📣 Who deserves to be a mod? 📣

Meow senses deception.

IMO the most important two things IMO are a love for the site/community, and thick skin.

Something I should clarify for everyone is that the moderation team is actually quite chill. We have a discord server for logging and discussing any problems we consider worth writing down (some weeks I might ban a dozen spam bots, none of them get mentioned), but it's pretty informal. There's not even any real hierarchy inside it, no required uniforms, and certainly no secret meetings under the blood moon in which we engage in animal sacrifices to hasten the arrival of... I mean, yeah, we just hang out, share the occasional meme, and certainly do not summon any eldritch gods.

That said, even with recent issues, I still believe the moderation team could use some fresh blood.

Adaptable has agreed to get banned for 10 days.

However, it must be a real ban, not merely leaving the site for 10 days.

Too late. The Arena has arrived and fresh blood will not save you, though there will be plenty of fresh blood on the arena floor. 

A moderator should be dry, dispassionate and have decisions that are objectively demonstrable under the standards. A moderator should act with complete disinterest and his decisions should not be made according to anything other than reports submitted and standards given. Such a moderator is almost computer-like in his decisions, logical, rational, and predictable. This is important because then the users themselves are able to predict with confidence what the moderator is going to do. They will be able to know based on the information presented to them what content is going to get moderated and what isnt.

I would support a squirrel as mod if it would bring in more activity tbh. We're arguing over who is fit to police an ever-dwindling handful of regulars.

Omg remember that episode of TNG where everyone on the Enterprise is slowly disappearing and only Beverly notices. That's DART. Except for the "only Beverly notices" part, I suppose.

Is it alright if I add you to our server?

I remember finding Debate.org, because it had all those polls and opinions that happened to pop up when I Googled obscure questions.

I'm not sure their success can be replicated though,

There's already a lot of other established websites that answer questions,

DART also might not have the online 'presence that Debate.org had in popping up on Google searches.

Debate.org might have had a luck moment in internet history.

I've never glanced about at other internet options for debate,

So I couldn't say how 'popular debate 'is with people,

Or if others are more successful than DART, what they 'DO or 'ARE than makes them more successful than DART.

. . .

One method I might suggest is Networking,

Trying to get all roads to lead to Rome/DART so to speak.

3RU7AL for instance, has a number of references to DART on his Discord, that it is 'possible sent some traffic to DART.

The more roads and signs one has, in content of similar nature, more traffic one gets.

Barney has that one Wiki he's working on,

Another opportunity for a road/sign,

Though I'd 'imagine he'd prefer 'several debate websites listed, since he might want roads leading to 'his site.

I'd 'imagine though, that different debate websites vary in what they offer, that it might be worthwhile to them 'and us, to promote one another on each others sites.

Like that 'book in Miracle on 34th Street,

Stores admitting to customers that 'they don't have what the shopper wants, but they know a store that does.

Second method that comes to mind is YouTube,

But I 'think some people have already tried to make some forays into YouTube promoting DART, I'm not sure how much 'success they've had.

But to me, it sounds a lot of work to make decent videos that attract people.

. . .

But this is all conjecture from someone with no experience in gaining followers or advertising,

Third option I suppose is toss money at advertisers, but I'm doubtful DARTs community overflows with money or willingness to part with money.

. . .

I 'do think some users have a point, in arguing DART can be 'unsavory for a number of people,

I 'am doubtful many teachers of High School and below would introduce it to their students,

Though 'Colleges 'might.

Young people are often questioning themselves and life, good potential as users.

'But, I think if 'too much focus is made on making the site squeaky clean, one is focusing on attracting a 'minority of users, instead of the majority.

DDO definitely had great google ranking, due to its commercial funding no doubt. As you say, DART is, well, poorer. Pity we don't have any patrons or partnerships...

3RU has done a lot more than me to bring in traffic, that's for sure. I've tried to point a few discord homies this way, but they click on my link and say "site seems dead..."

😥 

Is a fair point,

Which I'd imagine why some users think it might be easier to start the site or another with a blank slate.

'One way the site is made attractive, is activity,

But a 'trickle of new users who tend not to stay, means the site never gets to attractive levels.

While if the site 'was at attractive levels, having only a trickle of users could 'work, as 'enough would stay around to keep the site attractive.

There's some 'simple analogy to this I'm sure. . .

Ah, Easier to keep an object in 'motion, for example, than to 'start up motion in an object.

. . .

The solution then, I'd imagine, could be a 'wave of users.

I 'have considered literally paying X many people to use the site, to make X many well thought out Debates and Forum posts.

Some people work pretty cheap, but cheap is relative,

And if one hires people in fields or hobbies related to Debate, the chance of them sticking around increases,

But 'still, it would cost money and be a gamble.

I have seen some YouTube channels and Reddit groups do mass activities, experiments,

We 'could try to organize such a Mass Activity or Experiment on DART,

But once the time runs out, be in a month or a year,

Questionable if they would stick around,

Or how well they would 'behave on DART.

They 'might just see it as an opportunity for Trolling and Lolz, so to speak. People in such activities often do.

A danger in organizing waves of mercenary uninterested people, is you could create a long term troll problem.

But, it 'could provide enough activity to keep the site rolling and attractive to the trickle of people earnestly interested in Debate.

Every general debate website that I have visited is essentially the same as you described.

From which I conclude, that such activity has a limited audience and  limited interest.

Which when you also consider the day to day demands on a person's time, is probably to be expected.

So out of a potential audience of X billion, there will only ever be Y% of takers.

Expecting otherwise, is a bit like expecting everyone to be a graduate philosopher.

Wylted. Someone mistook me for him, so he must be a real nigga.

whiteflame!

Look who it is, it's Wylted!

As you say, might be hard to expand the number of users on this site.

I suppose we're lucky debating is such a 'financially cheap hobby and common in humans, even if they don't always cluster around Debate Sites.

Lot of debate in social interactions, in decisions, in newspapers, and TV.

Though even more expensive and niche hobbies stick around a while I think.

Some people still have model trains and model tracks, though I don't think the hobby booms as much as it once might have.

Welcome to the site.

Wylted use an AI software program known as Runway for the profile picture. 

Thank you dear. Good to see somebody on this site had a momma who raised them right.

That makes me so happy 😊

Thank you everyone for such a detailed, and entertaining opinions and discussions. I personally, have learned much from this forum and I believe will continue to learn a lot from this website 

You are welcome here.

We're grateful you were able to learn from these forums and wish to stick around.

Yep, niche interests will always have a limited number of dedicated followers.

For me DebateArt is as much about mental exercise as it is about content.