Sandaoguo

[Sandaoguo]

1. Have you previously held the position of administrator on a web forum? If so, when, how long, and for what software?

 

Yes, I have. I was an administrator for an online roleplaying community from 2007-2011ish. I still have admin access, but I'm no longer involved in the community. We used the phpBB forum software, but I also have experience with IP.Board, Vanilla, and the free online forums (Zetaboards, Invisionfree, etc).


2. Do you have knowledge of programming languages?

 

Yes, PHP. I'm self-taught, but I generally know what I'm doing.


3. Do you have experience with HTML, CSS, and or JavaScript?

 

Yes, I have extensive knowledge of all three.


4. Do you have knowledge of IP addresses?

 

Yes, I know what an IP address is and what kind of information one can glean from it.


5. Have you ever been a moderator on our forum or another NS forum? If so, have you had to moderate a difficult situation and what was the outcome?

 

I have never been a moderator here or any other NS-related forum. In my experience as an administrator, I dealt with a lot of difficult situations. It was a very close-knit community, but not everybody liked each other. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to diffuse the situation by remaining level-headed and encouraging people to go towards a constructive conversation. However, I don't share the NS mod team's belief in the power of simply closing topics, since that doesn't actually solve the root problems.


6. What is the most important part of being an administrator on a forum?

 

Trustworthiness and objectivity, for the most part. The entire team has to trust in the decision-making powers of each other. They have to know that whatever decision was made was probably the right decision. However, they have to be objective and appreciate objectivity. For instance, when a decision is overruled, admins shouldn't take it personally if the overruling was done for an objectively understandable reason. The community itself also has to trust that you'll be fair and level-headed. Admins get involved in heated debates, but they shouldn't be shutting down threads when they start losing an argument, for example. Admins have to be able to participate in a discussion as an admin and a community member.

 

7. Will you have a considerable amount of time to dedicate to administrative duties if selected? When are you most free?

 

I'd have the same amount of time that I have to dedicate to my current position. My availability fluctuates, but in the age of smart phones, I'd be able to respond to any serious emergency fairly quickly. I'm most free on weekends (but I do go out at night!) and generally free mid-days.