moderator?

[Enson]

in your opinion who would make a good ninjutsu moderator?

it would have to be someone fair and non biased. (sp?) someone that knows enough about the art to know if something is off.

i vote for... hummm?... i don't know.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

We asked 6 people.
All 6 either said no (various reasons) or never gave an answer.
(No I won't list them, sorry).

Im my opinion, who would be a good choice depends on which of the 3 forums we are refering to. Don Roley for example might make a good moderator for Traditional, however he would be a bad match for Modern. You might be good for Modern, but not Traditional. General is a toss up. Again, just using some names for examples here, no slights intended.

Traditional should be someone with either current or recent experience in one or more of the X-kans, or another acknowledged traditional school.
Modern should be someone with current experience in the Modern branches.
General can be from either, with a knowledge of the history and concepts.

In all 3 cases, an open mind, ability to research things, willingness to act in a professional manner (which means dealing with flames and heat), as well as being a regular participant of these forums. Visiting and lurking aren't enough. Active posting is a MUST. They must be able to de-tach from the emotional and make the hard decisions. Just because someone screwed up elsewhere doesn't mean they find our doors barred. They must be willing to disprove the frauds but at the same time, squash the fraud busters. It is a -very- hard job to do.

For traditional, I would prefer someone who understands Japanese history, culture and language. Ninjutsu is a Japanese art, with it's roots deep in that nation. Contacts in Japan are a plus.

For modern, someone in good stead with one of the modern groups would be ideal.

For general, either or both of the above.

These forums are here for the exchange of ideas. That includes historical, cultural, technical, phylosophical, and ideological. A good moderator will steer things, split where needed, nudge when possible, and eventually wave the big stick if need be. They won't side with one group and engage in factional warfare.

Traditional is good. Modern is good too.

Interested parties can contact myself and Seig.
We will evaluate your past activities here, how active you've been, how helpful, etc and let you know.

 

[Don Roley]

The problem with your set up is that even now we see post after post by the same troll in the MODERN ninjutsu section on Japanese history. Right now the moderators could move those threads or eliminate them as soon as they see they were started in inapropriate sections. But they are not.

So if someone wanted to take over and really help in the traditional section, then the frauds would just go to the section where the moderator knew little about history and run loose there.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Don,
I don't believe we currently have anyone on staff who understands Japanese, much less Japanese history or culture. It's not my place (for example) to judge what is or isn't true. It's also never been out position to censor or remove such things.

If someone is interested in the traditional, they will look to the traditional. If not, then they will look elsewhere.

Why is he a troll? Is it because he posts stuff that is 'outside the established', is 'not the officially sanctioned history', or is 'just plain stupid' (like that atlantian bit)?

If we are going to deal with trolls, they must be trolls. Not just presenting a different opinion.

 

[AnimEdge]

I would like to nominate myself "I secound!" said some random guy in the backgroud yea

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Read this:
http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12457

 

[Andrew Green]

Is there by chance a Antartica ninja forum in need of a ninja penguin?

 

[AnimEdge]

Fills out the app.

 

[Don Roley]

Don,
I don't believe we currently have anyone on staff who understands Japanese, much less Japanese history or culture. It's not my place (for example) to judge what is or isn't true. It's also never been out position to censor or remove such things.

Are you saying that you cannot even tell that this thread started in the MODERN section is not appropriate and should be moved or deleted? How about all the other threads started to talk about Japanese history started there.

I can understand if you do not know the influence of Shinto on 14th century ninja, but it seems to me that questions about it should be in the section that is supposably devoted to the ninjutsu you can find in Japan.

The thing is, if you look at the posts of the guy who started the above thread, you can see that he takes the attitude that we have to leave him alone in the modern section, no matter how flawed his history is. So if you want an end to the crackpot theories, you are going to have to make sure that the stuff about the parentage of a guy born in 16th century Japan is not in the Modern section.

 

[Enson]

Are you saying that you cannot even tell that this thread started in the MODERN section is not appropriate and should be moved or deleted? How about all the other threads started to talk about Japanese history started there.

I can understand if you do not know the influence of Shinto on 14th century ninja, but it seems to me that questions about it should be in the section that is supposably devoted to the ninjutsu you can find in Japan.

The thing is, if you look at the posts of the guy who started the above thread, you can see that he takes the attitude that we have to leave him alone in the modern section, no matter how flawed his history is. So if you want an end to the crackpot theories, you are going to have to make sure that the stuff about the parentage of a guy born in 16th century Japan is not in the Modern section.

i would agree that the above mentioned post should not have been in modern. in fact it should have been in general japanese.

the problem you find here is that some do not want topics to develope. for instance i started a topic about crossing legs in your style and then someone said that should not be spoken of there. the original post was for modern, but sometimes things just naturally develope into others.

with that being said i am also in agreement with threads on a certain topic staying on that topic. for instance there should be not mention of skh legitimacy or any other instructor if it doesn't pertain to what his view are on the subject. or every now and then another post comes on about sword when the original thread was on rolls. things should stay on topic.
peace

 

[Bester]

I'll do it. I know about as much about the art as one "researcher" here, so could easily qualify for Modern. Heck, you don't even have to know anything about Japan to qualify for that.

For Traditional, get someone who lives in Japan. That would imply they can speak the language, read it and be able to do the research needed to fill in the historical stuff.

No crystals though, pity.

 

[DuckofDeath]

Why not make sojobow moderator of a separate Pseudoninjutsu section? He's quite an expert in that field.

 

[Don Roley]

If Bester will take Modern I will take Traditional.

For general, you might want to take a look at what Dale Seago has done as a moderator over at Swordforum.com. The European section of that board has a lot of flames wars and complaints about the way it is run. But Dale keeps his Japanese Swordsmanship section free- flowing and calm. Seems to me that is exactly the style you want here after all the problems in the past.

 

[Genin Andrew]

Well for my 2cents, i dont have a problem with any of that, sounds good.
Dale is a respected member of these forums so i'm sure there will be little if any disagreements...anyone disagree with anything Don said?

-andrew

 

[Bob Hubbard]

If folks are interested in the headaches, read the link I posted, read what I wrote towards teh beginning of this thread, and PM or email (prefered) me.
Include why you want the job, why you think you'll be a good mod, and your qualifications. I've had 1 person so far contact me, and I'm waiting on additional info at the moment to give to the steering board.

Some people who shouldn't apply:
Anyone with a very low post count, who hasn't been here at least 3 months, who has been involved in major flame wars, or who isn't here regularly (meaning at least 4-5 times a week)

We're looking for active mods, not passive.

For those interested, yes, there is training, a learning curve and a 30-90 day probation period.

 

[Enson]

Well for my 2cents, i dont have a problem with any of that, sounds good.
Dale is a respected member of these forums so i'm sure there will be little if any disagreements...anyone disagree with anything Don said?

-andrew

i don't have a problem with dale in general or don in traditional but i would highly vote against bester. from what i have seen bester's post are not anything but a ploy to start friction with a certain modern poster. no offense against bester but i would not like to see him moderator in the modern section when he is obviously against that section. this was a quote by bester:

I'd say unless they can back it up with proof, leave them in the fantasy-land that is "Modern".

If you are going to claim "Traditional", then be prepared to present proof.

peace

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Bester doesn't have the post count, or regulararity of visitation that we seek. I've seen a few glimmers of good stuff in a few posts, however Modern probably wouldn't be a good fit. AFAIK (and he can correct me) he doesn't actually study any of those arts, and the profiles a bit, sparce.

 

[Cryozombie]

Well, ya know...

My big fear is I would f-up somehow and lose my access to MT because of it... and I like it here.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

The -worst- thing that's ever happened was we've removed the offender from staff.
They weren't banned.
We have suspended staff for going 'too far' and abuse of authority.
We have had people quit the staff. Most of them are still active members here.
Why did they quit? Burn out. Disagreement with the direction or requirements. Felt they couldn't meet the requirements of the job.

Note- Those seeking ego-gratification, power, etc need not apply. Those who think 'moderator' means pop in on occations, or chase 'frauds', need not apply.

If it seems I'm being a bit hard *** here, I am. I have to be. I want to keep these sections, make them grow, and make them the -best- there are. I can't do it myself. I need a team that can work together, add their vision to mine and make something wonderful.

So far, we've got that in the existing staff. I want to expand so that we're also growing this section as well.

This means we're looking for at least 3, preferably 6 mods. 2 for each section. The 6 will need to work cooperatively together. There is no "I" in TEAM.

I've noticed -ALOT- of Ninjutsu folks signing up as of late...over 100+.

Lets make a place they want to call home.

 

[Flatlander]

i don't have a problem with dale in general or don in traditional but i would highly vote against bester. from what i have seen bester's post are not anything but a ploy to start friction with a certain modern poster. no offense against bester but i would not like to see him moderator in the modern section when he is obviously against that section. this was a quote by bester:
peace

Enson, please, I mean no disrespect here. The truth of the matter is, this is not a democratic process. The moderator(s) of this forum likely will not be chosen by popular vote among the members that post here. The other thing that I wanted to mention is that irrespective of how you feel about Bester's ability to do the job well or not, it's really not very nice to point out what you see as his faults here publicly. I've read a lot of his posts, and given him reputation, because I think that when he wants to post something meaningful, I usually like what he has to say. So, perhaps I disagree with you on that point, but so what. No worries on that - but let's not be calling others down either. It's just not super groovy.