[Gerard]

As we discussed earlier, we're introducing a new position to the forum, which will replace section moderators.

A Forum Boss is responsible for the content of their subforum. They lead the other users, encourage good discussion, manage the pinned topics, and halt irrelevant or abusive discussions.

This is different to moderators - Forum Bosses are not technically staff. They don't discipline or ban members, but they are responsible for the content. They have a range of moderator abilites to help them manage their subforum, such as closing, editing and pinning.

Obviously different parts of the forums need different treatment (compare GTA IV with Fun & Games), which is why it's better to have different people looking after them. In most cases we will only give one subforum to a Boss, and only have one Boss per subforum.

Anyone active can be a Boss, you just need to be able to tell quality topics, be able to lead discussions (whilst letting other people speak), and be trustworthy enough to wield the tools we'll give you.

If you are interested in becoming a Forum Boss, please let us know in this topic. If you have any questions, ask away.

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The first bosses have been selected:


GTA IV Gameplay Discussion & Ballad of Gay Tony - Noru
GTA VC Discussion - Thomas
General Gaming - Mpilk901
Graphics & Writers' Pad - TM
Vehicles - WRX22B1998

[Mpilk901]

I'm interested in becoming a forum boss for the General Gaming section. I know a lot about games for every console and I also visit that section very frequently. If there's anything I need to do then just tell me.

[Spider-Vice]

I'm interested in being a Boss on the GTA SA Gameplay & Help... I have more experience with GTA San Andreas and I can always help members for what they want everytime. That's simply the place I'm mostly active.

This post has been edited by Spider-Vice: 27 September 2009 - 07:42 PM

[Sтεαм.]

I want to apply to be a boss for The Lounge & Fun and off Topic sections, to remove/move that don't apply for that section etc.And i post news often though.

[Gerard]

Sтεαм., on 20 September 2009 - 04:00 PM, said:

I want to apply to be a boss for The Lounge & Fun and off Topic sections, to remove/move that don't apply for that section etc.And i post news often though.

This isn't a moderator job - it isn't about moving topics and deleting posts. It's about strategically manipulating the direction of that forum. It's about influencing the culture of the subforum and the nature of the discussion.

For example, they could decide that the Lounge should be for more serious discussions, and make a few pinned topics for random things like hellos and birthdays. They might make a few serious topics to get discussion started. Alternatively, they might decide that the lounge should be a much more open and fluid environment, and encourage people to post more random topics and increase the activity there. Much more than deleting posts.


I also said in my post that each subforum will only have one boss, and that each boss will (usually) only have one subforum. So you wouldnt be "a boss", you would be "the boss", and chances are that you wouldn't get to be the boss of both.

[TM™]

I don't mind being a forum boss on the graphics & writers pad. I'm starting to get back into that scene again, so I feel that I could be helpful at that area especially.

[Noru]

I wouldn't mind being a forum boss in either GTAIV Gameplay Discussion or General GTASA Discussion since I view those more often. I don't usually post much but something like would get me to post a bit more around the forums.
Anyways, if I had to narrow down between those two, I would have to pick GTAIV Gameplay Discussion.

[IloveGTA]

I'm interested in becoming forum boss for General GTA IV, GTA SA, or GTA Vice City Forums since those are the ones that I have played the most and still play the most out of any other GTA game.

[Ivan]

IloveGTA, on 20 September 2009 - 06:37 PM, said:

I'm interested in becoming forum boss for General GTA IV, GTA SA, or GTA Vice City Forums since those are the ones that I have played the most and still play the most out of any other GTA game.

Are you serious?
Nobody even knows you....
Just stick around and behave then maybe someday you can get a shot at this.

[Gerard]

IloveGTA, on 20 September 2009 - 06:37 PM, said:

I'm interested in becoming forum boss for General GTA IV, GTA SA, or GTA Vice City Forums since those are the ones that I have played the most and still play the most out of any other GTA game.

Unfortunately it's unlikely that we'd be able to give this position to a new member. We need all the bosses to be active (for a long period of time), and they need to really understand this forum.

Being an accepted and well-liked member of the community is equally important, as people might not listen to you if you're not well-known or you have a bad reputation.

As Ivan says - stick around, get involved in loads of things, and hopefully you'll eventually be at the point where you can be useful as a Forum Boss.

[Sgt_Mike]

I think ill go ahead for the forum boss of the mta support since I know it real well

[Thomas.]

I'm slightly interested... I could always help with GTA Vice City or with the Serious Chat, I like posting in there.

[Highwire]

I'm not 100% sure what you can do with this. Like, if I was the Forum Boss of 'The Next GTA' would that mean I would have to just watch the forum, like a moderator? Or do I have full control of that 1 forum and should start major (pinned) topics, and can change how things flow in it?

[Gerard]

Your second guess is right. You would absolutely be responsible for the direction and flow of the content in that forum.

However it shouldn't be treated as "full control". It's not like people can't post without your permission or something. The staff sometimes already do this a bit (closing crap topics, pinning good ones, starting discussions), but we don't get much time to each subforum because we have to watch the entire forum. This is where Bosses can really make a difference.



Glad to see people interested in this - we'll be in touch. If anyone else is interested, please keep replying here.

[MrLlamaLlama]

Highwire, on 20 September 2009 - 09:21 PM, said:

I'm not 100% sure what you can do with this. Like, if I was the Forum Boss of 'The Next GTA' would that mean I would have to just watch the forum, like a moderator? Or do I have full control of that 1 forum and should start major (pinned) topics, and can change how things flow in it?

If you were the boss of 'The Next GTA' it would be your responsibility to direct the subforum in a positive way. Say, someone makes a thread like this. You'd judge whether the topic was pin - worthy, based on how positively it's affecting the forum. Right now it's a friendly, practical poll, and a great way to share opinions and discuss. You'd pin this thread, maybe post something like 'Great thread [xxx], nice' then continue with your post.

Say someone posts a thread like this, though. The guy is well entitled to his opinion, but you see that it might descend into flaming. If it was too late to steer the topic positively, you'd try and diffuse the flaming, just make a post asking people not to be so forthright and offensive with a new member.

It's, in essence, your job to keep your forum looking the best, most positive, most productive it can be. Make sure people find what they're looking for, and de clutter anything that's having a negative influence on the forum. However, unlike a mod, who can just throw his weight around and delete member's posts if they're stupid, your powers would be limited to verbal actions, asking people to post more efficiently and conservatively, or encouraging good, positive discussion.

edit: Grrr Gerard, spent all that time writing and you undercut me...

[Gerard]

MrLlamaLlama, on 20 September 2009 - 09:43 PM, said:

edit: Grrr Gerard, spent all that time writing and you undercut me...

Actually your explanation is pretty good - nice examples.

I'll add that it's not just a case of enforcing the rules or doing what Chris thinks is right. We want different Bosses for different subforums because they'll treat it differently.

You get to decide what is acceptable, and what people should avoid. You get to determine the culture of the subforum. It's not as simple as making a rule and forcing people to stick to it, but as Llama says there are a million ways you can do it.

[Ivan]

Seems like a pretty serious thing, I might be interested in being a Boss for the General Gaming Section.

[MrLlamaLlama]

It's not overly serious. It's for people who want to lead by example for the better. The responsibility is less than being a mod, and there's more scope to chill out and kick back elsewhere in the forum.

[Ivan]

Really?
I feel that stuff like changing the culture or direction of a sub-forum and all that might be a bit more complicated than just locking topics,etc...

[MrLlamaLlama]

Ivan, on 20 September 2009 - 11:00 PM, said:

Really?
I feel that stuff like changing the culture or direction of a sub-forum and all that might be a bit more complicated than just locking topics,etc...

Quote

A Forum Boss is responsible for the content of their subforum. They lead the other users, encourage good discussion, manage the pinned topics, and halt irrelevant or abusive discussions.

It won't be a really full-on thing, since all the other subforums are doing it, the forum should (hopefully) be a generally more friendly place anyway. Whenever you're in a forum and you think 'FFS why are people arguing' - you can just come out with it without getting the 'stop trying to be a mod' thing thrown at you. Some people might not want that, and nobody's expecting anyone to want to do it.