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Young Writers Society


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Thu Feb 11, 2016 3:42 pm
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crossroads says...



The staff -- mysterious, scary, secretive, munching on cookies on the dark side of YWS and occassionally kidnapping regular members to put them through gladiator trials and make the winners one of their own.

Or, are we?

Truth be told, only some parts of that might be actually correct (I'll let you guess which parts ;)). Just like all of you, we staff members are individuals with personalities, troubles, duties and ideas, and we were all once regular members (Well, except Nate), some of us never even dreaming of becoming members of the staff team.
But we all know that that side of the green, red and orange usernames -- and especially the black one! -- can be hard to see at first. We know that many of our members have questions they'd like to ask, but never quite dare to. And it's understandable. After all, approaching the mod squad and risking whatever terrible situation we're usually imagining when we're unsure or scared, certaily can make one shy away from asking anything.

So, hence this thread! This is the place for you to ask, and for us to answer. Whatever you'd like to know -- what makes a good mod, what's the real difference between JMs and GMs, how much power do we actually have, what hardships do we go through when making decisions, what happens when you report someone, or whether Nate is a real person; you post your questions, and the staff members will reply.

And don't worry about asking the wrong question, or being humorous -- this thread is a stress-free zone, and we're just a bunch of people talking about our jobs :D
• previously ChildOfNowhere
- they/them -
literary fantasy with a fairytale flavour
  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 4:27 pm
elysian says...



I've always wondered how much "power" you guys actually have, fill me in? :-) KEEP BEING GREAT <3
elysian: (adj.) beautiful or creative; divinely inspired; peaceful and perfect.

formally lylas.
  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 4:31 pm
Steggy says...



do you guys like pretzels? because honestly, i don't.

(although i do like @Pretzelstick)
You are like a blacksmith's hammer, you always forge people's happiness until the coal heating up the forge turns to ash. Then you just refuel it and start over. -Persistence (2015)

You have so much potential and love bursting in you. -Omnom
  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 4:39 pm
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Iggy says...



@lylas, JMs are basically sectional mods. They all have power in the community forums, but only have power in the sections they moderate. For example, a SB mod has powers in the SB forums, but not in the literary works. The opposite for Gen Lit and Poetry JMs - power in their respective prose/poetry works, but not in the SB forums.

GMs have site-wide powers. They can ban, change names, promote or demote mods, have access to the ACP (administrator control panel), etc. They're basically sub-admins.

Admins have majority of the power. They can do what JMs and GMs can and more, such as restoring previously deleted wall posts, reviews, etc.

Nate has all the power xD

Does that help?

@Steggy, I like pretzels! Can't speak for everyone else, though.
“I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then."
- Lewis Carroll
  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 4:48 pm
fukase says...



Umm... Why these colors?
I wanna hear the colors philosophies behind 'em.
I love Koku.
He is damn cute and should be the main character
and not some lazy old man that supposedly genius but a sucker in his own life.
Koku is Koku.
Koku is CUTE.
~ B-The Beginning (A Netflix Anime.)
  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 4:56 pm
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Iggy says...



That's a good question, @nicolmemo! I'm not sure why @Nate chose these colors, but maybe he'll tell us why :) I assume he probably chose red because red is usually an admin color, but I dunno why he chose the other colors. ^^
“I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then."
- Lewis Carroll
  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 5:00 pm
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Lava says...



I mean, I'm all up for pink.

*nudges @Rydia*
~
Pretending in words was too tentative, too vulnerable, too embarrassing to let anyone know.
- Ian McEwan in Atonement

sachi: influencing others since GOD KNOWS WHEN.

  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 5:14 pm
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ThePatchworkPilgrims says...



@NicolMemo, I actually recall asking that question to our Grand Master once (well, more precisely, to the other mods, but still :P ) and he said that these respective colors were basically the generic colors for users in moderating positions on sites like these (I have seen the exact same colors being used on at least 6 other websites, including the game provider Steam) Yes, they have different names on each of their sites, but the function and responsibility of each color stays the same. (i.e. Light green is a sectional moderator, Dark green a chief moderator, etcetera)

Pink lava... What has become of the world! :D (@Lava)

Also, I personally don't eat pretzels, mostly because my "granddaughter" @Pretzelstick is named after them, and also because I am gluten-intolerant ;-) P.S. Pretzel isn't my actual granddaughter. I don't think anyone can be a grandparent at 20 ;-)
Former incarnations have been:
TheWanderingWizard
TheClockworkConjurer
TheIllusiveIntellect
TheSunderingSorceror
And, TheMaieuticMesmerist


Proudly [They/Them]
  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 6:33 pm
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Kale says...



Pretzels are okay (especially when flavored with dill and ranch), but I love my meat snacks.
Secretly a Kyllorac, sometimes a Murtle.
There are no chickens in Hyrule.
Princessence: A LMS Project
WRFF | KotGR
  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 7:25 pm
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Pretzelstick says...



Everyone's been talking about The Pretzel. I got so many notifs. Thank you all of you people. <3
A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads only lives once
~George R. Martin

Life isn't about finding yourself; it's about recreating yourself. ~George B. Shaw

got yws?
  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 7:29 pm
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Nate says...



Regarding Colors

I'm afraid there's no big reason to it! The default colors for phpBB, which is what YWS is based on, is blue for registered members, green for global moderators, and red for admins. I just never changed the colors from that.

When Distinguished Members (former GMs) were added in ~2007, I remember asking members of Big Brother about what their color should be at the time, and gold / orangish won out. I don't remember why, but it's probably because gold just seems like a distinguished color.

When Junior Moderators were added in ~2008, light green was chosen to make the relationship between GM and JM clear in color.

Personally, I was red up until 2010/11 when I switched to the current black. New members kept asking me who created & owned the site, and black seemed like a good, low-key way to convey that info. On top of that, it was around that time I started to step back from a lot of day-to-day stuff, and changing from red to black again seemed like a good way to convey that. It's also a good way of saying, "Hey, this guy is old!"

There are three other groups as well that no longer exist: VIPs, Greeters and Instructors.

VIPs were added in 2005 and were purple because purple is the color of royalty and VIPs were very important people. The group was closed though in 2006 because it really didn't have much purpose.

Greeters & Instructors were added in ~2008. Greeters were tasked with greeting new members, and they were light blue so as to convey friendliness. Instructors were top reviewers, and they were purple again because purple is the color of royalty and YWS ain't anything without its top reviewers.

Greeters & Instructors were closed though in 2010 because it led to some issues. With greeters, greeting became over-involved. New members were being bombarded with long, intense messages instead of just a friendly "Hello!". Becoming an Instructor was a great motivator and it really did work, but when people became one, they usually stopped reviewing. The few who didn't went on to become JMs anyways.
  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 7:38 pm
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BrumalHunter says...



@Steggy, I like pretzels, though I don't get to eat them too often.

Oh, @Lylas, I also have something to add to Iggy's explanation. All mods have access to the Administration Control Panel, but I assume the degree depends on rank. As a Junior Moderator, I can view/edit/create staff picks, which are the articles on the home page; I can view YWS logs; and I can view/edit/create quotes. The Global Moderators and Administrators can probably do more.
But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
— Paul the Apostle

Winter is inevitable. Spring will return eventually, and AstralHunter with it.
  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 7:54 pm
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Rosendorn says...



@AstralHunter and @Lylas the GMs can most certainly do more :P The ACP is where we do basically everything.

Everyone also has access to the Moderator Control Panel, which is where we go to check moderator logs (yes, we can see every action done!), split topics, merge topics, and view reports. We can also lock, edit, delete, and move topics. JMs can only do it in their sections, GMs and admins can do it across the site.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 7:58 pm
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Steggy says...



i have learned so much from just one topic.
You are like a blacksmith's hammer, you always forge people's happiness until the coal heating up the forge turns to ash. Then you just refuel it and start over. -Persistence (2015)

You have so much potential and love bursting in you. -Omnom
  





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Thu Feb 11, 2016 8:01 pm
SkyeWalker says...



XD I don't know why but that response is just so perfect
My pronouns are they/them.

Formerly Zhia and Reneia
  








There is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way, and not to give others absurd maddening claims upon it.
— Christopher Darlington Morley