First and foremost, I'd like to congratulate all of the candidates in the running for the moderator position, not just the 3 finalists, but everyone who kept their hopes high for Topia, and who worked hard on their campaigns and banners, and so forth. Your effort is indeed noticed, and we wish to see that effort replicated in the future. Who knows what we can achieve in the future with that kind of work ethic!
Now it's time to select our newest moderator. But first, some reflections on all the candidates. Like most everyone else on staff, it really pained me to only pick one moderator out of 3 very capable candidates. Here's what we thought about each one.
SHOOTER55: Our trusted chat moderator, and a very close friend of mine. He's proved himself mature and responsible throughout his time at Topia, and has had a good sense of right and wrong. Sadly, his computer died on him abruptly, and this may have potentially crumbled his shot at the position. While this was a factor in the staff's decisions, we noted that Shooter's campaign wasn't very inspired, to be blunt. Quite often I saw statements from him like "Well, I may not be the best, but...". At times, it seemed as if he was being fairly laid-back on his campaign, and not particularly dedicated to it. He could of been, but the staff never saw it. He would be a great moderator, he just needed to have a greater work ethic.
LOCKE99: One of the favourites of the election, he's had great experience with Topia as both an administrator and moderator. He's proved himself exceedingly mature, while possessing a sense of humour, so as to not become a Nazi. Quite frankly, every loves him, and sees him as an excellent role model. The only questionable trait of his was his apparent lack of activity compared to Wolf. The staff agrees he would be an excellent moderator, and that's precisely why he was one of the favourites.
WOLF: Running off his intimidating Admin Campaigns, Wolf comes back to the Moderator Election with a vengeance. His defining slogan was "Activity, Activity, and Activity", and while this helped him extensively, members questioned the relevance to being a mature moderator. One of his greatest shortcomings is mentioned time and time again, and that is his maturity, which is dwarfed by both Shooter and Locke. Oppositely, Wolf blows them both out of the water with activity and sheer work ethic. He's also had considerable experience outside of Topia.
The staff quickly decided that this was a difficult question, but a few actions really made the difference. During the waning days of the elections, spam bots made a powerful return, and they plague us to this day. It became a common principle to send private messages out to staff who could delete these.
Now I will speak personally on this matter, I never received a single PM from Shooter or Locke about this. It was always Wolf on the scene. The staff was distinctly impressed with this attentive behavior, and this is quite possibly the best example of moderation I can conceive. Behavior and personality aside, Wolf is the perfect candidate.
Please welcome Wolf to the staff, he has proved himself capable of handling moderating duties. It is as an administrator, a friend, and a rival in the Admin Elections that I wish Wolf his best in the future.
Here's lookin' at you, buddy.