While I have only recently discovered this leaderboard, I'm seeing some issues that may be affecting all runners of this game.
Some runs are taking longer than the provided 21 days. I have learned that the current Moderator recently returned (March 2022) from a 3 month hiatus, but this trend goes back to 2020. There seems to be a history of gaps of inactivity.
Solo Search for Wily by Dumple was submitted on 7-17-20 and verified 9-29-20, 74 days later.
Solo All Stories by WhoDis was submitted 01-28-21 and verified 02-26-21, 29 days later.
Co-op All Stories by ZEUS1786 and HIKARU was submitted 12-18-2021 and verified on 3-13-2022 (Hiatus)
Co-Op Rescue Roll by jacobdoesathing and thesportsrunner was submitted 02-08-22 and verified 03-14-22. 34 days after being submitted.
I understand and support IRL coming first, and don't want to criminalize these gaps, this game is very niche compared to new titles and classics alike you'd think you'd be okay taking a break now and then.
Guidelines for Speedrun.com state games should have at least 3 Moderators. This would cover any gaps a solo Mod would have. It's recommended that a Mod runs the game as well.
Currently there are only 3 ways to become a Moderator on Speedrun.com: requesting the game to be added, having the current Super Moderator appoint you, or reporting an inactive Moderator to Speedrun.com staff
I reached out to the Mod to offer assistance, being a new runner and with pending times claiming to be 1st place. He responded saying he doesn't need any help.
Another part of the Moderator guidelines is to prioritize runs claiming to be 1st place, making sure that the runs are legitimate, while less optimal times can have small portions reviewed before approving them. I currently have a time faster than one of the categories recently approved, which means chicadead26 has been approving runs not by fastest times first, but in the order in which they are received.
That makes their job harder as they must be verifying runs one at a time, at a pace that feels like one run a week, for runs that are under 10 minutes in length. If that's all they have time for, that's fine, but another reason why an additional Moderator would be a great help.
As of right now, there's nothing any of the runners can do, I've tried requesting Mod status to help out already. Chicdead26 isn't inactive, there's no reason to report them. Instead I would like to offer help in the event there may be another time where the current Moderator might need to step away for a while.
Also, it doesn't have to be me, any additional moderators would be a great help. Anyone willing to follow the guidelines from the Speedrun.com Knowledge Base.
Thank you.
I think it's a great idea to have a runners from different countries (and timezones) so there is good coverage where 24/7 someone is online!
This is really unexpected for me after our little exchange in private, but here we go...
Another part of the Moderator guidelines is to prioritize runs claiming to be 1st place
I'll focus on this point because it infuriates me the most. There is no such guideline for this (in fact, it's the opposite!) and, even if there was, i would still verify runs by submission order. Had i verified you before the oldest runs, someone else would come in here and point out to me the five or six times i dropped the ball. You're not special. You've been in this community for eight days. Chill.
Instead I would like to offer help in the event there may be another time where the current Moderator might need to step away for a while.
Had this been the case we would've conversated privately.
There seems to be a history of gaps of inactivity.
What you don't know is that, in my three month hiatus, twelve runs were posted. In the past two weeks alone (which i had been verifiably active), thirteen new runs were submitted. As of this very moment, nine runs are yet to be verified. Five of them belong to you, and they still are the most recent runs, as i've told you in private.
--//--
As it stands, it is not necessary to include any new moderators for the leaderboards. This is a very small community that mostly attract one-and-done hobbyists or the recurring two or three runners that post runs twice a month at most. I have already personally apologized for runners who had awaited the most and, as i have already pointed out, i am verifying an amount of runs every day for the past two (nearly three) weeks now.
This was very, very unecessary.
This was never meant as a personal attack just because my runs are eight days old, just observations looking at all runs that have been posted and verified late.
I was citing the verification part of the moderation rules:
Verification It is generally left to the moderators to determine a necessary level of scrutiny for a run. For the top time in a category, it is generally expected that the entire run be watched. For times that are not particularly notable, reviewing small portions of the video may be sufficient.
Prioritizing faster times lets you verify slower ones quicker, it's workflow to verify in batches rather than one at a time, and that would be in the best interests of any community, not just this one. A category this short could have several runs approved in a single day. This is not asking to be moved up in the verification queue.
3 Month Hiatus, I found similar issues that go back years before this current hiatus. If you've had to personally apologize each time these runners wait longer than the rules allow, it would have been best to add extra moderators long ago to avoid this.
We did converse privately about additional mods, but it should be public if enough people feel things aren't being handled in the best interests of the leaderboard.
I was citing the verification part of the moderation rules
That has nothing to do with the order of the verification. In fact, im not sure how it is relevant for this topic at all. From the very same document: "Preferential treatment of any type (moving runs up in the verification queue, verifying runs that do not meet standards, etc) is forbidden, especially if associated with payment or favors. Failure to remain impartial may result in moderator removal."
Prioritizing faster times lets you verify slower ones quicker
How? All this does, as i said, is make so an older run has a higher chance of being verified after the twenty one day period.
3 Month Hiatus, I found similar issues that go back years before this current hiatus
You have explicitly pointed out most times i went over the suggested twenty one day verification period (if not every single one of them). I have no idea why you're using that to make a point.
--//--
If i go over the twenty one day verification period again, all one has to do is contact me on one of my available social media links. I am flawed. I'll probably fail again. I'll stop answering this post, considering it didn't had any significant development, but i'll keep an eye out. If you're unhappy with my answer, and you're still keen on your objectives, i suggest contacting the MegaMan mods, or maybe even SR.C themselves.
