Channel Managers: do not impose two moderators WITHOUT ASKING BEFOREHAND

Small message to ask channel managers to think a little more with their little brain and to respect others as their equal! Position you have does not allow you to disrespect others and impose things WITHOUT asking!

I can understand that a CM wants two moderators for the same language. On the other hand, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY YOU IMPOSE TWO PERSONS TOGETHER (who might not get along) WITHOUT ASKING THEM BEFOREHAND!

Got a problem or what? How much does it cost you to ask nicely beforehand if both people agree, or ask someone you choose if they can find someone they like to co-moderate the drama.

Out of naivety, you create problems! If you can’t choose, roll a dice, I don’t know. But stop involving several people without their agreement, possibly creating conflicts, out of naivety or a feeling of doing well. Yes, you don’t know if these people are in a good relationship… You don’t know, you know nothing so don’t do it!

But, really, basic respect is asking first. Your role is to create group cohesion, not to play the dictator who says “I think it’s best”, without knowing what you are doing.

What must be done to get you stop doing that? Should we tell viki to create a rule that tells you to respect others as your equal?

PS: Sorry, I’m expressing myself, a little upset, but it feels good to write it.

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I never do that and when I was still being a Dutch mod from time to time a CM did that to me (us) once. And it didn’t end well because we both had such a different style on how to manage it and getting things done. She was like fine do what you want and I was like if you want to do it your way.

So when I get a PM from someone who wants to co-mod I ask them to discuss it with that moderator and have them PM me. It also happened a few times someone PMed me telling me she wanted to co-mod and the mod was fine with it, 2 days later I received a PM from that other mod why I added an other moderator. So to tackle that issue I have the first mod PMing me.

But I noticed something yesterday with Portugese mods. 95% whom apply for it also state “I’m willing to share it with someone else”. Is that something new?

And I yesterday Viki gave me a channel again and within 12 hours I already had 12 PM for one mod position. And then you check what experience they have and how many channels they currently have etc etc. and you always end up with people who are similar and then it’s indeed rolling a dice or eyes closed and pick a name and sometimes like I gave the position to you last so now that other person may have it.

I know how difficult it is to choose when we have so many requests, and I understand that a CM wants to choose well, sometimes two moderators for a language. I understand that someone is willingly agreeing to be co-moderator. What I do not accept is people who force two people to be together without asking beforehand and… surprise! French community has already experienced internal and external conflicts, I don’t want it to come alive again because of one CM who thinks he/she is doing the right thing or who cannot choose, or disrespectful.

I already had this problem 1 time a few months ago, and I see that it starts again around me. For now, nothing catastrophic, but it is not correct, not respectful. We are all equal, no matter what position we have.

Yes, we have different style for managing a team. I’m sorry for your bad experience.

We are on viki to appreciate this moment, not for difficult situations. A little message with a question could solve so much.

Good luck for this channel.

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Same, I would never add two people as comod without asking! I became CM on a new Korean drama a few days ago and all the comoderators who are on it asked to be comoderating together. I don’t understand why some CM have in mind they can add two comods just like this without asking them before if they want to be comoderating on the project.

It happened to me too that some CM wanted to impose a comod when I was asking to be moderator alone, fortunately for these CM, it was with moderators I knew and with whom I get along well, still generally if I don’t ask to be in comod it’s because I don’t want a comod for the project. If I want a comod, generally I will see that with the other moderator before and we’ll ask together.

I don’t really think it’s something new, I think it’s also because some don’t get the moderations they wish so they say that in case it could help them getting the moderation.

Yes, and even if these people are in good relationship, it’s not a reason to add them as comoderators because being in a good relationship doesn’t mean they will necessarily want to be comoderating on the project.

Yes, I totally agree with that. Especially for popular Korean dramas, just within one hour I’ve got more than 30 messages for one drama.
So when you have to look at all profiles, look at the projects they have in details, their progress and so on, it’s very long. But still, it’s better to do it.
And yes, when you have some similar profiles, it’s really difficult to pick one. Still, it’s what we have to do when we are CM, so we have to do our best for this. Recruiting is one of the most important (if not the most) step on a channel, since it will determine how will your channel progress and if people will enjoy working on it.

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I wonder though, are the CM’s who do this new? If they are new the chances are really high they don’t know this might not be a good idea.

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I just checked. One CM is not new, because she have 50 000+ contributions, but it’s her first CM. Other CM is not new too with 50 000+ contributions, it’s her 3/4 CM channel. One other have more than 5/6 channels.

What worries me is that even though they are new, they should consider the respect of asking before act.

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Aha, when I was a subber I had no idea about the team dynamics at all. I just subbed when I had time and that was it. And while I had been a moderator a few times I was really overwhelmed with my very first CM project. So first thing I did was PMing a few CM’s I worked with before to ask advise on how to handle things. Lucky me I already had a network of people I worked with a lot and that made it a lot easier too to get started as a CM.

But I noticed that quite a few new CM’s want to figure it out themselves or don’t know who to ask for advise?

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In fact, this seems to be the first reason for this behavior. What is unfortunate is that repercussions can be much bigger than they think. I would like viki to send a congratulatory message for being cm + the list / rules for CMs, what the CM should do, in order to advise them as best as possible.

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Reading your comments further cement the idea that being a CM is a very tough position :sweat_smile: I don’t think I’ll ever apply and stick to segmenting and occasional modding for now.

@anna79_9 I’ve never had this problem before, but I can imagine that it’s very frustrating.

Hahaha. Less competition… nah just kidding. It’s hard at times but I think it’s also fun to do. And you always need to remember you cannot keep everyone happy because you don’t need 10+ Spanish or Portuguese moderators. That would be absolute chaos.

If your looking for a new Dutch mod/seg project… :wink:

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It is, it’s not easy, it’s responsibilities… but also a great experience. Thanks to this I have met a lot of viki friends :slight_smile: You should try someday.

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Op dit moment mijn handen vol :wink: Misschien later.

Perhaps, although not likely :smile: :blush:

It’s rather sad that such an obvious thing should be even mentioned or explained. One would think that it’s simple common sense and common courtesy. (It’s not like assigning college dorm roommates!)

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When I read this thread’s topic I got the same thought:

About the question how to choose a language moderator as CM when there are way too many applications; I really like the method one CM used by creating a little form with few questions including how many active projects the volunteer/s already had at this time and also asking if and with whom the volunteer wants to do the moderation.

This was such a nice idea that I thought it’ll be great when we had such a form implemented within VIKI so a CM doesn’t need to create one by her/himself each time when too many volunteers ask for the same mod position.

This is indeed a good idea, but the CMs should stick to their rules in this case. Last year it happened to me twice, that my application got rejected, because I had too many projects on hand and the chosen moderator had even more than me. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: So I wondered, what these moderators filled in their applications and if the CMs even check, if they tell the truth, although it’s quite easy to look on the profiles. If they don’t check, this form is not really worth the paper it’s written on, because the moderators could easily leave out or “forget” some of their projects. :wink:

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Ah ah, you make my day :joy: That’s usually what they say, “ah no, I’m not giving up this drama, I’m on it”, or “It’s just a break” (although it’s been weeks, even months or years since they haven’t been on the drama but they are on other projects). As long as in their minds they don’t give up, it’s good. :joy::joy::joy:

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An another issue with checking projects. Some have projects that are restricted for me so I cannot check how far something is translated in language X. (I sometimes ask a friend but I don’t want to bother them all the time)

And some have a bunch off old projects that are not on Viki yet and then not to mention the Chinese/Taiwanese drama which have no dates. So no idea when those will be up on Viki.

So it can happen that you pick a mod one day because they have no project now, and the next day Viki decides to upload a bunch of Chinese and old kdrama and boom that mod suddenly has 4 projects to work in.

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Ye if they don’t check if it’s true the form is useless. That’s why I’d prefer some kind of VIKI indicator with more detailed informations, including how many unfinished and how many recent/actual/coming soon projects someone already has.

If it’s not written in the profile a CM couldn’t know it because it’s unlisted on the profile’s project page until the trailer or some subbing was done.

I did this. Some lied. I checked and they “forgot” to mention 2-3 projects.

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I understand why some people offer on so many projects at a time. When language moderators have to wait for the long line-up of segmenters, origin translators, general editors, chief editor and the CM to release, they want to work on another drama. Some moderators are amazing and can handle many projects at a time! Some can’t even keep up with one project in a timely manner. I don’t think it’s something anyone can judge across the board.

CMs need to respect people, who offer in a private message, that they should know how much they can handle. Then if they don’t follow through, a CM has the option to dismiss them due to inactivity on the channel. Once dismissed, moderators would likely learn that a CM means business. I don’t trust moderators who offer in the comment section of every drama. It’s like they aren’t selective, offering willy-nilly, and I would doubt their commitment to see a project to the end.

I have seen several CMs who stressed that Co-Mods must apply together. I think that’s an excellent idea. I must work with other editors, but I find that I learned something from each one, even if it was how to be more patient or understanding. When there’s a lull between episodes, I watch dramas. I can’t imagine being on Viki just to work and not enjoying all the dramas.

My sister and my son asked me why I spend this time editing without pay LOL. For me, I feel I contributed something to Viki’s community, then I can watch all dramas without feeling lazy. I don’t understand why people get so upset. Take note of CMs who treat you respectfully, and only offer to work for them in future projects. We can’t change other people! It’s the definition of insanity to try and change other people. Most of us can barely change ourselves! It’s okay to vent!!! But no one can tell a CM how to run a channel. If we don’t like how a CM works, we have the option to leave. Or we can complain to Viki, but I wouldn’t want the reputation of being a complainer.