Question

We need more mods who are active...... We get more and more trollers everyday and the mods are hardly here.

Answer 1

whats a mod?

Answer 2

A mod is a person who watches over the site who can ban people and do much more. They have purple names

Answer 3

oh

Answer 4

like mathmale

Answer 5

Yes

Answer 6

oh i see them everyday but mostly in math

Answer 7

They chat from time to time

Answer 8

not really if they are there saying troll

Answer 9

That doesnt make sense what you said Littlebit.

Answer 10

The solution that they think always works is hiring more super mods. But really they're just hiring more friends to mod the Math section even more. They aren't assigned anywhere and they all just huddle up in Math and Feedback. Having sectional mods would limit power too much, but what if ambies can moderate the chats? I see more ambies than mods in the chat, and most of them have good knowledge about the rules so it would be something to consider, giving them the ability to kick, warn and suspend for a max of 1 day. Most of our mods don't even come online anymore, and most have similar time zones. We need people who are willing to come online actively and watch the site for trolls. There are times when only Preetha is on, and she doesn't have time to moderate.

Answer 11

thats true there is none when i come on if they are on they are in math

Answer 12

Also, please try to keep in mind that us mods are mostly volunteers who started using the site to help people learn. It's fairly hard to find people who are willing to come to a site and do nothing but fight uphill battles against trolls. When I come on the site, it's to ask/answer questions, and if I happen to be busy helping someone, unless the trolling is really intense, I usually prioritize helping the person who's question I'm on. I try to do both, but this is tricky.

There has been much discussion of giving ambies the power to ban, but it usually concludes with the idea that the community suspension is effective enough in such cases as would be warranted for an ambie suspension. Feel free to keep arguing for why they should have that power, though; suggestions are still taken.

Answer 13

The OpenStudy team has acquired mods from all the parts of the world to assure that a moderator is online at all times. And it is a rare event seeing no moderator online at all. So, I state out clearly: there is no reason to increase the number. Of course, quantity has a quality all its own, but when you have the former, there is no need to achieve the latter. Thus, there is nothing ill with the moderators.

I talked to a moderator, and the reason they gave was, in their words, "lack of incentive and tools for the moderators to work upon." Remember that the moderator does not only press the ban button and is done with, but follows a protocol that must never be broken, by providing a reason for the ban even when it is trivial for even the recipient of the suspension. This slows down things, but is definitely the correct way to do it.

Thus, I will not for now, protest against any policy of OpenStudy.

Answer 14

There has been more moderators I think, since there were requests some time ago for various things including mods.

Answer 15

Every now and then, new mods are added to the team. mathmale is our latest asset who has been assigned 2 weeks ago. But as stated before, the problem is not the amount of mods, but rather the efficiency of the tools. Suspending a troll is easy done, but when this troll can create a new account in less than 20 seconds, it's no use suspending him over and over again. This problem is very easy to fix so I hope OpenStudy's new CTO will fix it soon :)
What needs to be done is adding IP's of suspended users to a blacklist that will prevent them from creating a new account for about an hour. Also email verification should be required in order to use the chat, and also a maximum of 2-3 questions for accounts that have not been verified yet. The email format should also be checked upon registration so that no fake emails can be used.

Answer 16

But me and my sibling has OpenStudy accounts... and same IP address I guess..
Will that affect us?

Answer 17

@AntiNode It will only affect you if you wanted to create a new account in that hour.

Answer 18

oh ok.,..
Is it possible to become a mod?

Answer 19

yes

Answer 20

do I have to learn a software or be really smart? or have a smart score of 99?

Answer 21

no, you have to be a long time user of OpenStudy and show that you follow the CoC and TaC. Also it's helpful if you're an expert at a particular subject. Most mods are math guru's but we also have mods active in different sections (like myself, I'm usually in biology/chemistry).

Answer 22

how long is "long time"?

Answer 23

Well the fastest I've seen someone become mod is about 6 months

Answer 24

is there an age limit?

Answer 25

I believe that the age limit is 18, not sure though.

Answer 26

There have been exceptions to that rule, but yes, that is the rule for now. But if you are a faithful user of OS, there is nothing stopping you from becoming a moderator.

Answer 27

@thomaster Umm, you just listed mathmale then said 6 months. He made it in like 3. He is also a retired professor that handles himself really well. So time to become a mod is very dependent not just on what you contribute but also on who you are.

Answer 28

@e.mccormick good point :P Didn't think of that.
Anyways 3 months is exceptionally fast, it would usually take more than 6 months.

Answer 29

oh ok thanks

Answer 30

can i be an ambassador or a mod

Answer 31

[insert 5 paragraphs shooting down your thoughts here]

Answer 32

+1 Carniel for bringing this up. +1 Chib for pointing out very workable solutions. And +1 Turing for pointing out the problems with the solutions.

One issue is that the mod tools were fine when there was far less traffic on the site. We got the trolls that needed IP bans (or at any rate, something tougher than the simple suspend/new account cycle we play now) maybe once every few days instead of once every few hours, the way it is now.

There is definitely a lot of talk about ways to expand and improve the tools. Chat mods are under discussion, and granting the ambies some meaningful moderation powers (i.e., in the chats) is also under discussion. But first the idea is to provide the ambies with a lot of training, a lot of supervision and mentoring, and a lot of experience dealing non-violently with these situations before anything like that happens.

Answer 33

I believe OS needs better mods. And We need to stop cheating and bullying. Some of the mods are bullies. Most of them are nice and good, but some of them need to go. OS needs to be a place where people can come and have help, not a place where people come to cheat. I can bring in people, but that doesn't help when the bullying drives them out.

Answer 34

When have you seen any of our moderators bully other users? I've never witnessed it, it would be surprising. All of our moderators are mature and responsible adults and follow the CoC at all times with no exceptions. There is no sign of a mod bullying or harassing another user (except for a certain someone whom is no longer a mod), they only suspend and deal with the ones who do so. The only problem is that it easily slips by, but I just feel like adding more mods is not the solution. None of our current mods need to be removed.

Answer 35

Some of them take their authority too far. And i've seen one bully my friend kevin. And idk what the solution is. I just hope we find the solution.

Answer 36

Do you have an example or proof? Because I've never seen such behavior within our staff.

Answer 37

i have no proof

Answer 38

but i am not lying

Answer 39

i gtg ttyl
be back on monday

Answer 40

@travisbrown372
I am sorry, but I don’t call Kevin much of a friend. Why? Because he used to insult many people by using rude words and by them that the have fake pictures on, although they were real. It was his own fault if he got suspended/banned. He could have used more kinder words than the rude ones. You can’t blame moderators on that. Kevin has been reported many times just because of his rudeness. I am not trying to go against you but I have experienced it myself. Moderators ban/suspend users for some reason. But if he thinks that he was suspended/banned wrongly, he should contact abuse@openstudy.com

Answer 41

Yay! My idea of chat mods is being considered! :D

Answer 42

And it was always dismissed when it was proposed by you :P @poopsiedoodle

Answer 43

shut

Answer 44

@poopsiedoodle Avast, thar thar. ye have anger problems thar son. ye mucky barnacle-covered bucko temper needs to some set the sails to work.

Answer 45

@secret66 i believe you
and i'm sorry @♪Chibiterasu for me wasting your time
i'll go now

Answer 46

You'll go now?

Answer 47

what?

Answer 48

:/

Answer 49

what do you mean be "i'll go now" ?

Answer 50

i mean i'll leave bcuz i'm sorry for bothering you guys

Answer 51

I wan't to be a mod! I don't wan't trollers in OpenStudy

Answer 52

same here

Answer 53

Become an Ambassador. While being an Ambassador is not an assured path to being a mod, it will get you noticed more by the moderators and administrators. That will make you evaluated more for if you would be a good fit for the site.

Answer 54

okay
but how do i become one

Answer 55

ill be one
i really wanna help OS out

Answer 56

To become an ambassador for Openstudy; you must fill out this application( https://docs.google.com/a/openstudy.com/forms/d/14kZejqKJuYBxuRCxCjwa-rAUtScOYB6KTlrZDmYLTGM/viewform) and email a scan or picture of an identification card to: ambassador.admin@openstudy.com

Answer 57

Good luck on your endeavor @travisbrown372

Answer 58

Well, being someone that follows and promotes the rules helps too.

Answer 59

thx