Problems with the Queues

[Errantparabola]

I think that something to consider (not just queue-side, but site-wide) is that from my experience, there are a lot of moving parts and things that get discussed, and some policies/structures that are actively outdated or undesirable get buried in the mix.

I would point out this thread as a fantastic example of engagement with the community, transparency, and caring about the site going in the right direction.

This is a good thing to bring up, and it seems like a lot of people agree that it's a good idea that would help with the aforementioned issue.

I think that one of the most enduring issues that people have with the moderation team is transparency. A thread like this could also serve as a visible and open feedback pipeline which could potentially be helpful.

Automated sign ups is the only thing that will fix the queue issues (or I guess one could argue more reliable listmods... But I don't think people should expect someone to spend every day doing their job and listmodding)

Grain of salt, etc. because I don't know the ins and outs of what listmodding actually entails, but perhaps something to think about rather than automated signups would be something to make it more visible when a game has been filled to the mod (perhaps there can be some structure where a game mod can passively "alert" a listmod to a filled game if they want greater expedience, similar to a report on a post).

As a mod I know that sometimes I want to browse the site without putting any active thought into mod duties and maybe that system would make it easier for someone to just bang a game out as soon as they know it fills and be done with it.

- Assistants can be brought in to do the busywork of the queues, like tracking sign-ups and giving mod permissions. Or running NRG or Open Setups.

Taking on more people interested in helping out in more logistical-oriented roles seems like a good idea. And many people who want to take on those burdens seem to be frustrated that we're not giving them the space and agency to do so. I hope that we can address this.

[Errantparabola]

One last thing I want to say:

I don't want to speak directly for any other mods but while it may not

seem

to you that the moderation team cares about the recruitment and retention problems of the site, I want to assure you that we do. I know you (Mathdino) are not accusing us of not caring (but merely that we're not actively showing it enough) but there are a lot of frustrations here, and this is an issue that we do talk about a lot backstage.

I don't want this sentiment to overshadow steps towards productive discussion but please keep in mind that all of us volunteered to become mods

because

we love and care about the site. A lot of times I think that gets lost when parts of the userbase and the moderation team disagree but I'd like to think that in the grand scheme of things we all want the site to be good and healthy.

[Errantparabola]

I think that in general, having open boards for behind the scenes work is a good idea.
Even having them read only makes knowledge that these groups exist a lot more accessible than they are now.

Could the mods maybe say which problems they are working on addressing?

As someone in this thread mentioned earlier, we're having a meeting sometime in the next few weeks. I personally would not be opposed to publicizing the big picture items that we talk about.