#Discord Moderator

[whispytears]

TOW + ✨Special Announcement✨

Hey there! I hope everyone’s week was pleasant and not too stressful. Here are the end-of-the-week announcements with a special announcement at the end! 

Theme of the week (TOW) and Next Week: Self-Identity with an Eating Disorder

Thank you to those who read and benefitted from this week's theme as well as gave feedback on it! I appreciate you all and I hope to have positively impacted the way you view eating disorders and self-identity. 

Next week's theme will be a little light: social life and eating disorders. So stay tuned for that!🧡✨

✨SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT✨

Some other people, including myself, who are a part of the community have decided to start a discord server with future paid positions in mind. For now, it is only volunteer-based but we are working on getting grants. Our purpose is to positively change the stigmas around eating disorders and dismantle the toxic communities that glorify them. 

We wanted to give the opportunity to people who also want to positively change this by opening positions for: DISCORD MODERATORS

Please know an important statement: You can not force change within a person. That being said, the very least we can do is create a positive environment for change and support. 

APPLICATIONS: 

At the bottom of this post is a link to the Google form for the application. 

Requirements:

Must be 18+

Must have a Tumblr AND Discord account.

Both accounts must be at least 18 months old 

This is to filter out any spam accounts

It is preferred if you already follow this account but this does not affect chances. We only care about the genuineness of responses.

Whatever background questions are not on there are questions we did not think were relevant. 

If you have critiques to this form, please DM this account directly. 

We plan to onboard less than 10 people.

LINK TO APPLICATION:

https://forms.gle/PvbJaJ2LsNoTXCHUA

or

🧡There are questions about what community means to you and how it relates to having an eating disorder. Take your time and give thoughtful answers. We are looking for people who genuinely want to be a part of and create a positive community. 

DEADLINE: 10/01/2023

The special code to put at the end of the form: positivity

🌸Good luck and thank you for reading! Feel free to reblog or share to others who may be interested as well :)🌸

~whispy

[dire-straits-fn8ic]

having sole ownership of the workplace Discord server basically just means I have access to a blogging platform that bends to my every will and is followed by the vast majority of people I've talked to in the past 4 years (a privilege that I should be taking advantage of more)

[tamarahtalkstv]

My Friend Got Hacked First, I Believed The Hacker Because I Thought They Were My Friend, And Then My Discord Got Hacked.

I Made A New Account And I’m Working On Getting My Old One Back.

As Awful As This Situation Is, It Can Also Be Good In A Way.

I Needed A Change Of Scenery And New Opportunities Anyway.

Let’s Try To Make The Best Out Of This Bad Situation.

Send Me Friend Requests To My New Account, Join My New And Improved Discord Server, And Recommend Me Some Discord Servers To Join.

If I Get My Old Account Back, I’ll Let All You Know.

I’ll Keep Everyone Updated On Everything.

My Discord Username: DeathCravingTamarah

My Discord Server

[sophie-baybey]

I think the invention of the term "traumadump" has done discussion of mental health a lot of harm. I keep seeing discourse vs whether or not it's okay to talk about heavy topics with your friends, and like... I feel like there is a very big and important difference between my definition of traumadumping (ie. Frequently and habitually diverting your conversations with others towards your own misery, often with the goal of focusing attention and sympathy towards yourself at the expense of those around you, and without recognizable effort to reciprocate your empathy towards those you are speaking to or to ensure their comfort) VS the mere act of having heavier conversations with those around you. I've seen a lot of backlash to the idea of traumadumping as a concept lately (they paywalled human connection etc etc) but I think it's worth recognizing there is absolutely a kind of behavior that can create a negative feedback loop with this stuff. Especially if you navigate a lot of spaces in social media, it's not uncommon to find people dropping really heavy stuff on complete strangers unprompted. Idk, I think there's a degree of nuance to be had that's maybe getting a bit lost due to everyone having different definitions of what it means to "trauma dump."

[anemonet]

L is for Late!...to post...ahem uh i mean im in a zine!!!! the @hermitzine zine even, where everyone did an amazing job and you should check it out :D

[dragonpropaganda]

I know a lot of people take five pebbles being relatively young as him being like, a kid but like, Come On, I know he's been around for possibly milennia but I don't think it's possible to make a character who's more Spiritually 22 years old.

[goddess-of-frot]

In the midst of all this I cant help but wish there was some dedicated online community space for transfems (Please do not invite me to discord servers)

[myfandomrealitea]

By the way if you're creating a space like a private group chat or a Discord server it is absolutely your responsibility to make sure that space is safe.

It is your responsibility to moderate it. To regulate the behavior displayed within it. To take action when people create harm. You cannot just create this space then wash your hands of any responsibility for what happens within it.

I keep seeing so many teens making servers and chats and groups and then whining that they're getting bullied for not doing anything when people use them to cause harm and upset and I cannot stress this enough.

You are responsible for shutting that down. Or for sourcing someone to do it on your behalf. You have control of that space. You are not just an innocent bystander.

"Anything goes here, if you're offended just leave" is absolutely not an excuse for blatantly allowing things like harassment, bullying, racism, homophobia and other targeted hate.

Discord in particular is incredible for available resources for preventing things like this. There are literally hundreds of server bots you can deploy to auto-moderate and manual moderation is as easy as two little clicks.

If you feel you're responsible enough to be in the position of power of creating a space, you are responsible enough to ensure it is not used for harm.

And if you're not?

Well.

[anneapocalypse]

If you can't explain to me how your moderation goals for a platform won't be weaponized against marginalized groups and the steps you will put in place to prevent that then I don't trust your aims for moderation. That does not mean I am anti-moderation; it means that rules have to be consistently enforceable within the ranges of actual human behavior and you need to consider contingencies for edge cases and contingencies for those contingencies, you need to ask yourself what can go wrong and what steps you will take to prevent abuses of the system.

[irradiatedsnakes]

ok so ive been thinking on reslistening to tma again where i want to but its too fresh in my mind to properly enjoy it and i think i realized i actually mostly want to listen to it With people.

SO i guess little interest check for like. since my semester’s just about over, would anyone like to do like, a little tma “book club” with me? i’ll have to do the math on how many eps per whatever-timeframe but like. hopping on a discord call and listening to a small batch of episodes. whether you’re also relistening or wanting to get into it for the first time. just sounds like fun

[kupahdraws]

cringe ass regretevator ocs or something

[lemonbeemon]

Elden ring modern AU where St. Trina & Miquella make a discord server that immediately turns terrible like most discord servers

[faranae]

I'm just going to put this here, too.

[nothorses]

Hi! Since you have a Discord server, could you share some tips for both moderating and keeping the space active and free of toxicity? I am thinking of creating my own for a micro-comunnity, but I have no idea where to start (especially what basic action protocols to follow of someone breaks a rule or is reported as abusive in DMs and there isn't much concrete proof).

Thanks in advance. ;-)

Ooh, yes, this shit is my bread & butter! Here's the advice I'd give someone creating a new community Discord space:

Start with a very clear idea of what the space is for.

This is your reasoning for every single expectation you set & rule you enforce. If you cannot explain to someone why a rule exists, you shouldn't have that rule- and you probably won't have an easy time enforcing it anyway.

Ask yourself some questions upfront: is this a space for bonding over a shared interest? Is this a space for building community around a marginalized identity or experience? Why? Who does it benefit, and how does it benefit those people?

The transmasc discord server I run started as a space to build community for transmascs who could not talk about transmasc issues elsewhere, and is therefore a space for discussion of these issues first, a space to build community for a group that faces a lot of isolation second, and everything else third.

Ask yourself: what is this space not for?

Now that you know what your goal is, it should be easier to determine what is in conflict with your goal. If you're a fandom space, you should be asking things like: do you need a vent channel? Why? What level of venting is okay? How will you tell someone in crisis that this is not an appropriate place to seek help? (Or applied to other situations: do you need this? Does it serve your goal? How? Is there a line or a nuance you should clarify? How practical is it to enforce this line?)

Think about your role as server owner

Server owners have a lot of de-facto power, because that's how Discord is set up, like, functionally. Think about the worst server owners you have ever encountered, and ask: what could have prevented those servers from disaster? People make bad decisions without realizing how bad they are, and it sucks. And, frankly, communities shouldn't necessarily belong to just one person.

What is your responsibility to your community? How can you share your power with them? What can you commit to in order to mitigate that power imbalance?

I have some commitments in place within my server along the lines of like... we make decisions on the basis of consensus (if someone really disagrees, we talk about it and, if needed, figure out a different solution; we don't go with "majority rules", and I don't veto or whatever). If there's consensus among the rest of the server staff that I should step down, I will step down. Stuff like that. My staff know these things, which keeps me (and them!) accountable.

You should think about the role of staff in a similar way; they have power over users. How can you mitigate that power? How can you share it with users? What happens if a staff member abuses their power?

Start small.

Unless you have a massive following ready to join your new server right away, you're gonna be pretty small for a long time. Embrace it! Small servers have the benefit of tight-knit communities and a lot of flexibility; you can make changes super easily, and you can be really responsive to your community. Let them tell you what they want and need, and invite them into the process of shaping the space together.

I really recommend that you start with the bare minimum, and add new rules, channels, staff, etc. as the need comes up organically. This gives you lots of room to think and discuss, and it means everything you add is tailored to the actual people that make up your community.

To use my own server as an example again: we had like five channels when we started, and adding each new channel has been a conversation about why we're adding it, whether we can fit that topic into a different channel or if it's getting overcrowded, how it impacts the server atmosphere (heavy/negative channels really add up!), etc. Which means they're generally, like, not completely unnecessary and unused.

Think about scaling

As you gain more members, you'll need more staff (and more staff time), more infrastructure, and more consistency. There's no one perfect way to do this, but I want to name it because I think it's good to keep in mind; I've seen big servers who try to act like small servers and end up chaotic and under-moderated, and small servers who try to act like big servers and end up drowning in their own (completely unnecessary!) red tape.

Rule enforcement

I recommend having a blanket policy of "we reserve the right to kick you out if it's obvious that you're not here with good or honest intentions". Don't try to litigate every little thing with every single person; if they're not there because they wanna be a part of the community you've made, there's absolutely no obligation to entertain their bullshit. Being upfront about this cuts out a lot of "but I didn't technically break a rule!", and "explain to me exactly why you're doing this so I can argue it to death!" nonsense from bad actors.

I also recommend a blanket policy of "infinite honest mistake forgiveness". People forget, slip up, whatever; don't stress about it. Give them a reminder or a heads up and move on.

For the stuff in the middle, you'll figure out what systems work for you. I prefer DMing people about things; being specific, transparent, and offering support does wonders for most issues. Name some clear expectations if you're noticing patterns, and ask what you can do to help them meet those expectations. Assume they didn't mean to do any harm, and that they want to get better. Even if that's not the case, most people will rise to that assumption if given the opportunity (and if they don't, you can kick 'em then).

Encourage a self-regulating community

Do not get involved in petty bullshit!! If someone has an issue with someone else, your first step is always to ask yourself: is this something staff need to take care of, or could this be resolved with a conversation between these two people?

Oftentimes, even a broken rule is something people can sort out themselves. If someone forgot a rule or made an honest mistake, there is literally no reason that it needs to be you or other server staff telling them so. Encourage people to talk to each other! You will save yourself so much grief (and petty drama, and serious conflict) in the long-run if your community can talk to each other like humans.

Encourage people to set their own personal boundaries, too! If they have a unique trigger or a particular need, encourage them to communicate that need to other people. This also allows people to negotiate their own solutions to conflicting access needs, and prevents staff from "taking sides".

As a bonus, this will also make it super clear when someone is just an asshole.

Maintain the vibe!

Don't try to duke problems out in the middle of the server! It sucks, everyone hates it, and the people that don't hate it love it for all the wrong reasons. Drama breeds more drama, and toxicity breeds more toxicity.

I recommend telling people exactly where to take their disagreements, discontent, and emotional outbursts. My personal policy is: if you can't have a productive conversation or offer everyone else basic respect, you need to step back and cool off until you can. if you have personal beef with someone else, you can either talk it out in DMs, let it go, or block them and move on. If you disagree with a rule or how a rule is being enforced, you still need to listen to staff, but you can (and should!) bring that up in the appropriate channels to discuss for the next time it comes up.

We have the "ticket tool" bot- which is great for when one person wants to argue about stuff like that- and an "office" channel for all kinds of administrative-y suggestions, questions, discussions, etc. which is great for respectful disagreements/discussions. I recommend using Discord's "Time Out" feature to mute people if they won't respect a staff request to pause or step back, and even removing everyone's ability to post in a channel if it's getting rancid & you need to buy some time to figure out exactly what's happening and how to handle it. (Let people know what's going on when you do this, though!)

This is maybe the biggest thing for keeping a server active and not toxic, tbh. People do not want to spend time in a space that sucks! And while it's vital to make space for conflict to happen, that space doesn't need to be the same one that everyone else is trying to share art of their blorbos in. And that conflict should never be abusive.

(Note: not all disagreements are conflicts, and not all conflicts necessarily need to be stopped or moved! This is generalized advice; there's a lot of gray area, and you'll get a feel for it over time if you don't already have a clear idea.)

TL;DR:

Be thoughtful and intentional about exactly what you're trying to do and why. Be responsive and responsible to your community. Have as much patience & forgiveness for earnest people as you refuse to have for ill-intentioned people. Don't be afraid to draw hard lines in order to protect the space for everyone when you need to, and encourage people to talk to each other, enforce their own boundaries, and help keep each other accountable in kind and compassionate ways.

I think this sounds very big and grand because I have run a lot of servers and I am also drawing on some educational philosophy background, but like, all you really need to do is start with a clear purpose and go from there. You can be flexible and make changes as stuff comes up, and focus on having fun with the process and the community you're creating!

Good luck!!

[project-sekai-facts]

Idk if you've heard or not, but the ensekai community manager Saccharin (one of the ones who would show up on the en livestreams) got laid off very recently (as in a few hours before sending this ask). I know you were talking about the possibility of recent Sega layoffs affecting ensekai, and i think this is kinda proof of that?

Huh. That’s…interesting actually. I started assuming a while back that she’d left the role or something happened to her job since she stopped showing up on stream, obviously this is recent and she hasn’t been showing up for like 6 months on stream but yeah definitely something is going on w ensekai if they laid off a pretty important role for no (?) reason.

[i-am-just-a-skeleton]

asaddhgfkAHJgdshGjhg i wanna meet other genderfluid people and talk about genders an shit

if y'all'r out there

hmu

hey edit for anyone who sees this as just the original post: we've made a discord server, it's not exactly organised yet but it exists and there's a link to it in the reblogs