA due to their job. And JayUtah is quite obvious. But that's it. From the same perspective, I never considered mods to have a judgement bias for others' home country.

[Halcyon Dayz]

If you have a sincere desire to be a moderator or admin here (or any other operation like this) I'd suggest reading the entire posting history of the seven people who just recently became moderators, and two who just became admins, as well as those of a representative sample of people who didn't...
You got to be kidding.

That's at least 50,000 posts. :lol:

It´s a little disappointing to see that most, if not all mods, are from the anglosphere and/or northern Europe.
I'm afraid that's pretty much the demographics of the active members.

Except for Suntrack2 and you Argos, I don't know anybody's whereabouts by heart...
Even the Location info can be misleading.
There are at least 2 members located in Germany who are USians.

[HenrikOlsen]

It´s a little disappointing to see that most, if not all mods, are from the anglosphere and/or northern Europe. That leaves a slight taste of racial/ethnic prejudice, and I wonder if other members have captured it too. Consider this comment void if people like Sigma Orionis, suntrack2, Whirlpool [she´s in an interesting time zone], have been invited and declined.
The need for communicating fairly precisely in English does mean there's a strong tendency to pick people who has one of the generally accepted variants of English as their first language.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think I was the first moderator with English as second language, with the new batch we got two more (I think).

[Jeff Root]

At a time when new moderators are needed, volunteering is absolutely a
positive step. The three negatives are volunteering right after the open
positions have been filled, volunteering in a public post rather than private
mail, and volunteering in such a way as to come across as rather clueless
about how things work.

Command of English, knowledge of science, and knowledge of the rules
are not nearly so important as being able to exercise good judgement
and to finish whatever you start.

I disagree with Gillian. I think she would be a fine moderator. But if I
were in a position to ask her to be a moderator, I would not. I think that
she should not be a moderator because that job would interfere with other
things she does even better. The same is true of several other familiar
posters who I won't name.

There is a poster in Europe who was probably asked and turned the job
down. From what I've seen from him, he would be an excellent moderator.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[hhEb09'1]

You got to be kidding.

That's at least 50,000 posts. :lol:As of a few minutes ago, it's 86254 posts :)

The two admins and chrissy and myself account for 5.32% of all the posts on BAUT. If you want to save some time, just read the posts by PetersCreek. :)

[antoniseb]

You got to be kidding.

That's at least 50,000 posts. :lol:

I'm perhaps half kidding. The people we asked didn't do this step... but they didn't have to, because they had already shown themselves to be what we were looking for. I offered the advice only for those people who sincerely wanted to be moderators or admins... and these people might have some work to do to think about the people on the forum in a way we want mods to think.

[Chuck]

Let's have admin powers for everyone! In fact, create a few thousand extra accounts, all with admin powers, and send the screen names and passwords to random email addresses. You can never have too many admins to keep things running smoothly.

[Ara Pacis]

Not everyone wants to be a moderator, but really, it's an honor just to be nominated.

note: that's a joke, I wasn't nominated. I probably visit too haphazardly to dedicate the time and effort to it, even though I've been a contributor to this community, on and off, for 8 years.

[antoniseb]

Not everyone wants to be a moderator, but really, it's an honor just to be nominated.

note: that's a joke, I wasn't nominated.

In my opinion, if you include everyone that would have been a good moderator, simply on how well they post and understand the forum philosophy here, there were probably more than a hundred candidates.

Our process wasn't thorough. We asked the current moderators (prior to this batch) to suggest names that would help give us more coverage in under-moderated sections of the forum. We had some discussion to choose from the list, but that discussion went nowhere, because there was no reason to eliminate anyone. So I asked everyone on the list if they'd be willing. About half gave an unqualified yes. They are the new team. Some of the others either said no, or said "well OK, but I'm overworked" or words to that effect. Some others had previously been asked and expressed doubt, (e.g. moose and gillianren) and with our good supply of candidates, we didn't trouble them again about this.

So, to anyone not nominated who thinks they should have been, let me say that we essentially randomly asked maybe 15 of the best 100 or so candidates. Not being asked has no relation to whether you'd have been a great moderator. Let me also say, that being a moderator (to some degree) turns into work something that used to be fun.

[Moose]

Some others had previously been asked and expressed doubt, (e.g. moose and gillianren) and with our good supply of candidates, we didn't trouble them again about this.

I appreciate you mentioning this, I'm genuinely flattered.

But for the sake of accuracy, it should be noted that in my case "previously being asked" was somebody snarking off at me for "playing mod" (their words.) I wasn't interested in publically defending my perceived shortcomings over what boiled down to their own issues.

As such, my response at the time should be taken in the spirit it was given. That's not to suggest I don't have my own (mostly unexpressed) concerns, but I've never gone out of my way to consider the idea (to avoid the "grass is greener" effect), and I'll say for the record that I'll never reject a serious offer out of hand.

And again, I don't want anybody to get the wrong idea or read in more than what I've just said. All I'm looking to do here is to be clear on why I'd said what I'd said... when... I'd said it.

[Fazor]

Let me also say, that being a moderator (to some degree) turns into work something that used to be fun.
You mean it's not all glamour, martini's, and celebrity parties at Phil's Aspen mansion? Hmm... ;)

But seriously, sage words.

[Moose]

Let me also say, that being a moderator (to some degree) turns into work something that used to be fun.

But seriously, sage words.

Yup.

[hhEb09'1]

You mean it's not all glamour, martini's, and celebrity parties at Phil's Aspen mansion? Hmm... That's only 12%. The number one mod time waster is all the hours we spend on his G5, playing canasta: 18%

[Ara Pacis]

In my opinion, if you include everyone that would have been a good moderator, simply on how well they post and understand the forum philosophy here, there were probably more than a hundred candidates.

I really wasn't referring to myself, I was just making a joke in the style of awards shows.

BTW, I just noticed that you're an "Administrator". I had thought that tommac had erred with reference to "administrator" and meant to say "moderator" since I thought that only Phil and Fraser were admins. I guess I'm a bit out of touch with the hierarchy around here.

[Moose]

Antoniseb and ToSeek were made admin pretty recently, Ara, just a couple of weeks ago. It wouldn't have taken much of a blink to have missed it.

[HenrikOlsen]

You're only two weeks out of touch.

[captain swoop]

Except for Suntrack2 and you Argos, I don't know anybody's whereabouts by heart (ok, mickal555 too, but he's not that active anymore). Well, except for Chrissy... And I do know that ToSeek and STS61 must live in the USA due to their job. And JayUtah is quite obvious. But that's it. From the same perspective, I never considered mods to have a judgement bias for others' home country.

Well, my location is at the top of my posts:) Chrissy is about 30 miles from me and Sticks is about 50 miles away. Quite a 'Northern' Cabal.

[tommac]

What is your subject, your field of expertise? Do you have some background in mathematics/physics/astronomy/cosmology that would be relevant? How good is your command of the English language? Are you both diplomatic and pragmatic?

What are the positive attributes that would make you a suitable candidate? :confused:

No just good at adminning.

[tommac]

my philospophy and understanding is definitely needed on this board. So I would welcome an invite as admin if I were offered. Gratis even.

In my opinion, if you include everyone that would have been a good moderator, simply on how well they post and understand the forum philosophy here, there were probably more than a hundred candidates.

Our process wasn't thorough. We asked the current moderators (prior to this batch) to suggest names that would help give us more coverage in under-moderated sections of the forum. We had some discussion to choose from the list, but that discussion went nowhere, because there was no reason to eliminate anyone. So I asked everyone on the list if they'd be willing. About half gave an unqualified yes. They are the new team. Some of the others either said no, or said "well OK, but I'm overworked" or words to that effect. Some others had previously been asked and expressed doubt, (e.g. moose and gillianren) and with our good supply of candidates, we didn't trouble them again about this.

So, to anyone not nominated who thinks they should have been, let me say that we essentially randomly asked maybe 15 of the best 100 or so candidates. Not being asked has no relation to whether you'd have been a great moderator. Let me also say, that being a moderator (to some degree) turns into work something that used to be fun.

[tommac]

well ... I think being banned adds to my experience of the board.

as far as point 2 ... an admin doesnt need to post or at least post more than I already do. If you are questioning posting you dont get what is involved in being an admin.

Okay, Tommac, let me review your resume...

Okay, so let's go over your qualifications, as you've explained in this thread:

1) You've been "banned" for breaking the rules.

2) Your punctuation and capitalization needs work.

Anything else?

[tommac]

I am an English major. Let me assure you that speeding up others' comprehension ought to be at least as important. An admin, or even just a mod, should endeavour to be easily understandable.

mod yes admin no.

[tommac]

So it does count. You broke the civility and decorum rules. Maybe you should have read them after all.

Plus your earlier comment, being a Mod means covering all the forums, you don't get to pick and choose what you will Mod.

I don't see a past banning a a barrier to being a Mod, I have 3 day suspension from earlier this year.
hah which led to my permanent banning.

[tommac]

It was meant as a sort of sideways reference to Patch Adams, Lonewolf. My apologies if it doesn't work nearly so well for me as it did in Robin Williams' soliloquy. ;)


Tes

patch adams ... that is movie desperation, I guess maybe one of the later movies to watch if you are trying to watch all of robin williams work. Next to that one where he was a prisoner of war.

[tommac]

I've done the whole "forum moderator" thing in the past (not here, obviously) and you couldn't pay me enough to do it again. While you guys were all congratulating the new "mods" on their "promotion" all I could feel was pity. Good luck you poor, poor people.

- J

hah and admin is worse.

[tommac]

capitalisation is a good way to lose your whole post; just press "CTRL" instead of "shift" when typing "William"

right on!
I will start a new social group for people who dont capitalize.

[tommac]

I think so.

I shot the serif

The serif dont like it
Rockin the casbah
Rock the casbah
The serif dont like it
Rockin the casbah
Rock the casbah

[tommac]

Really just volunteering for the sake of thread starting. It turned into a nice conversation starter.

Although honestly I probably am one of the most qualified.

If needed though I would consider doing the work ... for free to repay all that this board has given me.

At a time when new moderators are needed, volunteering is absolutely a
positive step. The three negatives are volunteering right after the open
positions have been filled, volunteering in a public post rather than private
mail, and volunteering in such a way as to come across as rather clueless
about how things work.

Command of English, knowledge of science, and knowledge of the rules
are not nearly so important as being able to exercise good judgement
and to finish whatever you start.

I disagree with Gillian. I think she would be a fine moderator. But if I
were in a position to ask her to be a moderator, I would not. I think that
she should not be a moderator because that job would interfere with other
things she does even better. The same is true of several other familiar
posters who I won't name.

There is a poster in Europe who was probably asked and turned the job
down. From what I've seen from him, he would be an excellent moderator.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[Gillianren]

hah which led to my permanent banning.

If you were permanently banned, why are you still here?

[sarongsong]

...I probably am one of the most qualified...Total Posts...1,651
The BA...7,494
Fraser...11,490
ToSeek..24,415
Antoniseb..15,070

:lol: Good luck!

[nauthiz]

Clearly, The BA and Fraser are due for an ousting.

[GeorgeLeRoyTirebiter]

"Antoniseb dozed lightly in his chair. After a while he played with the pencil and the paper again and was delighted when he discovered how to make a mark with the one on the other. Various noises continued outside, but he didn't know whether they were real or not. He then talked to his table for a week to see how it would react."

I think the board is in pretty good hands, yeah?


I'm using antoniseb here because he's the only admin to post in this thread. Please don't ban me.

[PetersCreek]

The two admins and chrissy and myself account for 5.32% of all the posts on BAUT. If you want to save some time, just read the posts by PetersCreek. :)

Shhhhhhhhh! They'll find that post about sheep dip and there goes my reputation...such as it is. :doh:

[nauthiz]

They'll find that post about sheep dip
I just did. All I can really say is :eh:

[PetersCreek]

Context is everything.

[Nicolas]

So I would welcome an invite as admin if I were offered. Gratis even.
Although honestly I probably am one of the most qualified.
If needed though I would consider doing the work ... for free to repay all that this board has given me.

What's the plural of arrogance?

Even the mods and admins that are suitable for the job aren't paid for it.

[Sticks]

We're not :eek:

;)

[Sticks]

Context is everything.

Well you could never really compete against Castlemain XXXX, as it said in the advert that it made your brew taste like sheep dip

You weren't using real sheep dip in that conconction were you? :shifty:

[Nicolas]

We're not :eek:

;)

What, suitable?

:whistle:

[Ara Pacis]

What, suitable?

:whistle:

Maybe they get first pick of the cute new members.

[tommac]

I´d invite you to be an admin on the forum where I'm an admin but I don't know you & you've never posted there, besides being banned any time doesn't look too good on your CV!

A little humility also goes a long way!

I have no interest. I was just offering to volunteer my services here as this site has provided some great info to me and I would like to offer my services in return.

[SolusLupus]

well ... I think being banned adds to my experience of the board.

as far as point 2 ... an admin doesnt need to post or at least post more than I already do. If you are questioning posting you dont get what is involved in being an admin.

Given that those two points are the only points brought up throughout this thread, I'm not sure you get it, either.

EDITED thanks to Henrik Olsen's explanation, I realize I was wrong. My apologies.

[HenrikOlsen]

hah which led to my permanent banning.

If you were permanently banned, why are you still here?
He's not still here, he's here again; after convincing us that he didn't do what he was perm banned for, he was let back in.

[Delvo]

Is the person who posts about a banning in the banning thread necessarily the person who requested or decided on the banning? Or is it just whichever administrator carried it out, possibly after some other person (a moderator) requested or decided on it?

[HenrikOlsen]

Yes.

Slightly longer version:
Bannings are done by moderators and it's commonly the one executing the banning who posts about it.

Permanent bannings, except for the summary deletion of spammers, happens after several warnings and suspensions and the user has therefore normally been discussed by the moderators before it happens, so who does the banning is mostly a matter of who was logged on when the final infraction was reported.

[tommac]

He's not still here, he's here again; after convincing us that he didn't do what he was perm banned for, he was let back in.


Yes also after a sincere appology and I am very thankful I have been allowed back. I didnt mean it to brag ... I just think it put what this board means to me into perspective.

[Gillianren]

But you still haven't given us your credentials. "I love this board" is not a reason to make you an admin. After all, a lot of us love this board.

[nauthiz]

If everyone who loves the board got to be in charge, this place might turn into something like Lord of the Flies only with pointier heads.

[jt-3d]

Personally I hate this board. I'd make a great moderator though. :)


Oh great, now I've pilled it on too.

I've actually been a mod on a huge board. It took at least eight hours of each and every day to do an effective job. You can be a lamer mod and only spend a half hour or so (as the board's owners did). But if you really want to help it takes a lot of time. It doesn't take long before you realize you have better things to do. You have to really be dedicated to hang more than a year. I made a couple of years. And that place had way less rules than this place does.

Once you quit you realize just how much time you've wasted. After a while the shiny new buttons don't mean so much. Shortly thereafter you begin to hate them and all the PMs and emails. Ultimately you hate everybody and your life revolves around your unpaid job and you find yourself wondering the streets in you underwear, at 3am because you can't 'find your delete button'.


Still, I'd make a great mod...no really. :)

btw tommac, I just spent 20 minutes typing all that up, just to fix typos and make it humourous and I'm pretty drubnk. Do you posess even that amount of dedication to this place? It doesn't seem so.

btw, I should be a mod. pick me, pick meeeee!

[HenrikOlsen]

Luckily on this forum it's possible to do the work with a bit less than 8 hours because our members are really good about reporting what needs looking into, so it's possible to do the work by keeping up with the reports and having a bit of fun by participating as a regular user the rest of the time.

[jt-3d]

Sure until some user forgets their password or wants to know how to set an avatar or just wants to chat. Then you can't be just a user because you have that moderator thingy under your name.

I'm sure this place is much better than the place where I had the buttons but it's still got to be a lot of time at least. Maybe ya'll get to have regular powwows with the managers of the place. That was something we lacked over there. The mods were on their own and the only way we could have any powers of smash down was if an admin happened by. Nothing like having a spammer running loose and all you can do is delete their posts. http://www.jt-3d.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif We were eunuchs. Pretty frustrating especially when I was pretty much the only mod who tried, eh. I quit when it quit being fun...well quite some time after it quit being fun actually. It's hard to give up the buttons once you have them. You keep hoping it will get better but it never does. :(

[HenrikOlsen]

Password resetting is done automagically so we're not involved and the regular users are great about providing help for new users who don't know how to do things.

It does help a lot that banning people is a moderator power, with the rules explicitly stating that bannings can be appealed to admins or other moderators.
It sets up a system of accountability where the moderators (of whom there are supposedly enough to have the time1) have the powers to actually do the job but we have to answer to the admins for how those powers are used, which is seldom enough that they don't get overworked either.

1) especially after we became more.

[jt-3d]

Password resetting is done automagically so we're not involved and the regular users are great about providing help for new users who don't know how to do things.

Only admins could reset passwords in PHPbb2. But the admins were never around and the mods were powerless to help. 'What good are you then?' Exactly. Quite frustrating.


It does help a lot that banning people is a moderator power, with the rules explicitly stating that bannings can be appealed to admins or other moderators.
It sets up a system of accountability where the moderators (of whom there are supposedly enough to have the time1) have the powers to actually do the job but we have to answer to the admins for how those powers are used, which is seldom enough that they don't get overworked either.

1) especially after we became more.

Oh, I'm more than willing to answer for my actions. My job holds me accountable at the highest levels. Not quite MIB level but federal anyway. :) So answering to a board admin is hardly a challenge.

At any rate, I hope ya'll have a better experience than I had.

[Jeff Root]

When I was co-sysop ("system operator") of the Minnesota Space Frontier
Society BBS ("bulletin board system"), we just found and deleted the really
nasty posts from the really nasty posters before others found them, without
comment and without banning those posters. That pretty much eliminated
their incentive to register under a new name and continue posting. They
just got tired of having their posts disappear, and gave up.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[Moose]

I took a similar approach when I'd been co-co-admin of a mud (an online game). We'd had to let go of a developer (because he'd been caught adding back doors to the game which he'd been exploiting, among other reasons), including an ugly denial-of-service backdoor which I found and removed in the midst of a persistent attack. Moments after I did, he logged on and sat there, saying nothing.

Point is, I'd ban his IP (range), delete his account, but I wouldn't ban the account name itself. A few weeks later, he'd create a new account using a different ISP, but using the same distinctive account name. So I'd ban that IP (range), delete the account, but not ban the account name. Lather, rinse, repeat. After a month or two, he appears to have run out of IPs to ban. Problem solved.

[HenrikOlsen]

Different problems need different solutions, the main one these days, of spammers, isn't solved by letting the user stay as the posts are completely automated and continues until they are banned.

[tdvance]

That's like Guilliani's anti-graffiti campaign in NYC--clean the wall immediately after it is graffittied, and they lose the desire to graffiti.

[HenrikOlsen]

It works because the graffiti artist is paid for his work by recognition and by removing the work immediately there's no return for the time invested.
If the graffiti artists where using automated sprayers with free paint and where painting adverts for products where they got a return on sales, that method wouldn't work and they'd still paint.

[Fazor]

Hmm... looking at the thread title, I realize that I would like to be an ad-men. Being an ad-men provides many advantages over being an admin.

For starters, I'd be plural men, as in more than one. Thus, my powers of evil would multiply.

Secondly, I'd be in advertising. Thus, my powers of evil would multiply.

[/tangent]

[mugaliens]

Most message forum software (if not all, by now) has the capability to automatically quaranteen posts containing certain key words. If, after review, they're deemed ok, no worries. This way, the worst of them never see the light of day, whether admins/mods are right on top of things all the time or not.

[SolusLupus]

Hmm... looking at the thread title, I realize that I would like to be an ad-men. Being an ad-men provides many advantages over being an admin.

For starters, I'd be plural men, as in more than one. Thus, my powers of evil would multiply.

Secondly, I'd be in advertising. Thus, my powers of evil would multiply.

[/tangent]

Given the general "powers of evil" in advertising, I think it would be multiplying by a fraction. Although your "powers of being annoying" would definitely be multiplying by a whole number of high value.

[antoniseb]

Most message forum software (if not all, by now) has the capability to automatically quaranteen posts containing certain key words. If, after review, they're deemed ok, no worries. This way, the worst of them never see the light of day, whether admins/mods are right on top of things all the time or not.

We can do that, and do. But the list is *very* short.

[BigDon]

I think that is what makes BAUT and UMSF such great forums, Good Moderation.
The Admins of those forums are doing a great job in selecting their staff IMHO.

And for the OP, asking to be a admin.... tommac, why exactly do you want to be an admin? We have 4 very capable admins, What could you add?

--Dennis

I have to ask.

What's a UMSF?

and who are the other two Admins besides Fraser and Phil?

[antoniseb]

What's a UMSF?
Unmanned Spaceflight (http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/)

[ToSeek]

I have to ask.

What's a UMSF?

UnmannedSpaceFlight.com (http://unmannedspaceflight.com/) - great place to keep up with the Mars Rovers, Cassini, etc. They have regulars there who work at JPL, Emily Lakdawalla from the Planetary Society, and working scientists, not to mention some brilliant amateurs (in the best sense of the word) who provide better maps of the rovers' travels than the professionals do.

and who are the other two Admins besides Fraser and Phil?

Ahem. (http://www.bautforum.com/about-baut/82429-toseek-antoniseb-promoted-administrators.html)

[BigDon]

I should have remembered that. At least I was spared the humiliation of actually having posted in the congratulitory thread.

Hey! Did I mention I had a second stroke since the first one in November?

[trinitree88]

I hereby dub thee, King of Mars!

As for the hat, you'll have to settle for aluminum foil. Don't knock it, though - I heard a rumor that's what helped Phil throw off the mind control rays long enough for him to spot bad astronomy and start Bad Astronomy Bulletin Board.

I'm sure someone here's got a link to a picture or two...

mugs, I have to laugh at that....and that's why they won't ask me!:shifty::lol:

pete

[davidlpf]

I think we have enough admins one to keep track of Neverfly and one one to keep track of Mugs new ideas to change the forum.(humour guys humour)

[mugaliens]

mugs, I have to laugh at that....and that's why they won't ask me!:shifty::lol:

pete

What? Because you refuse to wear the silly looking Al foil hat? What the admins won't tell you is that while it's terrific for thwarting mind-control rays, it's also highly radioactive, thereby gelling your mind into submission after just a few hours of use.

Nice catch-22, huh?

(snicker...)

[Ara Pacis]

Unmanned Spaceflight (http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/)

Something about that term strikes me as an oxymoron. Maybe a better term would be "unleaded ballistics".

[sarongsong]

Can I be an admin?Yes, of course! :)...I helped tommac build this site (http://www.whatisorganicliving.com/)...
tom
Administrator...:clap: