Good Afternoon,

I've been following the moderator application section for a few weeks now and it has provoked me into thinking on the affect age has on a players ability to moderate effectively.

Some applications I have seen, are by people who are as young as 10 years old. I work with kids, and I have experienced the difficulties people this age have with things like logic and sound reasoning. Due to this experience I find it hard to put faith in or take seriously applications by people who are this young.

Believe me, I'm quite aware of the average age of minecraft players, my girlfriend takes great joy in teasing me for playing this game. Thankfully I can point out her addiction to a silly aquarium game she plays 24/7. With the average age being so low, I can see the argument of the server being moderated by people in the average age band.

Moderating in some situations can be an extremely serious matter, Im sure people are aware of the risks involved with online games especially those with a young player base. With this in mind, I believe there should be minimum age set in order to be a moderator, I would set this age at 16.

What are people's views on this? Does the age of a candidate effect their ability to perform the moderator role ?

I'm intrigued to see what responses people have.

( Is it possible for a moderator to add a poll to my thread, a simple yes /no would suffice. )

 

I agree however I think you need a lower age minimum. At 16 you're getting to the point where there isn't enough candidates that want to be a mod lol

 

#NoFetusMods MindSensation

 

We have a great staff team. Again, I've said this quite a good amount of times, but; maturity is what matters, not age.


People can be whatever age they want to be, and can act like 15-18. Before I was promoted, I was 12. Many said, before they knew my age, I was either 15, or 16, shocked to find out that I was 12.

My point is, maturity matters, not age.



Edit: That's how I view this.

 

I can see your point. I have yet to meet a 12 year old who I would have the confidence in to deal with the issues that could potentially arise. You may be the anomaly, but I have met and interacted with a lot of people around this age range and am dubious.

I might just be taking things all a bit too seriously , however I know if I were a parent, I would feel uncomfortable that the online welfare of my child is being safeguarded by someone so young.

Moderators are the first point of contact for those who may be targeted online, and if the wrong response is given, the results could be devastating.

 

I can see your point.

 

I think that young moderators/people that are applying are fine as long as they're mature. I highly doubt there'd be a age minimum set because there have been some amazing young moderators, both past and present ones. Even if there were to be an age minimum added for moderators, what would happen to the current moderators below 16 years old? Would they get demoted? Age doesn't matter. I am one of the youngest moderators, but most people think I'm about 15 to 18 years old. Just because I'm young, it doesn't make me any different to other staff. There could be a mod that's much older than me, yet more immature.

They say age comes with maturity, which in most cases it does. There are some cases where this is not necessarily correct. I'd say most (possibly all) young moderators are great mods. However, experience does come with age, which is why some people judge people who apply for mod at a young age because they think that they might not have enough experience and not enough maturity to handle certain situations whilst moderating.

Personally, I think there are some good moderators that are young. Age doesn't matter. I have no problems with moderators being young because I am one of the youngest moderators myself.

 

So far I think the key arguement is that it is the maturity of a person that matters, not their age. I can see this as being a valid point, my response would be the same as I gave to bacca.

It terms of what would happen if things were changed, the point of this thread wasn't in an attempt to bring about a change, just as way to discuss what was going through my mind.

I have no delusions that this thread will result in a change in the way the server is managed or moderated.

 

I'm the second youngest moderator, but I deal with a lot of things in real life, but I could still moderate. We have school, and others things to handle. But if you go overboard on Minecraft, that's a problem right there.


Edit: I would just input this; some young moderators have many things to handle, school, the doctor, chores, and many other stuff. I'm one of those, and most of the others have these things to handle.
As I've seen, more older moderators have more time to play in MineCraft.

 

Well, you do have a good point, but look at @thesugarcane, Lemonade and BOTBaccalord. They're all younger than 16 and are amazing moderators.

I'm 11, and many people think I'm older than 16 if I don't tell them my age.

You see, age is just a number, my friend. Maturity is what matters.

Take salamander9o for example. She got moderator at either age 9 or 10.

 

Take Flippy for example, one of the best moderators and he was like 9.

 

You got me twice. Salamander got mod at 9.

 

Age is just a number, however the potential problems that a moderator ( how ever low the risk may be ), must be considered.

I think around the 14 -16 years old would be a valid age, as at this point most will be aware of the dangers of the online world. Any younger and I would seriously question there ability to act appropriately when presented with an issue of a sensitive nature.

For all other technical and igotgriefed problems, age does not matter in the slightest, that I will accept.

( Mods, I'm unsure whether this discussion may go somewhere that may not be suitable for the PG rating, I won't be offended if this is closed. )

 

Age is just a number, however the potential problems that a moderator ( how ever low the risk may be ), must be considered.

I think around the 14 -16 years old would be a valid age, as at this point most will be aware of the dangers of the online world. Any younger and I would seriously question there ability to act appropriately when presented with an issue of a sensitive nature.

For all other technical and igotgriefed problems, age does not matter in the slightest, that I will accept.

( Mods, I'm unsure where this discussion may go somewhere that may not be suitable for the PG rating, I won't be offended if this is closed. )

 

I was staff from when I was 10 to 12, after which I resigned. I did alright. Filip, another young staff was 9, turning 10, the year he got promoted. He was great. So age isn't a factor given how the staffs are picked.

 

I am aware that it isn't currrently factor, this thread is a discussion on whether it should be

 

That's why you have to apply. The immature players usually weed themselves out right away. Most of our moderators are actually around the 12-16 age, with a couple in their early 20s and some 30s. You'd be surprised at how the younger ones handle it. No one gets accepted unless Cyp is absolutely certain about that person's ability as a moderator, regardless of age. This is also why we have a TMod rank. The player can have a shining application, but might not actually be fit for the position. This problem would become apparent in their trial, and a demotion would be plausible.

tl;dr: Not just anyone gets promoted. They are selected carefully based on who they are as a person, not their age.

 

Its a difficult topic to deal with. Some people who are 16 act like they have a current age of 10, just like some 10 year olds act like they are 16. It just matters how mature they can be. There more that just maturity though. There's patience and how well they can handle the situations that will be provided as well.

 

I can see the moderator promotion system is effective in terms of the moderator ability to handle the day to day affairs of the server. This is evident in that all of the full mods I have dealt with have been very good. I do not question their ability to handle those issues.

 

Precisely. And that is why an age limit does not exist, despite it being suggested many times before.