Mods: To See Or Not To See
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
There is a familiar refrain heard many times on Home: “Where are the mods?”
This is spoken of relentlessly in the forums as well; it seems to be a common complaint.
Part of this stems from the fact that there was a time that you actually could find a visible moderator in Home; they were discerned by their distinct white lettering in the text box. But now it seems as though they have disappeared, because you never see them any more — and people are either confused by this fact, think that they just don’t care any more, or feel abandoned and angry when they don’t see something happen immediately after they’ve made reports.
None of this could be further from the truth though. The moderators of Home are still there, they do care and are doing the best they can in an ever growing population of avatars. The only difference is they are invisible, and they have a great reason for this.
First, let’s think about what it is that moderators do; what is their function in Home? They are basically the policing factor within the community. They watch and receive reports from offended or abused people within the community and act upon what they see. That being said, they have a lot of ground to cover everyday with the hundreds – if not thousands – of reports they get. This is why they not only punish people who are guilty of what has been reported, but also false reporting and excessive reporting. Their job is hard enough as it is.
In the real world, would a pickpocket or purse snatcher be more likely to commit a crime in front of a visible police officer or not? Do you speed in front of police cruiser parked by the side of the road? Your answer is probably not, unless they were either completely out of their minds or didn’t see the officer. The same logic applies here in Home. If a mod is present all the time, which is nigh on impossible in any case, do you think that trolls or other miscreants will be likely to act like idiots in front of them?
Thinking that big brother is watching over your shoulder is a bigger deterrent than a visible presence; kind of like that camera that watches you at a red light, do you want to take the chance and run it? Some might decide to take that chance, but it isn’t the smart thing to do. If Sony could afford to hire thousands of moderators to watch over a community that is in a basically free to play environment, then maybe we would see more moderators in Home more often.
Now let’s just say they did just that — let’s say that Sony hired hundreds of people to moderate this free environment. What would change? Would people act any differently when they weren’t around to see? Would the trolls and people who really don’t seem to care about anyone but themselves change who they are?
More visibility might make us think that there there more mods than there already are, but that is just a misconception on our part. There are simply too many instances of all of the spaces in Home for this to occur; each server in Home can only hold sixty-four avatars, so that is a lot of servers to try and cover on any given day or night. They truly are there and have the ability to see an entire instance at one time, so this means they can see everything all at once in any space they watch. The closest thing you are likely to see from a moderator in Home now is the glowing white lettering that appears when they warn someone in a message in the text box.
If there is one thing that Sony could do to help with this situation: they could be a bit more stringent with their banhammer. If someone has been banned for a serious offense three times within a year on Home, then frankly, that should be it.
When it comes to policing people who step outside the boundaries in Home on a daily basis, we as a society are truly the responsible parties. The reason that the reporting system exists at all is to give us this option and empower us to use it to better the place we inhabit. All the mods in the world can’t change what happens everywhere in Home, but we as a group of caring individuals can by utilizing the tools given us. Report people if they are doing something hurtful or seriously wrong when you see it. Here is a link you can use to do this outside of Home on your PC if you feel like the in Home reporting isn’t enough. But be sure to write down all the details of when, where and who before you submit one. There are always going to be trolls in Home, we might as well accept it, but we don’t have to like it or put up with it and the power to change all of this is in our hands.
These are not the mods you're looking for
The Home Community Volunteers – or HCVs – was created to help people in the community through tours and other kinds of support, but many have the misconception that they are somehow working as moderators as well. Though they are a Sony regulated and approved and therefore a backed entity, they aren’t actual Sony employees and have no power to make the decision to ban someone. They can report of course just like you and I can, but that is as far as their influence goes.
But the real responsibility is ours. When we allow people to do things that hurt others and stand idly by, the blame falls on us as a person and a society of avatars. Self policing is the only way we will ever be able to make Home a better environment for everyone involved and a more visible presence of moderators won’t really help, the only purpose it would serve is that it might create a temporary feeling of security for those who see them.
Be kind to one another is a sentiment that has been used many times in this magazine, yet it is one that needs to be stressed continually if we want Home to become a better place as it grows each year. Use common sense when it comes to dealing with others, including trolls, and stop placing all of the blame on Sony’s shoulders when things aren’t going well in Home. They are a company who has given us so much already in so many ways, and when it comes down to it, they aren’t our babysitters.
March 24th, 2012 by Burbie52 | 10 comments
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
“These aren’t the MODS you’re looking for”, I couldn’t help but laugh when I read that.
Yeah DaMiGiSan, made me think of Starwars lol.
I can understand your sentiment Burbie, we’re not a buncha kids that need a sitter to break up the fights, but at the same time wouldn’t having just some kind of presence for a deterrant be only a good thing? I mean, I’ve met people who’ve told me they’ve gone into Home for the first time and just happened to be picked on by some random troll, and after said encounter, left and never come back. Now, if a Mod was present at that time and put the troll off, Home would still have that user and potential customer.
I know that’s an extreme case, but I’ve heard of it happening more than once. There are some fragile egos out there, and all it takes is one nasty encounter to put them off for life. Personaly, I’ve only ever seen one Mod in all the years I’ve used Home and she didn’t seem very friendly or approachable either. I guess what I’m trying to say is; It would be nice to just see some kind of help availible, rather than feeling completetly open to attack with just a report button for protection that gives little to no feed-back.
I too wish that could be possible KrazyFace, but I doubt it ever will be. The problem that arises from that idea is that the chances of a mod being in that instance of, say the Hub, right when that particular new person was abused are very slim. Even if they all came into Home everyday during their shifts, your chances of running into one would not be all that good.
Like I said, we are the ones who have the power here to change things. If you ever see an abuse like that report it, even if it doesn’t happen to you. Or go and stand up for the person and distract the offender to you, who can handle it better, and still keep their cool. Then when they abuse you, report it. This is how we will not only show the new person there are good people in Home who care,and perhaps keep a new user, but it will also show the abuser that we won’t tolerate this kind of malice anymore. If we all did this it would shut quite a few of them up I think.
The best way to handle trolls is to act as though they aren’t there and hit the ignore button. But when it isn’t possible, report.
i know EXACTLY what you mean, hun. a few years ago my kids got me to try out EVE online. i got on, made an avatar, an dived in. the very first place i got to was a mall. people everywhere. sweeet. walked ten feet and bang, someone killed me. wth!! they stood there laughing. so i tried again. same result, with someone else. now it may look defeatist to most, but i figured if they can do THAT to a noobie immediatly, then no thank you bob. never went back. and i know of three friends that have given up almost after two days of abuse. a notable mod would be wonderful. even if thier there and we dont know who, that only works to control us, the ones who know. a jerk gamer that comes on home to mess around doesnt know so doesnt care.
hey where is ur red hair lol jk and what is eve?
red heads burn in the summer, its burgundy then. EVE is an online game, a spin off is coming to ps. dust 154 (or something like that. lool)
When all else fails, there’s always a trip available to be made to Asia PlayStation Home for a peaceful relaxation!
As long as they keep spawning us in the same place, I want to post a sign right in front of that spot that reads -- “Making someone feel bad is weak. Making someone feel good is honorable. Which are you going to do today?”
and yeah, what the heck is that? i HATE spawning at the mall. one alternative is while at a place you like with a freind, get them to send your account an invite when your off. then when you want to come on, click on that invite, it will take you there or at least your studio, which can be a good thing.
WOO HOO!!!
one of my biggest concerns is fragility. there are alot of us women out there, and some men too, that are socially awkward in real life. and for many reasons, from shyness to outright abuse. social networks, like home, are our only venue. our way of trying to find our way back into the social stream. sometimes our ONLY alternative. what bothers me is the lack of policing and the price you can pay for reporting. a report system is fine, but for some fragile mental states, the lack of help AT the moment is frustrating. so you report. the creep STILL keeps going. now, trying to gain a foot hold in interacting with people, your faced with run or fight. run and it just adds to your fragile state. fight, and you could get suspended yourself. just for trying to defend yourself. its kind of like calling the police AFTER the assault. the damage is done, even IF the perp gets in trouble for it, he’s already done damage. it all seems like guy thinking. try being a woman who’s been ‘assaulted’, and see if the way its going holds water. from clothing to the brimstone dancers, home is male oriented. it seems like something is ‘tossed’ in for women as an after thought. ive mentioned male dancers for us, which would be fun. this is not guy bashing, its just name the last time a woman has noob assaulted someone. probably, but rare. and even then, probably was a guy dressed up. yes, home is free, but its a product they’ve put out. the social issue of ‘family’ entertainment on home has gone out the window years ago, what with the big bust clothing, to kicking heads off people in the square, know what i mean? i dont know where an answer lies, but its out there…..somewhere.