Ask the mods anything

@Goku Black  
I know this reference.

So, how much is this site on lockdown or heavier watch right now?

@CaptainXtra  
We’re not on ‘lockdown’.
 
The most that has happened is a couple of us subscribed to the political containment zone. Also I’m thinking about a second martini at this point. And maybe some MineCraft on a friend’s realm.
 
That said, if you notice any problems that you think we should be looking at, please report them.

@CaptainXtra  
You cannot get covid in here, there’s no lockdown.

@Fleetfoot  
That may be, but I’ve got a fever.
 
A fever … for FLEETFOOT!
 
Also petzer.
 

@Ciaran  

Is ZONESS an alt account for one of the mods?

@Goku Black
 

Science fiction item you wish of having?

Just a curiosity. Why did Derpy Whooves make Ciaran his moderator account? It’s flipped from before.

Why is downvoting a thing on this site? I spent a lot of time on the first submission I made here and I’ve received downvotes with no real explanation as to why it is unfavorable to some. There is a report button already to keep people from posting things that shouldn’t be here, so what purpose does the downvote button serve other than to allow trolling? If you like the submission, upvote it, if you don’t, move on. Is there a sincere explanation for the downvote button?

@moonchosen  
No. There are no hidden staff members. Any accounts with any sort of permissions are listed on the site staff list page
 
@Panko Pai  
Cybernetics and brain-computer interfacing thingies.
 
@Cosmas-the-Explorer  
Policy changes.
 
@SeafoamSelene  
There is a button to hide downvote counts. It’s located in the Settings -> Display tab. Voting in either direction is meant as an expression of opinion to contribute to the “overall opinion” score of an image. Said “overall opinion” helps people filter things and find things that are generally favored by the community in general.

@Cosmas-the-Explorer  
Wait, how can one former staff member become an account from one of the current mods? That’s now how it’s supposed to work on this.

@Princess Celestia  

 
This is where the design has failed. It allows a community to exist off the ideals of those that troll the hardest. An upvote button existing alone without a downvote button does the EXACT same thing you just stated and actually fosters a community based off common interest instead of common complaints. There is a saying that goes, “The empty can rattles the most.” It’s the basis upon which your community will trend given that you’ve allowed those “empty cans” a larger voice than has ever proven necessary. There are plenty of smarter pony sites though. I’ll stick with those, thank you.

@SeafoamSelene  
Lots of sites feature an upvote/downvote feature. Would you complain about that on those sites, too? Can’t have sunshine without a little rain, as Autumn Blaze once said.
 
I wanted to include this image originally:  

@SeafoamSelene  
They did remove downvote function at one point but that decision got massive flak from users they had to restore it.

@SeafoamSelene  
How’s the view up there from your high horse?

Please don’t drag the thread down with an argument like this or dogpiling on someone, this was supposed to be the light-hearted thread.

Are you looking forward to G5 of My Little Pony?

Whose the most unsympathetic character you’ve seen in a tv show outside of MLP?

@Cosmas-the-Explorer  
Completely new cast of characters. Do not re-use old ones.
 
@icey wicey 1517  
That’s a hard one. Maybe Rick from Rick and Morty.

@Princess Celestia  
>Rick
 
/me wipes a sympathetic tear
 

@Jaredking203  

 
If you have two profiles on the site (which is completely fine and many people have more than one profile) and you are accepted as a volunteer, you’ll be asked which of your profiles you want to use when you do volunteer work for the site.
 
Is there a reason that we shouldn’t do that? Or is there something that you would prefer?

@Ciaran  
Well, nothing, when that one user told me about it, I was literally shocked that a former staff member is actually one of the current mods. This was very rare to occur with two different staff members.