Hello there, I am Erick, or formerly known as erickt123, a long time gamer and also a long time forum lurker around the internet. For the past 7 months I have experienced in this group as well as the years I've spent on many forums, of which the forums I've posted in the most is the Steam Forums for the game none other than Team Fortress 2. Since 2012 lurking around Steam, then 2014 finally begun posting here on Steam, I have spent quite a considerably amount of time playing Team Fortress 2 and looking at the forums for my personal enjoyment, the game for fun an the forums for being a questionable cesspool of poor threads.

Anyways, to get on track, with how far this group has come for the past year, I honestly never thought about becoming a moderator since I'm usually the person everyone knows but doesn't exactly care for, much like many other forums I go to, except with 99.9% less recognition. However, I see that I managed to build a reputation for myself across FRC and the TF2 Forums respectively, much more than I had in many other forums I've posted in, although I posted considerably less than others, but regardless, I appreciate all those who stick around in the past year and some who supported and respected each other as the group we are currently in.

Now, I'm aware being a moderator has its fair share of responsibilities, and to take a step up from being a normal user into one with a certain status is quite something for me as I don't usually take such opportunities. It is in that now I'm willing to take my chance into aiding other users and keeping the group intact for as long as possible as well as for as how long I can be to support and treat everyone with the same standards. With a long introduction finished, I would like to begin the application now.

How experienced are you? Any experience as a moderator/admin from other forum groups/groups and what you did there? None is fine as everyone needs a place to start, but if you do, please tell us of your past experiences.

Now, being honest with myself, I did not had any role as a moderator once in my lifetime here on the internet, on any site of notable recognition did I achieve any form of respectable or responsible status. I understand some may be quick to deny me solely of this reason, however, that's not to state that I have no experience with forums here on the internet. If you may not know, and if you may or may not consider believing it, I have been around exploring and lurking internet forums for 12 years since 2004, mostly regarding video games and modding, of which I also lurked in forums long gone or barely alive for games such as Battlefield 1942, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and Star Wars Battlefront 2 (Before I had a Steam copy, keep that mine). Of course, there are other modding sites like UGX and Nexus as well as some old sites still here like DoomWorld and ZDoom, focused on modding for Doom, of course. Many other forums include VGChartz, NeoGaf, film related forums such as Star Wars, NintendoLife, PlayStation, Xbox, and most prominently, Steam.

Now, what importance do me being a lurker have in this regard? Well, to say the least, I have practically seen much of what has been already to be offered, of which when it comes to my responses to certain, I am more likely to keep control of myself even if the thread is intentionally malicious in order to grab attention from other users. In my 12 years of forum lurking, my behavior in how I post and treat others had considerably changed, as I went from being completely unaware of my actions as well as oblivious as to how I treat other users, as I got more in touch with others throughout the years, I begun to change in that I treat other users as if they have an identity of their own instead of simply acting as if their name is solely another blank face on another part of the world. However, I also noticed that mods in those forums tend to isolate themselves with other users, and as such, the mods are treated as jerkish or just plain lazy with no care of what the users actually did. In such a change of becoming a moderator, I want to consider spicing that up a bit with a mod that would not only be responsible for watching what a group of people do, but also try not to isolate themselves as if they're in different territory from the users.

What will you do as a moderator?

Much like what others such as Lewin and Prusak are currently doing, I would try to keep in check of what's occurring in the group as well as keep the group intact for fellow users here. So, while I would be serious if necessary, I could also attempt to make threads that users could wish to discuss and try to keep the group active whenever possible, maybe even entertain if I could.

With that aside, overall, while having the privilege to warn or ban others for their improper behavior, I would still, in the end of the day, be known as the Erick everyone is familar with, so that I'm not alienated with the current users here.

How do you know when to take an action or not?

To put it simply, I would take most threads as normal unless their title are easy attention grabbers, regardless of genuine effort. With this in mind, I'll consider taking a look on all the threads I can, with the exception of the Valley of Jokes. If a thread goes out of hand, I would warn users to stop attacking each other or spamming and get back on track. If this persists, I would temporarily lock the thread, in hopes that the topic would be discussed afterwards. If users continue to ignore this, the thread would be locked permanently if it can be agreed. For malicious users, I would give out a warning to them as my first action, and if they continue to persist on improper behavior, well, that I'm unsure of (As for bans, that'll depend if I can get others to agree).

Though regardless, I won't necessarily abuse my power, more so just keep the group in check.

What do you feel that FRC needs that would need you as a mod to help fulfill? What are the bad things about FRC that you feel needs to change?

As for the need part, I may not be seen as needed to all users, and some may see me as fine for who I am currently. If I were to a mod currently, I would attempt to be a major US Afternoon mod for the group if users of other areas aren't available to be present due to personal reasons. My activity aside, if there's anything I could consider changing in FRC, it would be at least trying to keep personal vendettas of users at a minimum, as during the most recent drama events, some users were quick to blame one another or blame the mods, and while some reasons are understandable, the responses were to say the least, a bit overreactive. With this in mind, I would try to ensure users respect one another properly as well as to avoid myself falling into hypocrisy of being a rather incompentent mod if I fall managed to fall into that category.

Why do you want to be a moderator?

While it may like a redundant and considerably overdone reason, as I have been on this group for the past 7 months and got to know as well as be well known by other users, as moments of drama, flaming, and spam occurs, unfortunately, I couldn't do anything about it as I have no position to do so. With this in mind, as well as being a moderator for US Afternoon/Night hours, I can assist with other fellow moderators and admins in trying to keep control of threads that goes out of hand in case one or two, if possible, many users start to spiral it out of control.

What goals do you wish to fulfill on your part as a moderator? Be it making the place drama free, having events/announcements popping up, making activity more exciting or proposing new things to change the group with?

As for goals, to say the least, it'll be more so of a long-term although expected goal in that I want to grab people's attention with thread topics where discussion is possible to last for quite a bit. Being that we're all in a video game software distribution service as big as Steam, I would try to bring in video game news, announcements, or topics if I can so that others could discuss on the games they may or may not like, as well as discuss current disasters such as overhyped games or games that bombed due to insane negativity.

Of course, I may make simple threads asking simple questions, though nothing too personal, as I don't exactly want to disgust or annoy other users, which is another goal I have in mind to be exact.

What do you want to change in FRC, or prevent from happening in FRC?

As for changes, there's not exactly a whole to change necessarily, as most users and the current mods are doing well enough, though in regards to what occurred a few days ago with the Archive Subforum, I have brought a reason that it's unnecessary since it's more practical to save a Google Doc with the links to pages archived through various archiving site, ultimately making the subforum worthless. With this in mind, I would like to assist and discuss with Evo to keep the amount of Subforums tidy and organized, as currently, 6 is more than enough to handle, so adding more Subforums, of which many users agree on this, would cause confusion and would be a waste of a Subforum that no one would post in.

In regards to preventing what could occur, with flamewars and spam being the obvious ones, I would try to prevent drama from occurring by certain as well as to avoid drama occurring by my own mistakes. Drama would apply between groups and users among them, so with this in mind, I could consider discussing or quieting down users to make up their problems before spreading said problems to others that aren't involved in it without their consent.

What benefits would you bring to the group?

To be honest, this is probably the most difficult question for me to answer as many others would answer this question with similar responses, being that they'll help the group. Of course, I would bring that, but if I could add anything to that, considering my activity here as well as being able to recognize specific names, I could keep an eye on all threads present if problems are to occur. However, I would also give everyone a fair chance in building themselves up, with no concern if they're new or old, more so, their overall behavior and reputation here and throughout the Steam forums. Yes, even more questionable users, I would give them a chance (Although, regarding Pyrofish and Migueleby, that'll be subjective in our personal respectives).

Why do you think you we should make you a moderator?

As I can't exactly defend myself in this regard, while also referring to what I previously stated in questions before this, many users here on FRC and even the TF2 Forums has come to recognize me, and overall, it has been positive, as many, despite me spamming DOOM for considerably poor humor purposes, has come to see me as mature (Subjective), understanding of other users, and not so much of a one-sided jerk and is actually capable of some thought and practical conversations.

If this counts, I did managed to be friends or at the very least, got along with some infamous TF2 forum regs and/or trolls.

What kind of personality should a moderator have, and do you think you have it?

Personally, I believe a mod should be a proper mix of serious and fun in regards to understanding how a forum must run as well as get along well with other users and build up their reputations with one another. With a well-done mix of the two sides, a mod can both be a concern if they behave seriously in threads that have gone into a cluttered mess, while also being reasonable and understanding to even the users that has broken a rule or two (possibly more). As for the more fun side, a mod can be seen positively by actually understanding the users themselves and the mod thus acts as if they're still a user themselves, preventing a strange division between moderators and group members. If one side goes extreme, the serious mod would either be too strict and quick to ban with very little warning or chance, and as for the fun mods, even going as far as to say, lazy, they would almost entirely be ineffective in their position and would be no longer than a low-level troll, just with a star on the side of their name.

What will be your moderating style, and what will your behaviour be as a moderator of FRC

While it's possible of me to have moments of being serious, to which I would consider that if necessary, I would mostly be laid-back and calm with others, as I am currently. As such, I want to be the same user I'm known now if I do managed to become a moderator. To extend on detail, I would act as if nothing as changed regarding my status, but I could temporarly lock a thread if it gets out of hand. If possible lock the thread to an end either by request or if the thread has served its purpose.

What are your approaches to a flamewar taking place, potentially going to take place, or has already happened?

I would try to warn members to calm down and get back on topic, though if the flaming continues to persist, I would consider temporarily locking the thread and unlock it. If problems continues to exist, I may try to discuss with other users and possible other mods on deciding whether to end a thread, since I don't exactly want to be quick to judge and make pre-mature actions on my own. As for drama, I would try to calm it down and get members to ignore it since more often than members themselves are the ones steaming up the drama, not exactly the ones who started it, although they may or may not intentionally started the drama for the sake of their entertainment or by complete accident. Regarding bans, I would try to give out warnings of course and don't be quick to ban others, although if one were to continously break the rules, I may consider a temporary ban, although, as I'm unsure, I may need the assurance of other members if I should let a ban pass through.



Well, this is a long Moderator Application, at the very least, please at least read portions of my Application and share your thoughts below and come to a conclusion of your own whether you agree with me becoming a mod or not. For now, I would let Evo decide and see what he thinks. Anyways, keeping posting and have a nice day!