Post by Nixeon on Jul 12, 2020 14:34:58 GMT -8
Which sucks
You ask the mods to do a lot and you're experiencing a high rate of mod turnover — at this point it's time to re-evaluate the entire process, rather than where to find people to continue on. You're putting the strain of keeping the game going solely on your mods' shoulders, rather than splitting the balance between your members and your staff. Quite simply put, your problem isn't dedication; it's burnout, and not because people take on "too much" but because you have a system that allows for it.
My recommendation would be to:
1. discuss internally amongst your core staff (admins, any global mods) about what the team has observed is the biggest stumbling block for mods in terms of their tasks. If you have some mods that do the above tasks, speak with them separately about the challenges they face around their responsibilities, like time spent online vs. off, how they felt about the role when joining versus now, where they feel the process isn't great, etc.
2. once you identify the problem areas—and be REALLY honest with yourselves about it, don't fall into the "well I like it, so it's fine" trap!—approach your members with a frank admission of the problem [this is the problem. we are exploring solutions] and ask for their opinion on what potential alternatives they might enjoy.
3. after enough people have replied (depending on forum size i'd say 25-50% of users) reconvene with your team and see which of the ideas are most appealing to you that balance the needs you have as game runners versus the wants and needs the players have.
4. trial run the new system in a specific section of the RP and ask for volunteers from the community and a couple of your current mods. Get feedback, refine, etc. If not great, and feedback is "back to the drawing board" do so! You should have several suggestions from both groups at this point.
Unfortunately beyond step 4 is nebulous. You may have to iterate repeatedly to try and find what works best for your community, and you may need to keep adjusting as you grow and as your audience shifts. I will have to say, even for a pokemon site (I love pokemon. I've played every game since blue/red came out in the states in '98) I would really hate to be a mod on your team from your description and I have an entire teenage person's worth of experience running a game.
The quickly becomes do we change everything that makes our site different, popular and has lasted as logg as it has on a few core members again and again... Or do we just change it all to make everyone happy and give everything they want... Making us every other pokemon site and killing off the core members who always last and return?
