Staff and Official Middleman changes

Viou posted a very interesting post in the "What has happened and its affect on the future of Sythe" thread. I would just like to make this a formal suggestion, because his points were all extremely good. I already posted some of this in that thread, but again, I just wanted to make this a real suggestion.

Most of us know what staff members/official middlemen have recently been banned or demoted, so please don't name any names. I'd like to keep this thread clean so it can be taken seriously by staff.


Point 1

Requirement to submit a variety of personal information prior to being appointed. Name/phone/address/Facebook for starters.

Other black market communities, such as MMOE (won't say the full name or URL because I don't want to advertise it), have a "verification" system. Where they get a special badge saying "Level 1 Verified" if they link their Facebook account to their forum account, "Level 2 Verified" if they confirm their phone number with the staff, and so on. I don't see what the problem would be with doing this with staff.

Any staff member or official middleman who does not have intentions to scam should have no problem with giving their address, phone number, and other personal information such as photo's of their driver's license or other forms of photo identification to the administration team (or to Sythe himself).

But I think that if someone does give all of their information to staff, then staff will need to take scams that happened by official middlemen or moderators into their own hands and either give out the person's personal information to the scammed member, or take it upon themselves to contact the authorities. There needs to be some form of punishment, banning and rank removal hasn't proven to be the best method.

I also believe that if there is a worse punishment, and if official middlemen and moderators are required to verify all of their personal information, then there would be a lot less scams from them because they might be a little bit scared that they will get in trouble in real life from their Sythe scams.

To add on to the personal information requirement, which I agree with, perhaps the information should be kept in the admin lounge to prevent leaking. Also, a contract like the one Grave uses could be helpful.

This is exactly what I meant. Keep the information in a private place where it can not be leaked, but it can be helpful if anyone scams.


Point 2

Possibly ban amnesty for small past transgressions but will void a staff position offer.

This could work out extremely well too. It would avoid the need for staff decision and polls if a moderator or official middleman scams. When being promoted, an administrator should ask them to come out about anything in the past that they did, and they will not be banned no matter what, but will not be promoted if it was too bad, or maybe given a trade with caution.

That way, if later down the road, they decide to come clean about their past before their promotion, or something is discovered, they're instantly banned with no discussion or poll for lying to staff.

Although this would make it so that anyone can scam and then admit to it if ever promoted and just lose the promotion, I think that it would work well. You should also do this for all current moderators and official middlemen.


Point 3

Allow sectionals to vote on promotions to global moderator. Allow globals to promote on promotions to admin.

This would help by giving more staff members a voice in promotions, so there's more people to run background checks, and chances are much higher to find stuff on the person you're running checks on.


Point 4

Requirement of substantial individual market trading before being made an OMM.

Not really much to say regarding this one. But usually the more a person has been trusted with and/or held in their position, the less likely they will scam (at least any smaller amounts).


Point 5

Voting on OMM expanded to major marketers as they have the most experience trading and can speak more fully on an individual's trading trustworthiness unlike a group of moderator friends who may not fully understand the black-market.

I believe that the entire community should have an input on the official middlemen polls. Like said earlier, the more people that you have doing background checks and such, the more likely you are to find something on the individual.

The only downside to this is that it would turn in to a popularity contest, and people could get their friends to vote for them, or pay people to vote for them.


Point 6

Should be looked at current OMM not allowed to vote on OMM promotions as most have their own interests at heart (Greg- constantly complaining about raising rates for example. More inclined to vote against candidates to avoid increasing competition.

I agree. I remember once when an official middleman was complaining about how there's too many official middlemen, and their fees all get smaller and smaller, increasing the competition.


If anyone wants to add on to any points, or support them, please post here.

 

[x339]

We have to wait and see how things play out, the staff is very busy handling everything and I'm sure they will come to the right conclusion about things. I do support some of these such as providing more personal information. If someone is going to be offered a high position like OMM or mod there is no reason they shouldn't give personal info. Maybe they don't want to give out that info, well to bad, those positions are important and should not be taken lightly. But overall we just have to wait and see how the staff feels these things should be handled.

 

We have to wait and see how things play out, the staff is very busy handling everything and I'm sure they will come to the right conclusion about things. I do support some of these such as providing more personal information. If someone is going to be offered a high position like OMM or mod there is no reason they shouldn't give personal info. Maybe they don't want to give out that info, well to bad, those positions are important and should not be taken lightly. But overall we just have to wait and see how the staff feels these things should be handled.

But as said by many people, the structure and ways of picking staff and official middlemen needs to be changed, this thread will hopefully throw some new ideas out there for the administrators to consider. There's no harm in trying to offer help and advice on how to fix any issues among staff or the community itself.

 

[freakyhair]

A tonne of people on these forums don't want RuneScape mixed with real life, so for point number one, I think it would be unfair, as if Guy A had a very good chance of being promoted, as he was legit ect ect, but did not want RuneScape to mix with real life, however if Guy B also had a good chance at being promoted, but didn't mind RuneScape mix with real life, then he would have a better chance of being promoted..

Sorry, I'm SHIT at explaining things..

 

A tonne of people on these forums don't want RuneScape mixed with real life, so for point number one, I think it would be unfair, as if Guy A had a very good chance of being promoted, as he was legit ect ect, but did not want RuneScape to mix with real life, however if Guy B also had a good chance at being promoted, but didn't mind RuneScape mix with real life, then he would have a better chance of being promoted..

Sorry, I'm SHIT at explaining things..

How does giving out your personal information bring your real life stuff in to your Runescape life? It's not like it'll be public, or they won't be calling you every day or anything.

It's one way to keep Sythe safer from scammers. Besides, you wouldn't have to give it, just don't become a moderator or official middleman.

 

[Sin666]

Point 3:

Allow sectionals to vote on promotions to global moderator. Allow globals to promote on promotions to admin.

Sectionals include the newest staff additions. As it's generally the older sectionals being considered for promotion, their newer colleagues are in the worst position to vote on them. Not to mention, sectionals aren't even afforded the ability to ban; important decisions are trusted with globals, and I believe it is better left as such.

Point 4:

Requirement of substantial individual market trading before being made an OMM.

I'd like to point out that my personal trade history on this site amounts to about 6 pin trades, an account purchase, and an account sale. I don't think that reflects at all on my ability or reputation as an MM.

Point 5:

Voting on OMM expanded to major marketers as they have the most experience trading and can speak more fully on an individual's trading trustworthiness unlike a group of moderator friends who may not fully understand the black-market.

If any market user has a negative experience with a potential OMM, they are welcome to come forward with their complaints to a moderator. This suggestion would not only require identifying who the 'trusted market users' are, but ensuring that they actually care enough to feel accountable for the accuracy of their decisions. Meanwhile, staff, by virtue of voluntarily giving up their own time to mod the site, have already demonstrated an interest in the well-being of the site and community.

Should be looked at current OMM not allowed to vote on OMM promotions as most have their own interests at heart (Greg- constantly complaining about raising rates for example. More inclined to vote against candidates to avoid increasing competition.

Only Staff OMM's' get to vote. Given that Finn, the head of staff, is an MM, it'd be kind of pointless to exclude him. A lot of veteran staff get OMM eventually, and their opinions are possibly the most valuable.

 

[Jemmy]

I agree with people giving in their personal information to be stored safely and only to be used when needed. It should be mandatory so that it will lower the likelihood of scammers; it may not stop them completely but it should lower the number of scammers which is a good thing.

 

... huge wall of text ...

Alright, you just completely owned me. But I still stick to points 1 and 2, which were the ones I really agreed with in the first place (notice the huge wall of text), the other ones were just other points by Viou that I wanted to include for arguments sake.

I agree with people giving in their personal information to be stored safely and only to be used when needed. It should be mandatory so that it will lower the likelihood of scammers; it may not stop them completely but it should lower the number of scammers which is a good thing.

Exactly my point.

 

[szskateman22]

Support point (#)1 for Admins/Moderators only... No real need for OMMs. If the OMMs are problematic it can be brought up with a Mod/Admin and taken care of.

Then again, with all of the recent bannings I think that the Mods/Admins need a lot of help... Possibly "Temp Admin" positions that can lock/unlock posts and bring it up to the highers if deemed necessary? I mean the Temp Admins could help in sections like the Steam Section where no-one has really had a chance to moderate.

Everything else... I can't really say that I support.

 

Support point (#)1 for Admins/Moderators only... No real need for OMMs. If the OMMs are problematic it can be brought up with a Mod/Admin and taken care of.

Then again, with all of the recent bannings I think that the Mods/Admins need a lot of help... Possibly "Temp Admin" positions that can lock/unlock posts and bring it up to the highers if deemed necessary? I mean the Temp Admins could help in sections like the Steam Section where no-one has really had a chance to moderate.

Everything else... I can't really say that I support.

You just described a global moderator... Why would there be a new rank when a global moderator can do all of that?

And why should it not be used for official middlemen too? They're the ones who are trusted with thousands of dollars, not the moderators.

 

[szskateman22]

You just described a global moderator... Why would there be a new rank when a global moderator can do all of that?

And why should it not be used for official middlemen too? They're the ones who are trusted with thousands of dollars, not the moderators.

Why a new rank? Because then the global mods can concentrate on the bans that are necessary and not have to worry about the stupid people that can't read a sticky saying "you need pictures of XXXXX". Besides, there are only 6 moderators (in the Steam channels) and I RARELY see them sticking their heads in! Sengira is the only one that ever really poked his head in but he's busy with school at the moment (and not even a mod anymore).

The point of the temp admin would be:
#1. To see if they are truly worthy of the title.
#2. To help out in the specified section.

and the only permission they have is to LOCK or UNLOCK threads. Nothing else. If it gets abused it gets removed - simple as that... But it would help moderate the forums again, and let the true moderators concentrate on more important matters.

Why not for the middleman? They already have to prove that they are worthy of the title of OMM, plus there are tons of them... You really want to leave all of that information for every single OMM on one page? Even if it's just for admins' eyes it's dangerous. >_<

 

Why a new rank? Because then the global mods can concentrate on the bans that are necessary and not have to worry about the stupid people that can't read a sticky saying "you need pictures of XXXXX".

Why not for the middleman? They already have to prove that they are worthy of the title of OMM, plus there are tons of them... You really want to leave all of that information for every single OMM on one page? Even if it's just for admins' eyes it's dangerous. >_<

.....

The global moderators have their powers for a reason. There are many of them so that they can do what they're supposed to do. They have many responsibilities. Making a new rank and splitting the responsibilities is not the way to go.

They have to prove that they can be legitimate on a few trades, then they're free to scam whatever they want without consequences if they want to (except for a ban). There needs to be something there that they're actually risking other than a Sythe account and rank, like their freedom or reputation in real life.

 

[szskateman22]

.....

The global moderators have their powers for a reason. There are many of them so that they can do what they're supposed to do. They have many responsibilities. Making a new rank and splitting the responsibilities is not the way to go.

They have to prove that they can be legitimate on a few trades, then they're free to scam whatever they want without consequences if they want to (except for a ban). There needs to be something there that they're actually risking other than a Sythe account and rank, like their freedom or reputation in real life.

There are 6 moderators for the steam section. If they are busy dealing with bans or even some that I have never even seen on... How are they supposed to moderate when they're dealing with people that can't read simple instructions. Not to mention that those six mods are all MARKET mods. Meaning they are not only moderating the steam, they are moderating the runescape (everything under runescape), other items, non-virtual items, and digital currencies.

That is a LOT of sections for 6 people (yes they are people too!) to moderate. This means that they have work and eat and be with friends like other normal human beings... At least I hope...

The Steam section is equally as huge as the runescape market and there is a lack of moderation there at all. There are multiple 4 digit accounts that have needed verification recently and no one there to verify them. There are also all the shops that have no pictures that have not been tended to. There are a few of the members that try and keep up, but none of us can actually do anything about the people in question...

 

There are 6 moderators for the steam section. If they are busy dealing with bans or even some that I have never even seen on... How are they supposed to moderate when they're dealing with people that can't read simple instructions. Not to mention that those six mods are all MARKET mods. Meaning they are not only moderating the steam, they are moderating the runescape (everything under runescape), other items, non-virtual items, and digital currencies.

That is a LOT of sections for 6 people (yes they are people too!) to moderate. This means that they have work and eat and be with friends like other normal human beings... At least I hope...

The Steam section is equally as huge as the runescape market and there is a lack of moderation there at all. There are multiple 4 digit accounts that have needed verification recently and no one there to verify them. There are also all the shops that have no pictures that have not been tended to. There are a few of the members that try and keep up, but none of us can actually do anything about the people in question...

6 moderators were demoted this week, give the administration team a break. There will be more hired soon. There is no need for a completely new rank for moderators, what they have now works fine.

Edit: And yes, there may be 6 Steam mods, but there is also 5 global moderators who are all supposed to tend to the Steam section as well, that makes 11. Would be like 17 if the drama that happened this week didn't happen.

 

[szskateman22]

6 moderators were demoted this week, give the administration team a break. There will be more hired soon. There is no need for a completely new rank for moderators, what they have now works fine.

Edit: And yes, there may be 6 Steam mods, but there is also 5 global moderators who are all supposed to tend to the Steam section as well, that makes 11. Would be like 17 if the drama that happened this week didn't happen.

There are not 6 steam mods... that is what I'm saying there are 6 global mods. That's all. No mods specifically for the Steam section... and there should be. >_<

Yes 6 moderators were demoted this week, but there have only been 6 global mods since pretty much I joined... Yes that was only 3 months ago, but that's not the point... As I said previously, Sengira was the only one that was watching and now he is extremely busy... and not even a mod anymore... He is the only one verifying 4 digits or lower as well...

 

There are not 6 steam mods... that is what I'm saying there are 6 global mods. That's all. No mods specifically for the Steam section... and there should be. >_<

Yes 6 moderators were demoted this week, but there have only been 6 global mods since pretty much I joined. As I said previously, Sengira was the only one that was watching and now he is extremely busy... and not even a mod anymore... He is the only one verifying 4 digits or lower as well...

That's why there's a report a post option.

Anyways, this thread is about changes to the way that official middlemen and moderators are promoted, not different ranks or their tasks. If you want to have your voice heard, please create your own thread in the suggestion forum. Although asking for new people to be moderators, or asking for new ranks is on the "do not suggest" list.

 

[szskateman22]

Anyways, this thread is about changes to the way that official middlemen and moderators are promoted, not different ranks or their tasks. If you want to have your voice heard, please create your own thread in the suggestion forum. Although asking for new people to be moderators, or asking for new ranks is on the "do not suggest" list.

True... Sorry about the off-topic outburst. Back to the original subject... I support #1. ^_^

 

I completely support the personal information and the staff voting, being that sin mentioned old school mods should be the only one that vote.

 

[FireZ]

Should be looked at current OMM not allowed to vote on OMM promotions as most have their own interests at heart (Greg- constantly complaining about raising rates for example. More inclined to vote against candidates to avoid increasing competition.

Love Viou to death but this would be a slap in the face to some of us....

 

[Blank]

A tonne of people on these forums don't want RuneScape mixed with real life, so for point number one, I think it would be unfair, as if Guy A had a very good chance of being promoted, as he was legit ect ect, but did not want RuneScape to mix with real life, however if Guy B also had a good chance at being promoted, but didn't mind RuneScape mix with real life, then he would have a better chance of being promoted..

Sorry, I'm SHIT at explaining things..

When joining this community most of the time it is to relate to real life. This for reasons is a lot of people look to sell gold, or make runescape gold to eventually sell on. This is a huge part of the community, check the gold exchange for example. I disagree with this completely, what would be bad about giving your address and personal information? You know it's going to be strictly confidential... If there's no intention to scam then I personally believe it would be a brighter move.