Jakobo
Introducing the New Report System
And the PM System Overhaul
And the Permissions Rewrite
And Forum Helpers
And Mod Name Restructuring
So much stuff coming out at once! eek Though most of it is on the inside of Gaia, a lot of it affects everyone, so it is well deserving of an announcement post. In fact, so many things have changed that we're going to include images, pictures, and tutorials for using the new features, right here in this post! This series of changes is designed not only to help the moderators of the site be more effective when helping users, but also to empower our users to take action around the site.
<center>~*~*~*~
New Moderator Classes
User Moderation
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New Moderator Class:: GAIA Helpers
We have added a new level of moderator known as the GAIA Helper. These are the users who you should contact regarding threads that are in the wrong forum / subforum. These individuals are capable of moving threads from one forum to another, and are often dedicated to the forums they frequent on a regular basis. Every GAIA Helper will have a moderator on the site who is responsible for their actions. Therefore, if you are in disagreement with the actions of a GAIA Helper it is best to contact a member of the administration team. Please of course, be sure to include any relevant PMs, thread links, and information that would assist us in the matter.
New Moderator Class:: Global GAIA Moderators
Taking over part of the role of our former General Moderators, the Global GAIA Moderators will be working with Abuse and Harassment cases, as well as being leaders for the Gaia Community and the moderating team. These individuals will continue to moderate the site much like before, but will be able to assist users across a variety of forums.
Renamed Moderator:: Omnimoderators
Okay, I won't lie to you, the name just sounded cool, and calling them "Gaia Account Issue Moderators" just didn't sound as interesting. Anyway, Omnimoderators focus on issues with users' accounts, especially when it comes to Hacking and Scamming reports. They will be the moderators who respond when these forms are filled out. They may also be moderators in some forums around the site.
Renamed Moderator:: Dedicated GAIA Moderators
The name change from Dedicated moderator to Dedicated GAIA Moderators reflects the slight reassignment in the moderator's duty on the site. Working with the GAIA Helpers around the site, Dedicated GAIA Moderators help to move threads that are in the wrong forum. Additionally, Dedicated GAIA Moderators are able to handle ToS violations in threads and posts, responding to someone's "Report This Thread/Post" (more on this in a moment). Much like they do now, when a Dedicated GAIA Moderators is free of obligation to their own section of the site, they are capable of moderating around GAIA.
<center>~*~*~*~
Reporting System
ToS Violation Handling
~*~*~*~</center>
Gone are the days of sending PMs directly to mods when you find something that is against the ToS (links, pictures, etc). Instead, the entire site has been equipped with a reporting system. Report links around the site look like the following:
At the bottom of the main forum index:
[Report A Hacking]---------[Report A Scamming]---------[Report Abuse or Harassment]
Inside of a Thread on GAIA:
Inside of Guilds and Journals:
Future expansion of the system will allow for Art Arena and Signature reporting from users.
These links all provide access into the new GAIA Reporting System. The reporting system is reserved for reporting things that are only in violation of the GAIA ToS or a forum's guidelines. Spamming and Abusing the report system will result in being banned from the site. This also includes mules. Upon filling out the form, you will receive a reference number for your report. Keep this number in case you have any problems or concerns with how your report was handled. Additionally, this number uniquely identifies what was reported. Therefore, the same item cannot be reported twice. As a user, we ask you to be as complete and accurate as possible when reporting things, in order to help our moderation team.
<center>~*~*~*~
PM System Overhaul
~*~*~*~</center>
In order to build a robust reporting system, the Private Message System on GAIA needed to be rebuilt as well. The new version is faster, a bit more stable, and fixes some of the annoyances associated with the old system. Additionally, friendslist coloring is now in place, making it easier to find PMs from your friends. Moderators for the site are also appropriately colored, in order to help eliminate confusion and make it more difficult for users of the site to impersonate our staff.
For the curious, the 100% inbox rule will be in effect again, and should be activly trimming any PMs over your Inbox / Savebox limit.
Quoting for PMs is also fixed. Clicking "Post Reply" now also quotes the previous message by default.
Sentbox is self-pruning. There is no need to manage it anymore, as it will be handled by the system. Unfortunately, this means you cannot save messages from your Sentbox into your Savebox anymore. However, all old messages saved in this manner will be preserved.
<center>~*~*~*~
Permission System Overhaul
~*~*~*~</center>
Finally, the permission model on the site has been redesigned in order to make it easier for our site management structure to grow. This has been a slow integration project that started mid December, and should now be complete.
<center>~*~*~*~</center>
Well, that's everything for this update. Please help spread the word and educate our community about the new features and what they mean for the future of the site. Much more stuff is on the way!
And the PM System Overhaul
And the Permissions Rewrite
And Forum Helpers
And Mod Name Restructuring
So much stuff coming out at once! eek Though most of it is on the inside of Gaia, a lot of it affects everyone, so it is well deserving of an announcement post. In fact, so many things have changed that we're going to include images, pictures, and tutorials for using the new features, right here in this post! This series of changes is designed not only to help the moderators of the site be more effective when helping users, but also to empower our users to take action around the site.
<center>~*~*~*~
New Moderator Classes
User Moderation
~*~*~*~</center>
New Moderator Class:: GAIA Helpers
We have added a new level of moderator known as the GAIA Helper. These are the users who you should contact regarding threads that are in the wrong forum / subforum. These individuals are capable of moving threads from one forum to another, and are often dedicated to the forums they frequent on a regular basis. Every GAIA Helper will have a moderator on the site who is responsible for their actions. Therefore, if you are in disagreement with the actions of a GAIA Helper it is best to contact a member of the administration team. Please of course, be sure to include any relevant PMs, thread links, and information that would assist us in the matter.
New Moderator Class:: Global GAIA Moderators
Taking over part of the role of our former General Moderators, the Global GAIA Moderators will be working with Abuse and Harassment cases, as well as being leaders for the Gaia Community and the moderating team. These individuals will continue to moderate the site much like before, but will be able to assist users across a variety of forums.
Renamed Moderator:: Omnimoderators
Okay, I won't lie to you, the name just sounded cool, and calling them "Gaia Account Issue Moderators" just didn't sound as interesting. Anyway, Omnimoderators focus on issues with users' accounts, especially when it comes to Hacking and Scamming reports. They will be the moderators who respond when these forms are filled out. They may also be moderators in some forums around the site.
Renamed Moderator:: Dedicated GAIA Moderators
The name change from Dedicated moderator to Dedicated GAIA Moderators reflects the slight reassignment in the moderator's duty on the site. Working with the GAIA Helpers around the site, Dedicated GAIA Moderators help to move threads that are in the wrong forum. Additionally, Dedicated GAIA Moderators are able to handle ToS violations in threads and posts, responding to someone's "Report This Thread/Post" (more on this in a moment). Much like they do now, when a Dedicated GAIA Moderators is free of obligation to their own section of the site, they are capable of moderating around GAIA.
<center>~*~*~*~
Reporting System
ToS Violation Handling
~*~*~*~</center>
Gone are the days of sending PMs directly to mods when you find something that is against the ToS (links, pictures, etc). Instead, the entire site has been equipped with a reporting system. Report links around the site look like the following:
At the bottom of the main forum index:
[Report A Hacking]---------[Report A Scamming]---------[Report Abuse or Harassment]
Inside of a Thread on GAIA:
Inside of Guilds and Journals:
Future expansion of the system will allow for Art Arena and Signature reporting from users.
These links all provide access into the new GAIA Reporting System. The reporting system is reserved for reporting things that are only in violation of the GAIA ToS or a forum's guidelines. Spamming and Abusing the report system will result in being banned from the site. This also includes mules. Upon filling out the form, you will receive a reference number for your report. Keep this number in case you have any problems or concerns with how your report was handled. Additionally, this number uniquely identifies what was reported. Therefore, the same item cannot be reported twice. As a user, we ask you to be as complete and accurate as possible when reporting things, in order to help our moderation team.
<center>~*~*~*~
PM System Overhaul
~*~*~*~</center>
In order to build a robust reporting system, the Private Message System on GAIA needed to be rebuilt as well. The new version is faster, a bit more stable, and fixes some of the annoyances associated with the old system. Additionally, friendslist coloring is now in place, making it easier to find PMs from your friends. Moderators for the site are also appropriately colored, in order to help eliminate confusion and make it more difficult for users of the site to impersonate our staff.
For the curious, the 100% inbox rule will be in effect again, and should be activly trimming any PMs over your Inbox / Savebox limit.
Quoting for PMs is also fixed. Clicking "Post Reply" now also quotes the previous message by default.
Sentbox is self-pruning. There is no need to manage it anymore, as it will be handled by the system. Unfortunately, this means you cannot save messages from your Sentbox into your Savebox anymore. However, all old messages saved in this manner will be preserved.
<center>~*~*~*~
Permission System Overhaul
~*~*~*~</center>
Finally, the permission model on the site has been redesigned in order to make it easier for our site management structure to grow. This has been a slow integration project that started mid December, and should now be complete.
<center>~*~*~*~</center>
Well, that's everything for this update. Please help spread the word and educate our community about the new features and what they mean for the future of the site. Much more stuff is on the way!
