Xavier you be surprised how many of the cheerleader club sissys in the chat room pm me asking for advice
First of all, I'm sure a trans peep can help validate this, but last I heard - that was a transphobic slur. Keep that up and you'll never become mod.
Second of all, I'm going to reiterate what everyone else has tried saying, hopefully a different voice will help you.
You need chat room acceptance in order to be moderator. People do
not like me in that room, and that's fair, but do you notice how I changed my behavior before becoming mod? Those who had me on perma-iggy mostly didn't care that they were forced by the system to un-iggy me. There were a handful that were disgruntled, but I've since made amends with them.
Secondly, you need to have thick skin. I mean this with the upmost respect Justy, because I've been where you are at (I believe at the same age, too!) and I understand it's incredibly difficult. Right now, you are using iggies.
That is perfect, please continue doing that. Just know, once you become mod, the same people you previously iggied you will have to uniggy, and you will have to maintain composure with them. This is very difficult, even for well-seasoned mods, and I truly wish you the best of luck.
Third, you need to have team acceptance. When I first joined the moderator team, my closest friend was Sophie and occasionally Toby and I chatted. I had to build friendships with Sandman and NorCal - two people that honestly intimidated me very much. Xavier was still on temporary leave at the time, but I had to work with him also (Which, to his credit, he made very easy) - and then Hawke came around and I had to work alongside him as well. Justy. You have to learn to work alongside people you will not always agree with, not just to moderate this chat site but to live your life. That includes Sandman.
Lastly, you have to tone down the opinions. I get it, you're an American and have rights, I am too. I'd hate to be the one to tell you that the First Amendment only protects you from government intervention and any private entity can void it, but it bears repeating.
You have the right to speak your opinion, but when you're mod, it's rarely the time nor the place. You like Trump? Here's a little-known fact about me: I agreed with a lot of his policies. I don't like him as a person, no, but he was an alright politician. Do you know why a lot of people don't know that about me? Because I don't openly express that view.
I comprehend that it is controversial and thus don't discuss it often. If someone publicly disagrees with Trump - I let it go. Now there's the occasional opinion that I refuse to let go, like my hatred for pedophilia. You'll see me go at it with Scamdemic Mom when she goes on her anti-Chris-Hansen brigades - but at the end of the day, I let it roll off. I don't kick her for it. I don't threaten her. When I was a chatter, I didn't even report her for it. (Not saying you report people for disagreements, I'm just making a point). You need to find a core value that people are likely to agree with that sums up your other beliefs, and stick with it. That, in and of itself, will gain a lot more chat room acceptance, make you easier to work with, and help you in your entire life.
I hope you take this all seriously, because I actually did take it seriously, and spent the time to write all this out for you. Once upon a time, NorCal was fighting with me left and right for being a prick. Now we talk at least once every other day. You need to make a lot of friends in a lot of places, and this will hopefully help you do so.
