Welcome to Gaia! ::

In the past few years, Gaia Online has grown by leaps and bounds to become one of the most popular hangouts on the web. As Gaia continues to grow, we plan to increase our support for our members in big ways. We have been working on plans for more than six months to improve the quality and quantity of moderation on our website. The mod colors/titles project was just the tip of the iceberg!

Soon you’ll see an extensive training program spring up, and you'll start hearing about a whole new movement to greatly enhance the numbers and abilities of our moderator teams. There have been rumblings in the forums and in conversations about us opening up moderator applications to the public, and the day has come for us to tell you that sometimes you get what you wish for!

That’s right, Gaians: today marks the first day ever that Gaia moderator applications are open to the general population of Gaia! You have a chance to be considered for a challenging and rewarding volunteer role as a moderator for Gaia Online!

Changes to the Mod System

How is this possible, you ask? First, let us explain what we are doing to define a moderator on Gaia, because we have redefined almost everything:

• We have divided the areas of the website that require support and member services and named leaders to each of these areas. These leaders will be building a group of responsible moderators under their direction and will ensure their realm of responsibility is covered. Each team will have a specialty that they will concentrate on, which will provide Gaia with total coverage from Minigames to PM’s.
  
  
• Moderators will have strict quality prerequisites to meet, and will be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure maximum education and fairness. Discipline amongst our ranks and adherence to our refined Terms of Service (Still under construction) will maximize our relationships with our members. A new Help Center will one day replace our Rules and Guidelines page to provide even more information.
  
  
• A complete and built-from-the-ground-up training center and team has been feverishly working on defining in hard terms what it is to be a Gaia moderator, what is expected of you and how to perform in this volunteer role. There will be a laundry list of curriculum and training staff to ensure maximum throughput for our newly announced public moderator induction process.

What Makes a Great Mod?

Now that you have a good idea of what we have been working on, we’d like you to consider these three words that define a good Gaia moderator:

Neutrality - People from all walks of life visit Gaia and spend time there. Can you put all of their religious beliefs, political opinions, temperaments, traditions and cultural differences aside and deal strictly with the matter at hand? If you think you could remain neutral at all times, this might be the role for you.

Creativity – Being a mod is much, much more than being a "hall monitor." Moderators are active members of the community who are devoted to creating a safe, fair and fun space for everyone. They earn the respect of their peers not by showing off their authority, but through good judgment and personal involvement in the community. Good leadership requires ingenuity, intelligence and, above all, creativity. A good moderator can solve issues in creative ways, without the use of moderation tools (even though those tools may be available to them).

Dedication – Being a Gaia moderator isn’t a job, it isn’t a lifestyle, it is a duty. When you are browsing the forums on Gaia, visiting towns to shake trees, or fishing your heart out as Bass’ken lake, you are a force on Gaia that protects and supports. You are not a powerful entity made to destroy evil across the website, but a gentle reminder of something long lost, something about commitment and purpose, something about inspiration and longevity. As a Gaia moderator, you’ll deal with the worst of the worst the internet has to offer, and if you can often come up from swimming with the sharks with a smile on your face, you’ll know you’ve succeeded. If you stay a moderator for a long time on Gaia, you’ll know what we mean. If you think you already understand, you might be the type of person we’re looking for!

How to Apply

We will be releasing more information on how all of this will play out, but please pay SUPER CLOSE attention to the prerequisites listed before you apply as a moderator. There is a long training phase you will have to go through before you will have any abilities whatsoever. There is also a tenure and post requirement so most mules need not apply. If you have extensive Terms of Service violations on record, your application may be declined.

By filling out the application, you are agreeing to a legally binding contract, and if you are under the age of 18, you MUST WAIT until we have a separate method for you to get us your parent or legal guardian’s signature. Again: we are NOT accepting applications from those under the age of 18 at this time. We may accept applications in the future for members under the age of 18, but are NOT at this time.

Notice: if your application falls under any of the following categories, it will be declined immediately:

1. The application is not 100% complete
2. The application is not 100% accurate (to the best of our ability to judge)
3. The application does NOT meet the initial-pass prerequisites

Again, any submission that falls under the above three categories will be declined immediately for security reasons.

If you have read all of the above, and still feel you will be a qualified and excellent candidate for our moderator training program, please click on the following link to begin the process:

(WARNING: YOU MUST BE 18 YEARS OLD OR OLDER TO COMPLETE THIS PROCESS)




If you have any further questions, you are welcome to post them in this thread so we can address your concerns.

To alleviate some common questions you may have, we’ve compiled this small Q&A for you below. You can find the Q&A section in the post below.