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THE OFFICIAL STAFF POSITIONS TOPIC More specific questions regarding these groups are covered in the second half of this post. For a list of all past and present staff and when they were promoted, please visit the Official Staff History Topic. Forum Staff Forum Assistants (FAs, Assistants) The Forum Assistants help the board run more smoothly by assisting the Forum Leaders, Global Moderators, and Administrators with dealing with violations and other things. They can close topics and approve/hide topics and posts. Forum Assistants command less authority than the Forum Leader; however, their word should be heeded. When looking to hire a new Forum Assistant, the administration looks for members who have displayed helpful behavior in and knowledge about the forums. With the retirement of the Forum Mentor team, the FAs will take on the duties of that former staff group. Forum Leaders (FLs, Moderators, Mods) Forum Leaders' duties include closing topics, moving topics, deleting topics and posts, giving Proto, approving and hiding topics and posts and various other things. They essentially keep things in order by creating and enforcing rules. They can also award and take away Protodermis points (Proto Energy, Proto, PE), if you merit it due to good or bad behavior. In extreme cases, a Forum Leader can also suspend posting privileges. Forum Leaders are also tasked with being Primary Leaders in specific forums. They are responsible for that forum's rules and direction, such as by running events/contests, leading discussion, and so forth. The Primary Leader of each forum is the ultimate authority on what is being discussed in his or her forum, and as such should have a vested interest in the subjects being discussed. Global Moderators (GMs, Globals) Global Moderators are often among the more senior staff members, as their long tenure of service often gives them the experience level and trust of the administrators that is required to be placed in such a position. Not everyone that is a Forum Leader will reach the level of Global Moderator, even if they have been around for a long time. Global Moderators are often the primary link between the various levels of forum staff and administration, often tasked with the responsibility of "holding the fort down" should problems arise and an administrator is unavailable. Global Moderators are key members of the moderating team as part of their duties are to be active in every forum to assist the Forum Leaders in their moderating duties. Black Six is in charge of the global moderating staff.Global Moderators are also key in the direct moderation of members. They have the ability to edit various profile fields such as signatures and personal photos/avatars, and can adjust Proto of members in any forum or directly through the member's profile. They also have the power to temporarily suspend any member's posting. Forum Administrators The Forum Administrator, Tufi Piyufi, is primarily involved in managing the forums, and maintaining the BZPower staff. Forum Admins don't carry quite as much authority as primary Administrators, and don't pay the bill to keep the site running. See the bottom of this post for more information. BZPOWER ADMINISTRATORS These guys run the site at its highest level, such as posting news, creating general BZPower rules, maintaining the site, and, perhaps most importantly, paying the bills. There are currently two active administrators: Black Six and Dimensioneer . Check the Reference Desk topic for more information on individual administrator's duties. News Staff Reporters (old color) Reporters post news stories on the home page. Black Six (BZP's News Editor) chooses a Reporter when a new one is needed. Being a Reporter is a tremendous responsibility. You will be approached if the administrators think you are capable. Having a strong command of the English language and having strong communication skills are attributes you should display if you wish to become a Reporter. Blog Staff Blog Leader The Blog Leader can be considered the head honcho of the blogs. The Blog Leader is in charge of the Blog Moderation Team (Blog Assistants). Part of the Blog Leader's responsibilities are to set and enforce Blog Policy and to remove any inappropriate content from blogs. Blog Assistants The Blog Assistants are responsible of the oversight and monitoring of blogs. They assist in removing inappropriate content from blogs. Blog Assistants report directly to the Blog Leader and Administrators (Black Six) in the event of serious issues, but in most cases are entrusted to manage blogs as needed. Please see this blog entry for information on Blog Staff powers. Reference Staff Reference Keepers (disbanded 08/29/2012) The BZPower Reference Team was in charge of expanding the BZP Reference section, and making sure the information was up-to-date. These members were selected for their knowledge of the BIONICLE sets and storyline, and were selected by the administrators, forum or otherwise, though the Reference Master also had a hand in the process. Reference Masters (disbanded 08/29/2012) Reference Masters were in charge of the Reference Team on BZPower and oversaw any projects and contests relating to the Bionicle storyline and sets. Retired Staff The Retired Staff (old color) group was introduced on April 11th, 2012 to recognize the contributions of former staff members. The group is set up on an invitational basis; only those staff who left their position in good standing are able to be placed into this group. In addition, if a current staff member becomes inactive for a certain period of time, it is likely that he or she will be placed into this group. Retired Staff have the same privileges as OBZPCs but do enjoy the perk of having their birthday topics in GD. GENERAL STAFF INFORMATION If you are in a state of punishment, such as below half-proto, restriction, suspension, or banishment, you aren't eligible to become a member of the staff. Otherwise, anything goes. Above average posts, age, proto, or anything else do not affect your chances of being asked. What is important is the qualities you display when you post.Outstanding BZPower Citizens are not members of the BZPower staff. They are members who have achieved full proto, but are not required to help or enforce policy on the boards. They are no more or less subject to the rules than any BZPower member, nor have any more authority or say than normal members of the board. They are recognized for their contributions towards BZPower with the OBZPC title, but otherwise are on the same level as everyone else.The group masks for staff members are as follows: -- Retired Staff Komau -- Reporter Kakama -- Forum/Blog Assistant Noble Huna -- Forum Leader Akaku -- Administrator/Global Moderator/Blog Leader HauStaff members are automatically boosted to full proto upon receiving a staff position, if they are not already there.Questions and Answers: FORUM STAFF Do you have to apply to become a forum staff member? No, you do not. In fact, applications for staff positions are not used anymore. Is there any set number of FAs? Nope, we choose new Assistants if we feel there is a position to be filled, but we have no set number for the whole group. Is there any set number of FAs per forum? Not really, but each forum tends to have two or three assistants. FAs are moved from forum to forum according to the immediate need, but for the most part stay in the same areas. Do assistants have other moderating powers, besides topic closing? Forum Assistants also have the ability to approve and hide topics and posts -- any other actions, like deleting topics permanently, editing posts, and awarding Proto boosts are performed by the Forum Leaders, Global Moderators, and Administration. If you're a FA, but you only come on the computer once or twice a week, will you be removed from the team? Due to the nature of the position, being an Assistant demands you be fairly active. If you are inactive for a very long period of time, you will most likely be removed eventually, especially if you haven't talked to an administrator about your absence. However, you certainly won't be dropped off the team immediately just because you've been missing for a few days, and the Administrators understand the need to take breaks when needed, especially if they're informed of them in advance. Can I still report posts and help people, even if I'm not an FA/FL? Yes you can! And you should! If you do a lot and are really helpful, you might be able to become a Forum Assistant yourself. Have fun helping out! Seriously, you guys are encouraged to report posts. Just don't forget, no posting just to tell someone that they double-posted, or have broken some other rule, because that's not your job. Just report it and we'll get it taken care of. See the next question for more information. Can only FAs/FLs post to tell the member what he or she did wrong? Correcting members is strictly a staff thing. Simply quietly report the post or topic, and the forum staff will be there to deal with it when they can. Note that this doesn't apply to, say, correcting a member on some fact of the storyline or other information that doesn't really regard BZPower's rules - feel free to politely describe the member's error by posting if you think it's needed. What we're trying to avoid is members who decide to "play moderator." Do FAs/FLs/GMs get the same benefit as Premier Members (e.g., being able to post in G&T)? Being promoted to FA/FL/FM/GM will not give you the same benefits as a Premier Member. Forum Administrators and Administrators are, however, considered Premier by default. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL LEADER AND ASSISTANTS Does being an FA increase your chances of being chosen to be a Leader? Naturally, if a new forum coordinator is needed for a forum, the Assistants of that forum will be taken into consideration for the position, as they're likely to have more experience with enforcing policy in that forum already. However, though it is rare, regular members and OBZPCs have taken the leap straight from their group to Leader in the past. Can you be a Leader/Assistant/OBZPC at the same time? No, you cannot. The three groups aren't mixed, and neither are their group masks. Are there requirements for being an FL/FA, like a minimum amount of time you have to spend on BZP per day, etc.? Yes, you must have half Proto or above, and obviously you cannot be banned. Your posting must also be unsuspended. The administrators do not consider members in such status by default. It is also helpful to be an active member, though staff value is usually a combination of both the quality of the work and the activity, so it can balance out, and you don't always need to be super active. If I'm not an FA/FL, am I not allowed to help in New Member Q&A? No, members are encouraged to help. It's just that the Forum Assistants assigned to that forum have a DUTY to help. Regular Members should answer questions, as long as they're correct and relevant to the question(s) asked, and you've read the forum's pinned guidelines. Please note that regular members are not allowed to confirm other members' answers. Do you have to stick around and do well in Q&A to become a Forum Assistant? How well you perform in Q&A may or may not have an impact on whether or not you are promoted. Sometimes being a proficient helper in Q&A demonstrates an understanding of how BZPower and its rules work. So no, it is not strictly a necessity; that's only a single factor, and staff are promoted for different reasons. How do you become a News Writer? Just as there is no specific way to become a member of the forum staff, there is no guaranteed way to become a Reporter. In general, long-time members who show a strong command of the English language are considered. This is, of course, by itself not enough to be chosen. You must prove yourself to be trustworthy and to have been trustworthy throughout your BZP career. This is because Reporters post their work to the front page of BZPower. Consider it the equivalent of becoming an editor of a well known newspaper.Oh, reporting news always helps, too! GRAB YOUR WALKING STAFF Do you have no chance for becoming Staff if you are just under half Proto? No - that counts as being in a state of punishment. You must be at half Proto or above. Do you have to have been a member for a minimum amount of time (such as a year) before becoming Staff? No, some become Staff before they reach a year, though it is rare. It is when the Admins feel a person is ready and there are openings that a person is considered. If you are constantly reporting valid things, does that give you a better shot of becoming Staff? Yes it does; being helpful is always a good way to show you have what it takes, especially since Administrators receive every report made on BZPower. It is a great way to get your name noticed - and yes, your name is included automatically in your report. Reporting a lot of legitimate stuff will most likely put you higher up but isn't the only way to be chosen for the staff. Remember: we don't look kindly upon members who post just to say they are reporting. That has a negative, rather than positive, effect. THE MORE YOU KNOW... What happens if you misuse your authority? That would depend on how severe the misuse was. Most likely, you would lose your staff position. But it depends on the situation. Not many staff members have been removed due to inappropriate use of power - generally, those who leave just lose interest or don't have the spare time they once did to perform their duties. Are there any good tips to becoming Staff? Try to have and display a good knowledge of the rules. A good way to brush up is to check the closing posts of topics because you'll either find answers to some uncommon questions or maybe even learn a few rules that you may not have known. Report things often. If you are interested in becoming an Assistant in a specific forum, concentrate your work in that forum. Learn the forum's rules and be an active participant in the topics in that forum. And, this may be hard to swallow, but it is important. Be prepared to accept the fact that you may not be chosen. It is quite difficult to get a staff position, and the competition is not only numerous, but often fierce. If it is clear that your only intentions are to become a member of the staff, this will hurt your chances fairly decently. I know this from my own experience. But if your aim is true, and you are not chosen when promotion season comes around, do not be disheartened. Often, in striving towards the goal of becoming a staff member, you will find that you will become a very highly respected and well known member of BZPower. That in itself is quite the reward. And, there is always next time. (To avoid confusion, -Windrider- wrote this section. "My own experience" refers to her personal experience and not Than's.) Feel free to post any questions about the staff here. If you feel there is anyway to improve upon this topic, please contact -Windrider-. Recent Updates: 02/06/2016: Decommissioned as "official"; feel free to start individual topics for questions. 01/09/2014: Fixed formatting issues. Minor changes.
