Being a slave AND a moderator
Preliminary note: this only reflects my opinion, and my fellow moderators might have a different one. I invite them to discuss it in the comments to this blog then, i am very interested in knowing what they think of it especially subjeffie and BotyomBear. Other comments are welcome as well of course.
Being a moderator is not an easy task, especially a chat moderator. Keeping your head cold and not abusing your mod powers when it would be so easy to do so requires some temperance. Being a slave moderator is even more difficult as some Masters might get angry at being given orders by a slave (which is perfectly understandable). They should stop seeing the slave as a slave but see him as a moderator, but that's easier said than done, especially when you are in a hot discussion.
That's the reason i rarely moderate the chat. i mostly moderate the pics, to relieve MoA from the burden and i leave the chat moderation to Master mods. However when no Master mod is present, or none of Them can moderate (for instance if They are involved in the conflict), i will not hesitate and take my responsibilities.
Here are a few guidelines i have in that case, and i would not be surprised if even Master mods would find them good:
1°) i am not a mommy trying to separate her bickering kids. You are all 18+ (at least that's what you said when you registered on OF) so you are supposed to act like adults. If you have a problem with another member, discuss it with them in DM, don't come to me to decide who is right and who is not. i will not take sides. Or rather i will always take the same side: the side of OF.
That means i don't care about the reasons of the conflict, but i will do my best to preserve the chatroom as a peaceful and friendly place. If you disturb it, you can expect me to tell you to stop. If you don't you can expect me to ban you.
This goes for everybody, Master or slave, friend or not. i would even ban my Owner if needed. That might earn me some dungeon (He is very intelligent and hopefully He would not do worse than that like booting me from His stable), but i would do it anyway.
i must admit i would probably not ban MoA since He could overrule me anyway ;-)
2°) When i speak as a mod and tell you to stop doing something, i am not opening a debate. If you don't comply, you are banned. This is not a discussion, this is an order (I know Masters won't like this word, but that's what it is). Usually it is pretty obvious when i am speaking as a mod because my tone is very different from the one i usually have in the chat, but if you find that's needed, i can use some typing effects like typing in bold or in red or whatever. We can discuss that but that would be better if that was a common rule for all mods.
3°) I can be wrong sometimes, and if you think so, feel free to discuss it with me but in DMs,
not in the chat. If you think i am abusing my powers and you no longer want to speak to me, feel free to complain to MoA, i will accept His judgement without causing any trouble, but once again,
not in the chat.
OF is not a democracy where we discuss and vote on issues in the chat. We are here as guests of MoA, and when you are a guest, you don't s**t on the carpet. If you don't like something in the site, discuss it with Him, but His rules apply, and the chat is no place to criticize them (unless He calls for a debate of course but usually He doesn't do so in the chat). You are free to leave if you cannot find an agreement with Him, and He is free to stop welcoming you as His guest if your company is not to His liking.
4°) Even if i ban you, that doesn't mean i have become your deadly enemy. That just means i think you need to take a step back and reflect on what i just told you. The discussion is welcome in DMs, and we can become very good friends if we can reach a common agreement.
5°) i never ban permanently. Personally i think that should be MoA's privilege. If a recidivist is going too far again, i can ban him for 24 h and that gives me plenty of time to request his permanent ban to MoA.
I would like to share with A/all of Y/you my review of one of the most famous hotels in OF: the Dungeon
The pros:
- a very quiet place
- friendly (well i hope) animals running around
- all inclusive package: meals are included, drinks as well, even though another selection would have been prefered over my water bucket.
- extremely cheap as it was free, though, strangely, one needs to pay if they want to leave the room earlier than planned.
The cons:
- lack of light: the small barred window is letting more rain than light come in.
- moisture, well i guess it is related to the previous point
- the friendly animals are eating my meal
- bed quality needs upgrade: the straw stunk
- need to find another chef though the friendly animals don't seem to mind for some reason
- room service is very poor: the staff should privilege dialog instead of using that whip
- the iron collar chafes and the chain to the wall makes noise during night
- wifi not working (could not connect to OF)
MoA i am very sorry, but i cannot give this place more than 1 * out of 5. i hope to read soon of Your plans to address these points, then i might reconsider this judgement. Hopefully another visit should not be necessary.
