The Mods: TriXie Goes Behind the Green Hammer
If you've spent any time in the Xbox.com forums, you'll have noticed that some posters have a little green hammer next to their name. You may also have noticed posts that include phrases like "*&%# the mods!" and "those $@*&#! mods banned me again—who do they think they are?!" Well, I chatted with a few of these "mods" and found out exactly who they think they are.
Disclaimer: I actually have a mod hammer and mod privileges (i.e. I can edit, remove, and pin posts) but I'm not an official mod. So if you see "the real TriXie" in the forums, don't flip me any crap!
What Are Mods and What Do They Do?
Mod is short for Moderator. They are volunteers that moderate the forums. It's kinda like being the recess lady at a particularly large and unruly elementary school. So if the mods see you biting, scratching, or chasing the girls, and/or threatening them with cooties, you can bet you'll get a big fat time-out. If you follow the Code of Conductand Terms of Useyou'll be fine. Violate them, and you'll be sorry. You've been warned.
Oh la la, neda's French. Read his Forum Gazette
What Kind of Smack Can They Put Down?
That depends on the offense. If you're just a little bit naughty (spamming, or "light" profanity), you'll have your posts deleted and get a warning. If you get a few warnings, you may be banned from the forums for a day or two.
If you're a repeat offender and you pull some worse stuff such as frequent profanity or blatant post-count spamming (posting stuff just to boost the number of your posts) you will get only one warning before the banning begins, and the bans last longer.
Super-bad boys and girls—those who post stuff that is racist, extremely vulgar, or threatening—will get banned right away. And if you can't, you won't, or you don't stop … you will suffer the ultimate punishment: IP banning. That means you can't re-register under a different forum name and email address, 'cause your IP address has been flagged and banned. Oh yes, the mods are wise to your little tricks.
In addition, there are some other no-nos that will get your butt kicked right off the forums: Impersonating a mod or other forum user, having an obscene forum name or signature, and re-registering in the forums right away to avoid a temporary ban.
Who Are the Mods?
The mods are not Microsoft® employees, but regular gamers like you. They each volunteer several hours weekly, patrolling the forums, answering questions, sniffing out bad guys, and generally making the forums a better place to hang out. Right now there are 18 moderators, of whom about a dozen are also Microsoft Most Valuable Professionalsor MVPs. Xbox® MVPs are people that Microsoft has identified as mack daddies of Xbox products—helpful, knowledgeable, and worthy of accolades. A bunch of them came to Xbox HQ back in April and were appropriately lauded and fêted. But, you don't have to be an MVP in order to be a mod.
Shreddies, UK mod, banned twice before turning good.
How Are Mods Chosen, and How Can I Become One?
In the words of ybike, mod extraordinaire, "Quality has a way of being recognized. Everyone can name someone who is always there to help out or give advice. You know that you can ask them a question without getting flamed. They do this freely without any expectations of being rewarded. In fact, the act of asking to be a moderator will almost always disqualify whoever is asking. A mod must possess the spirit of volunteerism. This is because there is no reward in doing the job, except to help make the forums a better place to hang around in." A good tip is to be as knowledgeable about Xbox and Xbox Live™ as possible and make yourself useful in the Technical Issues forum. That's a good way to get noticed. But remember: Don'task to be a mod. That's the kiss of death.
How Can I Avoid the Wrath of the Mods?
The best advice is to not break the Terms of Use, and to follow the Code of Conduct. These are policies that you agreed to adhere to when you created your forum username. Now, we know y'all didn't commit these to memory before you checked the "Yes I read it, now let me in the damn forums!" box. So, as a public service, Major Nelson has created a handy-dandy cheat sheet on how to behave in the forums.
I asked three of my favorite mods for their best piece of advice for the forums.
"A moderator is somewhat like a policeman. So when a forum poster does something that violates the Terms of Use, he should conduct himself like he would with a cop. He should state his case in a polite and respectful manner. It is like getting a traffic ticket in a small town. This cop sees you every time you come into town. So when you get your ticket, you should not start swearing at him and threaten to do bodily harm to him. You should just take your ticket and move on. Things are forgiven and forgotten very fast on the forums. We have several moderators that have had their share of tickets in their day. But members change and moderators appreciate that."
ybike
"I love you all and it hurts me when you are banned, so please be careful out there as there are bad people who are likely to lead you in the wrong direction!!"
Shreddies
"Respect the Terms of Use. Read Major Nelson's guidelines. If everyone would abide by that, we'd have a great community."
neda
neda is also the founder of the Forum Gazette, which is a sort of newspaper that lets people know about new games and new forums. You can even sign up for e-mail notifications. It's a really great place to go if you don't have time to read every thread in every forum. Also, neda's always looking for help with the Gazette, so if you've got some spare time and would like to ingratiate yourself with the mods, shoot neda e-mail at xbox_gazette@hotmail.com.
Now you know all about the mods, so go forth and post, but remember: Be careful out there.
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