Moderators, GM's, Etc?

[Helderic]

Does anyone use Moderators,GM's , etc (players to assist with support or other players to assist with support, monitoring forums, etc?

If so when should they be used and to what extent should their powers be?

[Chris]

I think you are asking the wrong question. You either need them or not. So, "when should they be used" is best answered with "when you need them and can not do it yourself" 

There are some games that have almost no moderators and some that have huge quantities of them. It depends mostly on the owners personality and anti-cheat protections available.

For example I like to have big staff with everything human validated (there are no auto anti-cheat protections). There are separate sections with heads responsible of each, clear chain of command, they have a separate staff forum (12 subboards, which is crazy, but it wasn't me who was setting it up ), etc. But I wouldn't say it is the only or the best approach. It can be done other ways as well.

I think you should first list what your game needs (cheating tracking, forum, chat, shoutbox, IRC, players support). Also, I do not recommend getting any helpers if your game is new, the best is when you do all the jobs yourself, this way you will have the experience when your game grows and you will have realistic expectations for your moderators.

[Helderic]

Ok thanks for the answer! Does anyone find many members suitable for these positions?

[jannesiera]

I think that really depends .

[genmac]

I've found that best moderators are the ones who don't want to moderate, and the worst are the ones that volunteer to moderate.

[avguste]

I am planning on using moderators and staff once the game is fully released.However right now,in open beta(version 0.5.1),I don't

[Ryuzaki_Yagami]

Moderators should really be added to any game, as they take the stress load off of the Administrators in a game. If you are asking about what abilities they should have, have 3 groups: Administrators; Super Moderators; and Moderators. Basic Description on what those positions should hold, and their abilities:

Administrators: Highest authority on the site.
Administrator Abilities: Have complete control over anything.

Super Moderator: Coordinate the moderators, deal with things that go above the moderator's control, can undo moderator bans.
Super Moderator Abilities: Hire Moderators, Fire Moderators. Undo Moderator Bans. Ban/Warn Members.

Moderator:    Keep order and enforce the rules within the game, can warn and ban users.
Moderator Abilities: Ban/Warn Users.

[codestryke]

Admins - given a full admin panel to ban, fix accounts, post news, view various reports etc....

Mods - We found no need for them the admins do the job. For general help we have a help forum. That seems to work a lot better because the information is there for everyone to view at anytime. Most of the long time players field a majority of the questions posted.

In my personal experience I found that having a bunch of titles in the game makes the game more about getting said title then playing the game

[Ryuzaki_Yagami]

Admins - given a full admin panel to ban, fix accounts, post news, view various reports etc....

Mods - We found no need for them the admins do the job. For general help we have a help forum. That seems to work a lot better because the information is there for everyone to view at anytime. Most of the long time players field a majority of the questions posted.

In my personal experience I found that having a bunch of titles in the game makes the game more about getting said title then playing the game

Well, if you only have 2 groups, then you add a rule to the Game where a person can lose all chance of getting said title if they ask, beg, or inquire on how to receive such a title.

[die4me]

Use them if you need them if you don't then don't use them lol

[codestryke]

The best admin's I've ever had were ones that never asked

[mdshare]

Don't forget a age restriction +18 and a NDA and/or DPA to be signed from your staff.

Game staff does get hands on stuff that is under the DPA, IPs, e-mails, name, ....