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Admin Recruitment + Nov. 16 Townhall Meeting
13 years ago
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Journal Start
Good news, everyone! We have news!
== Admin Recruitment
We're expanding our ranks and are seeking fresh, energetic new blood. We're recruiting admins of all ranks and positions, and looking to vastly expand our support staff to help ensure user issues and concerns are resolved faster and more efficiently. Ever wanted to help out the site and our uses, give back to the community? Here's your chance!
Sign up on the Admin Recruitment page. We'll be collecting applications on the site until November 18th.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet.....ajNoNTlLQUE6MQ
A complete description of the admin job and duties can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/.....d7IvCGVLY/edit
== Admin Code of Conduct
We believe that users need to have faith in site administration, and admins must be held accountable for their actions. To that extent, we will be releasing our admin Code of Conduct later this month month once the admin recruitment has closed. We want you to have faith in the site staff, and know we we working to help make your stay on the site better and more enjoyable.
== November 16 Townhall Meeting
Not only are we looking for new admins, but we're committed to change and improving Fur Affinity across the board. As such, we will be hosting our first monthly FA Townhall meeting to address users' concerns, questions and general inquiries into the site.
Hosted by: Dragoneer, Kitashi
Where: LiveStream (link TBA 1 hour prior to the event)
Time: 7:00PM EST (11:00 GMT)
Estimated Duration: 2 hours
Would you like to submit your question early? You can do so on the following link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet.....bTZMaG12bGc6MQ
== Admin Recruitment
We're expanding our ranks and are seeking fresh, energetic new blood. We're recruiting admins of all ranks and positions, and looking to vastly expand our support staff to help ensure user issues and concerns are resolved faster and more efficiently. Ever wanted to help out the site and our uses, give back to the community? Here's your chance!
Sign up on the Admin Recruitment page. We'll be collecting applications on the site until November 18th.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet.....ajNoNTlLQUE6MQ
A complete description of the admin job and duties can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/.....d7IvCGVLY/edit
== Admin Code of Conduct
We believe that users need to have faith in site administration, and admins must be held accountable for their actions. To that extent, we will be releasing our admin Code of Conduct later this month month once the admin recruitment has closed. We want you to have faith in the site staff, and know we we working to help make your stay on the site better and more enjoyable.
== November 16 Townhall Meeting
Not only are we looking for new admins, but we're committed to change and improving Fur Affinity across the board. As such, we will be hosting our first monthly FA Townhall meeting to address users' concerns, questions and general inquiries into the site.
Hosted by: Dragoneer, Kitashi
Where: LiveStream (link TBA 1 hour prior to the event)
Time: 7:00PM EST (11:00 GMT)
Estimated Duration: 2 hours
Would you like to submit your question early? You can do so on the following link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet.....bTZMaG12bGc6MQ
I'm still waiting for a response on that matter, it has been over five months, and there is more and more evidence piling up to prove my complaint is very valid. I have been more than patient, had this happened to anyone else, I doubt you would have had as much time to resolve it as you have been given.
uh oh....
But I've had no trouble chatting in livestreams, and I'm pretty sure I never signed up (only downloaded Procaster, but never installed it), although all the streams I've watched/chatted in have had ads so far as I can recall. Other than downloading the client, the closest I've come to signing up is setting a nick.
Any insights?
I'm still waiting.
I used to be a big jerk, and despite I've changed and grown up, I don't think I'd be up for the job anyways.
I used to be a big jerk, and despite I've changed and grown up, I don't think I'd be up for the job anyways.
Are you kidding? That's the number one prominent trait all FA admins have!
We're enjoying our "End of an Era"
If that's the case, why even care about your account here?
So, how are you going to manage the actual meeting itself? Getting a co-operative, productive session out of a public meeting is difficult enough in person, especially when the participants feel that they have the entitlement to speak and they want to be heard, and they want changes not later but right this instant. In an internet chat environment, everyone has the microphone all at once - how are you going to reduce the clamour fairly to all involved? How are you going to take people's opinions? Are the participants going to be encouraged to identify issues and then work out constructive solutions?
Given the number of people we expect to attend, we can't realistically expect to have a direct back-and-forth with viewers. We might also have an IRC channel dedicated to the event, which will be monitored by admins to pick up on feedback from answers. The entire format of the event is still open for change, though; this is just a first idea on how to best handle it.
>We believe that users need to have faith in site administration, and admins must be held accountable for their actions. To that extent, we will be releasing our admin Code of Conduct later this month month once the admin recruitment has closed.
THANK GOD.
Have you ever received a warning from and admin?"
Pssssssssssssssssst
auto-admin stsus now, plz
thx
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/murr-suits/
Shit I find I'd like to be able to take care of.
oy
I would have liked to be an admin. :/
This cannot end well.
Also it's more likely that you can represent different angles of the wide spectrum of users on this site...granted it's hit or miss but if it's possible, why not aim for it?
Just take a look at the list of current admins.
If admin'd i vow to take down all spammers and mercilessly banhammer all abusive users and to give every user a delicious baked ham, okay that's a lie but the first two aren't.
This ad payed for by nobody because it didn't cost anything.
Now i drink my and wait.
No, I have not lost my mind. Besides, I think FA could use some additional Canadian representation!
Also, I think this would be a unique experience in my view ... In a good way, of course! =)
>_>
I remember there had been a search for coders some years(?) back, but haven't noticed any real change to the site in the last years, so as a mere user I'm wondering what was the status of code updates, and what's holding back some changes which look easy at least from the outside?
I'd apply. But I'm too busy with life.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9171298/
BTW I will need the next couple of weekends off. I'll also need Hanukkah off.
I applied.
Also everything entailed in the journal seems a bit overdue, what made you wait until now to put some of this stuff into motion?
just as well, to MY knowledge at least, anyone can correct me, I've not heard of any fixes for glaring security issues that have been brought up in the past.
I guess D:
i imagine a \n application for coders might be a little more complicated to put together, too, depending
If I knew I could reliably dedicate the time the site deserves, I'd apply to lend my hand.
Sorry for sounding negative about this, but believe me when I say: I've seen literally everything in the last 13 years and I have seen admins TRYING to deal with it and MOST CAN'T, despite good intentions. While I haven't been on FA for 13 years (it didn't even exist when I was asked to admin for people originally,) I've seen good admins and good staff members get fed up and flat leave their jobs on the basis that the drama was too much for them. As I said before... good intentions are all well and good, but to be a good admin, you can't let those you're governing over get the better of you.
Just do your job.
((PS: I may submit an admin application; a serious one. When I do this sort of job for others who have too many rules, I really crack down. I don't wait to have something reported to me; I search the site. FA has a search engine, you lazy admins (they know who they are); use it.))
Being an admin is thankless, stressful, and no matter what you do people are going to dislike you. You're going to be in the spotlight, under scrutiny, etc. and you have to stand your ground and just do your job quickly, fairly, and politely as possible.
If someone is applying because they think it'll be fun, and omg people are going to listen to them... no. Please don't.
no, srsly, yeah, I know the whole thing will be frustrating, unsatisfying, you'll get a thousand shouts and PMs asking for help, which will clutter up your account, and will make people dislike you in certain cases, but I'm one of the most stubborn and convincing fellas out there, so I believe I can endure. I honestly do believe that fresh, energetic new blood in the adminship is a good idea, and I think I fit the description. Plus, we need a non-popfur admin every once in a while, lol.
tho probably, whoever becomes an admin will become a popfur eventually.
(I hope I don't sound too stupid right now.. o~o)
This is going to be realy nice and i hope to see after it`s all finished that we see people coming back in to FA and reponing there acounts and giving it another try!!!
I would like to offer help if i can with this live stream if posable Dragoneer pls let me know what i can do. =3
No seriously
When we have more admins
Some of them abuse of their powers
I mean, First of all started to delete some pics
Then Other stuff and that...
And is getting a bit too annoying >-<
Is just some admins start deleting ur stuff without reason even yet
Some other peoples do what you do
And you get the pic removed not the others..
Some admin deleted something I uploaded to this site, and he thought I didn't make it (but I actually did) and he removed it.
I talked to him through notes and I was able to re-upload it after a long pointless discussion.
An example of a critical violation would be human nudity, cub porn (extreme, not questionable), and real life gore.
Non-critical could be excessive collection images, and non-credited referencing (read, not tracing).
Make sure to ask this for the Townhall Meeting event!
Thank you for the response, and I'll copy and paste my original comment for the town hall!
I'm immature.
I'm not tolerant.
I don't like certain types of people.
I'll make a great admin.
I've seen 27 year olds who act like dummies, and even as young as 16 year olds act like full grown adults. :P
I'm just saying that I have personally seen a 16 year old who behaved much more appropriately than a 25 year old. Age shouldn't have a bearing on how you perform. An 18 year old may have more experience than a 20! It's just a little unfair to base something like that off of age when age doesn't necessarily mean you've grown up, nor does it mean you have more experience. And it's a viable reason to only accept as low as 18 year old's because it's a pretty adult-art oriented website and it's the legal adult age in most places.
I hope that makes it clearer. <3
i watch Dragoneer since hes the site owner, plus his art, and i watched Sigil long before she became an admin and i dont plan on watching her admin account. As for Bazeel, I'd only say i know him through Sigil
as for the others... Summercat is rather social and a few others, like you, reply to journals like this
If not popular, at least everyone knew who they were way before becoming Admins.
So I say thumbs up for the change!
However, I do think I should point out that the Townhall Meetings almost definitely won't be monthly. It'd be nice, but due to time and organizational constraints, it's not very practical. That said, we'll still be looking for a lot of feedback from the FA community, even after the meeting!
I made a mistake with a group I'm hosting, and my "apprentice" in my stories refuses to speak to me. I don't wanna lose him, but it seems like I might.
What do I do...
The Journal states that admin applications will be open until November 18th, and with the number of comments I've already read involving having sent applications, I'd wager it'll be a few days after that just to give them time to thoroughly review the applications they've received.
I hope that helps. =3
As for the whole "corruption" issues with FurAffinity, regarding pictures that apparently break no rules stated in the Terms of Service that are taken down due to an admin's personal feelings... I believe that these issues could be solved with firm judgment, a steady hand, a caring and forbearing heart, and just miniscule units of thought.
As my final note, ...I am the underdog. ...I am the unknown. And I may just be the change that the furry community. I ask to be at least considered for administrative duties not for my own sake, but that I may make a beneficial impact on the furry fandom that I have grown to love in my four years here, as well as all camps of arts and media that lie somewhere on the fringes.
#CorwinEnguerrandCross2013
I'll try to remember about the Livestream x3
But that's just my opinion, based off of an internship and a college class on software engineering. Obviously, decisions on stuff like this are very open to interpretation and vary by situation, so I'm always open to hearing others' input and suggestions.
Agile doesn't work in the absence of technical leadership. FA has always lacked technical leadership. It doesn't matter if it's 2006 or 2011. When your technical leaders produce code that's worthy of TheDailyWTF and practice security through obscurity you've got problems. Not a thing has changed since Project Ferrox leaving an enormous opening for Weasyl to exploit.
In the defense of our current coders, from what I've been told, they didn't do the original coding; it was done by someone who hasn't been on FA staff for years. I will also say that if any website's released their codebase, doesn't matter who, they'd be opening themselves up to tons of zero-day exploits. However, you are right about the Weasyl taking advantage of an opportunity; I'm taking entrepreneurship classes, and this is definitely an example of someone filling a market gap.
The original code for FA was written by the person now known as Alkora (I believe he was formerly Jheryn). He now operates a website called Blimped. The codebase for FA was inadvertently distributed last year. I also got a look at things back when Project Ferrox was new in 2006. Don't be fooled by the registration date in my profile. 3 letter names were not allowed when I originally registered (dragonmyr). Weasyl is absolutely filling a market gap and FA has to react immediately. Once this invite-only thing ends this place turns into a Titanic. You can't compete with someone that puts commission opportunities on the front page or in a searchable system. Technical leadership here has been a problem for a very long time.
Here's hoping that we get FA's code changing and updated quickly, at which point we can start polling users for feature ideas instead of focusing on ancient fixes and feature requirements! Like I've said a few times now, there's nothing more I can do beyond say that I'm trying; just need time and cooperation to get some progress to show!
Your arguments basically say you need a different infrastructure first, then get more coders. Have you considered first getting experienced, interested coders and decide on the infrastructure working best for them together? Have you discussed just posting everything to github and use the full existing infrastructure there? (I don't really buy the 'security by obscurity' philosophy, if you're confident your code is secure than it can be out in the open, if not, better fix it - and keep backups)
I'm pretty sure on one thing, though: good coders wants to be treated with respect. They won't accept power-abusing treatment which some people claim FA administration is full of. So if those people should have a valid point, I'd kindly suggest making sure this won't be an issue.
They'd also ask for a vision - something it's worthwile to put all the effort into. From a currently mere user point of view I'm wondering what happened to all this code changes done for the 'major UI change' which was talked about for quite some time now?
Perhaps I might have chosen a less-than-perfect word for what I intend, but by infrastructure, I don't mean the actual tools used in development. I don't mean what revision control software to use, what programming language to use, or anything along those lines. Instead, I mean how the members of the tech team interact with one another, how tasks get created, prioritized, assigned, completed, and published, and most importantly, how new members can join the team and become active contributors. If there's no way for new coders to even get access to the code or make any changes, then it doesn't matter how many new coders we get or how skilled any of them are. That's why I prioritize this over simply getting more coders. This corresponds directly with what you said -- that there needs to be a vision. Without proper internal organization, nothing as major as a UI overhaul or site re-code can occur.
As an update, I have gained code access today. As a result, I am now looking through the site's code, getting a feel for how it works, and beginning to try implementing new site features. While I do this, I'll also be working on the internal organization I described before, that way we can bring on more coders and achieve larger goals.
I don't get all this 'access to servers and communication between coders', *before* actually getting them to join the team :S
Alot of companies nowadays actually ask coders to show them some projects code they have been working on before even considering offering them employment/making them a full member of the team, and giving them access to servers and resources... its how companies get to hire the best coders at little cost to themselves during the recruitment process.
I think FA should have a similar recruitment process: Prove yourself and if your works good enough... then welcome to the team! ^^
If they went for people with such things they would have to pay someone. Cause the people with credentials and degree's are probably going to be neck deep in their own work loads to deal with this mess.
No offense, I wish it was that easy but for these guys; they'd be lucky to get a decent student at this rate. >.<
i know that when we had the rounded edges update the load times went through the roof for a bit, so hopefully the UI updates dont lead to clunkiness and the sort.
Yesh yesh.
FA announced back in August, 2011 that it had created a Staff Code of Conduct but that it was for internal use only, thus raising arguments that it should be published publicly or not announced at all. Thus, I'd wager that Weasyl actually got the idea for a public Admin Code of Conduct from FA, not the other way around. However, this does raise the point that FA has failed to deliver in the past, which is why I'm being especially persistent and pushing for timely, meaningful changes and publications.
So, you can see why people aren't happy with the admins of this site.
I've seen that happen on mainsite too, so I've simply left FA before I end up getting banned on mainsite too. The FA admins have made it very clear that critique of their actions is unwelcome. You may be an outlier on that front but as long as the other admins can ban people nothing will change.
Hm.
Blah, usually when I try to talk to people they get offended and angry.
Stress and frustration are just part of the territory hun.
I've never really had any issues because of the 'lack of admins' tho, TT's have always been responded atleast within a week or two, but I can undestand that thesedays that might feel like forever for some of us.
The second half of the sentence politely pointed to prompt and well-constructed evidence.
Well done, sir. I appreciate the willingness to share with the user-base your list of ideal improvements. It speaks wonders for the administration here. Admittedly, I do not share the distrust that so many others appear to, for I've only been here for a limited amount of time. I have neither witnessed nor seen compelling evidence that their claims are accurate, whereas the administration, primarily you, seem to post evidence with their statements to ensure that it isn't taken as a fluffy cover-up. Thank you for your diligence. It does you great credit, and more than earns my respect.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be nasty or picky here. I'm glad you guys realized you have to do something, but for fA's sake admins shouldn't spit pointless documents. We all need action, not words.
You said that this list is still edited, so I still have hope there's much more coming.
In the time it's taken FA to try to start to think about addressing this, the following things have happened:
1. Weasyl and InkBunny were created from NOTHING in less time;
2. SoFurry (formerly YiffStar) has gone through several new UIs,
3. FurryArtPile came and went.
If the issue is giving people access to the current FA database and code... DON'T! Why would you want to salvage any of FA's code or database structure, anyway? FA has survived a total start-from-scratch with kludgy backup import tool once before.
Rather than attempt to revive the code, get a couple more coders now. The website is better of being built from scratch and the database imported into it. Get the basic framework made then get more coders to build and maintain.
The site still runs pretty much on web 1.0
If it really takes you 3 months to TRY and get on the coding team and even talk to them properly then there are more than just communication problems. I understand that the website is run by volunteers. But new admins are expected to give up at least 10-20 hours a week (I know I could do minimum of 5 a week). Yet the coders don't? So no one is held accountable with the website being back in the 90's
Its embarrassing that if you read the encyclopedia dramatica page on furaffinity it doesn't actually troll. It is actually very honest about the website, its issues, admin drama, and problems the biggest of which is false promises...which the town meeting will be.
Read it. I promise you it has 1 nasty image involving the mascot and after that its just a list of problems fA has......It was the cleanest most realistic page on encyclopedia dramatica.
While so many are applying to become administrators and with so few positions. Why not open more under the basis of "temporary admin jobs" that way the best admins can be selected to become permanent and at the same time allow the backlog of tickets to be reduced. If problem then crops up again repeat the cycle
I really understand that you are trying to do your best here. I really appreciate and thank you for replying to all these posts and doing so in a very professional manner.
But sadly we need more than just you to boost our confidence.
I don't deny that many of the negative things said about FA are true. That's why I'm especially focused on doing things that we can have quick turn-around on, and doing them in such a way that we can either get the end result out quickly or show steady progress along the way. Thus, I assure you that the FA Town Hall Meeting is not an empty promise; we have publicized the event and set a hard, soon date and time on it for a reason. At this point, we have already sorted through the questions we've received up to a few days ago, removed duplicate questions, ordered them for answering, and prepared answers. All that's left to do is prepare the streaming platform, post the link to the stream, and hold the event. We even have a few announcements to make regarding progress with coding!
I appreciate your communication, and I don't blame you at all for being skeptical. At this point, we both know that, from FA, results are needed much more than are words. As a result, I'll be focusing on making results happen. However, words from people like you are what we need to know what needs improved, so I don't discourage you at all from speaking up in responses like this.
The coders just need to "let go of their baby" before they cause its own destruction.
I think a seperate meeting to discuss the backend more would put many users with technical skills at ease and bring forward ideas and knowledge to better run the site.
:) Please keep up the awesome work you do
Also it's kinda nice that everything popped up right after people started joining Weasyl....
No new features, or even fixing old features (commission tab, anyone?), and only a vague announcement of changing the banner format,
promising a new site template until the end of year. There's litteraly no proof that there IS work being made in the FA code.
At the same time, Dragoneer is actively collaborating with net-cat and yak to create site UI changes, which are being put on a dev build until they are completed and tested. I don't have access to any of this, so for updates and proof of progress with any of this, I would need to contact them.
Also at the same time, our internal infrastructure currently does not facilitate the presence of multiple coders or the onboarding of new coders. This is a result of issues with permissions/access to site code/resources and availability of existing coders who manage it all. I myself am trying to get brought on as a coder (with the approval of both, Dragoneer and Yak), so I've been harassing whoever I can as often as I can to make things happen. I've been at this for months now, so it's just as frustrating for me as it is for everyone else.
Not really buying anymore "big changes to FA" and i'm pretty sure i am not the only one thinking so.
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...
I'm also currently working on documenting and publishing changes and progress here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/.....uiGCspJSk/edit
People need to hear TRUTH, they need to feel they can trust the Admin's again. That by itself is no easy task.
the lack of change and care by the people at the top will burn them out and they will no longer wanna be part of fa
ive seen it happen so many times before
wolfblade anyone?
This is 2012 and you are telling me that this sight has two coders and no SVN/code repository/heck-even-a-github-account. I understand that you yourself are primarily and admin and are doing a lot a good work but good gorram it...
The more I read this thread, the more and more the my evaluation of this site disappears into the past. I get that people have real lives (it's the primary reason I am not applying to be an admin) but I could (and have, regularly) taken code that I have access to and made it available to a group (though GitHub, through an SVN, through Mercurial... I have even used dropbox).
These technologies are out there and easy to use with very little effort. I know that this can't be fixed tomorrow and I understand that there is a lot of work to be done that has to fit around people's real life but at the same time, the owners have a lot to answer for. I believe that this is not a lost cause if they ever get there act together but they are going to have to do so to save this site. It's not FA's fault that Weasyl/Inkbunny have appeared but the reality is that they have. and this site better step up and start entering this modern era or else it will circle the drain and fade into ignominy.
I feel that they still could but the proof will be in the pudding.
Thanks for all the hard work Kitashi~
A crying shame really. ='(
I wish you all the best good sir, you are saint.
Sadly I do not, but if I have a question later, I will be sure to ask.
I am actually going to tech for programming, so maybe I could help with that IN THE FUTURE. Right now, I practically know nothing as I've only taken one semester so far of just basic beginners classes.
I would like to help with responding to people. I'm really good at that. :3 I have been an admin and staff member of several sites, so hmmm let's see what I may be able to get into!
It's not serious at all..
Not even a banner or a journal for halloween, the staff never replies to question or art thef problems, well for me is just a undead website. It's still alive because of the awesome users and communauty here. But sure not because of the efforts that you do for this place..
Respect your communauty and your user.. don't lie to them. You should totaly think about this seriously before losing a lot of users.. the exodus already started. Hope the new admins will be a little more professional.
That was my point of view, sorry if it offended you.
*Go away eating some bamboos*
The reason why we fail to reply to trouble tickets for long periods of time is because we are currently very understaffed, hence why we're recruiting over 20 new admins. For reference, we currently have over 1,700 tickets, and about 8 admins who are handling them on a regular basis. You can view this recruiting and Townhall Meeting as the start to a lot of active effort to improve the site consistently and oriented towards the community. We're glad to hear everyone's points of view, good or bad, as that's what matters in the end and will help us improve the site. If you have any other suggestions or concerns, please let us know! If you have any questions, please submit them for the Townhall Meeting!
You might want to add something else: 'FA also has to stop scaring away coders who want to actually help improve the site.'
Wouldn't it be better to announce that you are hiring "moderators", "tech support", "trouble ticket staff" or some other word that doesn't imply that you'll actually have the ability to affect and improve the site, when in reality all you'll be doing all day long is click "Next" and "Close as resolved" on the trouble ticket interface.
An announcement of "New admins" in this case only serves to bring false hope of change to the users, which in the end only serves to drive them further away once they find out that their only hope is actually false hope.
I can't help but feel this isn't going to happen and they're going to burn you out like they've burnt out everyone else who actually wanted to get things done.
You already seem to know what to do. If you're understaffed, then recruit and get the job done.
if fa is really going to turn around, then they need to start unbanning important people in fandom who were banned for calling out fa and dragoneer on the lies
i can think of at least half a dozen prominent people right now including the admins of other competing sites who were banned for no reason other than calling out the truth
if not for the insanely bad moderation and admin by fa staff over the years then we would not even have: sofurry, fap, inkbunny or weasyl
every single prominent person that fa has banned is someone important who is now actively working against fa to destroy it
think about that
Furaffinity is a community platform meant to create a place where people with common interests can share, interact and exchange. Thanks to the users, it has been an immense success.
Why do admins systematically ruin this by ignoring or negating the questions and requests from the majority of anonymous users ?
I don't want to herp derp in english even though my intentions are good. :X
Admins have access to hidden comments, notes they have a direct link to, and any other information that's stored live on the site (such as profile information and submissions). We are very cautious when handling accusations to ensure that we are very confident that the accusation is true before taking any action. Beyond that, we do accept trouble tickets which refute actions taken by admins, and we also encourage users to speak with the admin that handled their issue to discuss any concerns. Once we publish the Admin Code of Conduct, there will also be guidelines there for reporting admins for improper conduct.
In all seriousness, though, we take the admin position very seriously, and will be looking only for qualified candidates who can fulfill the position well. It would do us no good to simply take on users who are popular or who we are friends with.
As for the response times you've seen/heard, I can assure you that we don't play favoritism. What happens is we've got some inconsistency with how we respond to tickets; with a queue as large as this, admins are bound to only work on one side or the other. Some admins work from the front, some admins work from the back. Thus, if your ticket is in the middle, you're not likely to get your ticket handled until one side works its way to your ticket.
We acknowledge that ban appeals aren't properly handled, and another FA/FAF Admin has thus created an FAF board in which users can appeal bans ( http://forums.furaffinity.net/forum.....te-Ban-Appeals ), that way appeals don't go to an email address that doesn't get checked as it needs, and so other admins can see the appeals. This new board hasn't been fully integrated into the site or our work structure yet, though, so it may take some time to become fully operational.
As for any other issues, make sure that we're aware of them, and we'll try to address them! To improve the site, we just need feedback, organization, and time.
i really want to see someone make their gallery black boxes again and not get banned.
And so if i go replace all my files with a bright green 100x100 box, im not going to be banned, only warned?
To follow up on another point you made "...otherwise they wouldn't have volunteered."
Most people will accept power when given it, even if it means they to read people problems all day. they like the "im above you" status that comes with a little "@" next to their name... hell even i submitted an app just for the little ampersand
While it is possible for users to accept positions of power entirely for the power, from my own experience with the other admins on the team, no one here is on the team for that reason. They're here because they want to help FA. However, stress from the massive ticket queue and resentful users can sometimes mask that real goal and lead to some moods that may seem less than "I want to help FA!" at times.
I believe I know what situation you're referring to, but even if that's not the case, we would not ban anyone for simply replacing their submission files with images of black boxes, assuming the images were originally accepted by the AUP and it were not an attempt to flood/spam the site. Worst-case scenario, we would ask the user to either replace the submission files with the original art or remove the submissions.
Are you looking for trained trouble ticket monkeys, or are you looking for actual staff to help improve the site such as designers, coders, quality-assurance and the likes?
Cause I can't be the only one wanting to slap the everliving fuck out of the site code to make it work better.
While I usually wouldn't hesitate, this being a furry site and all, I have to ask: real first and last name, or furry? :P
1.) So you can be addressed in a Professional manner
2.) It's always nice to know who you're working with
3.) If need be, they could verify who you are if required. (A site I use to moderate made you submit all your personal information ie- address + phone number, and they would verify 1 of the 2, but I feel that be a bit extreme for the this site.)
"We ask for names mostly as a matter of formality. If people want to help out and represent the site we'd like to be able to find out a bit more about the person. It's useful for helping do a brief search on the person to help make an informed decision on a person's history -- help check if they're honest and trustworthy. It almost removes a bit of anonymity, adds personality. A screen name is something a person made up and doesn't tell you much about them. If we're all going to potentially be working together as a team it's nice to be able to know people by their name as well as their handle."
Surely this is a matter of legal precedence as admins are acting staff on a public enterprise. >->
It's been very frustrating that I've been hassled, defamed, and attacked by a particular individual for upwards of 3 years here, yet when I report it, I'm only ever told by staff that the person isn't doing enough to take any action against them; they've gotten away scot-free with their attacks, and simply blocking and ignoring them (which I was advised to do and I did a long time ago) has not stopped the problem at all... They even got me kicked out of a place I was living by convincing my old roommate that I did horrible things -that I never actually did-.
So I asked about the lengths an aggressor has to go before staff take action against them. Because at this point, I'd like to know if there's an end to this purgatory of harassment for me, or if I simply have to take the blows as they come because the guy isn't going 'far enough' for it to be acted on by staff.
And they've been using PMs for no-holds-barred attacks on me, as several of my friends as well as people who have commented on this person's journals about me, have gone over and told me in private that the person had noted them and tried rather hard to convince them I was a bad guy. I've seen some of said notes, too; they're not pretty. My current roommate got a nice chain of PMs from the guy too, as soon as I moved in here, telling him that he should kick me out. (This individual hates me enough to basically keep updated on my life and try to screw me over wherever I go.) My roommate's played along with him but has been sharing everything the guy's been saying to him, too. I'm glad to have a roommate that doesn't buy into the person's BS, but it's disappointing to know some of the stuff he quite literally just spreads around casually about me.
I know that any point of harassment is still harassment and that it can be easily tracked with a little effort on the admin's part. Dealing with such things in an irl setting with actual workers used to be a job of mine back in the day so I know all about how to check for it and how to follow up on it.
As I said though, Dragoneer and the others don't seem to really want to do anything about it. (Even when told just what to do to prevent it.) So I highly doubt that any resolve will come any time soon for such incidents. They would prefer to update the site with cool new features than to deal with the more severe issues. I think FA needs to be redone from the ground up, starting with the basics and actually working to solve issues with the ToS.
Break it down and then deal with the issues with Admin's and personal problems. Make a report system where the users can report the admin's for preforming their job half ass'ed or seeming to take favorites in the situation. Have someone that is devoted (For a period of time) to just overseeing these reports and assess them (With the aid of Dragoneer's council) and deal with the problem. Quietly letting the Admin know where they went too far or where they did something wrong. Then go and do what should have been done and fix the problem.
But who am I to say such things? Not like I have experience in this field right? (lol sarcasm ftw)
Of course, on the subject of harassment, if it doesn't actually happen on FA the staff have no jurisdiction over it. But for my issues they've happened primarily on FA.
I dunno. It seems 'neer and the staff want to do -something- about all this, or this journal wouldn't exist. :P
As for dealing with reporting staff members for not handling something correctly/at all, I think the aforementioned Admin Code of Conduct is a good step in that direction.
You sound bitter about this, much moreso than me. What troubles have you had, I wonder?
That's not really fixing the real issue, that's just meaning that there will be multiple people handling the different TT's covering the same issue. Lot's of confusion ahead and things only getting half done.
I've actually experienced the same sort of ordeals. Though for some reason when I try to defend myself I'm the one who gets reported and I'm the one who gets threatened to be banned. lol Cause of admins only doing half assed jobs (Not all of them mind you, but a good portion). It's not even their fault, other admins come in and delete journals and comments and remove evidence and then attack the one they least favor.
I only say that because that's what seems to always happen to me lol.
I kinda wish I would have read the description first though...
-I have some experience in speaking the German language
-I deal directly with customers at both of my part-time jobs (don't worry, they're at different times of the year, I'm not doing both at once)
I mean, seriously, I've came across COMPUTERS that were more 'human' than some of the admins here. XD
Well, actually only Kitashi so far is unable to read emotions (aka. "how in hells blazes did she become an admin in the first place"!? =P) and the only complaint I can give about Summercat is that he just goes down a list of problems (like a computer program) but doesn't really 'look and see' what the problem is, just that there 'is' a problem. (nothing wrong with that, but he misses a human side). Again, Summercat is 'okay' in my book, it's just Kitashi that makes me wonder if the rest of the staff were even paying attention when they accepted her. (Not doing any flaming, just trying to give constructive critisism over here, this is 'our' future we're talking about after all.)
What Red13nanaki said is also important I think: People who just wanna play favourites instead of resolving issues. We've seen a lot of those and even I am tired of 'em.
I'd suggest picking a few people from that LiveStream and then have a one-to-one conversation with the chosen ones to see if they are 'capable' and 'reliable'.
New Admins chosen by the users over here? A-Okay! But make sure they're actually human beings and dedicated to do their jobs.
Alternatively: Give them a run-up period and see how they are doing, if the results are sub-par, poor or have been caught abusing their powers... pull the plug and blacklist them.
Might seem like a drastic measure but believe me: some people are incapable of doing an Admin's job and that is put rather 'lightly' from my, as well as other people's experience.
Trust us, we'll be doing what we can to bring on people who will do the work necessary to make good things happen. One of the things we've done is written an Onboarding Procedures document, and part of that includes a 1 month mentoring/probation period in which the new recruit is helped and monitored by a senior admin to make sure they're handling issues correctly and completing sufficient work. However, I should point out that the entire Onboarding Procedures document is still a work in progress, so at the moment it moreover catches ideas than specific details. Thus, the length of the probationary period and how it's managed are still open to change, but I do think it's a good idea.
I'm also glad to see that the FA staff is already handling monitoring procedures like this.
Of course, not a single method is completely 'flawless' but it certainly helps to weed out some of the people that just want to become an admin 'because'. =P
If I had an internet for every time someone referred to me with male pronoun..
Short of shaking your genitals at people I think the mistaken gender-identities will continue.
At least they're usually entertaining.
As for perks, none really at the moment besides helping the FA community and helping shape FA's future. It's definitely a job to take seriously, so the presence or absence of perks shouldn't weigh in on your decision to apply.
Admin Code of Conduct
We believe that users need to have faith in site administration, and admins must be held accountable for their actions. To that extent, we will be releasing our admin Code of Conduct later this month month once the admin recruitment has closed. We want you to have faith in the site staff, and know we we working to help make your stay on the site better and more enjoyable.
Faith in Admins? little to none and many more feel the same way.
Where working to help make your stay on the site better and more enjoyable. Working to make your stay better? i really doubt that.
Enjoyable? not even close.
I don't stay here because of the artists. I just bookmark their profile page, and carry on.
its a far superior furry gallery and they have an outstanding admin code of conduct
you do know that weasyl is why fa is suddenly trying to make a pr about face right?
I think I can use that time wisely as an admin instead of just skimming through journals and submissions.
yet, seems nothing has changed here for years. There is no way to appeal admin decisions. Seen people get suspended and banned and no one replies to the email questioning why they got banned or what rule was broken even.
I got permabanned from forums when I originally wrote this because my roomate and I have the same IP address. Like no furries live together (There's 3 of us here btw) And trust me, if I wanted to fake my IP address I could easily do so...have done it before to watch Dr Who on the BBC website
so really until that is addressed and that banned removed, really dont trust you guys at all, since many of the same admins are working the forums and the main site (and that seems to be where you get the admins from for here)
a month later, sonic that looked like sonic was banned...wow, when dragoneer himself said such a rule was ridiculous...
so he questioned this....the admin, who self professed was not in charge of that forum, and had been going through some emotional things, and had apologized for overreacting....wow...banned him (permabanned btw, not 1 day ban like he lied about)...we both saw there was no end to the ban, which made me get on there and cry foul....I was banned immediately also....so just wow
so really if you want ANY credibility,,,,you need idependent people to review admins crazy actions and bans, as there is none right now...how bout an independent body by election to review appeals of admin actions say 6 month terms? because really FA admins are known for lying, abuses and always being right with no recourse
I think the higher admins need to be aware that there may be some power abuse on the forums.
I personally think a clean out of the ban list for the forum wouldnt go amis in bringing people back users. Tell someone at very least check to who the complaints about power abuse are directred towards and investigate this. I know its not in your area but you have the influence to be able to speak up and get somthing done about the forum
The two sites create the whole furAffinity experience so it is important that the two communicate well and that power abuse is removed on both sides. If people lose faith in one, they lose faith in the other.
Temp Banned users can appeal bans through PM, people who have been highlighted in red can have their bans appealed but in general a ban is discussed BEFORE it's put on a user. We keep a list of who, why and duration. Otherwise they have to PM me or another admin for the ban.
This process is not different than other sites or forums you get banned from.
Appologies if I offended you in any way. I was merely concerned about the ammount of people bringing this issue up and elsewhere on the website feeling their voices are unheard.
I think the main point is to make users aware that the communication and discussion of bans goes between an admin and user so it is not entirely one sided.
Many places I've visited before do actually slap bans on users at a whim without given explination.I know there are very very few power hungry moderators on other sites (I do not know of any here) but like any group the minority give the majority a bad name.
the admin in question who banned my roomate was
1. not giving any warnings, unless you consider a ban a warning.
2. had apparently self professed to being ban happy for the past week
3. was moderating a forum he was not the moderator of after midnight, so please inform us how this ban was discussed with anyone as if happened mere moments after his post, complaining about seemingly valid things about FA
Can you tell me which staff member he was attacking? As I recall, his post was merely asking the question as to why Dragoneer reversed his statement that applying under 18 rule to funny animals/furries was "ridiculous" in dragoneers own words
so much for warnings or any of the (forgive me Biden) Malackery they're trying to tell you, warnings are hardly ever given.
I know for a fact my roomate has been suspensed from FA twice before. Neither time was he given warning and its debatably whether he even broke any rules.
He got suspended for posting a censored picture of Sonic. Yes, big black bars over everything, but the admin claimed he KNEW what was under the bar.....really? so the censor system on public tv is ok, but FA has a higher standard? He "appealed" this decision, no answer was ever given, because admins on FA are always right.
He also got suspended for posting a pic of Bambi from Bambi 2, you know the one where he has horns, and is rutting and fighting other males over females....sounds mature to me right? apparently not, the admin decided it was cub feral and deserved a suspension without warning.
so no warnings, no appeals, when FA changes this lemme know. They may say these things happen, but its just another lie, and when FA stops lying to us consistently, then they can have credibility..
expects ban shortly for daring to say this
people have been banned for disagreeing with admins
I've seen people banned for appearing on talk shows
(yet a famous artist known for raping girls is a-ok) woot woot
maybe your first course of business is actually making an appeals process? if you think there is one, you are sadly mistalen
Roommate or not, it's his ban.
Making a public spectacle about a ban you're not directly involved with causes more issues with the Forums. Yes, you can be banned for it.
Since you haven't bothered to contact me about your forum ban, of course there is no appeals because you didn't make one.
As for the appeals process, yes. We are working on creating an official appeals process for people who have been perma-banned.
But I just hope you guys pick some rather mature people this time around who actually know what being an administrator is all about. I wasn't all too happy to receive a verbal threat from something that happened four months down the road and wasn't even an issue.
Answering trouble tickets is one thing guys, pushing around your power is another...
And this fact alone is whats made such a terrible name for the staff in the community. >.<
Perhaps get some people who have actually handled a Customer Support Representative position at a job for more than two weeks. Force them to go through someone who's been around for a long time to make sure their actions are indeed accurate and the best to solve the issue.
It's ultimately your call, I just hope you guys don't go letting mates of admins become admins in the future...
Potential Loophole:
If an admin violates the code of conduct and is reported, and if admins are the ones dealing with the Admin Report Tickets, as I'll call them, it may be possible for the admin reported to catch their ticket, modify it, hide it, or simply claim and dismiss it before another administrator identifies it. Thinking from the perspective of coding, I imagine it'd be very simple and straightforward to prevent an Admin Report Ticket from being handled outside of read-only by the admin who is being reported.
You have probably already noticed and addressed this, but I thought I might as well throw it out into the open. I'd hate for it to potentially get brushed under the rug.
As wonderful as it would be to have the user-base providing a security check to the admins, it's meaningless if the admins can make their problematic paper-trail disappear, y'know? =3
I know it mentions the email thing but sometimes it can be atrocious lol
I threw my app in there, I don't see what the harm is in trying!
Communication is the main factor and team mates will need to get along. I would love to be an admin but my only problem is I cannot promise a minimum of 10 hours a week (8 is easily doable)
And now, I wait.
I still think hiring a larger group of 15 or so "temps" on a 1 month basis would work best. Then asses them all and offer perminent admin jobs depending how you feel they did. It would take up less time and like I said earlyer decrese the backlog much quicker. As long as you select well I dont see any issues with hiring 15 or so when there are already 8 of you experienced. Surely that means each admin really only needs to oversee two new people.
Hire 15-20, then over 2 months, cut 5 away each month. In two months you have 5-10 experienced admins you feel comfortable about keeping long term.
The problems fA need sorted soon. Hiring 2 people every couple of months is going to be inefficient and slow. Especially since the webiste needs an overhaul anyway.
(Sorry my comments keep appearing everywhere)
herpaderp if you guys gave a damn youd have been doing this years ago and not banhammering so many important people to this fandom
because, frankly, there are some people that used to be admins that held an awful grudge against me (and one even went so far as to overstep their bounds just for "the pleasure" (and those are her words) of banning me from FAF.)
i hold no expectations of getting it but i've had more than my fair share of pointing out potential issues with the site, might as well put my money where my mouth is and try and actually DO something about it (rather than just whining like a brat.)
minors evading the age-locks should be a bannable offence (if not permanent, then temporary.) it's in the CoC and ToS... if you're worried that they'll single you out (or someone you know) then be sure to abide the rules and you won't have to worry.
its time to do it again
ill be the champ
I'd ban everyone
Then blame Summercat
Now you all know my master plan
Curses foiled again arrrrgh
P.S. check ur privlgae cis scum
They would have to have proof of these reports so that people can't be accused for no reason,
This isnt something to report harassment, but a place to report people who use the fandom to scam. The LJ is good, but, it doesn't help much if not everybody checks it.
The person accused should have a chance to explain themselves and counter a claim, kind of like Ebays rating system.
maybe you should check out furbuy man
so, there is a gap that could be filled but involving FA in something like that could be tricky and in the right circumstance could get ferrox LLC into some hot water (because if they allow something like that to be made and someone posts a libelous accusation, the artist could reasonably bring charges against Ferrox LLC for allowing libelous statements to be made... and if the artist relies on commissions as their mainstay of income, that could be pretty easily stated to be damaging to their potential income.... and yes, this is an extreme example but should highlight where my perspective is coming from.)
oh wait youre being serious
By the way, Saw you at Anthrocon back in June, Fender. A pleasure Gotta love living in Pittsburgh.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet.....ajNoNTlLQUE6MQ
Along with the the full description of what would be requried-
https://docs.google.com/document/d/.....VLY/edit?pli=1
Glad you have an interest in wanting to help the community, and good luck with applying
2.) I don't think your artistic ability matters much for this
3.) You don't need to know computer design or anything like that. I think when they say "admin" it is kind of misleading, above all else, I'd say it's a moderator\helper position, in which you'll be handling general problems\inquires on the site. Including but not limited to, closing tickets, helping users, and giving feedback in how you're (the staff member) are able to handle issues based on the layout of the "tools" at your disposal, if that makes sense.
Never hurts to apply, and you shouldn't put yourself down due to lack of knowledge
I was contemplating if I wanted to apply for an admin position or not. I read through the requirements and while they are a little light in the time requirements (10 - 20 Hours a week) I didn't see anything that was much more demanding than trying to earn a decent wage while going to university being a telemarketer. I deign to believe that in the end of all things the personality of the individual may become a determining factor.
I state this due to the thought that after reading through almost five hundred responses I found myself skipping over multi-threaded responses mostly because it seems to devolve into a further spiral of "FA Admins failed me!" Obviously I'm paraphrasing but the end state boils down to this. Reading through many response BEFORE I got to that point raised three major concerns and they are:
1. The preconcieved notion that all admins that'll be hired will be a part of the Furry Illuminati or the Inner Circle of Dragoneer's friends... I tend to discount this on the grounds that many who have attempted to reach dragoneer have failed to take into account the amount of individuals screaming in his ears from every which direction possible. Believing his "Silence" to be some kind of signal that the admins that have affected/offended the individual are in fact being protected by Dragoneer. This usually has one of two outcomes: They Crusade against the regime until another admin observes the infractions from a distance unknowing of the facts of other conversations and identifies the user as spreading dissent and calluding (SP?) to undermine the authority of the administrative staff. Thus resulting in a blocking and banning of the individual to compartmentalize the damage caused.
This in turn just causes more and more distaste for the administrative staff and leads to call that the individual was targeted for "Speaking Their Mind" against the admin staff.
2. The next point happens to be the idea that if the admin staff isn't in fact in Dragoneer's back pocket. Then they'll be Trolls or /b/tards seeking a modicum of power to be able to sow hate, distrust and destruction across the entirety of FurAffinity's site. This is a posibility yes, but at the same time, if the admin staff is in fact hired on their professional qualities rather than their number of watchers. Then this is a self correcting issue as trolls and /b/tards tend to eat their own. No they don't become Troll Primes or /b/=MC GTFO Squared. They tend to be the shiniest of all the turds in the pile. Meaning they become the target and the venting point for all the things that have gone wrong because, well, they can't get enough about hearing about themselves. So I tend to rule this one out too.
3. Finally, If they aren't In Dragoneer's Back Pocket, Or a /b/tard, Troll doin it for the lulz then you have those truly wishing to try and help with the site. These people are few and far between. Mostly because if they don't get destroyed by the #2 then the community themselves immediately unleashes their wrath on these people because they are the few who DO wander out into a busy highway with a "Hit Me" vest on to try and keep traffic moving past the metaphoric trainwreck of #2 or from the smoldering remains of those admins that just can't take it anymore. (We've seen this happen a few times and of those times how many people really were watching out of concern rather than a morbid curiosity of how someone could White Dwarf like that?). Many times the truly helpful kinds of admins really try to help but once the word gets around that an admin actually TALKS to the community, they are generally pounced upon by everyone who's ever submitted a ticket that hasn't yet been resolved, resulting in this one, or two or even ten admins immediately being expected to know the nature of life, the universe and everything in that instant. This returns us to point #1 and the cycle continues.
By this point if anyone's still reading then I am impressed. *Chuckles*
So given these three major points we come down to the desired mentality of those who might be selected from a list of acceptable applicants. The biggest thing I can think of is: Resiliency.
These individuals need to recognize beforehand that being an admin is generally thankless, requires you to interact (At all times with a level head) with people who may already be irate if not downright hostile about an action you or one of your fellow admins, or even a fellow user has done. Be it the deletion of an image for ToS/AUP violations (Critical or Non... Many people are really attached to their works. Either self made or something they identify with.), The comments of another, (Innocent or not. Text based communication is not the greatest means to convey empathy.) Or just a bug/UI interaction they don't agree with. (Undocumented features are awesome!). And may require much more than the perscribed 10 to 20 hours a week as defined.
The ideal candidate is not someone unknown or even a "Popufur" as the phrase is used, they are someone who isn't phased by the depths in which verbal venom can be churned. And are motivated to truly make the place better, not all at once. But slowly one ticket at a time without thought of pay or benefits, or even compensation of overtime work. They are individuals who are used to taking a beating, while still being able to say, "Thank you very much." afterwards. But, still being able to step into the line of verbal fire between users and state, "This is unacceptable, here are the consiquences and here is why I'm doing what I'm going to do. I'm sorry to do this but, you've ignored me and the team when we told you to stop now you have made your choices and here are your spoils of war. Take a few months off and try and figure out what you did wrong if you don't see what I saw." And finally, being the last one out to turn out the lights when everyone else is being carried home.
These are the gems, these are the people I THINK the community is trying to find. The only question is will they recognize them when they appear? Some have already been here and are wondering why they took up the job in the first place.
I haven't had any run ins with the Admins and to be honest I hope I don't have any. But maybe I will at some point (Although Why? I don't know.) If I do, I can only do my piece as a user and sit back and read, and try to understand why something was done, then approach any questions I have in a calm and polite manner. We all gripe about the A-holes we get at work, or home, or school. But really? How can we gripe about that when people do the same to the people we are asking to keep us entertained by hosting this site without pay? Sounds to me a lot like when I was overseas with the Army. *Chuckles*
This is why (In it's Novel form, maybe it'll get published some day.) while I want to put in my application to help... I cannot commit to the required time requested. I would not have the focus required nor would I have the time to deal with everything. Professionally speaking, I've been dumped on for almost fifteen years now. In some cases where I was double hatting I might double that number. And while this is only words, they can sometimes have a profound effect on people, it is in this notion that I wish the greatest of luck to the applicants, I tip my hat to those who have weathered the storm thus far. Finally I return to my little corner of the universe that I like, talking to friends, delighting in their works and writing my little pieces of info that I like, and helping out the people I can.
I ain't gonna change the world overnight, but I gotta start somewhere.
Thank you all for the site, Trolls, /b/tards masqurading for the Lulz, Users, Artists, Animators, Writers, Admins, Super Admins and Site Owners. Without all the bumps in the road, I might not have cared if anything happened. But this is just my 2 (Million?) cents worth.
I'll shut up now.
Rithnok Tatsukao Flamespewer
White Lotus Samurai
Users, suck ups, respectful people, trolls who test me and my will, friendlies and so on. I kept my tolerance all the time and kept my attitude and neutrality as I have always and in the end they just ended up growing respect for me. More than the other staff members who hardly do their jobs.
Although I am currently demoted of my power for reasons unknown, i still respect everyone including the owner and their decision, I apologized for whatever i was that cause it not knowing anything as to why, and I still moderate on that server even whilst being normal like them. It wasn't like I was powerful anyway because i treated everyone at the same level including the staff. never put anyone above another no matter how powerful ot great you are.
I can have your account banned
But you can't use it
You are tiny
I won't reply to whatever you say next, this page really shouldn't be spammed with your trolling and anything I say will incite you to say more. (not that I'm not somewhat spamming the page myself... >.>)
However since this looks extremely out of character from what I can see on your user page, I have reported this account as suspected hacked.
The joke is that it is/was a frequent form of bullying for one kid to tell others that "My dad works for Nintendo" (Or Sony, Microsoft, what have you) and tell them that he let them play the new Nintendo 2000 or PS4 or whatever, but that no one else was allowed to play it. That similar mindset also drives kids who play online games to threaten other people with their accounts getting banned because their relative works at aforementioned companies.
Now that I've EXPLAINED the joke to you, there IS no joke. I would lament this were it not for the fact that you kinda...sorta...with nothing antagonizing you whatsoever...decided that because you didn't understand it, you leapt in, screamed troll, and wanted to stop it. Again, in the form of a true furry.
And, yes, there are such things as "jokes" (read: jokes that aren't memes) on the internet these days. People do make jokes without the intention of "trolling", though it seems everyone has forgotten what that word even means because it's replaced every other conventional term for something someone says that isn't 100% on the nose.
So thanks for needlessly alerting the admins to my un-hacked account, they're probably gonna be harassing me for a few days and causing problems all because you didn't understand a joke that was told to someone else. A real hero and a real human bean you are.
A few friends of mine have recently had trouble with trolls on FA and other sites, and both of them have practically lost their drive as artists, so I'm kind of on a hair trigger at the moment.
If you'd explained to me in a note or something, I wouldn't have taken any action... I know there is such a thing as a joke, but (due to a psychological disorder) I have difficulty recognising them as such.
My apologies if this sounds like I'm just using the "get them to pity me" approach; I'm not, merely stating facts.
I really do apologise for reporting you prematurely for something that isn't the problem I'd thought it was. Sorry for the trouble.
-_- I understood what you were doing.
Thanks for posting this. I'm confident that trying to apply for admin is the right thing for me now.
Don't commit suicide while in functions, that would be a mess to clean. :P
Well, suppose I'll apply nex time :)
Oh my, an admin code of conduct! I love how you didn't do anything until weasyl came around, and then your only reaction was to rip off weasyl's features.
First the banners then the admin code of conduct. What next? the folders and friend systems?
Now I am not saying all admins are bad, but for the ones who have caused more than just bumps in the road are more than aware of who they are. Removing artwork for no apparent reasons or over personal issues is more than a shameful act when a good reason not everyone has left FA entirely to either Tumblr or the now rinsing Weasyl is because not all their favorite artists have completely left. Artists on an art site is the bloodline of the service and when admins go for their reapings, they make their 'home' suffer for it.
From drafting over comments, FA is riddled with issues. I agree that FA needs true developers, not administrators. If people cannot access servers for development or have issues with coding structures, than an analyst needs to be pulled in. Considering the vast diversity of the furry fandom, which is a good sized chunk of the user DB of FA, finding one shouldn't be too hard. It sounds like more than needing devs are in question, but how the flow of everything works and how can it be improved.
I am guilty as charged at responding late to many project proposals when they are suddenly needed, but I don't hire floor people until after the building is done.
-Flame Soulis
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/...../#cid:29641889
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/...../#cid:29669218
this counts, I'm entirely sure
to be one on this site more then anything, Im sure even if I am not picked Dragoneer and the rest will choose Furs who will help us and make the furry Community a better place, and I for one respect that. Thank you *hugs for all*
It will probably be over looked, but its worth a shot anyways.
I would love to work with you guys :)
Just saying
I can't even imagine picking a few people from that many.
I hope for the sake of those involved that well over half are easily weeded out at the beginning. >u<
It would be neat to see an anonymous google-form style multiple choice survey with results open to public in form of pie-charts (mmmpie) showing answers to a few demographic defining questions. Sex, sexual preference, length of time on site, frequency of visiting site, Whether they use dark or light settings for their account, how often they click on the ads etc etc. Similar to the ones filled out at Anthrocon, but with less pony-related questions (GAH).
I'm a sucker for statistics XD
Hope you guys find some good new staff members though! :D
1.) Like mentioned in other posts, they will be giving you weeks of training, so they say, and I think more than anything they want people who are willing\devoted.
2.) I don't think your artistic ability matters much for this
3.) You don't need to know computer design or anything like that. I think when they say "admin" it is kind of misleading, above all else, I'd say it's a moderator\helper position, in which you'll be handling general problems\inquires on the site. Including but not limited to, closing tickets, helping users, and giving feedback in how you're (the staff member) are able to handle issues based on the layout of the "tools" at your disposal, if that makes sense.
Never hurts to apply, and you shouldn't put yourself down due to lack of knowledge
I guess I just meant that I don't think I'm experienced enough... and would love some Admins who are instead of me XD
But hey, it did never hurt to try so I just might :D
If you still have any questions/concerns/comments afterwards, let me know and I'll address'm!
Will you guys be checking if applicants applied before or do you not care so much?
Thanks for the reply. :3
Also, the opening post needs a link to the FA Improvements and Progress document that has been linked in the comments. In my case specifically, that document answered a question that would have otherwise been submitted for the town hall meeting. Making that document more visible would minimize the volume of already answered questions as well as increase awareness of tangible progress that's already been made and specific plans for future endeavors.
As for the response and helpfulness of the current admins... I'm not trying to bash you guys or anything, but I submitted a umber of tickets in the past, and it took months before I was finally answered by a staff member. And when I WAS answered, the person had no idea what they were doing, even after I explained what the problem was, and then closed the ticket rudely, stating that iPhones and FA weren't compatible, which they are. That had nothing to do with the problem i reported, It was like I was talking to a wall.
For the record, it's been about a year and a half that I've noticed the typo on the site security tab, and it's still not fixed. I am honestly surprised none of you have noticed it.
Blah blah blah who cares about what I have to say. The point is, you are doing something really constructive here by expanding the number of staff members, and I hope this time around I won't be ignored for months, only to be dismissed VERY unprofessionally.
I apologize for your experience with previous trouble tickets! As I've told some other people in this journal, the reason many people go months without a reply is because we are currently understaffed -- 1,700+ tickets and 8 admins actively answering tickets. Thus, we're hoping to address that issue with this recruiting. As for your response, I'm not entirely sure what to say about that, other than that if you're still having the issue you had in your trouble ticket, feel free to note me (but to anyone else who reads this, please submit a trouble ticket :P). This shouldn't be as much an issue once we publish our Admin Code of Conduct, as this document will also include a method by which to report admins for sub-par behavior.
Regarding typos on the site, I've noticed a few as well. The issue is that typo fixes on the site can only be performed by doing code updates, and at the moment, all of our tech members are very busy, leading to delays in site updates in general, let alone low-priority changes like typo fixes. I've recently joined the tech team, so I can make fixes like this, but changes I make cannot be made to the live site until the tech lead, who is very busy, has the chance to review my changes and push them live. Thus, I'll gladly fix typos, but it may take some time for changes to appear.
I personally see the administrative rank as something that needs to be worked up to beginning from a lower rank, such as an operator or something. Jumping from user to administrator seems a bit extreme to me. But then again, this isn't a forum, so I understand that there aren't really any purposes for a rank underneath administrator, as anything lower would serve no purpose. Just seems funny to me is all.
Regarding different ranks of administrators, we currently only have one level. However, one thing we may look into is making a "probationary admin" level for new recruits for hold while being trained. The only issues preventing this from being decided already are availability issues with critical people. In particular, we can't have a discussion unless people are around to have it, and making any sort of site change requires communication among technical staff. Regardless of if we do go this route, however, we do plan to closely monitor new recruits to ensure they don't go rogue and to ensure they handle situations correctly.
These were both good questions, so please ask them for the townhall meeting!
Sadly, I have a 6:30-9:30pm college class on Fridays, so I won't be able to attend the Town Hall meeting, which is a real bummer, as I would really love to contribute with some interesting questions.
Will there be a tutorial as to how the administrative system works? I mean, being thrown in blindfolded wouldn't make much sense, so surely there's some sort of explanation before people are recruited, right? Unless the UI is simple and easy to understand. Having three years of computer hardware and software experience myself, I wouldn't have a problem if I were thrown in blind, but the average computer user has no idea what they're doing. As long as there is a higher authority that is able to roll back the actions of administrators abusing their power, then I guess everything is okay for now. If any more questions come to mind, which they surely will, I'll take them down on my iPhone notes and ask them later. My main worry is about the security of the site. We don't want new recruits seeing the passwords to every account on FA and writing them down, or wiping peoples' galleries clean, or anything of the sort happening. Because there are a lot of people out there that will go out of their way to achieve an administrator status, and then turn on everyone and attack the site. I've seen it happen, and it's definitely something I never want to see happen on this site. Be sure to take the proper precautions! That probationary administrator rank sounds like a great idea. Give them a sample of what they're in for and stuff to see if they can handle it.
Use the form in the journal to ask a question in advance; if you've got a good question, would be great for everyone else to hear it (and its answer)!
Previously, a senior admin would run new admins through the ropes of being an admin. To formalize this a bit more, and to ensure everything gets covered, we've written up an Admin Training Guide. The intention is for a senior admin to walk a new recruit through this document step-by-step, but it's written in such a way that it can be used even without someone there walking readers through it.
Good luck to all the applicants though :)
I hope to be chosen, because I think an Admin/Mod can be very friendly too.
If you did it for power, fame, fun, or just to see what it feels like to be an admin, please, don't. Just go away, PM the current admins saying that you want out, and save everyone the trouble. I've never had any problems with this site, yet I've heard disturbing comments about abusive or ineffective admins, which, luckily, I've never had to deal with, but please, if I ever run into trouble and need to get something fixed, I don't want an idiot to be in the way of the solution and myself. Let people who ACTUALLY want to and/or can help.
If I say I've applied, then most will say the text above is to fend off competitors.
I've applied. And you're right.
If by writing this text I make idiots or attention whores go away, then, by all that is good, I am writing this text.
I don't want to be an attention whore, reason for which, in the case I'm become admin, I'll create a separate account, with no ties linking back to my admin account, in order to keep the admining on one place, and the arts on another, separate and isolated from all the drama.
Another thing, is drama. I can NOT stand it, and will be SWIFT when drama starts to boil up. This does not mean that I'll just whip arround my banhammer and start banning people left and right, no. What I mean is that I want things dealt with efficiently, quickly and quietly, all of which I can do just fine. PMs, warnings, peaceful diplomacy. If and when all else fails, the banhammer it is, I'm afraid.
Even when it's not drama/conflict solving, I can be helpful too. I love knowledge, and I love others knowing things, therefore teaching and explaining stuff to people makes me happy, reason for which, whenever someone asks anything, I'll be delighted to reply with an answer, as far as my knowledge goes, obviously. No, srsly, I love explaining stuff to people, it's a thing.
I mean, I know I can't change the entire fanbase and cleanse it of all pests and idiots overnight, that's too much wishful thinking. Babysteps. I'll help and make the workload lighter on the other admins. Maybe they'll get less cranky, and have more time to reply to your tickets. After that, it's just a matter of showing the people the right way to do things, and eventually, they will not only learn, but also impart this knowledge to others. That's not TOO much whishful thinking, right?
Just my 2 cents...
~Gabriel
"Yup! The plan is to take applications until the 18th, at which point we will look over applications, so contacting potential candidates will happen sometime after the 18th. "
So yeah, Soon after the 18th of Nov.
Anyways, good luck with your application whitetiger.
not saying FA is a very bad place,.. just saying there are plenty better and its always good to have a fall back
The point of the meeting is to have a civil discussion of the FA website so as to get get minor/major concerns addressed. Instead of speaking negativity (whether it's legit or straight up exaggeration), it would be good if you have any suggestions to contribute to make the website better. If you lost faith in the website, that's fine and understandable, but don't be a downer for others like me who feels there is STILL ways to make it better.
Plz keep the negativity to yourself and not spread it out in public.
Actually that is on the application o_o
But maybe I won't mind, and odds are I won't get the job anyway due to my lack of experience.
ah. hm... i better give up in fact.
I came here looking for it.
"
Sign up on the Admin Recruitment page. We'll be collecting applications on the site until November 18th.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet.....ajNoNTlLQUE6MQ
A complete description of the admin job and duties can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/.....GVLY/edit";
In anycase, I attended the meeting. Good to listen to, a lot of stuff was addressed (as well as projects they wanted to do as well as their priorities).
Hopefully they'll do another one in december or something.
Ugh, they really should have specified that :/
http://new.livestream.com/furaffini.....events/1653287
Lacking in experience but not lacking a will to help =)
"Contact Information *
Please provide your email address so we may contact you if selected."
"Contact Information *
Please provide your email address so we may contact you if selected."
Expect an answer sometime after Thanksgiving