Regardless of what color font they're using, it still says Moderator right on their profile. It's just not as simple as putting on one hat instead of another
Why not?
Is it really fair to demand that staff and moderators never participate in discussions unless they're doing so as official mouthpieces for DDB? As Davyd said, that will lead to moderators and staff members basically never posting. Is that what people want? 'Community leaders' that never bother engaging with the community?
I see no reason why a mod or staffer can't simply shoot the shit with everybody else when not acting in their official capacity. Presumably they're all DDB users too and would occasionally like to talk about DDB and D&D. Why should they be barred from doing so simply because they sometimes have higher duties than shit-shooting?
Regardless of what color font they're using, it still says Moderator right on their profile. It's just not as simple as putting on one hat instead of another
Why not?
Is it really fair to demand that staff and moderators never participate in discussions unless they're doing so as official mouthpieces for DDB? As Davyd said, that will lead to moderators and staff members basically never posting. Is that what people want? 'Community leaders' that never bother engaging with the community?
I see no reason why a mod or staffer can't simply shoot the shit with everybody else when not acting in their official capacity. Presumably they're all DDB users too and would occasionally like to talk about DDB and D&D. Why should they be barred from doing so simply because they sometimes have higher duties than shit-shooting?
DDB staff should absolutely feel welcome to shoot the shit and post as normal users, but they shouldn't be doing so from their staff accounts. I work for a game dev studio, and every forum post I would ever make from my employee account would have to be vetted by our community team. If I want to be a normal poster, I use my normal poster account. That's how you put on one hat instead of another.
Do y'all really want Secret Gestapo Police posting on alt accounts - which, for the record, are technically against ToS for DDB - just to engage with people? Does that honestly seem like a good idea? Like a way to encourage the site staff to communicate more freely and readily with the community?
Do y'all really want Secret Gestapo Police posting on alt accounts - which, for the record, are technically against ToS for DDB - just to engage with people? Does that honestly seem like a good idea? Like a way to encourage the site staff to communicate more freely and readily with the community?
I agree that this is probably not a good idea. It also wouldn't help with any perception of communication from the DDB team unless their alt accounts were known which would make it the same as posting on their mod/staff accounts anyway.
Huh. It's almost like there's no solution that allows a site employee, and especially a mod, to simply post like a regular user without a whole lot of additional issues, responsibilities and considerations coming into play
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I'm going to agree with Yurei, Sposta, Jay and others that Sedge's response wasn't rude. It was funny. It doesn't matter what colour their name is or what position they have - they're people first, and I prefer seeing the personable, approachable, side of them. I don't mind a little snark especially when it is beyond obvious it's tongue-in-cheek humour and not some attack. Sometimes, it can get a point across far more efficiently.
I also appreciate "mod hat" - using different colour to differentiate the "mod" from the person. A mod note is "take seriously or there'll be repercussions - I'm enforcing rules" and non-mod text is personal opinion from a fellow in the community, enjoying the same hobby and, as Yurei puts it, shooting the shit.
Many mods here are volunteers who are just everyday peeps wanting to help the community here in more active/official capacity. That's it. They should be free to engage in discussions and provide opinions and whatnot in a way that isn't going to be interpreted as "listen to me because I'm a mod". This is their hobby as well, after all.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I'll be quite candid, I would much rather not participate than participate using a second account. It would just feel gross and, as Yurei has said, secret policey, which is not something I feel aligns with the values of D&D Beyond.
Also I feel it'd be directly harmful to the relationship the moderation team tries to cultivate with the community, if you suspected that other users might be mods in disguise.
Nah, that doesn't sit well with me and I think I'd rather give up participating, as much as that'd hurt me, than use an option like that.
I would hope it would be possible for a compromise to be reached and the mod hat on/mod hat off model be acceptable, but that seems not to be the case either. And thus we reach an impasse.
Huh. It's almost like there's no solution that allows a site employee, and especially a mod, to simply post like a regular user without a whole lot of additional issues, responsibilities and considerations coming into play
But, there is.
As Davyd mentioned:
Normal text = personal
Orange/Red = mod mode
-
Why is this difficult? Seems straightforward to me.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Huh. It's almost like there's no solution that allows a site employee, and especially a mod, to simply post like a regular user without a whole lot of additional issues, responsibilities and considerations coming into play
But, there is.
As Davyd mentioned:
Normal text = personal
Orange/Red = mod mode
-
Why is this difficult? Seems straightforward to me.
Obviously it's not, since we have multiple examples of mods and staff in this very thread talking about how their slightly flippant or snarky posts became Reddit fodder or were otherwise misconstrued when they really meant no harm and just wanted to be like a normal member of the community
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I would hope it would be possible for a compromise to be reached and the mod hat on/mod hat off model be acceptable, but that seems not to be the case either. And thus we reach an impasse.
Personally, I think the "mod hat" technique works fine. But I can see why people can't help but treat mods differently. It's not "secret police," but it does feel a little "public police." And people who are aware of your status as a mod might not be able help themselves in expecting insider info in your hangouts.
Do y'all really want Secret Gestapo Police posting on alt accounts - which, for the record, are technically against ToS for DDB - just to engage with people? Does that honestly seem like a good idea? Like a way to encourage the site staff to communicate more freely and readily with the community?
I'll be quite candid, I would much rather not participate than participate using a second account. It would just feel gross and, as Yurei has said, secret policey, which is not something I feel aligns with the values of D&D Beyond.
First of all, moderators are community members first, and as such are in a category that deserves special consideration.
But second of all, what?!?! What on earth are you talking about? What consequences do you imagine could come of this "secret police" nonsense, and is the DDB community really so damaged that those consequences are even remotely realistic? Please, explain this to me, because I cannot see this comparison as anything other than utterly unhinged.
Do y'all really want Secret Gestapo Police posting on alt accounts - which, for the record, are technically against ToS for DDB - just to engage with people? Does that honestly seem like a good idea? Like a way to encourage the site staff to communicate more freely and readily with the community?
I agree that this is probably not a good idea. It also wouldn't help with any perception of communication from the DDB team unless their alt accounts were known which would make it the same as posting on their mod/staff accounts anyway.
That would 100% end up being bad, eventually folks would learn about it, and then anyone might be one and someone can post bad info on purpose just to stir shit up that is something that no forum needs to happen ever.
I have an identity that I've developed on the forums, and relationships from that identity. Part of that is me becoming a moderator. Using an alternate account to avoid that would feel duplicitous and not in line with one of the core talking points about transparency.
I think it's a personal thing, I want to participate on this forum as me, which ideally includes being able to take off and on my mod hat where appropriate. If that's not possible, using an alternate account just didn't feel right.
Do y'all really want Secret Gestapo Police posting on alt accounts - which, for the record, are technically against ToS for DDB - just to engage with people? Does that honestly seem like a good idea? Like a way to encourage the site staff to communicate more freely and readily with the community?
I agree that this is probably not a good idea. It also wouldn't help with any perception of communication from the DDB team unless their alt accounts were known which would make it the same as posting on their mod/staff accounts anyway.
That would 100% end up being bad, eventually folks would learn about it, and then anyone might be one and someone can post bad info on purpose just to stir shit up that is something that no forum needs to happen ever.
Not letting employees post casually to the forums from their employee accounts is something every company with half-way decent community management already does. This is like... extremely basic PR stuff, and I'm legitimately shocked that anyone is even questioning it, let alone tossing around honestly kind of inappropriate Gestapo comparisons.
I have an identity that I've developed on the forums, and relationships from that identity. Part of that is me becoming a moderator. Using an alternate account to avoid that would feel duplicitous and not in line with one of the core talking points about transparency.
I think it's a personal thing, I want to participate on this forum as me, which ideally includes being able to take off and on my mod hat where appropriate. If that's not possible, using an alternate account just didn't feel right.
Like I said, I'm speaking about employees, not community volunteers. That said, while I understand your reservations and that feeling of duplicity (even if I don't agree), but it is a far cry from that to "secret police," which has some very specific connotations.
I appreciate that the analogy might be overly hyperbolic, but the core notion is the idea that it's not healthy for a community to be suspicious of who they're interacting with, especially when it comes to the moderation team.
And "every company with halfway decent community management" tends to be known for extremely insular development cadres that never bother talking to their community, answering questions, or engaging with people outside of carefully curated Corporate Speeches that nobody wants and which never accomplish a single worthwhile damn thing.
I've been in a few communities where devs are able to freely post on their dev accounts whenever they feel like it, without necessarily needing to have their words vetted, edited, and corporatized to a degree that makes them completely unpalatable to the average user. Hell, path of Exile's Chris Wilson - the head/CEO of the company - was famously asked by a streamer "would you rather have your nipples be the size and shape of your p@#$s, or your p@#$ be the size and shape of your nipples?" He even answered the question. Each method has its ups and downs, but lemme tell ye - I enjoyed being in the communities where the devs could post without being sanitized first noticeably more.
Put me strongly in the Mod Hat nonMod Hat interaction letting mods and employees being able to have a post in the forum. The rules for interaction should be the same for both Mods, employees and customers. It seems unlikely that any of the mods and employees aren't fans of DnD and RPG's and probably DnDBeyond itself
1. Be polite and respectful to the other forum members. This doesn't mean never being slightly sardonic or sarcastic in a post.
If we want mods feel free to post when they don't have their "hat" on we have to support them on that. When they are called out when the post support that they are allowed to do that. Even if its not a perfectly worded statement. Please note I'm not saying support everything. If we think their in the wrong we mention it but honestly I haven't had any interactions with any mods that would go on a discriminatory rant. They are overwhelmingly polite.
I'll be honest I think it would do the community good to have discussions with people who love the site enough to be a mod to be involved in the conversations but the employees and mods aren't the ones that can give them freedom its us as forum posters. I'm on a forum that the employees post on all the time sometimes they make a joke. They are polite but they get into the discussions and it works well but its an old community standard.
And "every company with halfway decent community management" tends to be known for extremely insular development cadres that never bother talking to their community, answering questions, or engaging with people outside of carefully curated Corporate Speeches that nobody wants and which never accomplish a single worthwhile damn thing.
I've been in a few communities where devs are able to freely post on their dev accounts whenever they feel like it, without necessarily needing to have their words vetted, edited, and corporatized to a degree that makes them completely unpalatable to the average user. Hell, path of Exile's Chris Wilson - the head/CEO of the company - was famously asked by a streamer "would you rather have your nipples be the size and shape of your p@#$s, or your p@#$ be the size and shape of your nipples?" He even answered the question. Each method has its ups and downs, but lemme tell ye - I enjoyed being in the communities where the devs could post without being sanitized first noticeably more.
First of all, that sounds like a horror story. Community management exists to protect people from that kind of grossly inappropriate behavior.
That said, Path of Exile is made by a small studio with a small audience where a bit more personal interaction is manageable. Back in the late 90s/early 2000s, when I was posting on the BioWare and Bethesda forums, there was a lot of real dev interaction, and that stopped being possible when both of those companies got too big. And the transition was painful! I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't suck as a user when you used to have access and now you don't. But having been on both sides of that situation, lemme tell ye, these rules are in place for very good reasons.
Mod hat overtly back on: while this line of discussion still tentatively falls under the scope of the threads topic (specifically D&D Beyond's approach to, and improvement of, communication) I will reiterate what I said earlier. Anything pertaining to D&D Beyond's moderation policy is something that should be discussed in its own thread.
As it stands, this still does fall on topic, but just a heads up in case things start to drift.
Why not?
Is it really fair to demand that staff and moderators never participate in discussions unless they're doing so as official mouthpieces for DDB? As Davyd said, that will lead to moderators and staff members basically never posting. Is that what people want? 'Community leaders' that never bother engaging with the community?
I see no reason why a mod or staffer can't simply shoot the shit with everybody else when not acting in their official capacity. Presumably they're all DDB users too and would occasionally like to talk about DDB and D&D. Why should they be barred from doing so simply because they sometimes have higher duties than shit-shooting?
Please do not contact or message me.
DDB staff should absolutely feel welcome to shoot the shit and post as normal users, but they shouldn't be doing so from their staff accounts. I work for a game dev studio, and every forum post I would ever make from my employee account would have to be vetted by our community team. If I want to be a normal poster, I use my normal poster account. That's how you put on one hat instead of another.
Do y'all really want Secret Gestapo Police posting on alt accounts - which, for the record, are technically against ToS for DDB - just to engage with people? Does that honestly seem like a good idea? Like a way to encourage the site staff to communicate more freely and readily with the community?
Please do not contact or message me.
I agree that this is probably not a good idea. It also wouldn't help with any perception of communication from the DDB team unless their alt accounts were known which would make it the same as posting on their mod/staff accounts anyway.
Huh. It's almost like there's no solution that allows a site employee, and especially a mod, to simply post like a regular user without a whole lot of additional issues, responsibilities and considerations coming into play
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I'm going to agree with Yurei, Sposta, Jay and others that Sedge's response wasn't rude. It was funny. It doesn't matter what colour their name is or what position they have - they're people first, and I prefer seeing the personable, approachable, side of them. I don't mind a little snark especially when it is beyond obvious it's tongue-in-cheek humour and not some attack. Sometimes, it can get a point across far more efficiently.
I also appreciate "mod hat" - using different colour to differentiate the "mod" from the person. A mod note is "take seriously or there'll be repercussions - I'm enforcing rules" and non-mod text is personal opinion from a fellow in the community, enjoying the same hobby and, as Yurei puts it, shooting the shit.
Many mods here are volunteers who are just everyday peeps wanting to help the community here in more active/official capacity. That's it. They should be free to engage in discussions and provide opinions and whatnot in a way that isn't going to be interpreted as "listen to me because I'm a mod". This is their hobby as well, after all.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I'll be quite candid, I would much rather not participate than participate using a second account. It would just feel gross and, as Yurei has said, secret policey, which is not something I feel aligns with the values of D&D Beyond.
Also I feel it'd be directly harmful to the relationship the moderation team tries to cultivate with the community, if you suspected that other users might be mods in disguise.
Nah, that doesn't sit well with me and I think I'd rather give up participating, as much as that'd hurt me, than use an option like that.
I would hope it would be possible for a compromise to be reached and the mod hat on/mod hat off model be acceptable, but that seems not to be the case either. And thus we reach an impasse.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
But, there is.
As Davyd mentioned:
Normal text = personal
Orange/Red = mod mode
-
Why is this difficult? Seems straightforward to me.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Obviously it's not, since we have multiple examples of mods and staff in this very thread talking about how their slightly flippant or snarky posts became Reddit fodder or were otherwise misconstrued when they really meant no harm and just wanted to be like a normal member of the community
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Personally, I think the "mod hat" technique works fine. But I can see why people can't help but treat mods differently. It's not "secret police," but it does feel a little "public police." And people who are aware of your status as a mod might not be able help themselves in expecting insider info in your hangouts.
First of all, moderators are community members first, and as such are in a category that deserves special consideration.
But second of all, what?!?! What on earth are you talking about? What consequences do you imagine could come of this "secret police" nonsense, and is the DDB community really so damaged that those consequences are even remotely realistic? Please, explain this to me, because I cannot see this comparison as anything other than utterly unhinged.
That would 100% end up being bad, eventually folks would learn about it, and then anyone might be one and someone can post bad info on purpose just to stir shit up that is something that no forum needs to happen ever.
I have an identity that I've developed on the forums, and relationships from that identity. Part of that is me becoming a moderator. Using an alternate account to avoid that would feel duplicitous and not in line with one of the core talking points about transparency.
I think it's a personal thing, I want to participate on this forum as me, which ideally includes being able to take off and on my mod hat where appropriate. If that's not possible, using an alternate account just didn't feel right.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Not letting employees post casually to the forums from their employee accounts is something every company with half-way decent community management already does. This is like... extremely basic PR stuff, and I'm legitimately shocked that anyone is even questioning it, let alone tossing around honestly kind of inappropriate Gestapo comparisons.
Like I said, I'm speaking about employees, not community volunteers. That said, while I understand your reservations and that feeling of duplicity (even if I don't agree), but it is a far cry from that to "secret police," which has some very specific connotations.
I appreciate that the analogy might be overly hyperbolic, but the core notion is the idea that it's not healthy for a community to be suspicious of who they're interacting with, especially when it comes to the moderation team.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
And "every company with halfway decent community management" tends to be known for extremely insular development cadres that never bother talking to their community, answering questions, or engaging with people outside of carefully curated Corporate Speeches that nobody wants and which never accomplish a single worthwhile damn thing.
I've been in a few communities where devs are able to freely post on their dev accounts whenever they feel like it, without necessarily needing to have their words vetted, edited, and corporatized to a degree that makes them completely unpalatable to the average user. Hell, path of Exile's Chris Wilson - the head/CEO of the company - was famously asked by a streamer "would you rather have your nipples be the size and shape of your p@#$s, or your p@#$ be the size and shape of your nipples?" He even answered the question. Each method has its ups and downs, but lemme tell ye - I enjoyed being in the communities where the devs could post without being sanitized first noticeably more.
Please do not contact or message me.
Put me strongly in the Mod Hat nonMod Hat interaction letting mods and employees being able to have a post in the forum. The rules for interaction should be the same for both Mods, employees and customers. It seems unlikely that any of the mods and employees aren't fans of DnD and RPG's and probably DnDBeyond itself
1. Be polite and respectful to the other forum members. This doesn't mean never being slightly sardonic or sarcastic in a post.
If we want mods feel free to post when they don't have their "hat" on we have to support them on that. When they are called out when the post support that they are allowed to do that. Even if its not a perfectly worded statement. Please note I'm not saying support everything. If we think their in the wrong we mention it but honestly I haven't had any interactions with any mods that would go on a discriminatory rant. They are overwhelmingly polite.
I'll be honest I think it would do the community good to have discussions with people who love the site enough to be a mod to be involved in the conversations but the employees and mods aren't the ones that can give them freedom its us as forum posters. I'm on a forum that the employees post on all the time sometimes they make a joke. They are polite but they get into the discussions and it works well but its an old community standard.
First of all, that sounds like a horror story. Community management exists to protect people from that kind of grossly inappropriate behavior.
That said, Path of Exile is made by a small studio with a small audience where a bit more personal interaction is manageable. Back in the late 90s/early 2000s, when I was posting on the BioWare and Bethesda forums, there was a lot of real dev interaction, and that stopped being possible when both of those companies got too big. And the transition was painful! I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't suck as a user when you used to have access and now you don't. But having been on both sides of that situation, lemme tell ye, these rules are in place for very good reasons.
Mod hat overtly back on: while this line of discussion still tentatively falls under the scope of the threads topic (specifically D&D Beyond's approach to, and improvement of, communication) I will reiterate what I said earlier. Anything pertaining to D&D Beyond's moderation policy is something that should be discussed in its own thread.
As it stands, this still does fall on topic, but just a heads up in case things start to drift.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here