People keep asking about the gold-titled people in the forums and about becoming a moderator. It's really not there for exclusivity or anything like that, and I'm not trying to exclude anyone. Here's the low-down:
These folks are essentially "mini moderators." It is completely optional and on a volunteer basis. I trust them to issue warnings to users when they spam, and to edit out spambot links, and things like this. There is a great deal of trust here; everyone in this crowd I entrust with the safety and future of the forums. Not all users flex this ability; some actively chose to send warnings and edit offending posts, others choose to simply be a good example for the rest of us.
As such, these users do not have the ability to ban or delete posts, and all of their actions are logged for me to review at any time.
Everyone in this group has demonstrated the ability to form cogent sentences with proper spelling and grammar. They add to the forums, and don't detract, and make it a place I like to continue visiting.
They are all in close contact with me at most times and have a good grasp on what is going on, at all times.
We have become some measure of "chums" and I would enjoy hanging out with any of these folks in real life.
They all seem to be mature, cool,
chill folks that have the best interests of the future of the game in mind. I can trust them to give me an unbiased opinion on things and it helps me to maintain a measure of neutrality.
Some people have been granted all the rights and access levels of a gold-named user but have opted out of the gold name, so they are essentially invisible to you.
People have periodically lost, and gained, membership; the roster is in a state of flux at any given point. I am not afraid to ban any one of these users for violating the trust I put in them.
When we want to add people to this group (very rare) we seek out good quality individuals based on the above critera; it is not by application, but invitation.
