Forums » Suggestions & Development Discussion » Accolade

Is there an Accolade for bringing things to a moderator/admins attention?

For example sending in an report rather than jumping on a bandwagon of replying to an OP about how they are doing things wrong. Or, alerting to mods that a topic looks to be getting out of hand and someone may need checking up on just in case they feel attacked?

Nope, there are no accolades for this. The common ways to get accolades is by reporting bugs, welcoming newbies on the introduction forum, participating in events (such as the Trick or Treat one and Epic Week) and occasionally contributing to RPR in a special way. Darth_Angelus has received an accolade for his film contribution to RPR's birthday week for example!

Okay, then I submit it as a suggestion on the basis that it's improving the site, and making things flow better. Though, of course, I recognize it's more work for everyone involved; moderators, and addressing/handing out accolades. But if we do it for something as simple as a typo, I don't see why we don't have a well-being accolade.

I don't know, the idea of getting a permanent record on my profile showcasing how I got someone kicked off the site doesn't seem appealing to me. I mean, I see in some cases where it might be alright, like when you give help to a newbie, but is it really something we need? Like, in what scenario would you gain one? What is the cut off point? Because honestly, there are some things I really don't think people want on their profile- something unremovable especially.

I'm not for it because abiding to the rules (no backseat modding/being nice) and utilizing a feature as intended (the report button) is not on the same level as the other reasons for gaining accolades.

I'm not saying reporting content that needs to be reviewed isn't worthwhile, it definitely is. I agree that it makes the community a better place. It also takes almost zero effort to click the report button and have a moderator look at it and deal with it, because the moderator is doing all the work to enforce the rules.

In contrast, reporting bugs takes more time and effort - you have to describe step by step what you did, the error you got, and provide sceenshots because Kim won't always be able to replicate the issue herself. Typos are important to fix because they can create confusion and issues down the line.

Welcoming newbies takes a lot of time and effort, especially if you want the rarer accolades. Lots of people put many hours into being friendly and writing custom messages to each newbie who posts, and that deserves a reward.

Participating in events also takes a lot of time and effort, in the Trick or Treat event for example, people had to consistently continue RPing and participate in a legit way in order to be eligible. Same for Epic Week, we spent an entire week brain storming, coordinating efforts and participating in the event.

And in Darth's case, he spent many months on compiling the footage and getting the film together for that accolade.

Rewarding people for clicking the report button and letting the moderators clean up feels disrespectful to me.

That's also a very good point. I love accolades like nobody's business, but I wouldn't want accolades that say "Sanne helped get bad content removed from the site". With the amount of reports I make, I think people would be very upset with me if that number was expressed in accolades. It would also be easy to start witch hunts. "Hey guys, Sanne got an accolade RIGHT after the mods deleted my post! Let's get her!"

That's no good.

Reports are absolutely important, but I don't think such a form of incentive is necessary and might even be counter productive. It may encourage misuse of the report button in order to try and farm profile rewards, causing even more work for the mods.

All of the reports I've ever sent that have resulted in helping out the site have been responded to with a private thanks, which has always been a pleasant surprise and is personally worth more to me than a public badge.

Since soooooo many people utilizing the report button express concern and sometimes terror that they do not want to be thought of as a snitch or tattle tale or have their identity revealed to the person they reported much less the wider community, this isn't a thing I am likely to ever do.

Rat, I loved this, because you're absolutely right, the personal thank you's are a gem and never have I had such an outpouring of thanks from mods or admins of an rp site before. I save all of them. And I agree wholeheartedly with your point of it being counter productive, and you bring up an excellent point of it perhaps encouraging others to abuse the report button, which would be disastrous.

I also don't think that anyone should need an incentive of 'being nice' or 'to do the right thing'. I hear and I understand all the concerns.

However, acknowledgement & validation is something we all need, so let me try and delve deeper since I tend to explain things poorly. The accolade would not be for 'snitching' or 'cleaning up' the site, but more as a "I saw something happen in the forum, and I would like, if you have time and the means, to check up on the OP because they seemed agitated, and I'm concerned about them'. Think of it a caregiver sort of thing.

However, like everything in the world, it's subjective and we can't please everyone.

Many thanks to all!

As a former moderator for RPG, I'm also against this idea. Helping out the community should be its own incentive. As a person whose seen the chaos of a place without a decent reporting system and absolutely uncaring mods (Aniroleplay), I treat a fairly active staff as a godsend, especially when you're privately thanked for when you do help out the community. RPR has gone miles beyond what both Aniroleplay and RPG have done in their own respective communities, and I firmly believe this is because of Kim's firm dedication to keeping the community a happy and friendly place, as well as the moderators who help her out.

I also agree with Rat and Kim for their own insights into this situation. Giving public rewards in the form of tangible gain would only run the risk of 'witch hunts' on both ends. I fully believe nobody should go out of their way to look for rule breakers/rousers; it isolates and unhealthily targets the community, and assumes the worst of rule breakers/rousers. Conversely, I believe that those that do report should never be discouraged from doing so for fear of backlash.

Getting rewarded for being a tattletale is awful. It'll turn people into targets and give other people incentive to go on witch hunts. If you're intending to breed disdain and distance between the community, this would be a great idea, but that's all it could possibly accomplish.

Also, Kamizombie; don't start posts with "As a former moderator for RPG." It makes you sound full of yourself. It was a terrible site and the owner was an awful person anyway.

This post already ended. It's a dead topic at this point and he already stated that it's not for the sake of pointing out negative users.

Good job calling attention to yourself too, Vill.

Thanks!!

I don't see it as he is sounding full of himself. He's simply saying what he was, so he can accurately say where his experience comes from. But that's just my opinion.

I'm locking this topic as the original point has been addressed, and it now seems to be attracting some off topic drama. To everyone: please don't use our forums to talk about who you think was a terrible person. It is also okay for people to mention jobs or positions they've held in the past, especially if it informs the reader of why they might have the perspective they do on an issue.