Wanted: Ningmasters and stuff.

[Ningmaster Tom]

Remember that time in February when I said we needed new Ningmasters and stuff?
Yeah, that didn't happen. :Þ
Now I know that's not entirely my fault; the car did cut that corner short thereby momentarily driving on the left side of the road, right when I was approaching from the other side, but while it took some time to catch upon everything that I missed in the month I spent in hospital, I've been back for quite a bit already.
And while I have been quite busy at times (assignments, exams, travelling, YouTube gatherings, Nerdfighter gatherings, book-signings, concerts, hanging out with John and going to arcade halls, etc. ^_^), I have had some free time too.
I know I should've gotten round to this before now, but then I didn't. Sorry 'bout that. :)

But in the mean time, 7 months have passed and we still don't have new Ningmasters. Time to change that.

So here's what we're looking for, but that doesn't have to be final. If you have brilliant ideas for Ningmaster positions we might need, feel free to make suggestions.

Forum
We're gonna need people to manage the forum. Remove spam threads, remove inappropriate discussions. But just as well monitor what goes on in the discussions themselves. We'll probably take 2 people for that.
Chat
Probably 2. We've been having more trolls in the chat lately so we could do with some good chat Ningmasters. Sean is willing to stay on, so one more would be fine.
Blogs
I'm seeing way too few blogs from regular nerdfighters (is that an oxymoron? xD) on the front page so we'll need someone to feature some of those once in a while.
Photos
Nerdfighters are still posting awesome pictures, so I guess we need someone to feature them and blog about them once in a while.
Videos
Same goes for videos, but that isn't limited to the Ning. Go on YouTube. Find awesome videos and blog about them!
Projects
We've been neglecting the projects again, and while the page exists, it hardly ever gets updated. The Projects NM should update the page; add new ones, remove the projects that have ended, and blog about (a) project(s) maybe once in a while.
Books
We've had great book-blogs in the last months, we'd like to keep it that way.We need someone who loves to read and loves to talk about it.

Those are all the Ningmasters we need, I think. But it's perfectly possible that there are Ningmaster positions that we didn't know we needed because they don't exist yet. Feel free to make suggestions.

Aside from their own tasks, the Ningmasters will also handle some general stuff, handling complaints, suspending spammers, etc. We'll probably try to arrange weekly meetings to discuss anything about the Ning.

Two chat Ningmasters is obviously not enough. (Two forum will probably not be enough either) But just appointing 10 chat Ningmasters is far from an ideal solution. Luckily, we can give people administrative powers over specific areas of the Ning. Until a while ago, the chat wasn't one of those areas we could give someone power over, but Ning has solved that problem in the mean time. So I'm also opening moderator positions for chat and forum. For the time being, I'm only putting 2 moderators on chat and two on the forum. But I'm giving the Ningmasters the liberty to appoint moderators if they feel the need to, as soon as they're worked in.


Being a Ningmaster isn't an easy job. It sounds exciting, but you will have to deal with quite some spam which will get annoying and repetitive after a while. What's more, you will encounter people on the Ning who, while technically not doing anything wrong, will annoy the crap out of you. You will have to be patient and be able to ignore behaviour like that. They will try to get you to step out of line. Don't give them that satisfaction.
You will also help Nerdfighters with complaints/issues etc.

If you think you would be a good candidate for a certain Ningmaster position (or moderator) position, apply by writing a blog post with your motivation. Not yet sure when exactly we'll close applications, but in any case not before next week Saturday.

People have often questioned this method of appointing Ningmasters. I choose them, but why don't you get a say? Well you do. It's not going to be an absolute popularity contest, because there's too much room for cheating there. So I still make the final call. But if you read through the application blogs and you find someone who you think would make a good Ningmaster, leave a (positive) comment on their blog.That way I know who people like and I can take that into account.

Some practical things:
-Ningmaster positions will last for four months, but can be extended if you do a good job. (Or if I get hit by another car. Hopefully that won't happen :)
-If you write a blog post, add 'ningmasterapp' to the keywords, that makes it easy to find all of them.
- Like last time, we're gonna put the age limit at 16. It's not that we don't like/trust you, it's just that giving such a job to anyone younger than 16, just has a tinge of irresponsibility on our part.
-If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below.

Good luck to everyone who applies!

As always,

Best Wishes!

-Ningmaster Tom

[Rion]

I hope I'm not too late with my application.

[ThisisTasha S]

If only 15 could count! Well, hope you guys find some awesome Ningmasters, DFTBA!

[Patrick Luther]

i'd apply but i think im late

[Dan Finlay]

Yup me too, one year under. darn :P

[Cavalier]

Well I applied. I guess I wait now.

[Elizabeth]

Gah, only one year under.

[LoyalNerdWP]

Ah! just two years under :/ oh well two to go! :)

[JennaHemmena]

Curses!

[Ningmaster Tom]

@Gaylesking
Good point! Yes, I think we're just gonna leave the age limit at 16. Thanks for pointing that out!

[Gaylesking]

Does the age limit remain the same?