Stuff is going on. It's really cool. Blah blah blah.

Impress me with your commenting skills.

"Backseat modding, clarified" is here.

Today marks 1 year since I became a BBS mod. Really doesn't seem like it's been that long... this year has gone pretty fast. Soon it's gonna be 2010... :S

Next month will be my 21st birthday too. Before anybody makes any comments about 21 being the legal drinking age: I'm English; the legal drinking age is 18 here ;)

Still, 21 is pretty cool.

I haven't been on NG all that much lately because I've started seeing a new girl. Being the end of the summer, we've been spending as much time together as possible, but once the new uni year starts (which officially is tomorrow), we'll likely be seeing each other a little less often... which in turn means a little more time for Newgrounds :)

Back to modship, I was a review mod for a year on August 30th... but I wasn't around NG then so I couldn't make a news post about it.

So to summarise: BBS mod 1 year today, review mod 1 year on August 30th, 21 next month, more time for NG soon. :)

Cheeeeers

NEVR's guide to the backseat modding rule on the BBS v1.0.1
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Questions are welcome from anybody, but additions / suggestions on how to make the explanation of the rule better should come only from BBS mods. I will keep adding to this over time so that it hopefully it explains as much of the rule as possible.

If you have been banned for backseat modding and still don't understand exactly why after reading this, post about it, providing some of the background info. I will check your ban history and try to give you an answer as best as I can.

I may also post this in the Forum Rules, Clarified thread as well at some point if I can be bothered to snip it down and re-structure it slightly.

A lot of users don't understand the backseat modding rule, and I can see their perspective; it seems ludicrous to ban a user for simply trying to help out, right? So I'm going to try to explain it from my own EXTENSIVE (lol) experience and wisdom.

First off, the backseat modding rule is under "the other rules" section. It's not a major offense, but you are risking a ban. This means that some mods will ban you for it, whereas others might just delete the post. Here's the rule as it's written in the BBS rules page:

- Backseat modding: pointing out what needs to be deleted, banned, locked or destroyed.

From this it makes things seem a little black and white, and I know that some users have been confused about being banned for backseat modding when they thought they were simply being helpful.

The tone of the post is very important; in my view of things, there's a line between a user who is trying to be helpful with good intentions, and a user who is being a bit of an elitist ass by trying to show another user that they know the site better, or something along those lines. If you're worried that your post runs the risk of getting you nailed for backseat modding, read it through before you hit the "Post" button, and try to read it as a scrutinising moderator and ask yourself: Could it be interpreted as condescending or rude in any way? If you think the answer is yes, then re-word it so that you seem as sincerely helpful as possible. There's nothing in the rules against being plain helpful, after all.

Three things we don't want that puts the backseat modding rule in its place:
- Users being dicks to other (often newer) users;
- Users giving out MISINFORMATION;
- Users developing superiority complexes or thinking it's their job to mod the BBS.

There are the really obvious backseat modding posts, like "I wish a mod would come along to lock this", or "You're going to be banned LOL!" Those types of posts will usually be deleted and maybe a small ban would be given to the user responsible depending on the context.

[ADDITION]
The other more obvious type of backseat modding is when one user points out that another user is breaking the rules in a thread. The user making the accusation may be trying to help, but doing it in the thread only provides ammo to derail the thread, so if you are concerned that a user is breaking the rules, PM an online mod and let them deal with it instead of taking matters into your own hands.
[/ADDITION]

There are, however, instances where it's a little more difficult to see where the backseat modding is actually occurring.

Examples of this are when one user tells another user how / where / what to post, especially if it's in an unhelpful or elitist manner. You don't necessarily have to say "this thread should be locked" in order to be guilty of backseat modding.
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To help you all out, here's a quick list of tips to avoid backseat modding:

- Don't call users out in threads
It might seem like a user needs to be taken down a peg or two, but you're only making yourself look bad by getting drawn into it. PM an online mod and leave it at that.

- Be helpful, not condescending
The longer you're here, the more annoying it is when you see users who don't know the rules. In these instances, it's on YOU to be helpful to that user, but DON'T act like you're a moderator yourself. Point them in the right direction as opposed to TELLING them what to do.

- Don't quote / link to the rules
It might seem like you're trying to help, but this can very easily come off as smug or elitist. If you see someone breaking a rule, again, PM a mod as opposed to pointing it out in the thread itself.

- Don't tell mods how to do their jobs
Probably one of the easiest ways to get yourself banned for backseat modding is to actually tell the mods what they should or shouldn't be doing. We have a thread where you can express your opinions on how the mods are doing, but outside of that thread, just let us get on with it.

And finally, a tip that applies to EVERY rule on the BBS and not just this one...

- If in doubt, don't post
Fairly self-explanatory. If there's a hint of doubt in your mind that what you're about to post may not abide by the backseat modding rule, then don't hit that post button. If you have concerns about anything that you aren't sure if you should post on the BBS, we have the PM system and a list of mods who will help you out.

[ADDITION]
A few backseat modding-type posts that may get you banned:

- "inb4 lock"
- "Enjoy your ban"
- "Read the rules"
- "This is spam"
- "Isn't this against the rules?"

...And all variations thereof.
[/ADDITION]
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Remember, backseat modding is ONLY a rule on the BBS. PMing a mod about something that you think needs looking at is absolutely fine, and you'll never get a BBS ban for contacting a mod about something you think is rulebreaking (even if it turns out to be legitimate in the end).

RELAX

EXAMS EXAMS EXAMS

:(

Probably time for a new one of these.

Thing is, I don't think I can be bothered to talk about my life for the amusement of you people anymore. It's not really worth the effort to be quite honest... I mean, let's be totally fair, none of you REALLY care about what's going on in my life, just the same as I probably don't care what's going on in yours.

Instead, I'm just going to let this news post sit here for a while and gather some dust on my page whilst you guys go ahead and mindlessly comment (or mindlessly abstain from commenting), and realise how truly meaningless this whole process is. I get nothing out of it, and you get nothing out of it. It's an endless circle of self-loathing and regret.

So... why do we do this? Ask yourself that, ESPECIALLY if you just pushed that "Comment" link. Stop for a moment. Re-evaluate your life. Has it really come to this? Well, has it?

Just make sure you know what you're doing. I can't stop you if you really want to leave a comment, but if you do leave one then it's on your own head; you can't expect me to take the consequences for you. You're acting of your own volition, and as such the responsibility for your actions will become your own burden to carry.

This is your last chance.

Turn back.

Before it's too late.

...For a new news post.

So now that the hustle and bustle of the new year is all over and done with, and we've hopefully all settled into 2009, it seems like a good time to update this beast.

For me the past few months have been all about getting into my new lecture pattern. Each year of my course consists of 6 modules which I have to pass, and 3 of them are taken in the first term, and 3 in the second term. The third term is a much shorter one and is primarily for exams. So, having finished the first 3 modules for this year, I've moved onto the second three... which, frankly, don't seem all that exciting right now. Hopefully they'll pick up the slack a bit in the coming weeks, though.

I have a few coursework essays due in soon as well, so I'm going to get started on those ASAP. Fun fun.

It seems that this academic year is going fairly quickly for me. In a few months time it'll be all but over, and it really doesn't seem like so long ago that I moved into my on-campus residence. Myself and 5 friends are looking for houses off-campus to rent for next year, so hopefully we'll find something relatively soon. We looked around one place which was OK, but the size of some of the bedrooms was a little off-putting. Obviously for student housing you can't exactly be overly picky, but I'm sure we can find better than that.

There's possibly another friend who might be living with us next year, too, because she seems to be having trouble with the people whom she was originally supposed to be living with. I won't go into the details of that, but let's just say I'm glad that the people I'm living with are all good friends who -- touch wood -- won't be letting myself or any of the other guys down.

Aside from that, I'm still doing Tae Kwon Do, which is going nicely. Not much to tell on that front particularly, except that I've started doing breaking techniques (where you kick through a board), and I'm learning new patterns for my next grading. I'm still enjoying it, and I've even been known to sacrifice some of the heavier nights out in order to ensure that I'm awake and fresh for the Saturday class.

I think that pretty much covers everything that's been going on over the past month and a half.

That's it from me; you stay classy, Newgrounds.

I'm back.

Had some trouble reconnecting to the internet after I got back to university, but a trip to the computer centre fixed the issue. Apparently it was down to a piece of background software that got itself confused and needed resetting.

So there's a little bit to catch up on now... I'll try to do it quickly.

Christmas: hope everyone had a good one. I personally had a nice one this year despite the financial difficuties that my family are going through at the moment (as are many other families in the UK right now). Drinking whiskey with my grandfather was one of the highlights of the year, as I rarely see him these days, being so busy and all.

New Year: again, hope you all had a good one. 2009 didn't herald anything particularly special for me, except the fact that I'll be 21 this year. Significant age in the US, but not so much in the UK. It was a decent night nevertheless; saw some old friends from school and went drinking with them, which is always good fun.

So here's to 2009, let's hope it's a good one.

BRB

Won't have internet access for a few weeks. See you in the new year.

...What's up?

I guess it's time for a new one of these, even though there's not a whole lot of new excitingness going on for me right now. I'm just getting on with university and all the fun stuff that entails. Luckily, I'm still finding plenty of downtime for NG, which is cool, as I was worried that I might descend into the realms of inactivity due to the demand of the university social life... but no; I've found a nice balance between being sociable and internets.

Of course, it does help that apart from Facebook, NG is pretty much the only other site that I frequent.

Some of you may know that I've taken up Tae Kwon Do recently, and I have my first belt grading on December 6th. I have also joined the Territorial Army to gain some soldiering experience for when I do my officership stuff after leaving university, and also to keep me extra fit, and gain some money and a few qualifications in the process. I have my selection weekend for that on the 12th and 13th of December (I hope, depends whether I can get onto that weekend or not), so I'll probably make a christmas news post elaborating on how both those things went, as well as my christmas stuff.

Other than that, I'm simply trying to watch how much money I'm spending, as I've been over-indulging a little lately with all the nights out and takeaways and all that fun stuff. I should have enough cash in the bank to get me through until the new year, though, so hopefully I'll be OK until then.

There's really not a lot more for me to say, other than give a small plug to this thread, which might be useful for you to look over or even bookmark if you're a frequent BBS poster.

Hope y'all are well and enjoying the build up / count down to christmas.