This is edition was delayed because I was really busy yesterday. It took place late at night here where I am in the US so I waited until the next day to post it. This week I went with one of our most dedicated members of the forums, a Moderator: Vitamin PWN . He just had a thread dedicated to him and now his interview is being posted. Here are the thoughts of the forums from a Moderator's point a view.
DD: "As I ask all of my interviewees, what is the origin of your name?"
PWN: "Well when i first got my Xbox when the 360 first came out i was thinking of a GT my brother suggested Vitamin PWN and i went with it because i couldn't think of anything better, honestly at first i thought it was meh, but it started to grow on me and now i use it for everything from usernames to character names in RPGs."
DD: "Well it's an awesome name I gotta say. I shorten it and give you the nickname VitaPWN and I think that sounds good too. Hope that's ok with you... ANYWAY what's the first thing you do when you get onto the site?"
PWN: "Yea VitaPWN does sound awesome, i like it! But yeah the first thing i do when i get on the site is check if i have any PM's and if i do i read them, then i look at the staff forums to see if anything new has come up then i look at shout make sure everything is fine, and after all of that i look through the forums and patrol for spam and make sure the rules are being followed."
DD: "This is why you have a dedication thread. Very admirable answer Vitamin. How many PMs a day do you get from members about awards, complaints and other things?"
PWN: "I get a few PM's about awards, not too many though, i also get some complants, ideas on how to improve the forum and people who think i work for 343, but mostly my PM's are just talking with other members about various thing not forum related."
DD: "Ok so you get a good amount each day, I expected you to get a million or so haha. What's the hardest thing about being a Mod?"
PWN: "Yeah i get only a few pm's a day, not millions lol.
i dont know if there is one hard thing about being a mod, but the hardest thing is having to put up with people who send some Pm's complaing about something, especially if they are being unreasonable or uncompromising, that can get on my nerves alittle. but for the most part those Pm's are few and far between."
DD: "It's probably easy because you're so good at what you do I'm sure haha so I know you take pride in your moderating position and you're very good at it what with your own dedication thread and all but what does being a Moderator really mean to you? What is its value to you?"
PWN: "I do take pride in the fact that im a mod, but i dont know if im good at it, all i know is i try my best.
to me being a mod is a way i can give back to the community that has been a home for me since i first joined, this forum has always been there for me and it's my pleasure to dedicate my time too keep up the standards that all the members have grow accustom to, and i thank Twam and Jester and everyone else who believed in me enough to promote me to to Moderator because without them i wouldn't be here."
DD: "Do you ever miss being just a member?"
PWN: "Sometimes i do miss it but being a mod is just too awesome, if i ever go back to being a normal member im sure i'll miss being a mod more than being a normal member."
DD: "I know you would. But I can't think of a single member who could take your place. So what is your favorite thing about these forums?"
PWN: "Now my favorite thing about these forums is the people, i've been on a few forums and they are all either full of trolls or a bunch of clique that are slow to embrace new members, but these forums are so accepting, any new member can join and be accepted instantly. Also this community is close, we are more of a family than a forum and thats what i love about it."
DD: "That's exactly what I like about this forum as well. Everybody here is great and we really fulfill the 'Community' part of '343industries Community Forums.' What is one of your most memorable moments here?"
PWN: "My most memorable moment? thats a hard one there are alot of good memories, like when i was apart of a Machinima made by Zed the Evil taco (which is right here) or one of the first playdates we had with AD,Choot 'em, Donut and Quilts, that was a fun day probably the most fun i had playing halo 3. I remember Choot 'em kept dying by grenades and he was joking around saying i put magnets in his armor and they were attracting the grenades lol, or one game AD and donut left and it was just me and Quilts and we managed to win and i got 25 kills, that was my best game ever. those were some good times."
DD: "Those sound extremely fun! So for the award junkies out there: what is the best way to get your Vitamin P award?"
PWN: "Well there is no set way to earn it but generally doing something that impresses me or something for me will get you it, but it has to be unique i dont want people doing the same thing as someone else in hopes of getting the award. so you for example, Az he drew me a picture (that is currently my profile background) and that netted him my award, now the next person who draws me a pic isnt guaranteed the award just because Az got it that way, but sometimes i will just be in a good mood and give it to a random person."
DD: "I see, that's a good way to do it. I think that's awesome actually. Alright Vitamin, you're an awesome Moderator and everyone in the community, old and new members, look up to you. What is your advice to new members to the site to achieve excellence in the forums?"
PWN: "My advice for new members is to respect your fellow members, be yourself and most importantly have fun, if you're not having fun on here you're not doing it right lol. i also want to throw in the obligatory "follow the rules" if any members can do those things they will be an excellent member in my book."
So there you have it! I've already thanked him but thank you again Vitamin PWN for allowing me to interview you it was great and you gave great answers. Thank you 343i Community Forums for letting this still happen, you guys are awesome. I can't wait to get to all of you.