What is representation?
Good question. In light of a massively increasing community on all fronts of the Infinite Flight sim, I find myself asking this question a lot more. Countless new people are pouring through the doors, and contributions are shooting through the roof.
With that being said, it’s very important to consider how one reflects/presents him or herself in front of others. Not just others, but reflection on our community as a whole. Representation needs a guiding force to help that image come along.
This is where moderation comes into play. I’m sure all of you have seen moderation at one point, whether it be from Magic Johnson’s fan page or even a simple meme generator.
Consider this: why does the forum have moderation in the first place? IFATC? The airport editing team? Simply put, it curbs negative things from running all over the place, as well as steering positive interaction and productivity in the right direction.
A lot of things can happen in the absence of moderation. Here’s a few of them:
- Verbal abuse
- Internet violence
- Spam
- Hurt feelings
- Toxic degradation
To put things in perspective for you guys, here’s a question. When you look at yourself, what do you and your actions represent?
You have a white couch in your living room. You leave and sign off for a new couch to be brought in. This couch has pizza boxes, stains, and a bad smell radiating from it. You sit on the couch, but nobody else wants to. This is an example of a bad action that wards off newbie community members.
Like it or not, moderation exists to keep things in order.
When I walk into a topic and see users arguing with each other publicly, respect for them goes down. When other people log in and see duplicate topics, they may think that the users who posted don’t utilize resources very well. Every action has an outcome, whether it be on the person(s) involved or those who are subject to said actions.
Steps to Success
Something happens, and you’ve got a plan to handle it. What would you do?
- Evaluate your intended action.
- Ask yourself if that action is going to hurt, harm, or degrade anyone involved. Rethink that action if it does.
- Will your action make sense? Does it follow logic?
- It is going to help or advance the topic of discussion in any way?
- Evaluate again. Is it a good statement?
With those steps in mind, you’re on the right track to contributing in a positive manner towards this great community. We’re in this together. Remember that.
Just my $0.02 to consider. Peace out!