Department of Moderators and Operators (History)
Contents
General
This department was created at the 2007 Admin Meeting under the name of the Department of Moderators. On November 21, Melana al'Cairera became the first director of the department. The Chat Operators as well as the role of IRC Administrator was transferred to this department from the Department of Technology.
2007
One of the first points of business for the department was to implement a rotating term schedule for all moderators unless the moderator was also an administrator. The old position of Mistress of Chat was also reinstated and offered to Miriya ay'Anne.
2008
Early in 2008 it was formalized as to which forums on the boards the department would be in charge of along with its three chat channels in IRC. At this time, the designated forums included: General; Mundane World; Current Events; Creative Endeavors; Ask the Aes Sedai; Technology and Media; Games, Quizzes and Humor; and the Olde Warder and Hen. Later in 2008, the forum "Ask the Aes Sedai" was renamed to "Ask the White Tower" to be more inclusive.
For Current Events, it was formalized in 2008 that each term would have 4 moderators with 6 month term limits. During the Administrative meeting in September, a full list of Current Events guidelines was agreed upon and these were presented to the participants. Another shift happened in that Current Events was made a forum that not everyone could see, and people could only gain access through emailing the Director of Moderators and agreeing to follow the CE guidelines.
2009
In February, Melana al'Cairera retired as director and Serinia Edoras was chosen as the new director. However, her reign was short lived, as she moved to become the director of the new Department of Events and Conferences after its creation in April. In May, Calypsa al'Nicolai was chosen as the new director. Later in the year, Calypsa left the position and was replaced by Vivianna L'antreau.
2010
The site moved to new forums in March of this year. The forum "Mundane World" was combined with the forum "General" since many of the conversations overlapped. The forum "Games, Quizzes, and Humor" changed names to "Frivolous Fun." Current Events became visible to all members, but members still needed to request permission to post in the forum. A new forum was created called Job Hunters to help community members discuss all topics relating to careers and job searching. The decision to cease using the "Faire Grounds" forum was rescinded and the forum was put back in use during festivals.
2011
When Vivianna L'antreau was chosen to become the next Amyrlin Seat, the position of director was given to Karassa Souladrin.
During this year, the Guilds were replaced by the "Discussion Halls." The forum "Job Hunters" was reinvented as "Education and Employment" and the forum of "Sports Fanatics" was added.
2012
The position of Master/Mistress of Chat was retired.
During this year, the department decided to split "Creative Endeavors" into two new forums: "Fine Arts & Literary Pursuits" and "Hand Crafts." The forum "Entertainment" changed names to "Entertainment & Technology."
2013
Karassa Souladrin stepped down as the Director of Moderators and was succeeded by Kelgan al'Moranwin. The position of Master/Mistress of Chat was resurrected and Deoan Kakarot was selected to fill the position. Chat Operators were given rotating 6 month term limits similar to Moderators.
2014
The title of the department officially changed to the Department of Moderators and Operators.
A new forum was created to house all Mafia and Assassin games and threads. To help manage this new forum, two new staff moderator positions were created, one to manage Mafia, the other to manage Assassins. Due to the involved nature of their duties, each moderator was given a one-year term, with term rotation offset by six months from one another. Eli Soljourn was selected as the first Mafia moderator and Eluial Aldaran as the first Assassins moderator.
The forum "Entertainment & Technology" was split into three new forums: "Entertainment," "Gaming," and "Tech Talk." Discussion Hall moderators were redivided into Discussion Hall A and B groups to balance work load.
2015
Mafia Moderator were elevated to administrator status.
2016
The Wheel of Time book forums were rearranged into new groupings: WoT 1-8 and WoT 1-14. The department also decided that a new forum dedicated to the works of Brandon Sanderson would be added.
2017
The department discussed two new proposed forums: Religion & Spirituality, and a separate forum to discuss the Wheel of Time TV show. The forum for for the tv show was added, while the Religion & Spirituality forum was shelved for a later date.
2018
In March, Asandra al'Terra became the new Director of Moderators and Operators.
One of the first orders of business was the announcement of a plan to add three new admins to the Department: Master of Chat/IRC, Master of Moderators, and Master of Chat/Discord (titles subject to change).
The decision was made for a shift from IRC to Discord. The Religion & Spirituality forum was still on the table for a future forum addition.
2019
In April, Asandra al'Terra stepped down as Director and was replaced by Nymala Ingasy.
2020
In September the Department was disbanded and roles transferred to other Departments. Mafia Moderators were transformed into Game Masters serving in the Department of Community Outreach, and Moderators and Chat Operators were moved to the Department of Technology.