Board Thread:Chat Discussion/@comment-2240864-20141126074935

Buckle in folks, it's about to be a bumpy ride.

There are a good many problems with chat right now. It's dangerously close to being shut down, and I almost did it today. I asked chat to come up with a list of issues they saw chat having and even solutions to them. Sure, some answered me, but a majority chose to fight amongst themselves in open chat.

That was what I wanted to see. Can chat work together or will they just turn into the wild animals they are? Well, folks, get ready for some puppy chow.

Everyone else has thrown their hat in the ring in an attempt to fix chat, so here is mine. Of note, since I am the last to try, I suppose that if this fails I will concede that chat cannot be salvaged.

Here's what will happen. I'm going to revamp the moderation system. In order to do this, I will have to wipe the slate. That means remove all current moderators. This must be done. There are some that have caused problems in the past, and there are those that might not have. However, in order for this to work I must remove them from this until we can stabilize chat.

This will also open up a situation where I will be able to identify if admin have problems dealing with users. Unfortunately, doing this will mean that the admin team will have to watch chat, but not for very long.

''NO MODS! WHAT WILL WE DO!?'' I hear you scream. Let me tell you, I reply.

Moderators have been elected in the past, and this has served to cause numerous problems. People have told me they vote for their friends, and this Southern-style method of picking your buddies is just north of ineffective. It does not work and has not worked. When it was just me picking admin and mods, things were smoother. I did not have a half dozen reports of wrongdoing a week.

Going forward, moderators will be created by the Bureaucrats, and nominated by the admin team. This will allow us to select quality users, and talk to them directly. Most sites have that policy of "don't ask to join; if we want you we will come to you." There is a reason. This is that reason. I'm sorry, but elections have failed. Chat is failing, and I want accountability. Under this system, the Bureaucrats are responsible for choosing wisely, and if someone does bad things, we have to accept we did wrong and take care of the problem...instead of letting reports pile up.

Also, speaking of reports. Going forward, I want all reports of admin and moderator abuse, negligence, misbehavior, etc. to come to me in some form, and at some time. I am going to take those reports, look into them, and file them for a new system of Quarterly Reviews that I proposed a few months back.

Mods and Admin will be reviewed by the Bureaucrat staff at 3 month intervals. every January, April, July, and October the Bureaucrats will review the performances of the mod and admin team. We will discuss amongst ourselves how they are doing, what needs to be improved, and if they are failing drastically at their job. Then, we will turn to you, the users, and ask you for your comments. It will be a lot of work, yes, but there seems to be this huge trust issue on this site's chat, and making people accountable for things hopefully will show that we care and are trying to solve the problems before they become something out-of-control.

We need mods (and admin) who earn their positions. People who want to help, not go for some theory of glory that they feel this position brings. Merit-based promotions have worked in the past and it has been stated in chat that many people feel like they can work again.

But here's something that needs work too: You all.

Yes, you regular chatters are also part of this problem. Here's what you must do, and what you must stop doing.

MUST DO
 * Remember that you are all PEOPLE.
 * Treat people equally. Doesn't matter if they made a bad story, they are still a person too.  That means they have feelings and you shouldn't attack them.
 * Get along with each other.
 * Welcome new users.
 * Trust each other. Not everyone is out for blood or to do bad, but if they are then a moderator or admin will take care of it.
 * Care about the chat.
 * Respect the rules.
 * Respect the mods.
 * Respect the admin.
 * Respect each other.
 * Have fun, but within reasons and not at the expense of others. Yes, I know the joke is chat is a Nofunzone.jpeg, but do try to have some measure of fun.  Just behave while doing it.
 * Discuss the spooky things. This is a horror chat, after all.  Try once in a while, for Old Man Cleric, won't you?

MUST NOT DO
 * Sweat it. You're not a chat mod.  You're not an admin.  You are not a Bureaucrat.  You don't have to concern yourself about micromanaging chat.  We have people for that.
 * Sit back and watch. If something really wrong is happening, tell someone.  Help out.  Assist!  While you don't have to fret everything, if there is bad and no one is there to help, contact someone.
 * Treat people with hate or disrespect.
 * Attack other users.
 * Drag off-site drama into chat in any form.
 * Be elitist. You're not better than anyone.  You do not get a bigger say because you know people or have friends.  This is not how things work.
 * Harass, attack, or in any way drive off new people. This is not a Cool Kids Club.  This is an open community, and if you cannot let new people join, chat will be shut down.  Period.  Stop treating this like your secret club.  If you want a secret club, go back to /b/.

These are really simple things. If you all cannot do this then I'm sorry. Chat just will never work.

This all being said, tl;dr: Save chat, nuke mods; merit, not popularity; reports and reviews; be good, don't do bad.

Also, I will work on figuring out how to do a mod/admin schedule and make a rotation so we're never uncovered by someone in chat. But until then, do the right thing and remember, ''we are all people here come to chat. None of us are better than others.'' 