After about a month and a half, no, probably about 95% of all applicants haven't been notified yet. The last I heard was that the admins were having PM issues, so they're trying to straighten those out before they let people know where they stand.

Mmm, at the time it was amazing for me, because ever since I started moderating (oddly enough I was able to hop from job to job after I accepted my first moderating position years ago, as people always seemed to take me on), doing that kind of a job has always been a lot of fun for me -- I've enjoyed helping others and the like. So yes, I was definitely excited to actually get an application in. XD At this rate, though, I'm not sure if my activity levels are what they're looking for.

Moderating for this site seems like a lot of fun. At the moment it seems like the general size of one of the last places I hung out & moderated at, so as a member, I feel right at home here. ^^ It is really cool to see the site grow every day, because with sites like Gaia, you don't really notice the growth until it's at least a million members larger. You can actually see the userbase expanding on a day-to-day basis on Mene, which I really like.

Anyway, yes, you'll definitely see me around, I'm hoping to stay permanently. It's just plain nice here. I'm really glad that I came back, and I did bring a couple people with me to keep me company, but now I'm making more and more new friends and finding myself having a lot of fun. <3

But yes, talk to you later then! It was nice talking to you, and I hope to do so again. <3 Feel free to drop in any time you like!

@Steve: Hey you~.

*makes myself at home* ^^

Are we talking about Gaia?
*skims through all the big posts* ><;
I havn't been posting much since the layout change either.
I feel like whenever i take a day off from Gaia, they go and change the layout. @[email protected];
Then i come back, and everything's different. D;

• *Spies on everybody from the bushes.* >___>

@Lullaby: Good, good! *offers cookies and cupcakes* <3

Yeah, there was a bit of a Gaia discussion. ^^ ... There was a point where I took a fairly long hiatus from Gaia, that was at some point in '04 or '05, can't quite remember when. I remember coming back to a different layout that took quite a while to get used to -- that said, I definitely see what you mean. :shock: They do change it fairly often. It's funny to think that I'd miss the original layout the most.

@Tessa: *drags you out of the bushes and feeds you a cookie*

Wow, so you have already had quite a varied moderating career in regards to forums then? Where else have you worked/volunteered if you don't mind me asking?
The thing I also like about moderating Menewsha is the change that you can influence, because it is in such an early state; you can influence the direction of the site, some of the decisions made and have your opinion. The flaws of Gaia moderating system are vast now, although, I know a good few people on Gaia who became moderators; and their attitude and outlook to Gaia completely changed. You sort of go into decline when you have to work with a site as big as that, and I'm not saying this about any moderator in particular, but the power and status could easily go to your head. There is an undertone of 'I'm better than you, listen to me,' about the Gaia staff, and more than certainly an intimidation factor as to the people they are and some of the rules they enforce.

I've had absolutely no run ins with them, so I can't complain about their work at all. It's just general things I've noticed. They are, seemingly however, all dedicated and coordinated individuals; I couldn't fault the organization. And I admire them for some of the stuff they deal with, the explicit, unsavory threads (GD probably :/) which they have to bin and record; it certainly deserves respect.

All the best with your application~ :D

Originally Posted by Rivayne

@Lullaby: Good, good! *offers cookies and cupcakes* <3

Yeah, there was a bit of a Gaia discussion. ^^ ... There was a point where I took a fairly long hiatus from Gaia, that was at some point in '04 or '05, can't quite remember when. I remember coming back to a different layout that took quite a while to get used to -- that said, I definitely see what you mean. :shock: They do change it fairly often. It's funny to think that I'd miss the original layout the most.

I miss the original layout also!
Or, whichever layout was the one from '04.
I think it was with the one that also had the rock puppy on the sign-in page. It was simple, but not boring, and easy to navigate.

*nods head repeatedly while wolfing down cupcakes and cookies* xD

Hey guys! Just got home, what a day. It's nice to be able to just sit down.

Going to start replying. XD With the question I was asked, I know I won't be able to answer it quickly. >>

@Dare: This is going to take a while, because I'm very proud of the places I've worked at -- all of which, now that I think about it, have changed ownership or have died completely, which is really unfortunate.

The first place was at Virtopia, where I worked as a moderator called a Guardian. I have good memories of that site, including being nominated for the position at first -- I was SO surprised, because there were so many other really great, active people. The banning system was really simple, but I learned a lot from that first job.

I worked next at Nutrinopets. I was a moderator there for a long while, but I advanced to user/site support... something like community management here, I suppose. That site was so fun when it first started, because a really good friend of mine was an artist there, and it was a great little community. Since then it's been bought by people in Mexico or something, and it's just taken a big downhill leap. @[email protected] It's too bad, it's really different from what it used to be.

After that came Aftermath Zone... I went through a few staff changes there, and I think I was there the longest out of any position. I started out as a moderator, and in time I was chosen to lead the member care group, which was basically a group of in-training moderators that dealt primarily with helping other members. I handpicked and trained (on final approval/agreement of the owner) all of the new moderators as well, and after I had done that for a while they escalated me to admin, so I took care of what felt like everything. XD Ahh, I have a ton of good memories from that site too, so it's really too bad that it's not up anymore. I still talk to the people there from time to time, but the site content itself was a lot of fun.

I sort of work now as a moderator/graphic designer for SubetaHQ, Subeta's biggest fansite. I say 'sort of' because the site was basically down for the longest time, but they recently changed their URL and are now back in business. There's really not enough activity there to moderate all the time, though. ;_;

Anyway, see? Told you I'd go all out for the descriptions. >>

I feel like I'm forgetting a place or two, but these ones strike me as being the most memorable. Like I mentioned before, I'm proud of having been able to work at all of these places, because I had a lot of fun participating in what they had to offer at the time. <3 Of course, these are only places I've volunteered online. Actually, though, I think I've been able to transfer the skills learned from helping out at these places to jobs I've held in the ~*real world*~. It's great to consider that truth.

ANYWAY. Yes. To touch on the rest of your reply, Dare, I do agree that the Gaia moderators deserve some sort of respect for all that they have to deal with on a day-to-day basis, but at the same time I also agree that the status has gone to the heads of some of them. Hell, even on smaller sites like the ones I listed, there were (and maybe still are) a few people who have gone in that direction. It's never easy. @@; That's one thing that I like about Menewsha right now -- the staff aren't uppity or egotistical, and it's really nice to see them in the community. I know that, sure, a lot of Gaia's staff will engage in activities, but it's like there's an invisible line drawn between them and the users. It's hard to deal with sometimes. I feel lucky that I befriended Sae so easily -- I was reporting threads in the Exchange over there, and I had a question about one situation, so I asked her. I got a very quick reply, and we ended up in conversation through PM for a few hours or something like that. XD It was really nice. She's such a cool person.

So, did I talk your eyes off much? (I'd say ears, but thankfully there was no speaking involved. XD)

@Lullaby: Was this the layout you were talking about? I can't exactly remember when the first layout change was made, but this was my favorite one -- it was so simple, and it conveyed the feeling of a smaller community. (Too bad the picture's so small, it's the only one I could find through Google.)

Mmmm. *sits back and takes a breather after all of the insane typing* XD;

Originally Posted by Rivayne

@Lullaby: Was this the layout you were talking about? I can't exactly remember when the first layout change was made, but this was my favorite one -- it was so simple, and it conveyed the feeling of a smaller community. (Too bad the picture's so small, it's the only one I could find through Google.)

Mmmm. *sits back and takes a breather after all of the insane typing* XD;

Yes! That's the one. It looks familiar to me. I don't actually remember advertisements on both left and right side though. Are those updates in the middle?
I do remember that avatar spotlight though.
They had them in the actualy banner after too in the top right, right?

I also took a long break from Gaia. I wasn't very active when i first signed up.

I was trying to click on it because i totally over read the little note you had with it. xD
Ahh too bad there aren't any bigger pictures. =(

Ohh no, it was very interesting! I was just checking out the sites you mentioned, some extensive history you've got there! I can't say I've got the same, apart from working on a few group projects and working on a Legend of Zelda fan site under the name zeldafan656 or something like that, when I was a bit younger (I don't want to say I was as young as 10 or 11 when I was doing this, but I think I was o_o); I think at one point I updated news on a neopets fan site too, but I can't recall exactly what site that was, or what happened.

Menewsha is my first 'moderating' experience, but I'd always had basic phpBB knowledge anyway, I'd always tinker around with a forum I'd made just to see some of the functions and works. I actually got promoted to CM - (Community Management) within the first two months of my moderating career here). I'd like to say I've had some sort of influence, I think I have -- I've worked hard and tried my best and it's brilliant to see hard work pay off and work out. It's a great community~!
Most moderators on here are very sociable individuals, sometimes it appears almost as if our moderator population outnumbers the actual population; but they are extremely active users and work really hard on the site - whilst socializing and getting to know the user base - which is a plus, and something Gaia misses out on (but that can't be blamed now, with nine million odd members and a corporate logo (yuck)... XD;; ).

I agree about the skills point you make! I absolutely agree with you! A lot of skills I'm learning, and things I'm learning about myself throughout this experience are going to be very valuable to me for moving on and up. It's very self defining work, and it teaches you a lot about your work ethos - I suppose. Managerial and communication skills in particular.
Sae does seem very nice, I didn't really chat with her, I occasionally popped into Videri though. The only moderators I have ever really known or socialized with before they were moderators, or actual moderators are probably Seth, Airez, and Sosiqui. All really very nice people, I used to actually roleplay with Seth; and I remember showing him a gambino_falling.gif I had found on Gaia's server over AIM I think (I remember him leaking it to the GCD and getting a personal PM from Jakobo for spoiling it :lol: )? He's closely linked to another one of my friends so I have spoken to him in passing. Airez and Sosiqui are both known to me through my breedables experience, although Airez has moved on from that now, and I haven't spoken to him since before he was moderated - our clique of friends back then had some great AIM Chatroom conversations, insane @[email protected]~


@Lullaby> You can look at previous Gaia layouts through this archive, it's pretty interesting! http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://gaiaonline.com << How I miss them so! :cry:

*Stalks Dare and reads Gaia stuff* Looks interesting in here lately.

@Dare: I'm glad that you found it to be an interesting read, then. <3 I often change my mind when wondering just how 'extensive' my history is, but it kept me busy for five or six years, so I think it feels more extensive as in the length of time I contributed to those places. And I think that your history sounds quite productive too. Group projects tend to require more responsibility and effort, so it definitely adds up, in my mind.

Amazing to hear that you were promoted in such a short amount of time -- congratulations on that! I'm sure you've had a great influence on those here, and of course on the site itself. I'm sure you'll continue to, as well. <3 You've certainly made a very good impression on me.

I appreciate the fact that Menewsha both a.) isn't big enough to take moderators and other staff away from having a good time here, and b.) has enough moderators so that the current staff aren't overwhelmed with priorities.

I was just reading a concern a Gaian had, actually, about that site not having enough moderators spread evenly across the forums. A reply by Taligator, an admin lead, followed:

I understand your frustration. Simply put, the number of users, forums, and posts far outweigh the number of moderators that we have. Our moderators our quite overwhelmed by the amount of work which is why we are getting more moderators into the system - to more fairly balance the load of work across all the moderators.

The existing moderators DO spend time hanging out on Gaia but for most of them, their primary focus is assisting users and cleaning up the site. We hope that as we get more moderators the amount of time that moderators can spend as users of the site will increase as their work load decreases. But, as Gaia continues to grow so does the amount of work there is to do.

You may not see our moderators interacting a lot in the forums simply because they are inundated with requests from our users to fix their problems. They are very active in ways that most will never see because that is the nature of their work.

It's too bad that they weren't able to recognize earlier on that they were in such dire need of new staff. I think they'd have done better to evaluate the site on a regular basis (something they may or may not have done, but at this point in time it doesn't seem to have been a priority), as well as gathering input from all staff to better understand their situation and where they stand individually and as a whole.

This predicament they're in can and will be avoided by Menewsha, I believe, because the administrators and other staff seem to be able to recognize when new moderators are needed. I find comfort in knowing that, because I feel that at no point in the future will I be overwhelmed by any aspect of this site. Understand what I mean? There seems to be a good balance of users and staff.

Therefore, Menewsha is love.

And that's my opinion. <3

@Lullaby: It looks like the link list was situated in the middle. ^^ I don't remember seeing the avatar spotlight on every single page, though I do remember seeing it often. I think the Gaia logo was stretched into the right page, with your own avatar to the left -- after logging in and going to the forums, that is.

@Lady: Interesting indeed, though at this point I'm hoping nobody was scared off by the big walls of text. XD

It's been a long while since I stopped by here. I shall do so more often!!

Hey, Kale! I'd be glad to have you back here. <3

Just a note, your signature screams BC Ferry! Luckily for me I took a peek at the name of the photo and saw that it was indeed BC. XD I've probably sat in that same spot, haha.

I haven't been on a ferry in quite a while, though. I miss going out on the deck to watch the waves, & to feel the wind in my hair. It's something I'll have to do again soon.

You are quite right. <3 :D

This summer I drove out to Calgary by bus and with dad and his girlfriend we drove to Vancouver and then the next day we took the ferry to Vancouver Island. Twas sooo beautiful. We stayed there about three days and returned to Vancouver and made our way back.

I'd never seen the ocean before then so I loved it and I loved the rainforest. I swear I lost a lot of weight hiking there and such.. I have over 100 pictures on my photobucket. ^^

That sounds like a lot of fun!

Did you get out to the Butchart Gardens? That's one place that I regret not being able to go while I lived out around there. (I was actually in the Gulf Islands, so you probably passed where I used to live on the way. Quite literally, as I was on the oceanside. ^^)

It is really beautiful there, and I miss it somewhat. I think my aunt plans on moving to the Victoria area in the next while, so I'd like to visit her if that happens.

Wow, 100 pictures? o_o Sounds like you had a field day with the camera. Awesome! <3

Well my dad did.. and that's only a portion of what was on the camera... there were more like 300 pictures and the memory card still had a lot of room to take more. :lol:

I would LOVE to live out there.. it's so peaceful and I really needed it. Just going out there got rid of my writer's block. Nature always does. ^^ Though I'd need to think of a trade that I would manage to do out there since it'd be rather hard that way.. ^^

Oh, wow. <3 You make me want to go out and take pictures!

It really is peaceful there. Where I lived on the island, I'd fall asleep to the sound of the waves crashing along the rock wall every night. You'd hear the occasional ferry passing by as it'd sound the horn, and from time to time we'd also see or hear pods of whales. ^^

Let's not forget that bald eagle in a tree in the yard, snacking on its prey. Then again, it might be best to forget. XD What a spectacle, though.

I found that I was inspired much more easily and much more often when I lived out there -- here it comes and goes in spurts. It really depends on where I am.

Trade, you say, as in job opportunity? If so, there's a lot out here where I live right now. Just about every single place in my city appears to be hiring -- it's pretty crazy.

Dare -
=o
Thanks so much for pointing me there!
I had fun looking through some of the past layouts. xD
Really took me down memory lane.

Rivayne -
I looked through the archived layouts and i realized i was talking about the layout after the one you mentioned.
I joined the next month and didn't catch the layout you talked about. =(
I still liked it when i joined though. ^^

@Rivayne> The problem with distribution comes down to moderators and their personal interests. I hope, and I know this can't be divulged (as no aspect of what the moderator form indicated is meant to be divulged), but I at least hope they would've took into consideration the forums the individual recognized as their homes, or regular spots.
Our team doesn't really need to worry about distribution yet, but we have a table of moderation listed behind the scenes, and have distributed our teams to specific forums; who will check up on them daily and just scour them for anything - which means that if anything is missed; those responsible for the upkeep and management of the forum/subforum can pinpoint it and deal with it as soon and timely as possible. It's probably too early, and too small to specifically - or officially assign moderators to areas currently, the site just doesn't demand that. The community is very diligent though, and always sending in their reports if anything comes up.

Gaia is in dire need of moderators, and there has always been a shortage. I know for a fact there are aplenty of potential moderator candidates on Gaia, and enough to meet the amount of people they need most possibly (perhaps now, thousands if not hundreds). Hopefully the opportunity presented will fill in the gaps, but I've heard a lot of dispute regarding the under 18 condition. Now, I know that an under 18 (who are in the majority of Gaia's target audience), could do just a well a job as someone who is over 18; and could probably commit more time and effort to the site (without the responsibility of a job, or kids/family). But I think again, the things moderators on Gaia deal with, surely requires the age limit now - I've seen many a grossly disturbing thread in the GD. I hope they incorporate a way in which younger moderators could be considered, and I don't know why all of a sudden this has been brought into force. I've heard of a 14 or 15 year old moderator at one point on Gaia, and perhaps another 16 year old.
The majority of the moderators here are over 18, almost all of them, excluding myself (15), Seiki (17) and Aries (15) I think?

The thing with Gaia moderation is the moderator versus population problem. I wouldn't want to even calculate it it, but I'm sure roughly that for every moderator there is around 10,000 people, I don't know if that's a good guesstimate but it seems rather likely. Whereas here, it's roughly 700 people per moderator, (results for both probably slightly less, taking mules and other accounts into consideration) - which isn't as bad. I think if we maintain a moderator for every 1000 people at least, we'll be doing all right. We don't want to fully expand the team to the point of having moderators inundate and entirely make up for the population of the forum! XD

I agree with you though, we are at a reasonable number, and we have an excellent team behind us who have contributed so much for the site. They are all great people! <3 Muuuuuuuch love.

I'm sure I could divulge at least that much information, that yes, there was something on their application pertaining to forums of preference.

I like the system you say is in place here -- while the forums might not yet be large enough to assign mods to forums individually, the moderators are able to consider the level of organization put into place by the higher staff, and then act on it. Oddly enough, some of the places I worked at lacked that simple detail -- chaos ensued more than once, though thankfully not on my part.

Ahh, the mod application age limit. I check up on the sticky in Gaia's Q&A forum regarding the moderator applications regularly, and the number of people that've waltzed in complaining about that is tremendous. XD Again and again it needs to be mentioned within that thread that the high staff do want to allow those under 18 to apply, but until they're able to deal with the legal issues and permissions surrounding the under 18 age group, it's not possible for them to employ 'minors'. It's mostly an issue of Gaia not being able to employ minors that are not legally old enough to view the horrific images found primarily in GD (just as you've mentioned). That all depends on where you live, I'm sure, as legality is obtained at different ages all over the place, but they've chosen 18 as the cut-off while they figure out how best to allow the younger age groups to participate.

I agree that a lot of people under 18 are capable! I've known quite a few people that, at their age, could (and in some cases already do) handle the responsibility of a job like moderating much better than some that meet the age requirement. It's just a matter of time before they break that barrier, I suppose. I do know they've employed younger moderators before, but since integrating the new application system, they've changed things around for their own safety. As for those existing moderators that are under 18, well, what goes on behind the scenes stays behind the scenes, I'm sure.

As for Menewsha, I think I've only come across a modless site once or twice, and that was when I was up fairly late -- somewhere between 12 AM - 3 AM PST. I don't think that even lasted long; there was always a staff member on the next time I looked. For such a community to be so well-balanced already is amazing. <3 I think we're all quite privileged to have found this place in which the staff seem to have their priorities and responsibilities in order. It's why I'm happy to be here -- I feel secure and free. That's needed in a place where you like to spend your 'free' time.

Feeling, say, pressured or bogged down on sites such as Gaia without even trying? It's all fine and dandy, but here is where I know I'll stay. ^_~

Originally Posted by Rivayne

Oh, wow. <3 You make me want to go out and take pictures!

It really is peaceful there. Where I lived on the island, I'd fall asleep to the sound of the waves crashing along the rock wall every night. You'd hear the occasional ferry passing by as it'd sound the horn, and from time to time we'd also see or hear pods of whales. ^^

Let's not forget that bald eagle in a tree in the yard, snacking on its prey. Then again, it might be best to forget. XD What a spectacle, though.

I found that I was inspired much more easily and much more often when I lived out there -- here it comes and goes in spurts. It really depends on where I am.

Trade, you say, as in job opportunity? If so, there's a lot out here where I live right now. Just about every single place in my city appears to be hiring -- it's pretty crazy.

I was out between Uclulet and Tofino, the only real trades there is surf shops, bed and breakfasts and restaurants. That I'd seen, my dad had found a really nice place that could be a bed and breakfast but it was ninety grand.. needless to say I don't have that sort of money.. Hell I'm still in school! Dad couldn't even afford it... but if he moved there... it'd be my only reason why I would want to live with him.. that I get to live on the Island.

Ahh, that's too bad. :( I suppose working at a surf shop wouldn't be so bad... XD I wouldn't take it as a permanent career, though.

Ninety grand's not bad! :shock: Places out here are already going for half a mill, which is pretty crazy.

Does your dad plan on moving out there at any point? That'd be a great opportunity for you if you really do want to move out there. ^^ And hey, wouldn't it be cool to open your own B&B? Sure, it'd take a lot of saving after school, but anything's possible with the effort! I think that area would be great for attracting tourists and other visitors.

Like me. I'd go visit Kale. 8)

Yay!! Have one customer without having anything open yet!! :evil: I'm good... *flatters herself*

Wait.... heh.. I had said that wrong I think.. though .. the price I mean.. I think it was more like 900 grand... very close to that anyways.... I'm a little out of it but the place was beautiful.

Oh, okay, yeah, 900 grand is a little bit more. xD *flops*

I've always wanted to get out to a real B&B -- I've lived around dozens of them, but I've never actually been a patron. I'd like to find a nice one someday and just relax there. <3

Maybe yours will be open by the time I'm ready. ;D

I very much doubt it but if it is well... I would need to hire a cook first as well.. or find a husband who could cook great... I don't trust my cooking. I won't even eat it myself even if other people say it's good... I believe they just say that so they don't hurt my feelings.