Riot, you need to remove all these Mod accounts- return them to normal status

Glass Rammus·8/23/2019, 5:31:49 PM·6 votes·5,153 views

My stance: Mods make the boards a more toxic environment.

MODS ARE NOT ANY MORE OR LESS INFORMED THAN THE AVERAGE PLAYER.

How many applicants did you have when you were posting for people to apply? You had a terrible sample base considering it seems like only trolls applied. I know, firsthand, that most of the players I come across didn't apply. This kind of authority assigned on a "first come, first serve" basis is inherently ineffective. These 'Mods" seem to only want authority to remove content they disagree with, then justify the authority with an abusive interpretation of "the rules". It would be good and well for them to remove posts that violate rules- but Mods have clearly abused their position by picking and choosing when the rule applies based on whether or not they agree with the statement.

PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE RESPONSES

Somebody posting about removed comments is bound to attract the attention of the Mod that removed the comment. The Mods will comment about what this player did wrong. Now, you might not see a problem with this- but it's essentially SPAM. Because the Mod has ALREADY explained this in their message to the player, there is no reason for them to stalk this player's discussions just to repeat themselves. This is clearly harassing, and begs the question if they're really just abusing their power to troll players they don't agree with. In fact, it's much more likely they are trolling instead of doing their job- because doing their job requires monitoring Boards- not arguing with the person they punished.

FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES

Now there's a clear system for favoritism. Player A became a Mod, and now all their Boards friends get free passes on the "menial" rules. Basically, the friends of Mods can get away with making comments and posts, and the friends of Mods have more weight when they report other comments or posts. It's the most caveman version of politics, I'll use Champion Icons to represent players: Azir became a Mod. Azir was friends with Nasus for a while. Nasus makes a post on Boards, and Rammus comments his disapproval. Nasus replies with something passive-aggressive, and Rammus reports the comment. Azir receives the report, sees it's against Nasus, and as long as there's no cursing or swearing then Azir gives Nasus a pass. Rammus responds to the comment by re-explaining his stance, but using the language Nasus used to try communicating better. Nasus doesn't like the taste of his own medicine, and reports the comment. Azir receives the report, sees it's Nasus submitting the report, then furiously digs through all the Boards Rules finding anything that can vaguely apply, removes Rammus's comment and sends Rammus the rule he found.

Laugh if you want, or get mad about being called out- but this is the reality of Boards with Mods involved. Riot please, we DON'T NEED OR WANT THEM. Return the players' accounts to their original state.

EDIT P.S.: If you agree with me, and think of Mods as useless- DOWNVOTE everything Mods post. Everyone agreeing with Mod behavior- DOWNVOTE THEM. Regardless of what the Mod is saying, or the situation- we need to adamantly remind them that they are an IMPOSITION and plague Boards with their presence.

32 Comments

ModThe Djinn8/23/2019, 5:43:56 PM12 votes

[{quoted}](name=Glass Rammus,realm=NA,application-id=6heBIhQc,discussion-id=AAYK6MQR,comment-id=,timestamp=2019-08-23T17:31:49.483+0000)How many applicants did you have when you were posting for people to apply?

As of the application rounds I remember being involved with, I believe we had at least one that broke 200. They were definitely not only trolls, although, yes, some applications were decidedly troll-y. Those applicants that were troll-y did not make it far in the process.

This kind of authority assigned on a "first come, first serve" basis is inherently ineffective.

The moderation onboarding process involves a written application which is reviewed. A small portion of applicants end up being invited to the moderation Discord for in-person meetings to answer a number of questions. From there we isolate a smaller pool of strong applicants, and bring them in for training. It's far from first-come-first-served.

Mods have clearly abused their position by picking and choosing when the rule applies based on whether or not they agree with the statement.

To my knowledge pretty much everyone on the team has removed multiple comments expressing viewpoints they agree with because the manner those viewpoints ended up expressed violates the rules. The instances that blow up on the boards do tend to be those where the removed party gets more confrontational, but not every mod action is visible to every player. You can't really judge a Mod's removal patterns from the people who complain on the boards alone.

Somebody posting about removed comments is bound to attract the attention of the Mod that removed the comment. The Mods will comment about what this player did wrong. Now, you might not see a problem with this- but it's essentially SPAM.

I appreciate you feel this way, but if a player is going to publicly contest or complain about a moderation action without giving the actual context, it's helpful to present the actual context because there is often more to the story than the poster's side indicates, as we feel transparency is helpful.

Now there's a clear system for favoritism. Player A became a Mod, and now all their Boards friends get free passes on the "menial" rules. Basically, the friends of Mods can get away with making comments and posts, and the friends of Mods have more weight when they report other comments or posts.

The latter is definitely untrue -- all reports are weighed equally (a post is either reported and in queue or not reported), and anyone can come to the Discord to present their case in person. The former should not be true, and if you see a post that you think was given too much leniency let me know and I'll take a look personally.


If you agree with me, and think of Mods as useless- DOWNVOTE everything Mods post. Everyone agreeing with Mod behavior- DOWNVOTE THEM. Regardless of what the Mod is saying, or the situation- we need to adamantly remind them that they are an IMPOSITION and plague Boards with their presence.

I do find it a bit odd that in a thread complaining about board toxicity you're suggesting a negative course of action with an insulting rationale behind it rather than, say, having discussion of your concerns, which I am happy to talk about. I can never promise specific changes, but I may be able to assuage some of your concerns or at least explain some of our actions/decisions.

Imperial Pandaa8/23/2019, 6:18:46 PM5 votes

I want mods around. It helps make sure the boards aren't a cesspool of "low elo scrub. No one cares what you think", "Everyone at Riot deserves to die because snowflakes", etc etc.

Hotarµ8/23/2019, 6:06:28 PM4 votes

It would be good and well for them to remove posts that violate rules- but Mods have clearly abused their position by picking and choosing when the rule applies based on whether or not they agree with the statement.

I don't know where you're seeing selective enforcement, I've been using the Boards for like 3-4+ years and there have only been a few light instances of this happening.

In case you forgot or were unaware, the Boards staff doesn't hard-monitor every single post or comment. They're volunteers... and the best way to grab their attention is to properly report something or message them in the Discord. If you don't report a post, don't be surprised when it isn't removed.

ModThe Djinn8/23/2019, 8:33:37 PM3 votes

As this thread has become less of a discussion and more of a dedicated rant against moderators, I will be locking it. I'm always up for actual discussions, but I draw the line at targeted attacks that don't have any meaningfully constructive critique behind them.

Zlera8/23/2019, 5:52:41 PM3 votes

I agree. Youre right about the abuse on the boards.

Sukishoo8/23/2019, 5:33:46 PM3 votes

How many applicants did you have when you were posting for people to apply?

Feels like most of the mods that were picked in the app process are picked by the other mods and Riot has little to do with that. RIOT only seemed to deal with the initial process.

ModPeriscope8/23/2019, 7:24:10 PM2 votes

Like I'd said in your previous thread, use the report button on the bottom right of comments/discussions, not support tickets (that is an option, but not the fastest).

I have some free time now if you have comments you feel need addressed if you'd like to speak on The NA Boards Discord

BlackKnightJack8/23/2019, 5:58:25 PM1 votes

Holy shit yes. I've noticed that this is a problem too. It's like the community wants to become ResetEra.