First and the foremost thing, I would keep track on people who do surrogate advertising..
I would start more innovative forums to attract more number of people and to get more hits like the one recently started on skin care something like that...

Some times, May be give directions to un-directed discussions and control wrong information at a times though it is very toughest as everyone has it's right to control the things.

Get more advertiser though it is not the job of administrator but at least I can think of more people who can publish advertisement on Pagalguy(Being the Youngest Targeting Market)


I think if these above three steps would be done then it would benefit the PG to major extend to generate revenue.

I doubt if even a paid job would have such strict rules. In short, if you were to become an administrator and follow the above, then you will be working alone here

If I were to become a Mod then I will let people like you know how much I'm doing for you, something you don't even realize to acknowledge it properly.

Its not that strict unless and until one perform our job Its only strict when one is not doing the same and asked to do it

People will recognize the work without making them aware, Its just one should perform our job and awareness is automatically created

Well, firstly, I'd like to constantly keep track of my own performance as a mod, and ensure that users get to provide anonymous feedback about my effectiveness. Also, there could be a monthly award for best mod. In fact, if new users get to provide this feedback, it would be even better, because the oldies already know the mods, as well as most of the rules of PG.

Also, there are a couple of sections I'd want to clean up, like the GMAT section. I guess there are just two many threads out there, and it's tough to navigate through. Maybe, some restructuring is required.

Q.What will you do if you become a Moderator/Administrator on PaGaLGuY.com :D

1) Will keep an eye on all moderators/administrator and will ask them to submit a report if they dint perform their jobs properly.

2) Will see to it that concerns of puys are addressed as soon as possible, as i had found that mods/admins perform their task of banning/locking/guiding etc work properly but they dont concern much on puys doubts/suggestions/new ideas.

3) Will try to resolve puys basic doubts and suggestions in consideration with other mod/admin as the Core function of our forum is to help others and not ban/lock etc.

4) will think and post in due course :D

I doubt if even a paid job would have such strict rules. In short, if you were to become an administrator and follow the above, then you will be working alone here

If I were to become a Mod then I will let people like you know how much I'm doing for you, something you don't even realize to acknowledge it properly.

if i become a moderator my first priority will definitely be to make each important forum spam free and make it useful for the users which is really annoying at times when you are looking for some information on these forums.

rmbt Says

While I appreciate your ideas esp the one's mentioned above, there is a flaw in the assumption i.e. when compared to Admins , Moderator is an honarary job, and hence, PG isnt the No 1 priority for mods. This is why Mods fade away as they get more busy into there career or personal life. Hence, accountabilty or asking them question isnt that simple.

I hope i made little sense Actually got the idea of report based on submissions we don in our PG /MBA programs

Yes got one more idea on what i would do...

> Will start management contest as its done in various colleges. Y cant we have our own PG Fest (I already suggested the same in Suggestions thread too)

1) Will keep an eye on all moderators/administrator and will ask them to submit a report if they dint perform their jobs properly.

2) Will see to it that concerns of puys are addressed as soon as possible, as i had found that mods/admins perform their task of banning/locking/guiding etc work properly but they dont concern much on puys doubts/suggestions/new ideas.

While I appreciate your ideas esp the one's mentioned above, there is a flaw in the assumption i.e. when compared to Admins , Moderator is an honarary job, and hence, PG isnt the No 1 priority for mods. This is why Mods fade away as they get more busy into there career or personal life. Hence, accountabilty or asking them question isnt that simple.

Q.What will you do if you become a Moderator/Administrator on PaGaLGuY.com :D

1) Will keep an eye on all moderators/administrator and will ask them to submit a report if they dint perform their jobs properly.

2) Will see to it that concerns of puys are addressed as soon as possible, as i had found that mods/admins perform their task of banning/locking/guiding etc work properly but they dont concern much on puys doubts/suggestions/new ideas.

3) Will try to resolve puys basic doubts and suggestions in consideration with other mod/admin as the Core function of our forum is to help others and not ban/lock etc.

4) will think and post in due course

Have never posted here :-)

But Iam planning to cleanup all those important threads & make it spam free

Q.What will you do if you become a Moderator/Administrator on PaGaLGuY.com

A.Will Ban all other Moderators !

In old or closed threads,one must have an option of only going through the thanked posts......

I mean,let us consider the CAT 2007 OVERALL DISCUSSION thread.......

Many useful informations r there..But all lost among so many un-useful posts.....

It will be really helpful for many of us..

Somak - This is the correct thread for your suggestion.

In old or closed threads,one must have an option of only going through the thanked posts......

I mean,let us consider the CAT 2007 OVERALL DISCUSSION thread.......

Many useful informations r there..But all lost among so many un-useful posts.....

It will be really helpful for many of us..

guys...
i have a query,
whenever we post something in a new thread, the notification for the same becomes instant. which means that if there is any new post for that thread, an instant e-mail notification is sent.
bharath

In User Control Panel, click on Edit options and a new page will be displayed.

You can change the option in Default Thread Subscription Mode to no email notification.

And then you'll stop receiving e-mails.

Hmm . well i ll put my 2 cents

If i become a mod

1) There is very little modding in the GMAT and B School discussions thread. Lotsa noobies in the GMAT section. I know Neo is modding there, but I have seen lotsa mail id's and phone numbers in posts.

2) I think the mod's are supopsed to move old useless threads in the trash. Correct me if i am wrong. What abt multiple threads. In result season, we have 3 4 threads for results of each college. I dunno if the redundant ones ever get deleted. This is unattractive work ( more like documentation ) and no thanks or PC ++ , but very very essential to main the quality of threads and posts.

3) The definition of Chit Chat needs a overhaul ( this is where Admin comes in ). Long have users quoted the definition of Chit Chat sectiona and argued on a lot of things. End the arguments, period. Even the constitution is changed sometimes. Make a change in the rules and stop the fighting.

4) 1 more for Admin - MODS now busy / unavailable shd be replaced, than have them just for namesake. I am not saying remove them. Give them any status you wish, but dont count them in the MODing business if they r not available atleast for 40 hrs a week. The forum is at a very critical stage now. With the number of users exploding, we need more MODS and more active participation from them.
1 Green MOD for every section is needed.

Will add more later, if anything comes to mind

Hey akhil,
see I am not cming to the rescue of the mods over here or anything... but this one statement of yours is highly prejudiced and presumptuous!!

(wonder their salary increments and bonuses are decided on the basis of "Who suspends how many members" and "closes how many threads?")

see.. first of all, the people who beme mods are never paid for it... It is a throughly voluntary post.. So if you are selected as a mod, please don't expect a salary hike. ;)

Now lets just come to the other claims you have made!!
(starting from bottom to top)

7. I WILL NOT SNIP POSTS

uhh.. dude, just go through these posts
here

and there were more like these (check next page)...
So before making claims like Thou shalt not snip, see what is happening in the threads.. Now maybe in the chit chat section it doesn't make much sense.. but it does in the other sections!! and in some cases even here..
Try to view it as a public forum with a very large following (yes even the profs of ur bskool might be following it)...

6. I WILL NOT SPAM

Now this is hard.. at some time or the other, everyone spams.. makes posts which have no point other than to console people, give a tiny bit of info, as a tiny bit of info etc etc.. It is to be expected from all and sundry (even though several of the current batch of mods might disagree with me over here). :biggrin:

5. I will not abruptly close a thread

:thumbsup:
Some thing which I am very much for. good point dude!

4. I will not interfere in threads just for the heck of it.. and if by habit I do, I will try to add some value to it

Boss, you will be expeted to take part in threads just for the heck of it and do nothing but encourage people.
Have a look at the thing rohit (gnrs) did in the "results frozen" thread! (and man.. did we all need that. thanks rohit)

See from time to time it is expected from the mod to "exercise a bit of control" over the general feeling of the junta.
Making of excessive clones, swearing unnecessarily, fighting amongst members, excessive posting going on etc are some of the things in which he/she has to get in and make his presence felt and nothing more!

3. I will not preach, and if by habit I do preach, I will practice wat i preach
2. I will not be a hypocrite, nor will I support one
1. I will not believe in double standards

Perfect dude... But then the majority of the mods in the majority of the time do the same. Just their way of thinking may not match soe of the times with the people being oppressed.


So all I am saying is.. instead of making accusations at the current mods, we should think of new and novel things in this thread..
What you have suggested is what constitutes a perfect mod and is expected of him. but this thread is about some new and novel things you will introduce.

Lets keep this thread for what it was meant and not another platform to take a pot shot at the mods shall we???

As you said akhil, I request you to take this as a feedback kind of a post and not any particular animosity towards you..
Cheers

EDIT: @subodh: no exiles please... this feels stupid to me...

The problem according to me stems from the Mods' tendency not to segregate their User Role and Mod Role.

One thing that I have noted here is that mostly diplomatic people has been provided the honors of Modship.. That in the very essence is misunderstanding that a vociferous user cant be a Mod.. No matter how diplomatic a user is - as long as he does not segregate his twin roles, he cant be a good Mod.

Now, it is difficult to do, but not impossible if a conscious attention is made. Suppose, for example, I am a Mod and I have a very strong opinion in favor of some point and I come heavily in the support of that point.

Now some user asks me to refrain from posting some words that I used because I myself asked others to refrain from using them..

Now the best approach is to go ahead and snip my own post. That is the segregation of the role. As a user you can still justify ur choice of words, but as a Mod, u have to snip it...

Here, what I see is that Mods have stopped being vocal about arguments just because they think that they are moderators and hence not entitled to have strong opinions but that is basically not fulfilling either role - a user or a Moderator.

So what I will do if I become a Mod: -
1. I will give a conscious attention to the segregation of my role as a User and as a Moderator, and will come down on Subodh - the user heavily.
2. I will try to limit my Mod role as much as possible so that a free market can operate, only intervening when a serious issue is at hand..

PS - I am going into a self-imposed exile as I think I will anyways be asked to stay off from PG now.. My Last Post on PG..

Just noticed this thread.. it has been here since a long time but never seemed to care about it...until a very recent incident (closing of the "extreme Pagal" thread) incited me to do so and reply on this thread..

I know i shudnt be passing judgments based on 1 such incident, but then it takes just 1 bad interview to lose out on a seat, just 1 bad post to ruin yur image...

I have just diverted a bit from the subject of this thread
Will be listing a few things I will not do... (Mods I hope i m allowed to post them?)

So here goes:
If I become a Mod @ PG:-
1. I will not believe in double standards
I dont think an explanation/example is required here.. happens often

2. I will not be a hypocrite, nor will I support one
Same as above

3. I will not preach, and if by habit I do preach, I will practice wat i preach


As subodh rightly pointed out:

Originally Posted by estranged_gnrs
This is my personal opinion here,
No encouragement to intellectual masturbation on PG forums.
Cheers,
Rohit
Subodh says:
Extremely lame attempt at humor, Rohit..

And I wonder where has your sense of choosing words and lecturing others on choosing them have gone. At least Walk the Talk. It is very easy to suggest to Man_fri or whoever else is there to use these words in place of that but try practicing themselves. Or is it that you forget everything that u teach in anger.

4. I will not interfere in threads just for the heck of it.. and if by habit I do, I will try to add some value to it

Posted by Apurv

The intellectual soliloquizing ..................

Dont even feel like quoting the entire post... wat a waste


5. I will not abruptly close a thread

Thts the worst tht cud hav happened and i must say Mr. Pagalguy set a real bad example of himself by closing the thread offering no explanation watsoever..

See, i know hes a busy chap..so he just decided not to take the pains of going through the entire thread

So, this is wat i think Mr. Pagalguy did/thought wen he noticed tht thread "Extreme Pagalhood"..
(wait!!! did he notice it himself, or did the other mods ask him to come to their rescue???)

He read the first few posts, most probably he agreed with nikkers post , then clicked on the Post Reply tab, or was it the Quick Reply tab??? (watever)

and posted his reply, closed the thread and disappeared ..

Hes the boss of MODS after all, noone here can refute him rite.. "THREAD CLOSED"
Tht just ends it all rite...
(Had a strong urge of starting a thread "Why was the Extreme PAgal" thread closed?"..
But decided against it.. even tht wud have been closed...wat the heck!!!)

Such a pity he didnt even bother to read tht post by man friday which had suggestions which cud have been discussed .. all for the betterment and improvement of PG...
A snippet of the same:

Perhaps what you could do is moot a separate section to discuss social and political issues (or whatever else you see fit) and then one of you volunteer to be a mod on this section, without restricting anyone's acces to it. That way you can filter out the spam and repeated points, but at the same time allow everybody who genuinely wants to make a contribution to post.

And is this the first time the Mods hav done this, of course NOT
They do it time and again

(wonder their salary increments and bonuses are decided on the basis of "Who suspends how many members" and "closes how many threads?")


ok here are the last 2, both are my favourites,

6. I WILL NOT SPAM
7. I WILL NOT SNIP POSTS


Above all,
HERES ONE THING THT I MUST DO AS A MOD:

I will follow all the rules of Pagalguy.. (LEAD BY EXAMPLE)

And will definitely abide by the above-mentioned "Do-not" rules


Cheers !!!

PS: MODS: Pls take it in the right spirit (feedback, thts wat this thread was meant for)
Otherwise, u have all the rights to ban/suspend me, snip the post, close the thread, the works.....

IF.....

i'll bring in military rule ...

Too much of indiscipline.....tk d spammers to task....:snipersm:
n give more powers to the mods....

Maybe thtz why I shud rather not be one....

ciao ppl...

.

Something similar yet serious discussion's been taken place in Internation/ GNAT section.
I suggest ^Authorities^ to have look at that thread as well.
http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/b-school-discussions-mba-abroad/20585-how-can-we-improve-gmat.html

Thank you.

guys...
i have a query,
whenever we post something in a new thread, the notification for the same becomes instant. which means that if there is any new post for that thread, an instant e-mail notification is sent.
though this is convinient at times, its not something that is preferrable all the time.
why is the default for this as instant Notification.
can we be given an option at the time of posting itself, so that we dont have to go and manually turn it off.
this in my office with such slow net connection is a pain.
and by the time i turn it off, there are a couple of posts which means a couple of mails in my inbox waiting to be deleted.



bharath

Give myself the title of
" Master Of The Universe" or something along that lines instead of plain ol' moderator

Hola..!!

Looks like the Mods are starting to get pangs of self doubt in their system ...

but what the heck .. you want ideas , v'll give it to you ..

One concept I've seen rampant in PG is banning of people , Though the idea may seem valid to some , It doesnt seem right to ban a person , I mean he's not a criminal is he , spamming a thread may not be spamming in his dictionary .. ok leave spamming , i've heard of people being banned coz they were flirting on sb ( I don't know how much of this is true .. being a newbie myself ) but u get my point .

1. No banning under my rule ..

Someone remarked on the sb thread , that almost no newbies visit it .. why is thats so .. I being a newbie ..( i first came to sb when i was jst 7 posts old ... nt even knwing what sb stands for ... was helped by a fren i knew frm before .. so was able to withstand the onslaught of ridicule and accusations that were thrown at me .. heck i think i even took down sum people with me .. but there was help frm the oldies too ..

2. Make Sb more visible .. give newbies a chance to interact more ,maybe make some friends and hence enhance their activity on PG .. ( I knw i wasnt active much before I was introduced to the coolest avatar thread..)

Somebody said that modding of the mods is already present .. so will skip that point ..

someone pointed out the flaw in the search system , which i've also faced sumtimes .. so will be skipping dat point ..

closing of a thread is not really dat gr8 .. coz even if a thread has lost its importance , and all just the people are doing is writing their views ( you may call it spamming ..) .. but even that has a charm to it ..whats the problem if a guy or two posts some more posts .. if its as useless as you say it is , then it'll not get any posts at all

3. Remove the option of closing a thread

fixed mods .. though with the option of modding the mods ... are still quie free from the worries of a normal PGite.. the mods should relinquish their powers to a worthy successor every 1 yr , so that new people begin seeing PG from a Mod's perspective .. that can improve the environment of Pg ..

4. pass a law about changing the Mod every year .


Thats all i can think about right now...

more later ..

adieus
Rishabh

if i were the admin ... i would have forced you (subhod) to visit GMAT section
gatcha

but then its a democracy right? cant force anybody Kya karu ?

i hope you got my point dear friend :)
... give and u ll be given more

BLUFFMASTER!!! Says

I will Lock Threads Like These !!! ;)

Best Quote I have encountered... Bluffmaster u have justified ur name....

Hope I am not accused of spamming...

Like the UN security council, there shd be permanent mods and periodic mods funda...

Make this thread more visible...
Have a whacky idea contest... like the PG annual awards...

IF..........

(1) I will remove all the current mods and bring in a new team.. After all democracy is the name of the game (in India at least).. Haven't the incumbents served their tenure.

(2) I will delegate the powers more and more and the merging, opening of threads will be done on a periodic basis to remove stale threads..

ummm
bharath.. I think there is a flaw in the way you searched... In the second field, just after the place you type the key word, you have an option to search only the titles (the roll down menu). This could help you in locating the thread of your choice a lot more easily...
But then, this is a question which has been on my mind for a long time.. How come the search option is not as efficient as the rest of the site...
I mean, I can always find a dozen irrelevant threads for every relevant one.. Like the moment I typed "ISB", the first thread displayed was "Introduce yourself" which doesn't really make sense...

So I guess bharath's query/suggestion/resolution is one to ponder upon!

thanks for letting me know that dude
but anyways,
for new comers who just join the thread, any irrelevant find to their search+ the enthu to open a thread, makes so many repeats out here in PG.
maybe a refined search tab, wld help do away with that problem

regards,
bharath

there is one thing in PG that i find very difficult to use, and that wld be the search tab.
the other day i wanted to know if there exists an ISB thread, and i typed ISB in the search tab.
even though i got a match, the ones on top were all irrevelant stuff.
the ISB thread was placed somewhere in the bottom.
i guess the search is done based on the presence of the word even once inside a thread, but i feel priority has to be given to the thread names

anyways if there is something wrong in the way i search, plz let me know.

regards,
bharath

ummm
bharath.. I think there is a flaw in the way you searched... In the second field, just after the place you type the key word, you have an option to search only the titles (the roll down menu). This could help you in locating the thread of your choice a lot more easily...
But then, this is a question which has been on my mind for a long time.. How come the search option is not as efficient as the rest of the site...
I mean, I can always find a dozen irrelevant threads for every relevant one.. Like the moment I typed "ISB", the first thread displayed was "Introduce yourself" which doesn't really make sense...

So I guess bharath's query/suggestion/resolution is one to ponder upon!

there is one thing in PG that i find very difficult to use, and that wld be the search tab.
the other day i wanted to know if there exists an ISB thread, and i typed ISB in the search tab.
even though i got a match, the ones on top were all irrevelant stuff.
the ISB thread was placed somewhere in the bottom.
i guess the search is done based on the presence of the word even once inside a thread, but i feel priority has to be given to the thread names

anyways if there is something wrong in the way i search, plz let me know.

regards,
bharath

1. Introduce "Post/Thread of the week".
2. 'Mod' the mods.
3. Be consistent while banning puys.

As Mahip has asked us to start discussing the suggestions made so far.. I really would like to know a bit more about the "post of the week" funda..
What could be the criterion for the same...
Although I would really like it if something like this happens...
What say Mahip???

PS: modding the mods?? what the hell does that mean??? I mean, estranged and Mahip were recently banned.. so the banning consistency and modding the mod is already in place.. me thinks!!
*me is scratching my head trying to find out the reason*

I will Lock Threads Like These !!!

Hey Mahip,

Make this thread a sticky. Else with the B skool reults coming out, this thread will not be visible enough to attract maximum attention.

Done!


Will post in detail soon..

Let the discussions on the suggestions begin on the same thread from today!

Others can also post their thoughts now, no more posting rules!

Hey Mahip,

Make this thread a sticky. Else with the B skool reults coming out, this thread will not be visible enough to attract maximum attention.

all right

so discussion is on then!
good.

i have already posted my suggestions here. http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/625138-post3.html
so for discussion:

I see long ago Captain & other senior MOds requested members
( http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/113791-post1.html ) to do self moderation.

Nice.
and look at here we have bunch of (or should i say a lot of) demi Mods (: read certified /addicted /harcore pagals) people helping around.
:thumbsup:
GOOD.
Really Nice.

but then whats Moderation?
what is moderating?

I dont think discouraging a member starting a thread is modding....
Is it?

Please tell me.

As par as i think
Moderators come in the picture when:
:snipersm:"there are double threads of similar topics"

:snipersm:"there is SPAMMING" (by the way spammers are the ones who advertise or promote on forums by means free posting on threads.... & not members who ^express themselves^ )

:snipersm:"posts go out of track & miss the title and intention of the thread"

:snipersm:"things go dirty like members attack on each others personal opinions...& religon et al"

& let me tell you the moderators of this site are doing excellent job...
so
wheres the problem?

Problems starts when the demi mods (members who suggest others good ) suggest something others

and I am sorry to say manier times they jump in on other occasions also, other than the fours i have mentioned above.
suggesting to ^ search first & then start a thread ^

well i can understand that
the site has almost 100 000 members and you have to be pretty strict when it comes to thread starting:

but then what the heck?

http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/613874-post976.html

Whats the use of the forums, if people do not start a thread?

i see, many demi mods constantly ask Captain & other senior mods to have "only Mods can open the threads" control
but fortunately this hasn't been implemented as yet. that means
theres some point in what i am suggesting...

demi mods mis-understood the meaning of moderation.

THANK YOU.

Let the discussions on the suggestions begin on the same thread from today!

Others can also post their thoughts now, no more posting rules!

3. Let the bootcamp funda be PG sponsored or bootcamp by PG....?? what say Psycho?

Ha ha ha!! Checked this post today. Awesome. Yep ! Get the bootcamp sponsored by PG - let them foot the bill

Arun

Hi ,

A lot of wonderful suggestions have come in , high time I give mine too.. albeit not wonderful

I propose that some administrative powers like IP check be made available to the resident group leaders of various institutes . There are a lot many people who join the forum that day and start targetting other institutes the very same day , now what exactly this is , is pretty obvious .. and it should be curbed .. coz one of the ethos of pagalguy is no comparisons .. are we living upto it

regards

shailesh

*Bump* Long time no post ...

All the *Booking Karne Wali Junta* .. do edit your posts and provide some inputs!

Others are also welcome!

Psycho you rock as usual !!

PG runs in the blood and thats why i'm here and will be here.

1. Introduce the functionality of scientific calculator in a newly created section.

Hmm........ let me think:
(1) There are a lot of people who start off great but dissipate over time. The only reason we are not able to build a great list of "alums" is because when there is nothing in for them, they tend to loose their focus and enthusiasm. Get good people and get them to stay there.

Introduce something post-MBA &/or during MBA which will keep b-school/passout junta involved.

1. one arbit thing in mind : Probably a dedicated section to MBA studies. Sub-sections on various functions viz. OPs.,Fin.,Mktg.,Sys.,HR . Threads in those sub-sections which have famous Solved Case-studies. B-school junta will flock to read them and infact a lot many b-schoolers will be newbies:) .

2. post-MBA : tough but i guess possible. Get companies to put up their live case-studies (could be anything- module, an intrapreneurship problem; live case studies/problems is self-explanatory) in a special section. In this section, the interested b-school passouts (can crosscheck in many ways) create their own account. They now solve the case(in that case's thread(or nay better word...) and post it where each solution is not visible to the other but only to the company(who has been given a special log-in). If the company accepts someone's solution, then reward that solution provider moneytarily (yes, the company will pay up). Once this thing takes off well, then companies can be charged for putting up their cases and when e-mails get paid then charge the solution providers also for creating an account in this section. Call it Consultancy section .

3. Let the bootcamp funda be PG sponsored or bootcamp by PG....?? what say Psycho?

(2) Build communities - around common interests and possibly around cities - have more regular PG meets. For me, it is not a forum. It is being bonded by people with similar tastes and interests. You bond with people because of common language - imagine standing in a crowded market place in Chennai and hear someone talking in Hindi. For me to know someone belongs to PG has the same effect. Its something that transcends asking and answering questions. Some of my best friends have been formed through these forums. But I can see that is dwindling. Its more about a place to get questions answered, argue on inane topics and spam about all things sundry. Build sustainable communities around PG.

Couldn't agree with you more Psycho. I see the PG spirit diluting and remaining only with the oldies (sorry, this feeling could be coz mebbe i'm in the b-school now & not among the aspirants ).

-> again some glue is required to hold people together.
1. , 2. , ...not getting any solution here right now, will come back !!

(3) When a guy new to the forum joins in, the most difficult thing is to navigate through millions of posts across thousands of pages spread across tens of sub-forums. Get it simple. Send a mail along with the membership which explains clearly and briefly how to post. Get "mentors" who are a level below "moderators" who can help guide newbies. With limited power perhaps, but a lot more utility. Make life simple for newbies joining in.

Great point.
Should i be writing this...? : introduce a minimum age formembers. I see 16-17 yr. olds logged in and in my personal view don't do any value-add. expecting some/many groans on this .


Let me get some more GROANS(higher probability)/THANKS


1. We got to have an objective measure of contribution of the users on PG. This to me is one of biggest need of the hour.
2. We got to have more discipline in terms of posts/threads/rules etc.

For 2 :
-> Mail the Hitchiker's Guide to the user as soon as he/she registers (automated mail). He/she got to get familiar with the rules so that PG remains a well moderated place.

NOW - Lets make use of this Indian education system. chaahe mugging karrlein parr kuch toh dimaag mein ghussta hi hai
The condition before one can post is that he/she has to score a minimum no. of marks in a GUIDE QUIZ. Fail- appear again, pass this criterion of minimum marks and then post. This will kinda ensure that new posters are well versed with the rules etc.


cheers!!
SHEKHAR

Hello !

Some crazy ideas..... dunno whether its practical to implement them.

I would do the following :

1 ) One of the biggest problems PG faces is that of newbies coming in and posting anything, anywhere, without bothering to know if thats the right place. starting threads with searching, posting personal contact info, etc are the most common violations of code.

Solution :

Make every new user read the codes of conduct. This can be ensured by having a compulsory entrance 'test', which will have 10-15 questions about basic forum posting etiquette. Keep it simple. I know this sounds crazy, but I think it will make a big difference.

2 ) Rating Mods

I think all users who have posted a certain minimum number of posts ( 100 ? ) could be allowed to rate mods. Ratings could be on various parameters like whether the mod has correctly closed down threads, his behaviour, etc. This will introduce democracy into the forums, which, IMHO, will stop or lessen accusations of biased / arbit behaviour.

3 ) Creating Semi-mods or more mods

Currently, people are clearly getting away with a lot of violations ( personal info, spamming, etc ) Increasing the number of mods could help. These mods SHOULD be chosen in a democratic way. All interested members ( again a minimum posts criteria applies ) could put in their names, and other puys can vote ( minimum post criteria, again, to prevent bogus voting )

4 ) A bit more leniency towards new threads ( as long as they are in the appropriate forums ) could help. I know resources are valuable, but restricting people can be quite annoying to that person.

5 ) Posting something which has already been said before / answered before should fetch a warning / 2-3 day ban. This might sound rather harsh, but a look at the various insti help threads will prove my point. A lot of newbies keep posting stuff which has been answered before, and this becomes quite annoying to puys from that B-school, who are spending their valuable time helping people out. It results in wasting time which could be better utilised. Newbies gotta take some effort......

6 ) Allowing a change of user-ids.

Maybe we could have a permanent id and a temp id. The permanent id appears in small font below the temp id. Its fun changing ids..... for groans and thanks, the permanent id comes up.

Maybe I'll think of something more later............

Cheers,
Harshad

Hmm........ let me think:

(1) Like in physics, there is a source and a sink - figuratively speaking energy flowing from a higher level to a lower level. I would get more "source" of knowledge to help the "sink" of newbies around. And for this to happen - we don't need to attract new talent - we already have a truckload of incredible people just look around - for example on the Bschools forum we have Bacardisprite who is fantastic - I would recognize him. Credit him for doing a great job. Ensure he has all the help to do a great job. And allow him to continue helping the members for time to come. Get people like Anupam, and help them foster the CAT community. There are a lot of people who start off great but dissipate over time. The only reason we are not able to build a great list of "alums" is because when there is nothing in for them, they tend to loose their focus and enthusiasm. Get good people and get them to stay there.

(2) Build communities - around common interests and possibly around cities - have more regular PG meets. For me, it is not a forum. It is being bonded by people with similar tastes and interests. Its like smoking. In a crowded train when you want to sneak into the toilet and have a smoke - you invariably bond to the other guy in the bogey who is doing that. You bond with people because of common language - imagine standing in a crowded market place in Chennai and hear someone talking in Hindi. For me to know someone belongs to PG has the same effect. Its something that transcends asking and answering questions. Some of my best friends have been formed through these forums. But I can see that is dwindling. Its more about a place to get questions answered, argue on inane topics and spam about all things sundry. Build sustainable communities around PG.

(3) When a guy new to the forum joins in, the most difficult thing is to navigate through millions of posts across thousands of pages spread across tens of sub-forums. Get it simple. Send a mail along with the membership which explains clearly and briefly how to post. Get "mentors" who are a level below "moderators" who can help guide newbies. With limited power perhaps, but a lot more utility. Make life simple for newbies joining in.

I will add things as I remember them.

Arun

Hmm .. Never seen this b4 in PG.com .. SO here goes -

#1 - Be less meddlesome and resist the temptation to intervene in each and every discussion !! Some mods here tend to moderate everything and cannot resist the urge to jump into discussions (in a 'moderating' capacity).. remember the adage - "With great power comes great Responsibilities"

#2 - Be a bit more kind towards newbies !! After all we have all been a newbie at some point .. So dont be overly harsh on them !!

#3 - Maybe create two seperate Id's - like XYZ -Mod and XYZ - USer .. Sometimes even if they participate in debates in the capacity of an user, it tends to get in a jarring feeling !!

#4 - Deal with sensitive threads more carefully !!

#5 - Keep up the great job .. I have seen lots of people coming and going (moi included) over the past 3 years, but the spirit of this place remains the same !! And credit must be given to the mods for that !!

Booked now...
Gyaan later...

i will add feature wherein user can change their PG ID.
Second one would be feature to edit previous post.
Third would be PGMessenger, where all PUYs can chat with each other.
Fourth, a storage account for each PUYs to use it as storage to share files. Direct PG links.
Fifth, come out with more PG Merchandise and give them free to quality posters.
Finally a PG certificate of excellence to PUYs for their no of posts and quality of posts. At the same time tie up with good institutes and corporate houses to recognise these.

Superb one - I think the mods shud seriously consider this - was on my mind from long - will be kind of an extension to the shoutbox - say a provision for dynamic PM or so...

Ashish

A-I would ask people to be more straightforward in the posts they make. Like instead of asking "What will will you do...IF....blah blah", I would ask "We, the present mods are slightly short of ideas as to how to improve the forums, so we need users to pitch in"

B-Would have a clear-cut criteria to appoint mods and to rate them. And also change the present rule :"once a mod, always a mod"

C-make sure that if condition A isn't followed, the thead title is modified accordingly

If I become a moderator/administrator in PG,

I would try and visit different threads and look after the posts which are pretty interesting..they can be awarded as "Best Post of the Month/Week/Fortnight"

Also good & multiple posts by a single user can make him/her "Best Pagal of the Month/Week/Fortnight"

And if they write any article,it should not be copy paste from somewhere

This will increase quality of threads and people will think before they write anything.

Also I would start this thread (What will you do if you become a Moderator/Administrator on PaGaLGuY.com) ...so that good ideas keep pouring in more frequently..

Off the top of my head :

1) Find a way to speed up SB. Right now, its way too slow. i cant carry on a decent conversation for more than a minute.
Another way to solve this problem is to figure out how to make that long lost project of a PG Instant messenger work!

2) Get more mods asap...People who have atleast gone through 2 CAT seasons on PG & are respected ...I see some veterans who oughta be mods, but arent ( There might be specific reasons for this, I wouldnt know).


3) I also think that the scarcity of mods/other positions is a reason why most people move away from PG after they spend 2 yrs on da site or get into a Bschool(atleast by 2nd yr) .
If I was the PG admin, I would create positions , for example : 2-3 mascot type characters from each batch representing each Bschool. This would ensure that a bunch of seniors remain active on PG even if they are in their 2nd yr or possibly after that(dreaming ). This is in addition to the B-school ranks, of course

Space booked for the next 20 points I have... to be posted soon...Havent even touched the "spamming tsunami" issue yet!!:)

Cheers,

zanyzaphod

Q> PG Survey: What will you do if you become a Moderator/Administrator on PaGaLGuY.com ?
Ans> Hunt down threads like these and close them after banning the starter of the thread for a week ...... as simple as that !!!



added later :


all those who have groaned; sorry to say but i pity ur sense of humor ;)

Two things. One of them is definately possible. Dont know about the technical feasibility of the other one.

Idea 1 : A new sticky thread. If someone(esp a noobie wants to open a new thread coz he cud not find a similar thread, he posts his idea and the mods / older members can find him a thread if it exists.

Idea 2 : Opening a new thread should not be allowed before "searching" at least 3 times. In other words, for a particular login session, a user has to search at least 3 times before he can open a new thread. Provided this idea is technically feasible, it might just reduce the number of redundant threads and threads openend by noobies

hmm.. I would like to bring in in more features into our own pg..
features such as a 1.search functionality which brings enable all the mba aspirants to look for other aspirants in their city..
2.there should be a seperate section where all the files are uploaded...
it becomes very difficult to search for attachments on pg otherwise...

will contribute more.. just booked the space

i will add feature wherein user can change their PG ID.
Second one would be feature to edit previous post.
Third would be PGMessenger, where all PUYs can chat with each other.
Fourth, a storage account for each PUYs to use it as storage to share files. Direct PG links.
Fifth, come out with more PG Merchandise and give them free to quality posters.
Finally a PG certificate of excellence to PUYs for their no of posts and quality of posts. At the same time tie up with good institutes and corporate houses to recognise these.

I think the mods are doing a great job,they are working really hard and keeping the forums clean and informative.

What I definitily WONT do is to throw my weight around every once in a while.

If i become a mod i will distribute pg tees among all SB regulars first and will ban all spammers

next-coming soon:)

Will do following things..not necessarily in order:

1. Will add an option of hiding one's post with a message "Click to see the message"
2.Will keep the SB accessible to all only for certain period during the day or night
3. LATEX or some other tool to use while writing equations in mathematics which are difficult to decipher in the absence of proper tool
4. Will allow somebody from the regular posters to moderate the forum for a fixed tenure which can be extended depending upon his/her preformance
5. It will be best if we could fix the number of pages a thread will run and after that we may continue the discussions in thread-2 on the same topic
...will add more...

1. Introduce "Post/Thread of the week".
2. 'Mod' the mods.
3. Be consistent while banning puys.

STEP 1 - Will make Shoutbox bigger

PS- Coming soon: More STEPS

I will make Expressing oneself (which the mods term sometimes as SPAMMING )on the Shout Box LEGAL

Making unneccessary posts on Threads can be termed as Spamming surely since that gets ur Posts count up so u may have a selfish motive behind that... But SB!!! I think we all come there to take a break from our heavy discussions on B-Schools, Studies, MBA, etc.

This refers to usage of text as well as smilies! Smilies bring color to the SB so their abundance is very important!

After all we all come to the SB to unwind... and A Shout Box for Pagals can always accomodate Insane stuff...

2# There shud be an option to expand the Sb on the click of a Tab. Jise chota chahiya use Chotaa...jise bada chahiye use Bada


Views are welcome and so are Groans/Thanks!

am booking this place for future editing

Now what the hell would I do if I were the moderator/admin

1) Introduce a new button (like thanks and groans) and term it as "LOL"... There are lots of posts which shouldn't be thanked and you cannot groan at them (eg: ilovecats thread)... so... LOL is the only solution...

2)Add more comment space in the arcade section.. its really good....

3)Putting of a new thread is moderated... baap I have grown tired of reporting repetitive threads!!

4)try to have an option for the mods to add a poll in an existing thread.. man just think abt it, a new thread is made because no new poll can happen in the prev thread... would reduce a lot of ambiguity!

and yup..
me is thinking.. jus wanted to book this space...
and ya, Harsha's idea is seriously good!!

Have newbie section in the home page titled "new to pg?"