Ltfairy

Sadly, breaking the rules is breaking the rules. You have to "face the music". Maybe take a short break from RS, and come back and turn over a new leaf?

I would report anyone who breaks the rules, whether it's a friend or not. I wouldn't want my friend to continue his/her mistake and get over with it. It's not good for him/her, and I wouldn't feel good about letting him/her off either.

Of course, isn't that common sense?

Wasn't it a rule not to say in public you're a player mod? Yes, it's a rule for the RSOF, not a rule on fansites. Please don't confuse yourself. Bla bla bla. Nice words but no sence in them. I saw some player mods with a game intelligence of a carrot, if you want to become a quick player mod all you have to do is report some autoers/scammers and you're it. I never reported an autoer, scammer etc. in RS2, and look, I'm not a player mod. I follow the rules, I never had black marks and I play since 2001. Also, my friend, same thing. Player mod doesn't has a [cabbage] to do with how you act, it's just about having no black marks (or almost no) and report like a freak. You said "I saw some player mods with a game intelligence of a carrot", would you kindly give an example please? Because I have a feeling that you are exaggerating what you say. I have to tell you this, I NEVER EVER spent my time in game just to report macroers/autoers/scammers before I was a mod. I don't go hunting for rule-breakers either. I report as and when I SEE them. Yah, you may not have black marks, you might not have broken the rules. But does that necessarily make you a suitable player mod? No. I know that many players are following the rules, but I also know that many of these players are not mature enough for the role, neither do they have the right attitude for the role. A player may follow the rules well, but does that mean they are mature in their thinking? A player may follow the rules well, but does that mean they can control their emotions well? A player may follow the rules well, but does that mean they have good judgement? A player may follow the rules, but does that mean they want to become a player mod for the RIGHT reasons? Following the rules is just NOT enough, it's an important aspect yes, but it's not the only aspect. Let me just add another point here. A player is chosen to be a mod for being responsible. It's not just being responsible in following the rules, it's also being responsible for your items and account security. I start to believe you really think JAGeX follows up the player mods closely. How many would there be, about 3-5K player mods? YOU tell ME (to use capitals myself now) HOW ON EARTH JAGeX would manage to follow you guys up closely if they can't even have a decent costumer support. First, let me tell you, all our reports and mutes are reviewed by Jagex Staff. It's a fact, whether you want to believe it or not. I can't tell you the exact information since it's confidential, but Jagex does monitor every player moderator using various methods. While they may not be able to do it fast enough, they will be able to do it without any hindrance. Believe me, Jagex Staff are much more capable at such jobs than you really think. This is crap. Why not have the crown be removed? Without crowns everybody could say he's a player mod. OH DEAR HOW DANGEROUS. If you fall for that you shouldn't play the game. Make player mods without a crown, let them hand in a montly essay about what their views are and I think many of the "white-crown horny" bunch will soonly retire. So you're saying that a player should not play the game if they are not careful? While it is their fault, but is it right to deny their right to play the game totally? You don't know and won't know how dangerous it can be, so don't underestimate it. "White crown horny"? How many player mods are like that? It seems to me that you are implying that majority of them are corrupt, which is totally incorrect. You don't have to worry, those player mods who are corrupt will have their status removed in no time, and they are in no way tolerated when they do so. Nice political talk, but I know one thing. You like that white crown, so do I, but atleast I admit it. It's nice to be one, but again the crown makes it very attractive for people who only wanna do it for it. You may like the crown now, but when you really become a mod, you would think otherwise. Seriously, the amount of abuse I face because of the crown outweighs the good that it brings by a lot. What I said above is NOT a political talk, it's my personal opinions from my experience as a player mod. It's up to you to believe it, but I can say this, my conscience is clear.

Let me make another point here on why moderator status is a hindrance to gameplay. I shan't repeat on the answering questions and negative attention part, but I shall say that being a moderator means that I would have to give up some of my privileges (like freedom) in order to fulfill my role well. Why do I say that? Because player mods have guidelines to follow, and on top of that, they have to face expectations from Jagex AND the community. "Player Mods are supposed to help me when I ask them to. Player Mods are supposed to be polite no matter what. Player Mods are supposed to deal with rule-breakers. Player Mods are supposed to have good experience of the game. Player Mods are supposed to use good grammar and english. Player Mods are..." The list of expectations just goes on. Seriously, how would YOU feel when you have to live up to all these standards set by the community? Besides, some expectations are totally unfair to player moderators. The strange thing is, players have so many expectations for player moderators, and most of the time, they cannot even meet these standards themselves. Is it fair to expect so much from a fellow human being, who is no different than you are? Aren't moderators humans as well, so how is a player moderator different from a player when they are BOTH humans? TBH, I think that some of the expectations from the players are way too much, it's not fair to the player moderators, neither is it something that a normal human being can do.

I'm a player moderator as well, and I have to say, your suggestion on choosing player moderators would only cause more harm than good for the player moderator team. When a player moderator has a friend on his/her list, the player mod can never be sure whether the player is really like how he/she behaves. I have that experience myself. I have some friends who behave perfectly mature and well when they are talking to me, but when I see them talk to their non-mod friends, they are totally different. In fact, I was shocked to know that these friends (who are perfectly well-behaved in front of me) have black marks and offences on their accounts. Not only that, their attitude towards their non-mod friends just show how immature they are, and shows that they have total disregard for the rules. Is it then right for me to recommend them to Jagex if they seem to be alright for player moderation (because of how they behave in front of me)? Trust me, there are many players who behave differently when they have a mod on their list, but when there is no mod around, they behave like jerks. How can player moderators then recommend the right people to be mods? Seriously, Jagex have a much more reliable way in choosing mods than player mods do, just let Jagex do the job. Again, I have to stress that Player Moderators are NOT chosen for their stats or levels in game. Because their character and attitude are much much much more important than anything else. We don't want player mods who have high stats but cannot even follow the rules. We want players who show genuine concern for the community and have the maturity (not acted out maturity) and self-discipline as player mods. If you are lazy, immature, boastful, irresponsible, and cannot control your emotions well, then you are NOT in any way suitable for this role. Lastly, you are totally wrong in saying that Jagex Mods don't play the game. From the knowledge base, it clearly says that many Jagex Mods do have normal accounts that they play on, so it's not valid to say that they don't know more than the players do about the community.

WHAT'S with THOSE big words YOU keep USING? you can type normally you know. I capitalise to stress on these words, please pardon me.

As a player moderator myself, let me clarify some things first. Firstly, player moderators are NOT chosen for their stats and experience for the game. But they do need to know the rules WELL, and follow and abide by them all the time. You can always learn about Runescape when you play the game, but following the rules is not something that can be learnt. Some players may know the rules well, but if they decide not to follow it, they won't be chosen as a mod, no matter how GOOD they are at skilling and bringing up their stats. Secondly, player moderators have strict guidelines to follow, and their mutes and reports are in accordance to that guideline. I can understand why players don't know why moderators take certain actions, but please remember, ALL player moderator actions are closely monitored by Jagex Staff, and any wrong actions will NOT have any consequence on the player reported. If a player moderator starts abusing his/her powers, they WILL be removed in no time. If you are muted and got a black mark as a result, most likely you DID do something against the rules, although you may not realise it. Thirdly, player moderators' crowns are NOT a sign of power or authority. They are there to help players recognise the individual player moderator and get the help they need. The crown cannot be removed, as it can allow scammers to impersonate player moderators, and no one can tell whether or not one is a player mod or just a scammer trying to cause trouble by impersonating as a player mod. Sadly, many players do see it as a symbol of authority, honour, fame. These players often want this role for the muting ability and tools, and are certainly wanting it for the WRONG reasons. Most likely, those players who want it for the power will NOT hold their position for long before they start abusing it. Fourthly, being a player moderator is NOT an honor, not a way to gain respect or fame. Yes, it's no doubt that player moderators are respected, but what are they respected for? Their position or their character? If you respect them for their silver crown and so called "powers", then you are TOTALLY WRONG. "With power comes responsibility", a player moderator is a RESPONSIBILITY, NOT a position to boast about. Many players don't realise that player moderators have to give up lots of other things for their position. They think that this role will only allow them to GAIN, but they don't know that they will have to GIVE UP other privileges for it as well. Fifth, a RULE IS a RULE. Joking about the rules is IN NO WAY tolerated. I don't know how many times I have to say this, but many players just don't seem to know that the rules are NOT there for fun, and certainly NOT for you to joke about. Runescape IS a game, but it is a game played by REAL LIFE PEOPLE, NOT robots. When there are real life people, RULES/LAWS are needed for the community to survive. What I find interesting is that most players have a good level of expectations for player moderators, but they can't behave the same way they expect player moderators to behave. Is it right to set standards for others when you can't even MEET these standards yourself? I think it's not fair, and it's not right. If you want others to behave in a certain way, YOU should set an example first.

That's not true at all. I've seen many player mods, and most of them are awesome people. Maybe you just haven't taken enough notice. Also, player mods are also players, they can also have a bad day in real life. It's not a big shock if you see them in a bad mood and not acting as they should.

We can see, but it's confidential. So none of us is allowed to reveal the list.

But the problem here is, not all players report responsibly. What could be the result of this? More important offences get neglected (not reported), and scammers can continue scamming even if they were reported. (only until reports against them are reviewed and actioned, which can take a large amount of time) With mods to mute these serious offenders, other players will remain safe from harm, even if the reports are not actioned in time. Player mods do *not* receive priority in trades, but their messages do show all the time. But there is a reason, it's to allow players to hear them in case of emergencies. Take the Falador Massacre for example, if player mods' messages do not show up all the time at that point of time, who could really read what the player mods are saying among all the spamming and such? In true fact, the player mods were trying to guide the players in banking their valuables, it is necessary, in this case, for players to see what the mods are saying, so they can get the help they need. However, I don't see how player mod chats can hinder normal trading. Yes, it's obviously more conspicuous among the other texts, but it does not mean they would have a higher chance of doing their trades successfully. Take me for example, I usually trade cuts for uncuts so as to train crafting. But it takes me days to even get the amount of uncuts I need. Did my crown improve my trading conditions and allow me to get what I want faster? No. If I want something that no one else has (at the point of time that I am trading), I would not get it, whether or not I have the crown. Also, as a player mod, I realise that it actually hinders me in trading. Whenever I reveal my crown while trading, I'm bombarded by questions. In the end, I end up answering questions instead of trading. How is my crown a benefit to me in trading then? Yah, Jagex could hire more staff, but it takes time. By the time Jagex hires another 100 staff, there would already be much more offenders. It's much harder and time consuming to hire a Jagex Staff than to hand pick a player mod, and the result may not be efficient at all. Again, what benefits do we receive other than the muting power and priority reports? Aren't you exaggerating by saying "far more benefits"? Lastly, player mods are educators. We educate players on the rules, and some of us even educate them regarding real life issues. Players listen to us when we talk, and I feel that our education can help them in some way or the other. Of course normal players can function the same way, and I feel personally players are doing just as much as we are doing for the community. But we don't receive any benefits that ultimately benefit ourselves. Our crown doesn't benefit us, but only attracts unwanted attention at times. Our muting powers don't really benefit us, but benefits the players and protect them from offenders who destroy the game. Our priority reports don't benefit us either as they just allow Jagex to deal with rule-breakers more efficiently, which in turn benefits the Runescape community. So, do we receive any benefits? If you were to really consider it, you would realise that we don't.

Sorry, double post. :S

With that little silver crown next to your name, do you get more good attention or bad attention? I would say more bad attention. I have met with lots of players who just wants to annoy me, or pesters me to be their girlfriend. Some even accused me as a hacker, when they have no evidence at all. :| Does getting that crown corrupt some people? Does it make them "power-hungry" and/or abuse their powers? Yes, for some moderators, the status can make them corrupt. But the good thing is, they would be removed swiftly. I think the most important thing you have to consider before becoming a mod is, are you for the power or for your eagerness to help the community? If you are after the crown and the modding powers, you should never think of becoming a mod. If your intentions is just to have the powers, you would not be able to hold on to it for long. So the question is, does being a Moderator in game overall hinder or ease your gaming experience? It hinders in some ways, while it helps in others. To me, a worthy gaming experience is not just about levels and making money, but also about contributing to the community. (By helping others in other words) While being a mod has hindered me from leveling at times, it did allow me to contribute more to the community. So, I think it's all a worthy choice. \ The reason is simple, not all players know how to report, or what to report, or what are more serious offences that need to be reported at once. I have talked with some players before, and some don't even know there was a "report" button. By having player mods who can mute, they can control the amount of damage rule-breakers do to the community and the game. By having priority reports and communicating with the staff members, Jagex get to know more about the situations in game, and what needs their attention the most. Player mods are basically the representatives of the community, who can allow Jagex to know more about the community and its changes, at the same time, helping Jagex with handling rule-breakers. They are responsible players, who knows what is right and wrong, and have the self control to not abuse their modding powers. But they are still humans, they can get tempted and they do make mistakes. It's not right to say "All player mods are power abusers and arrogant people" just because a few are.

and I'm sure you have read the rules and understand that it is illegal to say you are a mod on forums..... right? If not, try reading them for a change. I believe that is only the case for Runescape official forums, not a fansite forum. Don't confuse yourself here.

While there can be guesses about the number of player mods, no one can be entirely sure about the exact amount. Thus, I don't see the point of this discussion anymore. Besides, it only encourages player mods to leak confidential information, which is something I would not like to see as a fellow player mod.