(UPDATED: Now with new Poll) Moderator's Hot Seat - featuring nocoolnamejim

Greetings denizens of Gamespot, and welcome back to the next instalment of what's to be an ongoing exploration into the strangest and darkest reaches of the internet – the mind of a moderator.

Important to note that this is not just an Off Topic thing, but a Q&A that encompasses all of Gamespot, with mods from across the boards and where all users are welcome to participate. There are sticky notifications in all the major discussion boards (General Gaming Discussion and System Wars) as well as the platform specific boards to brings every poster in every part of gamespot under one roof for this ongoing series. So you'll interact with the mods you're familiar with and get to know the others from different parts of the forums.

Oh you might think the life of a moderator is all champagne and caviar, fame & fortune, and prestige beyond measure. But let me assure you fine folks that nothing could be farther from the truth. For one thing we don't even get paid for what we do :P So now peer beneath the veil as you get to find out what makes us tick.

Each week (from Wed-Wed), one of us will assume the Hot Seat and take questions from you, the life blood of this community. Oh sure you could ask us what our favourite food is, or movie, or actor, or get our opinions on gaming. But why stop there? Want to know what super power we would choose if we could possess one? Where we would go if we could travel in time? Who we think would win in a fight between Wolverine and Sonic the Hedgehog?

Be inventive. Be imaginative. By all means push us to the brink of our sanity :twisted: And while some playful ribbing is permitted here (even encouraged ;) ), don't get outright offensive or insulting. TOU rules still apply.But also let me emphasise although you can ask about our experiences as a mod, this isn't about moderation inquiries, or a supplement to Ask the Mods. Also mods will reserve the right not to answer a question if it gets too personal.

Think of it more like we're all just chillin' at a bar, getting to know each other in conversation and just having fun. Take it as a social experience.

OUR BODIES ARE READY!!

Anyway, I want to thank everybody for participating during my week. Although that thread is closed, if you want to check my recent replies, you can see them HERE

FIX the title christJandurin

So jimmyboy (if I may call you that), what do you think about puppies? Are they cute or are they evil creatures waiting to devour human souls?

Are they house broken or not? Generally speaking, I'm a cat person. Comes with being seriously anti-social and having contempt for all of mankind. Cats and I just seem to see eye to eye.

Like I ask everyone, when was the last time you got moderated and what was it for.

What do you think of stay-at-home dads?

You're talking about my dream job if I have a turn based RPG or strategy game at my disposal that can handle frequent interruptions.

Like I ask everyone, when was the last time you got moderated and what was it for.

AngryJuice

Jim, you gotta pick a lighter shade of blue. This is an eye sore to read :P

Jim, you gotta pick a lighter shade of blue. This is an eye sore to read :P

AdobeArtist

If accidents always happen within 5 miles of the home, why doesn't everybody just move 6 miles away?

Too many stunning hotties near my home. If I moved seven miles away I'm not sure if all the Playboy Playmates who always come over to my house to party would be able to find me again.

AdobeArtist

Care to back that up? I mean I sure as hell was able to ;)

The pictures from MY parties would be moderateable material on GS. 8)

Jim, why don't you post more?

And how did you meet your lovely wife?

I have an obsessive personality. I go through stretches where the only thing I'm interested in...is the current thing that I'm doing. And then I lose interest for a while. Basically, I get bored and I move onto something else. I'm the sort of person who will do fourteen hour marathon stretches of Dark Soulsfor a week straight and then not touch it for a month.

Well, that and this is actually fiscal year end for me on my offline job. Folks may recall that I vanished for about three months right around this same time last year. Even got my mod badge temporarily removed because I didn't really take the time to tell folks where I was going on the mod team. Whoops.

As for my wife, I met her twelve years ago as a part of a roleplaying group. She was playing a prostitute and I was playing a pimp. It...isn't quite as dirty as that sounds on the surface. We share a lot of common interests and were friends for about two years before deciding to give being "more" than friends a try. Got our ten year anniversary of being a couple coming up in December.

Which do you prefer better: Blondes or brunettes?

I don't see color. All that matters to me is whether or not I can breed a superior race upon them. Well...that and cup size. In all seriousness, gun to my head I'd probably prefer blondes in general due to the rarity of the color. I like rarity and uniquness due to it being interesting. Note: Must be TRUE blonde. Dye jobs don't count.

What is your favorite: Animal? Dragon

Game? Planescape: Torment is the Father, Fallout 2 is the Son and Dragon Quest X and Star Control 2 are the Holy Spirit (One for each word.)

Movie? Probably The Godfather if you put a gun to my head, but I've got about ten movies that I consider all more or less equal.

Celebrity? Don't have one. Being famous by itself is not a qualification for admiration.

What kind of car do you own? 2007 Toyota Corolla

What's your favorite vacation spot? Las Vegas

What do you think of stay-at-home dads?

You're talking about my dream job if I have a turn based RPG or strategy game at my disposal that can handle frequent interruptions.

lbjkurono23

Not a lot of good turn based RPGs anymore, but I guess if I went old school, then Final Fantasy IX, Dragon Quest X or either of the first two Fallouts were exceptional turn based RPGs.

Does Nancy Pelosi pay you in way shape or form for your endorsements/affection towards the Democratic ticket? If not, do you think she should? :]

Ironically, I was a hard core conservative growing up. My parents used to refer to me as Alex Keating if you understand the pop culture reference.

Nobody argues harder for a cause than a converted true believer I guess.

[QUOTE="AdobeArtist"]

If accidents always happen within 5 miles of the home, why doesn't everybody just move 6 miles away?

Too many stunning hotties near my home. If I moved seven miles away I'm not sure if all the Playboy Playmates who always come over to my house to party would be able to find me again.

AdobeArtist

Care to back that up? I mean I sure as hell was able to ;)

The pictures from MY parties would be moderateable material on GS. 8)

Sorry, but I am just NOT buying it :P

Shouldn't you already have a cool name by now, Jim?

My alternate account on Gamespot does.

You didn't answer my second question! :P

Whoops! No, I don't get paid for any of my constant badgering of conservatives on this site for their horribly misguided views, but I certainly am not the type to say NO to more money if someone came up to me and offered some.

I'm just not thinking that the Dems are looking for sock puppets to spread their message on a video game site though! Alas...

What's the story with Stitch with a lightsaber as your avatar? (Really cool, BTW.)

I....shamelessly stole it from the internet when I found it browsing around one day. Lilo and Stitch is my favorite non-adult movie. (Note: I said non-adult, not non-porno. There's a difference you perverts!)

Original Star Wars trilogy is one of my favorite non-cartoon movies. That...and the fact that I think Stitch is not a bad representation of my own psyche at times, and I decided that I'd never find an avatar that I liked more.

Plus...dude...Jedi Stitch!

[QUOTE="AngryJuice"]

Like I ask everyone, when was the last time you got moderated and what was it for.

nocoolnamejim

You can say penis on GameSpot? That's one less word I don't have to censor in fear of getting moderated :P

It's all in how you use it...

Shouldn't you already have a cool name by now, Jim?

My alternate account on Gamespot does.

BranKetra

[QUOTE="nocoolnamejim"]

[QUOTE="AngryJuice"]

Like I ask everyone, when was the last time you got moderated and what was it for.

XVision84

You can say penis on GameSpot? That's one less word I don't have to censor in fear of getting moderated :P

It's all in how you use it...

Incorrect usage of either can lead to trouble.

[QUOTE="nocoolnamejim"]

[QUOTE="AngryJuice"]

Like I ask everyone, when was the last time you got moderated and what was it for.

XVision84

You can say penis on GameSpot? That's one less word I don't have to censor in fear of getting moderated :P

It's all in how you use it...

Don't worry, I'm not going to post 56k threads about that >.>

I'm not crazy =P

Wise decision. I've always been fonder of the people who account suicide with tons of boobs rather than tons of dong. Just my personal preference of course, but damnit...it just strikes me as common courtesy given the demographical compilation of mods at GS. Most of us are straight guys. If you're going to make us clean up your mess then at least give us something FUN to look at on your way out!

[QUOTE="XVision84"]

[QUOTE="nocoolnamejim"] I made a post that intended to imply that I needed to go to the bathroom. It was interpreted as my making a reference to being about to go and do something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT with my penis.

lbjkurono23

You can say penis on GameSpot? That's one less word I don't have to censor in fear of getting moderated :P

It's all in how you use it...

You know what they say, you either use it or you lose it ;)

It's all in how you use it...

XVision84

LOL

Chilidragon's comment to me offline: "It's very typical of you that within 40 posts the thread is all about penises".

...

I'm not 100% sure but I think she may have just implied that I'm a closet case. I'll have my revenge later.

Was DA2 the best CRPG of the current generation, or the past ten years?

You're trolling me right now aren't you? Of all the things that I've seen on this site that are moderation worthy over the years...it's all I can do not to instaban you.

@xvision I'll keep that in mind :P @nocoolnamejim: Whats the worst horror film you've ever seen?

Not much of a horror movie person to be honest. To me, it kind of seems like film makers don't really know how to really portray true horror so they substitute a lot of blood, gore and slasher films. I'm not the most knowledgeable on this topic.

To really horrify an audience takes a lot of work and patience. It takes time to build up the mood, rising tension and a feeling of helpless despair. Patience isn't society's strongpoint in general these days and certainly not Hollywood's in particular. We're pretty much a short attention span culture these days.

There's a reason why twitter and it's hundred some odd character limit is so popular. There's a very large chunk of society that can't pay attention to something that takes longer than that.

Do you have a catch phrase for when you lock a thread?

Nope, but I do think I have the most funny/snarky/borderline disrespectful pictures for locking threads with. That's why it's fun when someone TRULY throws a tantrum and everyone insists that the thread be locked, because then I get to trot out the funny pictures and nobody screams "abuse of power!" at me.

...

I like funny pictures.

[QUOTE="XVision84"]

It's all in how you use it...

Teenaged

LOL

Chilidragon's comment to me offline: "It's very typical of you that within 40 posts the thread is all about penises".

...

I'm not 100% sure but I think she may have just implied that I'm a closet case. I'll have my revenge later.

[spoiler] Ok I'm done. [/spoiler]

Well damn...that was sure fast.

Was DA2 the best CRPG of the current generation, or the past ten years?

You're trolling me right now aren't you? Of all the things that I've seen on this site that are moderation worthy over the years...it's all I can do not to instaban you.

cybrcatter

Well...no game is completely without redeeming qualities.

What is one of the funniest pictures you have used to lock a thread?

Going to have to defer on that one. In comedy, like most things, timing is everything. Pictures that are, at best, mildly amusing when viewed in isolation are a lot funnier when deployed at the right time. There's no real build up or timing to help on that here.

Can you give us a link to a thread you locked that you posted a picture in? Pwease! ~

Nah. I don't keep track. Once a thread is locked, it's dead to me.

What is one of the funniest pictures you have used to lock a thread?

Going to have to defer on that one. In comedy, like most things, timing is everything. Pictures that are, at best, mildly amusing when viewed in isolation are a lot funnier when deployed at the right time. There's no real build up or timing to help on that here.

UprootedDreamer

As facilitator, I must insist on you posting it, jim :)

You're the boss. Just keep in mind two things: 1. All of my pictures that I use to close threads are home made. I create them all. 2. They really aren't nearly as funny out of context.

Tell us your favourite joke. :)

Going to have to go with this one

Who is your favorite comedian ?

Jon Stewart

What do you like about Jon Stewart?

I guess because it's my kind of humor. It's the sort of humor that is dark and quietly mocking without always being 100% obvious about it, though sometimes it is.

Stewart wields his humor like a stiletto. He pokes at the vulnerable areas, but always in such a sly, gentle and innocent sort of way that none of his guests can ever really accuse him of being unfair or out of bounds.

Basically he's one of the world's best trolls, but for purposes and reasons that I agree with and support.

I'm not 100% sure but I think she may have just implied that I'm a closet case. I'll have my revenge later.nocoolnamejim

Shush dear! Don't be revealing personal details on here without asking first!

What is the coolest username you have come across here on Gamespot?

I don't know if it's the "coolest" username, but I've always had a big fondness for bumfluff. I...am a little more hirstute than the average man in that area and it makes me feel like I'm not alone in this cold world.

You where supposed to say my username.:P Whoops. Missed my queue on that one. Perils of rewatching old "Chuck" episodes and loooking at pron while posting I guess.

What is your favorite kind of book to read?

Fantasy and Sci-Fi by a long shot. Geekier the better!

[QUOTE="nocoolnamejim"]I'm not 100% sure but I think she may have just implied that I'm a closet case. I'll have my revenge later.ChiliDragon

Shush dear! Don't be revealing personal details on here without asking first!

Are you two trying to be hawt....sexay...?

Baby...if you have to TRY then what's the point? Some people just ARE.

[QUOTE="nocoolnamejim"]I'm not 100% sure but I think she may have just implied that I'm a closet case. I'll have my revenge later.ChiliDragon

Shush dear! Don't be revealing personal details on here without asking first!

Affirmative.

What's your favorite console/game this gen?

Don't know that I could narrow it down to just one, but here are a few of my favorites.

The Witcher

The Witcher 2

Dragon Age Origins

Mass Effect 1

Alan Wake

Demon Souls

Prince of Persia

As you can see, most of those have one common theme: Great story and characters. Granted, doesn't really fit with a couple of them that are exceptions to that rule, but I'm an absolute sucker for a great story in a game. I'll take a great story over great gameplay any day.

jim, why am I posting this? :D

But seriously, what was the worst thing you ever did in school?

Worst as in the thing that I got in the most trouble for or worst in terms of the absolute dumbest thing that I ever did?

Do you like to read any nonfiction genres ?

Sometimes. I'll read a book on politics or sports from time to time, but mainly fiction. I guess for the same reason that I like video games. The real world can be damn boring and depressing at times.

How did you propose? Hidden ring in cake? Cup of Wine? Scavenger Hunt? Portal 2 Custom Level?

There's a park near where I live that has a decent sized hill on it that, when you get to the top of it, you can see most of the city. At night, that means one of those views that you get both a fantastic view of the stars above you, and a beautiful look at thousands of lights in the city below you. It's like you've got a starlit sky in both directions.

I proposed up on the top of that hill at midnight after an evening out at a fancy restaurant and enough drinks to make sure that inhibitions were lowered sufficiently to ensure a "yes" answer.

What's your favorite book?

I'm beginning to understand how all those politicians who get asked what look to be very simple softball questions like this can flub them up. Just like with the video game question, I have a hard time picking one.

The Bible.

Nah, I'm just jerking your chains. My favorite authors are Terry Brooks, Jacqueline Carey, Jennifer Roberson, Dave Duncan, Melanie Rawn and Raymond Fiest.

And God. Of course.