Before you begin, please read this journal thoroughly:
http://fav.me/ddvlxcn~~~ R E Q U I R E M E N T S && R U L E S~~~
- Age requirement: at least 20 years old. If you are 18 or 19 years old and feel you are a really good fit for this position, you may still apply, but you will need to try very hard to prove that you are mature enough.
- Can handle tension gracefully. If you feel intense anxiety in uncomfortable situations, this is likely not the position for you, as you may be faced with them frequently.
- Speaks well and is perfectly fluent in English. Other languages are a bonus, but not mandatory whatsoever! If English is not your first language, then you must be able to understand standard idioms and slang, so that you can communicate effectively with native speakers.
- Remains calm under massive amounts of text and very fast-paced conversation with a lot of people involved. You will be monitoring a large, quick chat, possibly full of hundreds or even thousands of people (we will not know the size until we can actually open the group after appointing some more mods). You're only human, we know you can't keep an eye on it 24/7! That's why there is a whole mod team to support each other and handle activity at different hours, trying to cover any timezone discrepancies and picking up whatever slack there is. You all will have each other's backs.
- Is active and attentive. Everyone deserves breaks, we all need occasional hiatuses, random emergencies are expected, and frankly sometimes life gets in the way. We understand that fully and won't hold you to perfection. However, we do expect as much frequent activity as you can provide. Ideally, several hours every day would rock, but that isn't always possible. Maybe you aren't available on weekdays, or inversely maybe you're not available on weekends. Perhaps you're around all morning, or only late at night. What matters is that you have a good chunk of hours to give us during an average week, and that you are able to pay close attention to the bustling chat during that time.
- Can solve conflict diplomatically. For example, there may be a heated discussion regarding differing opinions about Eclipse, and it would need to be immediately defused. This is not the place for debates, even if they're relatively civil. It is a group chat for ArtSpacious! Fun!
- Can gently steer people to the correct journal for feature requests. It is expected that many people will inevitably leak their feature requests, suggestions, complaints, and other such feedback into the group chat. There is no way to avoid this, so we need to try our best to deter them to voice them there instead for the team to go through all in one spot! Rather than making anyone feel attacked or embarrassed, mods need to KINDLY (but firmly) direct them to the correct location for posting feedback, which is our "Feature Requests and FAQ" journal in the ArtSpacious group on DeviantArt. The most important thing is that they understand their feedback will not be seen or recorded if given through improper communication methods. Want to be heard? Post in the journal. All about dat journal.
- Can withstand being constantly barraged by questions that you cannot answer. The site is brand-new and we do not have answers to most questions, and we are not ready to release any specifics, either. You will likely be constantly asked questions you don't know the answer to, or aren't authorized to say because it isn't completely concrete yet. Even if you hear something in private chat, you can't bring that information into public chat without clearance. You will find yourself repeating the same thing over and over, telling person after person the same thing. You will need to be kind, friendly, and patient, and wear a smile even if they are being persistent. It may be frustrating, you may want to pull some hair, but you can always take a step back and privately ask another moderator to take over! You can also report to a manager and have them step in if you are feeling overwhelmed.
- Understands how and when to chastise someone. Ideally, any disciplinary action will be monitored and approved by managers and will occur privately with the user in question, rather than in group chat where others can see. In most scenarios, you will simply delete the offending message(s) and contact the user about it to explain why it was deleted, or have a manager contact them. If you DO contact the user about a problem, you need to know how to word things to avoid embarrassing them or making them feel attacked or accused. In some rare scenarios, things may be more extreme or urgent, so you will need to be prepared to possibly take immediate action or undertake disciplining without management's help if there are truly no alternatives. Always act within your role, though, and do not assume powers you don't rightfully have, unless in extraordinary circumstances. You must be light with the ban button, if given that permission. Being a bit too ban-happy is a great way to drive away our potential members. Try to resolve issues with conversation before resorting to a ban, and only when it is really necessary. Someone whose sole purpose is to troll or spam? Yeah, that's someone to kick out. Someone who got a little too heated for a moment? Hey, we all do it sometimes.
- Represents ArtSpacious in a mature, wholesome way. We want our reputation to be positive and our mission to be well-received. Our very core is that we listen to our members and care about every single person's voice. We must strive to bring that goal directly into how we interact with our discord members. They should feel noticed and appreciated. Put effort into remembering people and building relationships. Think before you speak! Pretend you're sugar. Sweet, sweet sugar.
- Can dismantle any cliques that spring up. Everyone is equal, everyone is welcome! Even a group of best friends should be open and accommodating to strangers. No one should feel left out or overlooked. With a chat as large and fast as ours may potentially grow, we can't keep everyone in the spotlight... People will fall through the cracks. We aren't omnipresent. You are only asked to do your best.
- Can put a stop to inappropriate topics without being too harsh or making things too awkward. Obviously your response can scale to the level of offense. Someone who comes in spouting the N-word and hate language doesn't deserve any diplomacy, just delete, ban, and ask everyone to move on. Inappropriate topics include, but are not limited to (use common sense!):
. . . 1. Explicit content, such as porn or media depicting extreme violence.
. . . 2. Coronavirus. There are 2 very opposing sides on this topic and we do not need to have them fighting. There may be some exceptions if you feel there is no risk for anyone being offended or aggravated by strong opposing views, depending on what a person is saying. Always err on the side of caution, but you can use your judgment, too.
. . . 3. Politics.
. . . 4. Religion.
. . . 5. Controversial hot-trigger topics such as your stance on abortion.
. . . 6. Really extreme cursing. Mild cursing is allowed, but NEVER derogatory terms/slurs, never directed at another person, and never in an aggressive manner.
. . . 7. Any form of racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other form of prejudice or derogatory insinuation whatsoever.
. . . 8. Hating on another site. We need to be careful not to turn the group into a huge anti-Eclipse hate group, and complaining about Eclipse should never occur in the form of threats of violence or other over-the-top hostility. Mourning the potential loss of dA is human and understandable, but it isn't the core purpose of this chat, and we should keep the discussion uplifting and encouraging as much as possible. This is meant to be a positive, supportive place focused on ArtSpacious, not a place to rally our hatred for Eclipse. We also do not need people fighting over their contrasting opinions on Eclipse, whether or not ArtSpacious should even be created, or if we should join ArtRise. In fact, that leads to the next bullet point...
- Can smooth over any mentions of ArtRise. We are not affiliated with them, we will not be collaborating with them no matter how wise other members think it would be, and we are not worried about being confused with them. We are positive there will be 0 legal or copyright issues between the 2 sites. When ArtRising is mentioned, simply steer the conversation away or say we don't want to discuss other sites, or any other vague, diplomatic thing you can say to move to a new topic. But just as much as we do not want to be compared to them or hear about people preferring them, we also don't want anyone trashing them. We don't want a reputation for spreading rumors or talking badly about other people or places. We are different sites, we should leave it at that.
- C-c-c-combo breaker! Trick question time! The very first question ("what is your favorite color?") is a TRICK. Don't answer it with a color! This question has been included to ensure you read all of this information comprehensively. We don't want moderators who can't take the time to read rules. You need to be able to handle reading a lot of text, after all, and if you aren't willing to read all of this info, how can we expect you to be dedicated enough to handle being a mod? Even if you submit an amazing application, should you answer that question wrong and thus prove you didn't read this info, I sadly can't appoint you, because it's a pretty big deal if you skip this. I even made this bullet point rather lengthy so that it's hard to miss. ;) See? Yada-yada-yada, long bullet is now longer. So, what should you put there instead of a color? "Sasquatch." Oh, yeah, I mean it. Put sasquatch. doitnow.
- Is a great team player. You will be working closely with other people and you all need to form your own support network. When one of you needs help, the others should be ready and willing to step in. There shouldn't be power struggles or passive aggression. Gonna go full High School Musical on you right now and say we're all in this together. You may now throw things at me for that reference, preferably soft pillows.
- Can always put their best foot forward, even if there's actually some disagreements going on behind the scenes. Don't openly disagree with other group moderators in chat. Don't publicly undermine each other. Handle it privately, and involve higher staff if needed. We have private channels and managers for a reason! Disagreements are unavoidable, but that doesn't mean there needs to be any disrespect, nor that the members need to be aware of it.
- Respects Group Managers and the established hierarchy. Standard group mods report to group managers and group managers report to the site's administration. If you are hankering for a promotion, come talk with us after you've had some time to prove yourself!
- Displays utmost respect and civility. There is never a permissible time to be rude, angry, openly frustrated, or antagonistic. Even if there is a spammer driving you crazy, simply ban them, delete comments, and move on. Keep it together. Don't feed the trolls and don't engage in someone clearly trying to egg a fight by using hot topics. If you can't keep a pleasant demeanor, you can take a step back and let staff know in the private channels that you are taking a break. Breathe in, breathe out.
- Adapts to the different ways people speak and different methods they need to understand explanations. Not everyone communicates the same way, and you may find yourself rephrasing the same statement repeatedly until you finally figure out what will make sense to someone. Be ready to figure out new ways to word things until something clicks!
- Takes insults in stride. The internet is a mean place and people are quick to criticize and judge a project like this. Be prepared for some gnarly things to be said. All we can do is breathe, have some internal dialogue of our own retorts, and keep going. And possibly delete that crap. Maybe make a straw voodoo doll. Too far?
- Is open-minded and unbiased. You cannot favor your friends and you cannot treat your enemies lesser. If there is someone you have a serious issue with, such as an abusive ex, you can 1) bring it to Ruanly to discuss, and/or 2) avoid that person completely. You do not need to respond to them or handle them, but nor should you treat them negatively, as other members will notice and it will inadvertently harm our reputation for friendly customer service.
~~~ N O T E S ~~~
1. You will not have any administrative powers when you are first appointed. You will first undergo a probationary period for 30 days where we can ensure you are not just a good moderator, but that you are a good fit for our specific team based on how everyone gets along and communicates. Your activity will also be under scrutiny. For any moderation actions, you can post in the private channels asking an authorized moderator or manager to handle the task, such as deleting a comment. Once administration and management feels you are ready, we will inform you and promote you to a full-fledged mod! While the probationary period lasts 30 days, you may be promoted early.
2. There is another group role called "Site Developers" that is separate from "Group Mods." These are not inherently affiliated with site administration or group moderators, they are a role designated for anyone who will participate in any coding, designing, etc. Some developers may also work as regular group mods. Another role, "Beta Testers," does not have any authority in chat and are solely purposed to brainstorm in the private channels and help with the first round of exclusive testing. Mods can also be beta testers, but it is optional.
3. Group mods receive access to our private channels, where a lot of brainstorming occurs. You will be privy to our inner workings and you will have access to voicing your opinion and casting votes when administration makes some decisions. Being a mod gives you a "presence in the conference room." BUT... you don't HAVE to. If you want to monitor chat and leave the brainstorming to everyone else, that is completely your choice.
4. Group mods are purely that: moderators for the discord group. You are not guaranteed a spot as actual site staff once ArtSpacious launches. You are, however, guaranteed a spot as a beta tester IF you wish to help us bug-hunt and test! BUT you are not obligated to be a beta tester. Your only obligation in this position is to watch that group chat and keep it running smoothly. That is it. You got this. <3
5. If you are a mod, make sure you pay attention to which channel you are posting in. We don't need anything accidentally posted into public that was intended to be private! That could be quite an oopsie.
6. If your life, interests, or capacities change, let us know and you can step down, temporarily or permanently. Sometimes things change. We get it.
7. Once you are given access to our private channels, you MUST read the channel description for each before you begin posting in them. Please use our channels for their intended purpose and do not spill topics into the wrong areas. This will keep things organized and allow us to reference things quickly when needed. Descriptions are located on desktop at the very top of the channel's page, next to its title. You have to click them to expand them.
8. Admins should never be tagged in a public channel. If someone's attention is needed, moderators should tag the relevant staff member in the private channels and let them know what is going on through the private channel.
