Guardian Hobba (modernized helper)

[Jarkie]

A fellow user asked another fellow user about this new 'Guardian' program habbo have planned and Paul LaFontaine has replied VIA twitter:


PAUL: "Guardian is a modernized Hobba - a helper with limited mod powers."


USER: "Guardians be regulated? No kicking random rooms for no reason (can see it happening) No bias from staff (can see me being declined

PAUL: Yes Guardians a position of extreme trust. Tightly regulated and very important."

https://twitter.com/PaulLaFo/status/217274109539790848

https://twitter.com/PaulLaFo/status/217268073613365248




So I guess this means 'Hobbas' might be back? I wonder what tools these users will get?

[Michael]

Its the next level to Habbo helper he also tweeted.

[Jarkie]

Its the next level to Habbo helper he also tweeted.

I'd imagine this new thing will be only given to a selective few; or anyone can just get it then VIA levelling up their 'talent tree'

[DPS]

Its the next level to Habbo helper he also tweeted.

well it sounds stupid. just bring back Hobbas ;/

[MKR&*42]

Oh that sounds good, at least he's adding something *useful*. But I guarantee a lot will complain about the potential abuse of their powers lol

[Jarkie]

Oh that sounds good, at least he's adding something *useful*. But I guarantee a lot will complain about the potential abuse of their powers lol

Aye indeed; Hopefully they will actually monitor peoples behaviour while using these new 'tools'

[Red]

Awful. What an absolute idiot. So we have stupid outsourced mods and customer support and then a few up themselves habbos parading around with mod powers.

[MKR&*42]

Aye indeed; Hopefully they will actually monitor peoples behaviour while using these new 'tools'

Mmm, see without Moderators and Sulake staff actually using the hotel a lot more often - this is going to crash and burn because no-one is going to be overlooking the system. I hope Paul realises that it will require effort from both ends (especially Sulake staff) to make sure this system works.

[Jarkie]

Mmm, see without Moderators and Sulake staff actually using the hotel a lot more often - this is going to crash and burn because no-one is going to be overlooking the system. I hope Paul realises that it will require effort from both ends (especially Sulake staff) to make sure this system works.

Indeed; They said when the Hobba and the eXpert days were around that it will be well monitored.. lol look what happened with that. It might be great at first; But people get power hungry and will most likely over use their tools. I'm looking forward to seeing how they will actually be 'monitored'

[Mathew]

Yayyyyyyyyyyyy, can't wait for some egotistical teenagers to go with the apes at customer support. Nice work Habbo.

[Jarkie]

Yayyyyyyyyyyyy, can't wait for some egotistical teenagers to go with the apes at customer support. Nice work Habbo.

Lol indeed, I hope they do 'proper' interviews and not just based on your experience with 'Habbo'. Due to it being pretty much a volunteer job with serious drawbacks if all goes wrong.

[Red]

Any selection process isn't going to be fair. So many people up Paul's arse its unreal.

[Jarkie]

Any selection process isn't going to be fair. So many people up Paul's arse its unreal.

That's quite true, if you read some of the comments and messages Paul get's sent VIA twitter from other users is just pathetic. I really do hope they do a proper selection process. But no matter what happens there will always be people complaining.

[Red]

Yea and him being exposed helping fierycold through dms when he had the cheek to tell everyone else he doesn't deal with bans.
Really shown himself to be fair and not have favourites.... not

[Mathew]

They need to sort out their current moderators as opposed to trying to get off lightly and having players help moderate the game. The absolute cheek of it. They've been under scrutiny by the British media for the past couple of weeks and they still have the cheek to turn around and ask players to help moderate the game. Why are they being so cheap? Why dont they stop being so tight with their cash and actually hire some people who know what the hell they're doing? How on earth can you justify having children moderate the game (and fob it off as a new, amazing opportunity for "experienced" Habbos by labelling them as "Guardians") when they're in such deep water with paedophiles already? They are stupid... just plain stupid.

[Jarkie]

Theres this thing called the 'Habbo council' I bet you any money, it be the guys within that group that will become these new hobbas.

[Red]

They need to sort out their current moderators as opposed to trying to get off lightly and having players help moderate the game. The absolute cheek of it. They've been under scrutiny by the British media for the past couple of weeks and they still have the cheek to turn around and ask players to help moderate the game. Why are they being so cheap? Why dont they stop being so tight with their cash and actually hire some people who know what the hell they're doing? How on earth can you justify having children moderate the game (and fob it off as a new, amazing opportunity for "experienced" Habbos by labelling them as "Guardians") when they're in such deep water with paedophiles already? They are stupid... just plain stupid.

amen to that. I would rep but need to wait x

[Jarkie]

They need to sort out their current moderators as opposed to trying to get off lightly and having players help moderate the game. The absolute cheek of it. They've been under scrutiny by the British media for the past couple of weeks and they still have the cheek to turn around and ask players to help moderate the game. Why are they being so cheap? Why dont they stop being so tight with their cash and actually hire some people who know what the hell they're doing? How on earth can you justify having children moderate the game (and fob it off as a new, amazing opportunity for "experienced" Habbos by labelling them as "Guardians") when they're in such deep water with paedophiles already? They are stupid... just plain stupid.

Amazing comment, and So true! Rep+

[Plebings]

i should probably start a habbo twitter account, i think all the habbo council members are on twitter aren't they?

[Jarkie]

i should probably start a habbo twitter account, i think all the habbo council members are on twitter aren't they?

Everyone is pretty much on Twitter; so no doubt it helps.

[cameron354]

He said that they'd be able to kick:
https://twitter.com/PaulLaFo/status/217271280607567872

[Red]

Is this going to be habbo cms or something different then? He has sat on his twitter and said past programmes like hobbas were flawed and didn't work. Really pisses me of that after the seriousness of the situation and being in the media spotlight, they still aren't doing anything to fix their shoddy moderation and customer support.

[Jarkie]

He said that they'd be able to kick:
https://twitter.com/PaulLaFo/status/217271280607567872

Oh god, no-doubt they will get room override power; and a few other things.. perhaps they will get to see tickets users have sent in.


Is this going to be habbo cms or something different then? He has sat on his twitter and said past programmes like hobbas were flawed and didn't work. Really pisses me of that after the seriousness of the situation and being in the media spotlight, they still aren't doing anything to fix their shoddy moderation and customer support.

LOL yep. It might be 'cos everyone was like 'Bring back hobbas' so in his mind he probs think it will cure habbo forever.

[lawrawrrr]

Hopefully they've learnt from the mistakes with Hobbas etc and have made the best possible compromise? I never finished my talent track though, does that mean I won't be able to do it?

[Chris]

I think it could be good if its done right and properly monitored, otherwise it'll be stupid.

[MKR&*42]

Is this going to be habbo cms or something different then? He has sat on his twitter and said past programmes like hobbas were flawed and didn't work. Really pisses me of that after the seriousness of the situation and being in the media spotlight, they still aren't doing anything to fix their shoddy moderation and customer support.

Habbo CMs are Habbo Helpers and it's *supposed* to be the final stage of the Habbo Helper tree (the very final lol), which I imagine would require a great deal of work to get there. And yes, it is very ridiculous how he's going to users for help instead of improving the staff team lol. Don't get me wrong, customers are a very important part of a business and it's good that he listens to people I suppose, but to put all your faith in them is a very bad idea lol.

I'm half-half in terms of support for this.

[Jarkie]

Hopefully they've learnt from the mistakes with Hobbas etc and have made the best possible compromise? I never finished my talent track though, does that mean I won't be able to do it?

I'd imagine that they will give people a chance to finish their trees once the mute is over. but my thought is that they wont be giving these 'tools' just to anyone, if they do they're asking for trouble.

[Jordan]

I don't get why people go straight to hating the new ideas. Yes it didn't work last time but that was years ago, wait till it comes and people test it out before you start moaning about how bad it could be. It's not even out yet.

[lawrawrrr]

I'd imagine that they will give people a chance to finish their trees once the mute is over. but my thought is that they wont be giving these 'tools' just to anyone, if they do they're asking for trouble.

That's what I thought, it's a bit iffy as there were tens of thousands of helpers, but I bet hardly any of them were any good!! Makes you wonder how they'll decide, really...

[Empired]

Just gonna abuse their powers to be honest. The powers'll only be given to people who either so far up themselves that they're coming back down or people who have paid their way in, no matter what Paul says. Yay can't wait.

[cameron354]

You don't know that it will go badly. Look at habbo helpers, a lot of them really do answer questions properly and are helpful. Paul said on twitter that it will be the next stage on the talent tree (the one that's currently locked) and that staff will have to approve you as one.

[Jarkie]

I don't get why people go straight to hating the new ideas. Yes it didn't work last time but that was years ago, wait till it comes and people test it out before you start moaning about how bad it could be. It's not even out yet.

I'm glad someone said this; I really hope it works, as they have had many years to work out how they went wrong, and so fourth. Rep+


That's what I thought, it's a bit iffy as there were tens of thousands of helpers, but I bet hardly any of them were any good!! Makes you wonder how they'll decide, really...

Indeed, as I have said before, I hope they do 'proper' interviews and not just based on someones Habbo experience.

[Alba]

Not a good idea at all. I'm already at this point of the tree, and I wouldn't even trust myself with it. To much power to gain from a weeks worth of doing nothing.

[Red]

I don't get why people go straight to hating the new ideas. Yes it didn't work last time but that was years ago, wait till it comes and people test it out before you start moaning about how bad it could be. It's not even out yet.

How are they going to stop favouritism, elitism, the security flaws etc. They can't. And I am not offered much hope when it's moderators, who can barley string a sentence together are the ones to moderate abuses.

[Jarkie]

How are they going to stop favouritism, elitism, the security flaws etc. They can't. And I am not offered much hope when it's moderators, who can barley string a sentence together are the ones to moderate abuses.

So true. I can't wait to see how this all plays out. It would be nice for actual English written 'helpers' to help with something, such as a user 'blocking' But only time will tell if they choose the right people. I bet you any money tat the users that are 'quite' known in the 'habbo' world will get accepted without them even reviewing them properly.

[Mathew]

open bets on first three Guardians being FieryCold, BelieveMeSafety and 5N?

[geo]

Don't really like the idea. Can't wait to see people like 650c getting the job... great. :rolleyes:
Guess I won't be getting it either because Paul blocked me on Twitter. :'(


open bets on first three Guardians being FieryCold, BelieveMeSafety and 5N?

You would hope they wouldn't be picked considering they've all done things against the Habbo way, but I bet they will. :P

[Jarkie]

open bets on first three Guardians being FieryCold, BelieveMeSafety and 5N?

LOL I bet 500c pl0z. With anyluck they wont be so plain to hire people like this; But they will.. It's habbo afterall.


Don't really like the idea. Can't wait to see people like 650c getting the job... great. :rolleyes:
Guess I won't be getting it either because Paul blocked me on Twitter. :'(



O.o LOL why did he block you?!?!

[Michael]

open bets on first three Guardians being FieryCold, BelieveMeSafety and 5N?

Seeing her comments on twitter 'Paul if you unmute us ill give you some of my KFC' it'll probably will be!

[Mathew]

Seeing her comments on twitter 'Paul if you unmute us ill give you some of my KFC' it'll probably will be!

lolol, it's so cringeworthy it's unbelieveable.

[Plebings]

At least give the people a chance to abuse their power, I know everyone is quick to jump to conclusions that everyone who isn't themselves are going to abuse it. I hope if they do abuse they will be quick to be removed, and someone else is brought in.

[geo]

LOL I bet 500c pl0z. With anyluck they wont be so plain to hire people like this; But they will.. It's habbo afterall.



O.o LOL why did he block you?!?!

Paul didn't take so well to me saying ''@paullafo (https://twitter.com/#!/paullafo) I'm gonna expose your nudes''

[:odey:]

It just seems like a nice free way to get some regulation to me :P

[Jarkie]

Paul didn't take so well to me saying ''@paullafo (https://twitter.com/#!/paullafo) I'm gonna expose your nudes''

LOOOOOOOL.you should write him a letter of apology ;)

[geo]

LOOOOOOOL.you should write him a letter of apology ;)

Nah I've edited something and gonna say if you don't unblock me I'll reveal all. :(
MEH DON'T CARE I CAN STILL SEE THEM.

[Puma!]

Ok... well I've had an afternoon nap and this pops up! This is big news.

Like I've said in previous 'hobba' posts, there needs to be a serious regulation if a new hobba-related system actually comes into fruition. Things like age, previous experience and affiliation really need to be taken into account. A guardian council, I would presume have some sort of age restriction attached to it. Like the X system, a load of teenagers running around and abusing powers won't do habbo nor its users any good. Also somebody talking about a large number becoming guardians - I don't think that'd be true, because it'd cause a lot more problems then solutions.

Interesting how Habbo have turned to this though.. cost-cutting measures? UK-based MODS would have to work at a minimum wage, but also US, CA, AUS and SG mods would also have to work at some base wage too.

(Yes, it works for Maccy D's for individuals working in two different countries e.g India and the US but it's a bit different.. working in the same place but then discriminating against nationality because of varying minimum wages breaks EU law amongst other various international laws. That would cause a lot of hassle for Sulake).

(PS - Sorry for the rant at the end :P)

[sex]

5N use to clone in falling furni back in 2007/2008 while other users would rev each with ridiculous amounts such as 1/2t as they would be promised a prize of 5t! Its so stupid literally all them sell furni for real life money too
I helped her a few times as and would pretend to rev!
Her named wasn't beth then either lol

[MKR&*42]

Don't really like the idea. Can't wait to see people like 650c getting the job... great. :rolleyes:
Guess I won't be getting it either because Paul blocked me on Twitter. :'(



You would hope they wouldn't be picked considering they've all done things against the Habbo way, but I bet they will. :P


LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. Paul blocked you on Twitter? oh dear.

--

Just saw the reason why LMFAO AT YOU GEORGIA.

Ngl, if Fierycold gets in I'll commit tyvm. I *pray* that he doesn't chose people who are (cringe at this word) "e-famous" because it will seem very elitist.

[GoldenMerc]

Its funny, most of the people who have posted in this thread wern't even registered to Habbo when Hobba's were around yet they manage to slate them and know everything about them, or so they say...

Back when Hobba's were around the community was so much smaller, so small you could most likely know everyone on your friends list. Thus why Hobba's did work back then, they removed them as Habbo expanded, not because they were corrupt etc, you always get one in a few who will do wrong but mainly they helped and did good.

[GommeInc]

Any selection process isn't going to be fair. So many people up Paul's arse its unreal.
Wait... Hold up... There's space? Given the state of his ego, you'd think he couldn't fit anyone else's but his own over inflated head up his derriere.

In all seriousness. It seems like a good idea, but it could go so wrong so fast. Too many over-obsessive users are on Habbo now - the ones that think they should get the job are the ones who shouldn't ever get close to it. Hobbas worked amazingly well, it was the eXperts that were problematic.

What they need to do is clone MissAlice.

[Lewis]

Its funny, most of the people who have posted in this thread wern't even registered to Habbo when Hobba's were around yet they manage to slate them and know everything about them, or so they say...

Back when Hobba's were around the community was so much smaller, so small you could most likely know everyone on your friends list. Thus why Hobba's did work back then, they removed them as Habbo expanded, not because they were corrupt etc, you always get one in a few who will do wrong but mainly they helped and did good.


What he said.

[Jarkie]

Ok... well I've had an afternoon nap and this pops up! This is big news.

Like I've said in previous 'hobba' posts, there needs to be a serious regulation if a new hobba-related system actually comes into fruition. Things like age, previous experience and affiliation really need to be taken into account. A guardian council, I would presume have some sort of age restriction attached to it. Like the X system, a load of teenagers running around and abusing powers won't do habbo nor its users any good. Also somebody talking about a large number becoming guardians - I don't think that'd be true, because it'd cause a lot more problems then solutions.

Indeed, there has always been such a huge debate when it comes to giving normal users 'tools' and methods. due to the Human nature; once someone has more power than someone else, some people accept the responsibility and do well; while others will get power hungry and abuse the powers. it will always be a Win Loose system. I really hope they do infact use; age, experience & most deferentially affiliation. When it came to the 'eXpert' system, in my eyes the Staff at Sulake sort of gave up with it, and hired waay to many people. If they keep the numbers low in this new system it will be more easy to monitor? and so fourth. Maybe to the people who get offered this chance to sign a contract that if they breach this contract they can get sued or something along them lines?


Interesting how Habbo have turned to this though.. cost-cutting measures? UK-based MODS would have to work at a minimum wage, but also US, CA, AUS and SG mods would also have to work at some base wage too.

(Yes, it works for Maccy D's for individuals working in two different countries e.g India and the US but it's a bit different.. working in the same place but then discriminating against nationality because of varying minimum wages breaks EU law amongst other various international laws. That would cause a lot of hassle for Sulake).

(PS - Sorry for the rant at the end :P)

Indeed it would be far more sensible to bring back local moderators and put them on minimum wage, with the current climax there would be loads of people who would do the job, and correctly. The reason minimum wages are around is infact the country the person lives in either is really expensive to live on or not so expensive. for example; Living in the UK, you will need to stretch your money for Rent; Food; Bills; Car anything else along them lines. and someone who is in India where it is 'slightly' cheaper to live, will have lower wages. (< that is my view anyhow)

EDIT :: P.S:


Its funny, most of the people who have posted in this thread wern't even registered to Habbo when Hobba's were around yet they manage to slate them and know everything about them, or so they say...

Back when Hobba's were around the community was so much smaller, so small you could most likely know everyone on your friends list. Thus why Hobba's did work back then, they removed them as Habbo expanded, not because they were corrupt etc, you always get one in a few who will do wrong but mainly they helped and did good.

I was around when the hobbas were around I joined Habbo when they only had a few months left in the Hotel, and I agree with this comment; however with my experience I had with them was unfair kicks and bans.. also with all the stupid flooding of habbo alert messages in pretty much every room.

[dbgtz]

This will fail in either system.

If it is by appointment, it will fall the same reason the Habbo X scheme did. The staff got lazy in appointment of them, choosing well known names nearer the end rather than those who actually show a chance of doing a decent job. Most of the people who abused the room privillages were generally in the last or second to last batch.

If it's by levelling up that talent tree, well needless to say some noobs or idiots will get it and just fail.

[Puma!]

Indeed, there has always been such a huge debate when it comes to giving normal users 'tools' and methods. due to the Human nature; once someone has more power than someone else, some people accept the responsibility and do well; while others will get power hungry and abuse the powers. it will always be a Win Loose system. I really hope they do infact use; age, experience & most deferentially affiliation. When it came to the 'eXpert' system, in my eyes the Staff at Sulake sort of gave up with it, and hired waay to many people. If they keep the numbers low in this new system it will be more easy to monitor? and so fourth. Maybe to the people who get offered this chance to sign a contract that if they breach this contract they can get sued or something along them lines?

Yeah that's a really good point and I agree, the X system became a bit of a problem for staff. It was mostly *sends visit my friends fansite*, *overrides room to see new Callie furni* and *I'll talk to my friends, not help others*. The eXpert system were individuals who, in essence, were experts at what they did. However they didn't really do the job nor did Sulake give them anything to do (in their defence), it was basically "here's a badge and show other Habbos what to do" without really giving them instructions. The number of individuals was probably a little too high, so sorry for that - maybe a split of 20 guardians among the UK, US/CA, SG and AU to ensure all time zones are looked after properly? I'd agree to an extent - but how can individuals be scrutinised? And who exactly will be scrutinise them? It would cost Sulake money for someone to constantly watch, but the CR outsourcing team would struggle to do it - lack of experience in the hotel coupled with a lack of fluency in the English language. Legal action is a bit excessive imo, but maybe a breach in a contact that if is broken they lose their powers. I don't know if Hobbas were banned after losing their powers (unless they were court scamming or something).




Indeed it would be far more sensible to bring back local moderators and put them on minimum wage, with the current climax there would be loads of people who would do the job, and correctly. The reason minimum wages are around is infact the country the person lives in either is really expensive to live on or not so expensive. for example; Living in the UK, you will need to stretch your money for Rent; Food; Bills; Car anything else along them lines. and someone who is in India where it is 'slightly' cheaper to live, will have lower wages. (< that is my view anyhow)

But the problem is that they work in the same place, which would mean two different people being paid just because they live in different locations. Countries like SG don't have a minimum wage, despite having a higher GDP Per Capita (Gross Domestic Product) than the UK, which does have a minimum wage. My assumption that the original move to SG was because of the lack of minimum wage, meaning they could pay literally nothing to the moderators, raising profit margins (removal of CA/US/UK/AUS MODs) and making the Sulake as a whole more profitable (which attracts more investors). I do see your point though.. and you're right. Good observation (geographer in my head!).

[Jarkie]

Yeah that's a really good point and I agree, the X system became a bit of a problem for staff. It was mostly *sends visit my friends fansite*, *overrides room to see new Callie furni* and *I'll talk to my friends, not help others*. The eXpert system were individuals who, in essence, were experts at what they did. However they didn't really do the job nor did Sulake give them anything to do (in their defence), it was basically "here's a badge and show other Habbos what to do" without really giving them instructions. The number of individuals was probably a little too high, so sorry for that - maybe a split of 20 guardians among the UK, US/CA, SG and AU to ensure all time zones are looked after properly? I'd agree to an extent - but how can individuals be scrutinised? And who exactly will be scrutinise them? It would cost Sulake money for someone to constantly watch, but the CR outsourcing team would struggle to do it - lack of experience in the hotel coupled with a lack of fluency in the English language. Legal action is a bit excessive imo, but maybe a breach in a contact that if is broken they lose their powers. I don't know if Hobbas were banned after losing their powers (unless they were court scamming or something).

It wasn't like that with every single person who signed up for the eXpert system. I was part of the UK eXpert team, and sadly the bunch I got accepted into really did over use their 'rights' which gave the bad look to the eXpert system, thus users were complaining and then shutting down the system. I agree with you; Sulake pretty much 'giving' us a badge but in a sense I saw the badge as something to prove that you are a chosen 'helper' thus new and old users would trust 'you' more and ask you for help. (Thats was and still is my view), but Sulake did kept us informed via a secret forum, and so did our group leaders; They did regulars meetings to make sure we where all doing ok, and telling us what we should achieve before the next meeting, and so fourth. With the saying that Paul said that it'll be watched, no doubt it just be made into 'logs' and someone will visit them from time to time just to check on them. Maybe they will make 'Guardian leaders' to help with the watch. I'm not to sure on Hobbas getting banned for loosing their powers AKA getting fired.. it most likely will depend on what caused them to be fired etc.



But the problem is that they work in the same place, which would mean two different people being paid just because they live in different locations. Countries like SG don't have a minimum wage, despite having a higher GDP Per Capita (Gross Domestic Product) than the UK, which does have a minimum wage. My assumption that the original move to SG was because of the lack of minimum wage, meaning they could pay literally nothing to the moderators, raising profit margins (removal of CA/US/UK/AUS MODs) and making the Sulake as a whole more profitable (which attracts more investors). I do see your point though.. and you're right. Good observation (geographer in my head!).

Very valid point there friend, and I agree with you, I 'think' it did get proven that the Temp SG staff was indeed paid pretty much pennies and magic beans for their work so like you said, Sulake gain more profit which made other companies like them more so they invest and sulake gain even more money!

However with the Channel four news, and no doubt other new stations have really affected how they gain their profit; so how I see it is that they are pretty much throwing nearly everything on the line to show the news people that they do listen etc and to re-gain the investors they once lost and to gain others. once they have done all this, it will go down hill again (no doubt!) till the next time.

[Puma!]

It wasn't like that with every single person who signed up for the eXpert system. I was part of the UK eXpert team, and sadly the bunch I got accepted into really did over use their 'rights' which gave the bad look to the eXpert system, thus users were complaining and then shutting down the system. I agree with you; Sulake pretty much 'giving' us a badge but in a sense I saw the badge as something to prove that you are a chosen 'helper' thus new and old users would trust 'you' more and ask you for help. (Thats was and still is my view), but Sulake did kept us informed via a secret forum, and so did our group leaders; They did regulars meetings to make sure we where all doing ok, and telling us what we should achieve before the next meeting, and so fourth. With the saying that Paul said that it'll be watched, no doubt it just be made into 'logs' and someone will visit them from time to time just to check on them. Maybe they will make 'Guardian leaders' to help with the watch. I'm not to sure on Hobbas getting banned for loosing their powers AKA getting fired.. it most likely will depend on what caused them to be fired etc.




Very valid point there friend, and I agree with you, I 'think' it did get proven that the Temp SG staff was indeed paid pretty much pennies and magic beans for their work so like you said, Sulake gain more profit which made other companies like them more so they invest and sulake gain even more money!

However with the Channel four news, and no doubt other new stations have really affected how they gain their profit; so how I see it is that they are pretty much throwing nearly everything on the line to show the news people that they do listen etc and to re-gain the investors they once lost and to gain others. once they have done all this, it will go down hill again (no doubt!) till the next time.

Cheers for that mate, sorry if I offended you too - had a bit of a biased view against the X's (was very jealous at the time). I had no idea about the secret forum though - did that work out fine for Habbo? Also, did other Habbo eXperts get on?

[Jarkie]

Cheers for that mate, sorry if I offended you too - had a bit of a biased view against the X's (was very jealous at the time). I had no idea about the secret forum though - did that work out fine for Habbo? Also, did other Habbo eXperts get on?

lol na you didn't :) Was many years ago now, lol! erm the team what I was in, (was in the Safety eXpert team) we all liked each other, and pretty much all knew each other beforehand. with the other X's we all got along but 'cos of our subject areas we didn't see many other X's, cos there was, welcome lounge ones, gamers, Safety and Tech. Back then we had the Safety spa, that was pretty epic ^.^ with the forum bit I think it did work; but nowadays it most likely be private habbo 'group' forums they'll use.

[DPS]

I was around when Hobbas ran da hotel *****z

Mizki / FarmerJiles / Sken

DUN KNO

[LoveToStack]

If it were my show then this is how I'd do it:

- Take core elements from the Hobba program, minimum age ~18 and a phone interview if you make it to the end of the application process
- Don't use badges / quests / achievement point as an incentive for the program
- Most importantly: treat it like a Janitor system*

*No badge, no name on a public list somewhere on the site or client, no bubble to show which 'hobbas' are online, no rewards. They should be completely invisible. Yes it's necessary that they have special privileges (potentially room-override, ability to kick users and ability to send a help message which goes to the top of the list for an actual moderator) but it is not necessary that other users know that they have these privileges. A key component would therefore be removing anyone's privileges if they're caught exposing themselves as a janitor.

People might complain about a minimum age but at the end of the day this sort of program is not about saying "oh why can't I be a hobba just because I'm not old enough abloobloobloo". What matters is that other people are there, enforcing the rules and keeping the hotel functioning. It doesn't matter if it's not you, what matters is that it's being done.

I'm not sure how you'd introduce some form of culpability for abuse but then again there was no such thing for old Hobba's either: it was just trust.

Anyway I feel that this approach would weed out a fair amount of people doing it so they can have another badge in their inventory, another 5k on their achievement score and another reason to have their e-pals stroke their ego. Inevitably you'd still get people applying for the wrong reasons but that's always going to be a problem.

All you need to do to justify anonymity is look at the helper system. I can safely say that for the majority, it is not about helping new players. It's about getting badges and moving up the goal-tree so you can say you're one step ahead of everyone else.

[Shorty]

Habbo CMs are Habbo Helpers and it's *supposed* to be the final stage of the Habbo Helper tree (the very final lol), which I imagine would require a great deal of work to get there. And yes, it is very ridiculous how he's going to users for help instead of improving the staff team lol. Don't get me wrong, customers are a very important part of a business and it's good that he listens to people I suppose, but to put all your faith in them is a very bad idea lol.

I'm half-half in terms of support for this.

These were planned way before the whole Channel 4 debate came around, just they've had to rush the feature along a little. Player Support is good, if it's done correctly.

Xbox Live has player support.

[MKR&*42]

If it were my show then this is how I'd do it:

- Take core elements from the Hobba program, minimum age ~18 and a phone interview if you make it to the end of the application process
- Don't use badges / quests / achievement point as an incentive for the program
- Most importantly: treat it like a Janitor system*

*No badge, no name on a public list somewhere on the site or client, no bubble to show which 'hobbas' are online, no rewards. They should be completely invisible. Yes it's necessary that they have special privileges (potentially room-override, ability to kick users and ability to send a help message which goes to the top of the list for an actual moderator) but it is not necessary that other users know that they have these privileges. A key component would therefore be removing anyone's privileges if they're caught exposing themselves as a janitor.

People might complain about a minimum age but at the end of the day this sort of program is not about saying "oh why can't I be a hobba just because I'm not old enough abloobloobloo". What matters is that other people are there, enforcing the rules and keeping the hotel functioning. It doesn't matter if it's not you, what matters is that it's being done.

I'm not sure how you'd introduce some form of culpability for abuse but then again there was no such thing for old Hobba's either: it was just trust.

Anyway I feel that this approach would weed out a fair amount of people doing it so they can have another badge in their inventory, another 5k on their achievement score and another reason to have their e-pals stroke their ego. Inevitably you'd still get people applying for the wrong reasons but that's always going to be a problem.

All you need to do to justify anonymity is look at the helper system. I can safely say that for the majority, it is not about helping new players. It's about getting badges and moving up the goal-tree so you can say you're one step ahead of everyone else.

I think you've made a variety of strong points throughout there and I cannot agree more about it not being based upon badges/achievement scores/quests. But going to the point about them becoming completely "invisible", it's a very good concept but would people not start to complain that they can't ever see who is moderating the hotel? Enough already complain that moderators are never seen around the hotel so would the same situation arise with Guardian Hobbas or w.e

I'd say the age limit is a definite yes though. Not sure whether I'd say 16 or 18 (most likely 18) but I just hope they add an age limit onto it if this goes ahead.

[Jarkie]

If it were my show then this is how I'd do it:

- Take core elements from the Hobba program, minimum age ~18 and a phone interview if you make it to the end of the application process
- Don't use badges / quests / achievement point as an incentive for the program
- Most importantly: treat it like a Janitor system*

*No badge, no name on a public list somewhere on the site or client, no bubble to show which 'hobbas' are online, no rewards. They should be completely invisible. Yes it's necessary that they have special privileges (potentially room-override, ability to kick users and ability to send a help message which goes to the top of the list for an actual moderator) but it is not necessary that other users know that they have these privileges. A key component would therefore be removing anyone's privileges if they're caught exposing themselves as a janitor.

People might complain about a minimum age but at the end of the day this sort of program is not about saying "oh why can't I be a hobba just because I'm not old enough abloobloobloo". What matters is that other people are there, enforcing the rules and keeping the hotel functioning. It doesn't matter if it's not you, what matters is that it's being done.

I'm not sure how you'd introduce some form of culpability for abuse but then again there was no such thing for old Hobba's either: it was just trust.

Anyway I feel that this approach would weed out a fair amount of people doing it so they can have another badge in their inventory, another 5k on their achievement score and another reason to have their e-pals stroke their ego. Inevitably you'd still get people applying for the wrong reasons but that's always going to be a problem.

All you need to do to justify anonymity is look at the helper system. I can safely say that for the majority, it is not about helping new players. It's about getting badges and moving up the goal-tree so you can say you're one step ahead of everyone else.


I think you've made a variety of strong points throughout there and I cannot agree more about it not being based upon badges/achievement scores/quests. But going to the point about them becoming completely "invisible", it's a very good concept but would people not start to complain that they can't ever see who is moderating the hotel? Enough already complain that moderators are never seen around the hotel so would the same situation arise with Guardian Hobbas or w.e

I'd say the age limit is a definite yes though. Not sure whether I'd say 16 or 18 (most likely 18) but I just hope they add an age limit onto it if this goes ahead.

I agree with all the points posted above me; I bealive there needs to be 'something' to show if a user is one or not, due to the fact people could 'brag' that they're one when really then aren't. and the age limit should and must be for over 18s or even over 21, due to the fact they will be given tools that pretty much can control players and so fourth.

[Shorty]

Actual Habbo Moderators are 21+, so it's going to be interesting what they decide for the Guardian's age range, if any.

[Tidings]

tbh, i think this is a good idea, so yeah maybe teams in the past have been cluttered and "not functioning properly" but just think about it. most of you here will complain that the moderators don't do anything, am I right?
so therefore, if you could do something about it because you care, you can.
and don't be thinking that the "e-famez" will all take over.. yeah there will probably be like one or two, but they are in the same boat as all the others. considering the strict no talking rules, the guardians will probably have full free speach, so each conversation, each word of each message will be reviewed.
I hope the Guardian process is via application, and not an unlock, i dont want loads of kids with mod tools.
the only rule should be is that they are 18+
No matter of ban record, because in all honesty, ive been banned for even telling someone off about going on webcams.

this program will help a lot. You know as soon as it comes out you're all going to want to be one,
just like when the X program came out, everyone on here was raving about applying and hoping to be apart of the team.

habbo need people INSIDE the game, not just people who are paid to flick though a piece of text eating a doughnut.
habbo need people who care. and I care, thats why It will be my achievement to be apart of this team to help out the community.
I don't want bans on words, id rather go around I.P banning everyone who says something wrong towards children or anything of sexual nature.
so Don't judge this on " oh they cant be bothered the dont want to invest" they are taking EVERY precaution on every angle. and they are giving us a chance to help the community. So take the opportunity if you get it.

[Oleh]

They could just ask fansite managers/owners to submit a shortlist :)

[Jarkie]

They could just ask fansite managers/owners to submit a shortlist :)

Then that will be almost 100% favouritism. I vote no for this idea, lol.

[LoveToStack]

But going to the point about them becoming completely "invisible", it's a very good concept but would people not start to complain that they can't ever see who is moderating the hotel?


But do people really need to know who's moderating the hotel? What benefit is there to knowing that habbo123 is moderating? Yes there is an issue of abusing powers but that has always been an issue.

Just off the top of my head one way of combating abuse: if some 'hobba' wants to take action against another habbo, say kicking them or banning them from a room, then they need to have another (random) 'hobba' agree to take the same action. Specifically another random hobba because this prevents alliances forming among hobbas which enables abuse. Obviously they'd need more powers to do this: something akin to being able to view the chatlog for a room which you haven't been in. Anyway, just one idea.


I agree with all the points posted above me; I bealive there needs to be 'something' to show if a user is one or not, due to the fact people could 'brag' that they're one when really then aren't. and the age limit should and must be for over 18s or even over 21, due to the fact they will be given tools that pretty much can control players and so fourth.

What harm can come from someone bragging that they're a hobba though? How seriously do you take it when someone in-client tells you that they're a mod or that their dad works for Nintendo?

In my opinion, the drawbacks of having a hobba program which offers a shiny gold badge with complimentary bragging rights outweigh the benefits. People will apply for the status and not because they want to help.

[Jarkie]

What harm can come from someone bragging that they're a hobba though? How seriously do you take it when someone in-client tells you that they're a mod or that their dad works for Nintendo?

It was just an example.

[Oleh]

Then that will be almost 100% favouritism. I vote no for this idea, lol.

But for example the moderation team within Habbox is reliable and trusted.

Think about that.

[GoldenMerc]

But for example the moderation team within Habbox is reliable and trusted.

Think about that.
Hasn't always been though i can name 2-3 scammers in some of the old moderation group...

[Oleh]

Hasn't always been though i can name 2-3 scammers in some of the old moderation group...


....

Edited by SyrupyMonkey (Assistant General Manager): Please do not post pointlessly

[Jarkie]

But for example the moderation team within Habbox is reliable and trusted.

Think about that.

If it was shortlisted, no doubt the Managers and assit will be thought of first before the Mods and other staff. And just 'cos you've managed to get a forum job as a moderator doesn't mean you should be given a job in-client.
I can't wait for all this to be real so many other debates will come! lol XD

[GoldenMerc]

....
But that just proves, its not always reliable. it is at the current moment but that doesn't mean anything :P

[Oleh]

If it was shortlisted, no doubt the Managers and assit will be thought of first before the Mods and other staff. And just 'cos you've managed to get a forum job as a moderator doesn't mean you should be given a job in-client.
I can't wait for all this to be real so many other debates will come! lol XD

But surely Habbo would put those within a moderation job on an "official" fansite infront of those who apply with everybody else due to the elevated position of trust?

[Munex]

LOL ... funny how a Habbox moderator suggests that the Habbox moderators should become Guardians! :P

A system like the Hobbas would be hard to make work because everybody wants to be one, even the ones that want it for all the wrong reasons but pretend they just want to help. Guardians will most likely be available for everyone after reaching certain criteria such as "100% True Habbo", and their powers will likely be very limited unlike the old Hobbas. Also, I don't see this as a way for Habbo to have less real moderators ... they are doing it because a lot of people has requested for the return of Hobbas through The Great Unmute feedback thingy and they promised to take our ideas into consideration following this sex scandal which damaged their reputation.

[Jarkie]

But surely Habbo would put those within a moderation job on an "official" fansite infront of those who apply with everybody else due to the elevated position of trust?

I see your argument etc, I just hope they have a proper application process so people like you can put "I work for an official fantiste etc etc etc"

P.S. 700th post :D

[sex]

But for example the moderation team within Habbox is reliable and trusted.

Think about that.


....

lol pointless


But surely Habbo would put those within a moderation job on an "official" fansite infront of those who apply with everybody else due to the elevated position of trust?

Why would they? Its so easy to become a an offical fansite and even easier to become a moderator on it. That idea is completely stupid no offence but its clear you just want to have these special powers lol a prime reason why this shouldn't happen. Just because you're a moderator on a habbo fansite doesn't mean you're capable of being something similar on Habbo with a different set of rules.

[Oleh]

Why would they? Its so easy to become a an offical fansite and even easier to become a moderator on it. That idea is completely stupid no offence but its clear you just want to have these special powers lol a prime reason why this shouldn't happen. Just because you're a moderator on a habbo fansite doesn't mean you're capable of being something similar on Habbo with a different set of rules.

I haven't once suggested that I wanted to become a "guardian", I don't play habbo...

[Kyle]

But surely Habbo would put those within a moderation job on an "official" fansite infront of those who apply with everybody else due to the elevated position of trust?
A forum is a very different environment to habbo itself. And besides, a lot of the mods here don't actually play habbo anymore. If you're suggesting that mods on habbox should become 'guardians' then that means you support mods from other sites being given the role too... hmm... some sites don't have quite so strict and rigorous selection processes as habbox do.

perhaps i misread but ya

I hope they do proper interviews for this otherwise it's going to just be another massive failure to add to the pile.

[Puma!]

LOL ... funny how a Habbox moderator suggests that the Habbox moderators should become Guardians! :P

A system like the Hobbas would be hard to make work because everybody wants to be one, even the ones that want it for all the wrong reasons but pretend they just want to help. Guardians will most likely be available for everyone after reaching certain criteria such as "100% True Habbo", and their powers will likely be very limited unlike the old Hobbas. Also, I don't see this as a way for Habbo to have less real moderators ... they are doing it because a lot of people has requested for the return of Hobbas through The Great Unmute feedback thingy and they promised to take our ideas into consideration following this sex scandal which damaged their reputation.

Never thought about the feedback before, it's good that Habbo are listening to its users and taking new ideas into account.


Like others have said, I'll imagine it would be based on age - they'll most probably look at the previous eXpert and Hobba system and draw comparisons and compromises through that. Older individuals will bring more maturity to them, meaning there'll be less attention seekers/glory hunters/power mad individuals. Maybe 18? A small percentage of Habbo's population would be able to apply - 21 may be a bit too old, because I'd imagine there couldn't be more than a very small percentage of individuals who would be eligible.

[MissAlice]

A fellow user asked another fellow user about this new 'Guardian' program habbo have planned and Paul LaFontaine has replied VIA twitter:


PAUL: "Guardian is a modernized Hobba - a helper with limited mod powers."


USER: "Guardians be regulated? No kicking random rooms for no reason (can see it happening) No bias from staff (can see me being declined

PAUL: Yes Guardians a position of extreme trust. Tightly regulated and very important."

https://twitter.com/PaulLaFo/status/217274109539790848

https://twitter.com/PaulLaFo/status/217268073613365248





So I guess this means 'Hobbas' might be back? I wonder what tools these users will get?


Yes Guardians a position of extreme trust. Tightly regulated and very important.

I very much doubt it will be helpers. Reading above implies, they are taking it seriously. As much as I feel there needs to be improvements in the moderation, I do feel hiring/recruiting assistance similar to the role of Hobbas is a step forward. I also think their powers would be limited to kicking and room over-ride, and they would only pick up selected calls for help, and would be a positive move to show a presence.



Wait... Hold up... There's space? Given the state of his ego, you'd think he couldn't fit anyone else's but his own over inflated head up his derriere.

In all seriousness. It seems like a good idea, but it could go so wrong so fast. Too many over-obsessive users are on Habbo now - the ones that think they should get the job are the ones who shouldn't ever get close to it. Hobbas worked amazingly well, it was the eXperts that were problematic.

What they need to do is clone MissAlice.

Haha, I always wanted to be a Hobba, but I was underage and then they decided to do away with the program, so that only left the X Program for me. Will be quite interesting to see how they recruit, and if there is an age limit as well as an understanding of the game.



This will fail in either system.

If it is by appointment, it will fall the same reason the Habbo X scheme did. The staff got lazy in appointment of them, choosing well known names nearer the end rather than those who actually show a chance of doing a decent job. Most of the people who abused the room privillages were generally in the last or second to last batch.

If it's by levelling up that talent tree, well needless to say some noobs or idiots will get it and just fail.

Lets hope they select people who can do the job!

[Jarkie]

MissAlice; I think people like you and the old habbo x leaders that still play have a high chance in getting allowed in this new program.

[Pigperson]

Sounds exciting, more protection heh :)

Will

[Okeanos]

i dont understand why people here are complaining about it - most of you didnt even play habbo when hobbas were around. i hope they do do this, it will be grand. it seems to me the only people who are moaning about it are the ones who know they have no chance of being one


@MissAlice (http://www.habboxforum.com/member.php?u=3); I think people like you and the old habbo x leaders that still play have a high chance in getting allowed in this new program.

why? why should people who havent used habo for years be given priority? the only former x leader who still bothers to come online is ardl

[Jarkie]

why? why should people who havent used habo for years be given priority? the only former x leader who still bothers to come online is ardl

Yeah I see your point. Was kinda wondering it they would though. And indeed ardl is a legend hehe

[October]

Theres this thing called the 'Habbo council' I bet you any money, it be the guys within that group that will become these new hobbas.
I was in the Safety Council, there is no way Paul would even consider me for this, despite me being the one who cares the most for a Habbo's safety and online well-being...

Like @Red (http://www.habboxforum.com/member.php?u=81989) said, there are so many people that brown-noses him. You have to see things his way for him to tolerate you.

[Bob1]

This system is not the answer to the problems C4 News highlighted, I worked with the old Hobba system (it was how I moved into working in online moderation), the many formats the paid Mod system took until all ops were moved to SG and the eXpert system, I can't see this working if Sulake are relying on it as a fix for those issues.

I can imagine the spin will be that Guardians would be there to deal with smaller issues to free up time for moderators to keep an eye on bigger issues but again, I still don't see this being a productive, proactive system.

There are SO many issues a system like this would raise (many have been mentioned on previous pages) and if Habbo can't even handle their current operations correctly adding an extra factor is doomed from the get go.

Also, I'm pretty sure there are issues with US law regarding volunteer work which is why the Hobba system never ever launched on the US hotel in the same format as the rest of Sulake's portfolio, I'm interested if to work around this Sulake will just not give these positions to US citizens?

[October]

So, what exactly would the Guardians be doing? And wasn't the Helper program meant to assist the moderators? That said, what left would there be for the moderators to do? Or will the hotel be run by teenagers...

[Abdicators]

I can't believe how much you all whinge about potential power abuse. You realise there's more probably more moderators on this forum than there will be when Guardians are being tested. They can't ban your account. Some of you have real problems with figures of authority.

[Oleh]

I think Hobbas should be reintroduced, I'd certainly love to become one now that I am of age (Dreamed of becoming one when I was 9 :) )

[Bob1]

So, what exactly would the Guardians be doing? And wasn't the Helper program meant to assist the moderators? That said, what left would there be for the moderators to do? Or will the hotel be run by teenagers...

I can imagine it will involve a badge and a few abilities, kick and maybe mute, the title "Guardian" does not suggest any active helping rather a passive presence. I can't imagine this being organised or structured. It will end up being a few select players who do nothing but sit in their help rooms lording it up - worse than the Hobba system.

Although having said this I don't really know that much about the current "helper" progression so I don't know how my perception fits with reality. Helpers to me seem to have been set up as tour guides to reduce the work load generated through player support emails.

Still, knowing Sulake as I do, it'll be phased out within six months - a year

p.s.

Also, I'm pretty sure there are issues with US law regarding volunteer work which is why the Hobba system never ever launched on the US hotel in the same format as the rest of Sulake's portfolio, I'm interested if to work around this Sulake will just not give these positions to US citizens?

Still interested if anyone's from the US who knows if this law is still about?

[Flamedragon3]

I wasn't around when there were Hobbas but I geniunly think it could be a good idea. I mean if it ends up too many abuse their powers and it no longer seems a good idea, its easy enough to just put an end to it. I still think te best idea for them though would be to just employ more moderators. I don't understand why habbo are being so cheap about this, they'll definitely have the money to afford more moderators and it would bring them more positivity from the media if they can see they're trying to improve the security of the site.

[Okeanos]

I can imagine it will involve a badge and a few abilities, kick and maybe mute, the title "Guardian" does not suggest any active helping rather a passive presence. I can't imagine this being organised or structured. It will end up being a few select players who do nothing but sit in their help rooms lording it up - worse than the Hobba system.

Although having said this I don't really know that much about the current "helper" progression so I don't know how my perception fits with reality. Helpers to me seem to have been set up as tour guides to reduce the work load generated through player support emails.

Still, knowing Sulake as I do, it'll be phased out within six months - a year

p.s.

Still interested if anyone's from the US who knows if this law is still about?

It wont fix the problem C4 highlighted but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea. There is no physical presence of moderators anymore, this new programme could fix that. If these new hobbas patrolled rooms and not just sit on HV waiting for calls for help, this could really work. Having someone in a room who can kick/room ban you or refer you to a moderator will be a big deterrent to rule breakers IMO.

[Bob1]

It wont fix the problem C4 highlighted but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea. There is no physical presence of moderators anymore, this new programme could fix that. If these new hobbas patrolled rooms and not just sit on HV waiting for calls for help, this could really work. Having someone in a room who can kick/room ban you or refer you to a moderator will be a big deterrent to rule breakers IMO.
hey bbz. I don't think this is what they're aiming for read this - http://blog.habbo.com/2012/06/06/habbo-helpers-qa/#more-1379
their attitude towards helpers will be the same as towards Guardians as I can see Guardians becoming a natural last step on the helper talent tree

A: We are not really looking for the best of the best.

we are not looking at using the “I would not recommend this Helper” to kick anyone out.

Moderators are likely to give you a penalty, which in turn will match the severity of your abuse. (for helpers who "abuse" their tools/system, they'll be told off in broken english)

we are looking into giving higher level Helpers the ability to create Helper groups

A: You can set yourself on or off-duty whenever you feel like it. There is no online time limitation at all!

perhaps moderate a room with the abilities to mute, kick and room ban others

IMO they're crafting a flawed system rather than learning from previous good/bad points.

[October]

I'm from the US, Bob. Idk anything about volunteer restrictions but I do for labor laws yh.

[Okeanos]

hey bbz. I don't think this is what they're aiming for read this - http://blog.habbo.com/2012/06/06/habbo-helpers-qa/#more-1379
their attitude towards helpers will be the same as towards Guardians as I can see Guardians becoming a natural last step on the helper talent tree

hey bbx #2. OOOOhhhh that sounds pants then. I thought they were going to take on a few people and actually train them to help mods. :(

[Puma!]

hey bbz. I don't think this is what they're aiming for read this - http://blog.habbo.com/2012/06/06/habbo-helpers-qa/#more-1379

I don't really agree with you there, Paul L. has already mentioned on twitter that the new guardian system will be like the old Hobba system - they'll presumably have some age limit and restrictions on who'll be able to apply. I'll guess the age requirement being either 18 or 21 (eXperts failed in this department.. they won't give powers to 15/16 year olds).

[MissAlice]

i dont understand why people here are complaining about it - most of you didnt even play habbo when hobbas were around. i hope they do do this, it will be grand. it seems to me the only people who are moaning about it are the ones who know they have no chance of being one



why? why should people who havent used habo for years be given priority? the only former x leader who still bothers to come online is ardl

I quit playing December 2007, because I had enough of it, I was burnt out. I don’t have any intentions or desire to play or support moderation, so you’ve no worries there.

Guardians or whatever they plan to call them, I believe could be a positive move, but they still need to improve moderation overall.

[Cr0n0s]

Lots need to be revamped, from the customer service to the moderation. The Guardian seems to be a way to encourage users to strive for a position through active involvement in the community before it gets phased out.

[PixelWarning]

I read all 10 pages.... phew!

I'm from the USA and I can answer a lot of the questions raised in this thread.

US Laws - There is no regulation on volunteer work that could potentially go against Habbo for the use of Habbo Guardians (Hobbas.) The issue that persists from when Hobbas were first here, and also with today is a law called COPPA (Child Online Privacy Protection Act) There were a lot of reasons as to why the Hobbas were removed. There were security issues (remember, this was back in the early 2000's) the abuse of powers (even though there were supervisory positions called Super Hobbas), age problems, scripting/hacking etc. It wasn't removed for any one particular reason. Keep in mind that it is 2012 and we can already see that Habbo has improved significantly in the sense of protecting users from some of the issues I stated previously. Habbo removed the ability to view pictures because there was such a security flaw that allowed for scripting -- hence why they removed the feature we all loved.

The only barrier I see as of right now is to comply with the US Law, COPPA. If you're too lazy to read the entire thing and understand what it means I'll sum it up for you. Any website that caters to children, and even some that don't, if you have any chance that someone under the age of 13 can register, you MUST comply with this law if part of your audience is from the USA. That being said, if and when someone under the age of 13 registers, their information becomes even more of a priority to keep locked up safely. Hobbas had the ability to review account information provided by users, and many Hobbas weren't of age thus the law was breached. USA Hobbas were never given the ability to achieve gold status or super gold status because of their ability to have even more tools and controls within Housekeeping.

I'd imagine that Sulake would have to put an age limit on Guardians to be that of, a minimum, 18. Should they decide not to do so, don't come back and blame me and say I was wrong. If Sulake does it right, they might not give the same abilities to view account information thus they wouldn't breach the law. If guardians are, lets say 16, but can only kick users; it is not a breach of the COPPA. It all depends on what the position can do and see.

I was around when Hobbas were in the Hotel but my main account was banned and the account I have from '05 I no longer use. My current account is from '06, so I've been around the block. I know the Hobba system, I did a lot of research into it and as a result of Habbo, it's why I am currently getting my degree in this exact field and why I know so much about COPPA.

If any of you are interested, the department of the US government that oversees all of the COPPA is the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov) and you can read about the COPPA by going to www.coppa.org

[cameron354]

It wont fix the problem C4 highlighted but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea. There is no physical presence of moderators anymore, this new programme could fix that. If these new hobbas patrolled rooms and not just sit on HV waiting for calls for help, this could really work. Having someone in a room who can kick/room ban you or refer you to a moderator will be a big deterrent to rule breakers IMO.
Moderators have started to be more visible already by attending rooms, Paul also mentioned it on the blog today.

[Jarkie]

Moderators have started to be more visible already by attending rooms, Paul also mentioned it on the blog today.

Its all good I guess, but half of them still can't read proper english.

[Seikou]

ugh i don't like this idea at all, it'll all come crashing down

[Bob1]

PixelWarning Pretty sure that's the law I was talking about, I knew we pulled the Hobba scheme from US before the hotel even launched but I couldn't remember why, I wasn't even allowed staff rights on my account however I had them on all other English speaking hotels. However when the hotel was shared before the local hotels (2001-04/05?) we did used to have US Hobbas, maybe it depends upon where the company is registered or based? As at that point there was no US office, the .com hotel was operated from London HQ. Maybe now the hotels have merged it wont be an issue with Guardians or is the site still based in the US?

[xxMATTGxx]

PixelWarning Pretty sure that's the law I was talking about, I knew we pulled the Hobba scheme from US before the hotel even launched but I couldn't remember why, I wasn't even allowed staff rights on my account however I had them on all other English speaking hotels. However when the hotel was shared before the local hotels (2001-04/05?) we did used to have US Hobbas, maybe it depends upon where the company is registered or based? As at that point there was no US office, the .com hotel was operated from London HQ. Maybe now the hotels have merged it wont be an issue with Guardians or is the site still based in the US?

They will probably have them all over the place but they do have a or multiple servers in the USA for sure.

[PixelWarning]

@PixelWarning (http://www.habboxforum.com/member.php?u=69459) Pretty sure that's the law I was talking about, I knew we pulled the Hobba scheme from US before the hotel even launched but I couldn't remember why, I wasn't even allowed staff rights on my account however I had them on all other English speaking hotels. However when the hotel was shared before the local hotels (2001-04/05?) we did used to have US Hobbas, maybe it depends upon where the company is registered or based? As at that point there was no US office, the .com hotel was operated from London HQ. Maybe now the hotels have merged it wont be an issue with Guardians or is the site still based in the US?

Any site that caters to an American audience must comply with the COPPA. Regardless if their headquarters are in London and they say that the site is for users in the UK, if any American is able to register for the site, then that site must comply. I'm aware that other English speaking hotels had Hobbas, but keep in mind that those Hobbas weren't like the US Hobba program. Only Silver Hobbas were in the US Hotel at the time and no one ever achieved Gold Hobba or Super Hobba. :)

Also, because of the merge, it doesn't mean that the site doesn't have to worry about COPPA, if anything, this site has to follow and know COPPA like the back of their hand, if not better. As I stated in my earlier post, if they have Guardians and they only allow for in-game tools such as "Kick" "Mute" "Alert" room population override and so on, then they can have Guardians and not worry about COPPA. If Guardians get any access to Housekeeping and are able to search for users in Housekeeping and view their account information, that would be a violation of the law. It all depends on how Sulake does this.

[Jarkie]

Also, because of the merge, it doesn't mean that the site doesn't have to worry about COPPA, if anything, this site has to follow and know COPPA like the back of their hand, if not better. As I stated in my earlier post, if they have Guardians and they only allow for in-game tools such as "Kick" "Mute" "Alert" room population override and so on, then they can have Guardians and not worry about COPPA. If Guardians get any access to Housekeeping and are able to search for users in Housekeeping and view their account information, that would be a violation of the law. It all depends on how Sulake does this.

I really REALLY doubt Guardians will get any type of access to the housekeeping! :P

[Michael]

I really REALLY doubt Guardians will get any type of access to the housekeeping! :P

Haha that would be dumb!

[Jarkie]

Haha that would be dumb!

If they did, they might aswell call them Moderators lmao :P

[inki234]

would love for helpers who finished all to get this as i have done it XD unless theirs another task maybe like a written task saying why would u like hobba but who knows ;/ Also maybe for people who are not new like really been on for a year or 2

[Bob1]

Any site that caters to an American audience must comply with the COPPA. Regardless if their headquarters are in London and they say that the site is for users in the UK, if any American is able to register for the site, then that site must comply. I'm aware that other English speaking hotels had Hobbas, but keep in mind that those Hobbas weren't like the US Hobba program. Only Silver Hobbas were in the US Hotel at the time and no one ever achieved Gold Hobba or Super Hobba. :)

Also, because of the merge, it doesn't mean that the site doesn't have to worry about COPPA, if anything, this site has to follow and know COPPA like the back of their hand, if not better. As I stated in my earlier post, if they have Guardians and they only allow for in-game tools such as "Kick" "Mute" "Alert" room population override and so on, then they can have Guardians and not worry about COPPA. If Guardians get any access to Housekeeping and are able to search for users in Housekeeping and view their account information, that would be a violation of the law. It all depends on how Sulake does this.

I'm talking about before individual hotels were created (and then merged again recently), when the only sites were .com and .fi, there were Hobbas who were citizens from all over the world themselves (including the US) with access to select Housekeeping tools (which would include the ability to look up users in the US), I struggle to see how Habbo complied with COPPA during this period 2001-2005.
I was working with Sulake, I had staff rights and access on all English-speaking hotels (all of which would of been accessible by US citizens) when the US hotel was launched in 2004 but could not be given those rights on the US hotel when it opened.
You obviously know a lot more about this law than me, I'm just trying to comprehend the implications for this future system, it appears it wont really affect it at all.

[Fifty-Six]

At least they're doing something to address moderation.. hope this doesn't end up getting abused.

[PixelWarning]

I'm talking about before individual hotels were created (and then merged again recently), when the only sites were .com and .fi, there were Hobbas who were citizens from all over the world themselves (including the US) with access to select Housekeeping tools (which would include the ability to look up users in the US), I struggle to see how Habbo complied with COPPA during this period 2001-2005.
I was working with Sulake, I had staff rights and access on all English-speaking hotels (all of which would of been accessible by US citizens) when the US hotel was launched in 2004 but could not be given those rights on the US hotel when it opened.
You obviously know a lot more about this law than me, I'm just trying to comprehend the implications for this future system, it appears it wont really affect it at all.

I understand your question a little better now. You're at as much of a loss of words as I am right now as to how they were able to run their site during that time. The law was in full force during that time frame. Do you know the age of the individuals at the time who had access -- that will play an active part. Additionally, after further review of what I've seen based off of Paul's twitter, no such tools will be available to Guardians. They won't have the ability to ban and they will have the ability to receive help calls for things such as blocking and arguments (posted on Paul's twitter page.) No access to Housekeeping was mentioned and no word on if there will be any external sites for them that Sulake would develop thus the COPPA law would still be obeyed.

Does that give you more insight?

Also, thanks for the compliment on my knowledge with this. I am glad to see my degree in "Media, Art, Game Development" is going some where, especially with my emphasis being in communication as opposed to art or programming. ;)

[PiippBB]

I think this is an idea they very quickly threw together after 'The Great Unmute' campaign where so many people requested the return of Hobbas. As long as it's done properly and the selected 'Guardians' aren't given too much power (which seems to be how they're handling this) it should be okay. I still think it's a bit cheap that Sulake expect us to police our own game but having said that, no one knows it better than the players, and no mod will ever know how it runs, and the ins and outs of it and the culture than the people that are experienced and play the game on a regular basis. I can understand this but I'm not 100% sold on the idea; it all depends on the powers the Guardians are given and how well they are moderated. We'll see. The other thing concerning me here is that .com won't be unmuted until this system has been implemented, and Paul's already said that could take weeks. :(

[Fifty-Six]

I still think it's a bit cheap that Sulake expect us to police our own game but having said that, no one knows it better than the players, and no mod will ever know how it runs, and the ins and outs of it and the culture than the people that are experienced and play the game on a regular basis.

I think if you gave users a choice a large majority would vote for this new Guardian program. I'd be willing to bet users would be eager for the chance to gain moderation powers (though limited they may be), if they had the choice.

[Laurensh1]

It wasn't like that with every single person who signed up for the eXpert system. I was part of the UK eXpert team, and sadly the bunch I got accepted into really did over use their 'rights' which gave the bad look to the eXpert system, thus users were complaining and then shutting down the system. I agree with you; Sulake pretty much 'giving' us a badge but in a sense I saw the badge as something to prove that you are a chosen 'helper' thus new and old users would trust 'you' more and ask you for help. (Thats was and still is my view), but Sulake did kept us informed via a secret forum, and so did our group leaders; They did regulars meetings to make sure we where all doing ok, and telling us what we should achieve before the next meeting, and so fourth. With the saying that Paul said that it'll be watched, no doubt it just be made into 'logs' and someone will visit them from time to time just to check on them. Maybe they will make 'Guardian leaders' to help with the watch. I'm not to sure on Hobbas getting banned for loosing their powers AKA getting fired.. it most likely will depend on what caused them to be fired etc.

I was in the eXpert team from Habbo.nl and I agree with some of the points made. For example, we did have a heavy selection process. In the newest badges there were 3 exercises of which one was an essay, one hosting a game and the other was on a training with a Moderator/eXpert. So basically on our hotel the selection process wasn't getting worse, but got better each time.

As far as informational flows; we did get email from our Community Manager, had a handbook (like the Hobba handbook but less detailed, just some basic info for showing Habbos things and stuff), had meetings with the eXpert groups and also hosted weekly games to entertain the Habbo public. We also helped making rooms and helped bodyguarding in case of VIP visits. We also had the forum as well.


They could just ask fansite managers/owners to submit a shortlist :)
Fansites do not have to deal with introduction new users, asking user questions. Fansites are more of an entertainment and news thing, than 'helping' individual users. It would most likekly all the owners makign themselves apply while actually their free time goes to the fansite and not to helping habbos. ;)



@PixelWarning (http://www.habboxforum.com/member.php?u=69459) Pretty sure that's the law I was talking about, I knew we pulled the Hobba scheme from US before the hotel even launched but I couldn't remember why, I wasn't even allowed staff rights on my account however I had them on all other English speaking hotels. However when the hotel was shared before the local hotels (2001-04/05?) we did used to have US Hobbas, maybe it depends upon where the company is registered or based? As at that point there was no US office, the .com hotel was operated from London HQ. Maybe now the hotels have merged it wont be an issue with Guardians or is the site still based in the US?
username(s)?


Actual Habbo Moderators are 21+, so it's going to be interesting what they decide for the Guardian's age range, if any.
Nowadays maybe, but there were times before the outsourcing that locals were just 18 here in the Netherlands and made it to Moderator

[Okeanos]

I was in the eXpert team from Habbo.nl and I agree with some of the points made. For example, we did have a heavy selection process. In the newest badges there were 3 exercises of which one was an essay, one hosting a game and the other was on a training with a Moderator/eXpert. So basically on our hotel the selection process wasn't getting worse, but got better each time.

As far as informational flows; we did get email from our Community Manager, had a handbook (like the Hobba handbook but less detailed, just some basic info for showing Habbos things and stuff), had meetings with the eXpert groups and also hosted weekly games to entertain the Habbo public. We also helped making rooms and helped bodyguarding in case of VIP visits. We also had the forum as well.

Assuming NL was anything like UK; it was actually quite easy to become an X. All one needed was a clean account and the ability to write a coherent sentence. You certainly didn't need to prove you knew anything about safety or habbo for that matter, you just had to drop a few key words and you were in.

Former Xs these days seem to believe they were in someway comparable to hobbas. Sorry guys but you weren't. You had no training, no supervision, no interview (a chat on habbo isn't an interview) and in general, no real sense. People have been very quick to forget just what a laughing stock Xs were, especially the 2007 cohorts - they really were dire.

[Jarkie]

Assuming NL was anything like UK; it was actually quite easy to become an X. All one needed was a clean account and the ability to write a coherent sentence. You certainly didn't need to prove you knew anything about safety or habbo for that matter, you just had to drop a few key words and you were in.

Former Xs these days seem to believe they were in someway comparable to hobbas. Sorry guys but you weren't. You had no training, no supervision, no interview (a chat on habbo isn't an interview) and in general, no real sense. People have been very quick to forget just what a laughing stock Xs were, especially the 2007 cohorts - they really were dire.

you know nothing about the expert system; Once the application process finished, we all we're on a 'training' bit were we could choose a subject we would like to be, for example; a safety expert. Then we got allowed into the chosen subjects side of the forum. and from then; the leader, aswell as the staff and volunteers that were already inplace, did test our knowledge, watch us in action. It was just a small volunteer thing that Sulake made for the users who like to help other users, thus didn't need such an intense interview. Back in the say eXperts were around there was Ingame and offgame interviews.

People who proved to be rubbish in the area they first chosen either got fired or offered a place were the user is more skill in. So don't you dare write like you know EVERYthing that happened with the X system, you're obviously just one of these users that got all narky and jealous because either you didn't get in or you got feed poison.

Have a read at this; http://habboxwiki.com/Habbo_eXperts And you might actually learn something.

[Bob1]

Also, thanks for the compliment on my knowledge with this. I am glad to see my degree in "Media, Art, Game Development" is going some where, especially with my emphasis being in communication as opposed to art or programming. ;)
The old age limit was 16 (it was briefly lower than this!) before it changed to 18.
I didn't have the patience to read up on it at the time and now I know all about it! Thanks for answering my question.



username(s)?

Seeing as you asked so nicely, lol. Bob on UK/US/CA/AU/SG and possibly some others, spent a year working almost solely on CA but those were the sites I was most active on.

[Okeanos]

you know nothing about the expert system; Once the application process finished, we all we're on a 'training' bit were we could choose a subject we would like to be, for example; a safety expert. Then we got allowed into the chosen subjects side of the forum. and from then; the leader, aswell as the staff and volunteers that were already inplace, did test our knowledge, watch us in action. It was just a small volunteer thing that Sulake made for the users who like to help other users, thus didn't need such an intense interview. Back in the say eXperts were around there was Ingame and offgame interviews.

People who proved to be rubbish in the area they first chosen either got fired or offered a place were the user is more skill in. So don't you dare write like you know EVERYthing that happened with the X system, you're obviously just one of these users that got all narky and jealous because either you didn't get in or you got feed poison.

Have a read at this; http://habboxwiki.com/Habbo_eXperts And you might actually learn something.

Nothing you have said in this (rather biased) post has disproven what I said. I wouldn't be surprised if I knew more about Xs than you, considering you were one of the aforementioned newbie Xs. But knowledge on Xs is nothing to boast about so I shan't mention it again.

Your presumption that Xs adhered to the security and confidentiality rules is very foolish. Plenty of people whose X applications were successful couldn't and wouldn't shut up about it. I had to endure a running commentary of the whole process and was bombarded with screen shots of the forum and your supposed training.

There were no face-to-face interviews or phone interviews, so there were no interviews. Answering basic questions on a forum or on habbo is not an interview.

Regarding X specialisations, there was no training or any vigorous attempt to ensure Xs knew what they were talking about. Xs simply had to memorise a few quotes which they repeated on request (e.g. "download AVG and run a scan" and "don't bet in casinos because you might be scammed") - those who couldn't be bothered to do this became host Xs.

I can not recall any X being fired after 0rca took over, not even the Xs who had left habbo were debadged. By 2007 staff were indifferent to the programme and rarely enforced the rules - hence why I said Xs were unsupervised, because in practise they were.

Your presumption that my critique of the X programme derives out of jealously is just another example of the childish and petty behaviour you guys so frequently displayed. Why you think there was anything to be jealous of I don't know, the only thing they had which was desirable was the room override and that was removed anyway.

[Jarkie]

Okeanos; I'm not here to start a flame war about a system that died out in 2008. we all have own opinions and so forth so I'm going to leave it here. :)

Anyhow back to the subject of this thread; does anyone have any updates?

[edible]

interesting. i was a hobba on the old uk hotel and then went on to be a habbo eXpert on AU. i thought the community had grown to such a level that a system like this couldn't work. we'll see though.

[Jordan732]

i think this is going happen when were unmuted

[Jarkie]

interesting. i was a hobba on the old uk hotel and then went on to be a habbo eXpert on AU. i thought the community had grown to such a level that a system like this couldn't work. we'll see though.

Aye, only time will tell.


i think this is going happen when were unmuted

Yes it is rumoured that Paul will be unmuting the .COM once this system is implace.

[e5]

Would be good to earn this via the habbo helper thing. I'd like to be a part of this!

[tm]

I've spent a while reading all the replies to this thread, particularly the ones from my friends Jarkie, Alice, Tom, Laurensh, and some other 'news' on Twitter related to the guardians idea and I'm feeling quite positive overall.

So long as Habbo pick people who will actually devote a decent amount of their time and energy to the project, and people who won't simply use this opportunity for 'e-fame' it's got half a chance of improving the hotel. Finding such people is a very tricky business though and they are more than likely to pick a few people who will not be suitable at least at first. Critically what needs to happen this time is that ineffective 'guardians' need to be released from the system and new people brought in to replace them as quickly as possible. This was one of the key downfalls of the hobbas and eXperts. People who were pretty much doing nothing or no longer had the time to devote to the projects were kept on for far too long when there were motivated, able and willing people available to replace them. How they manage the first few batches of guardians will be make-or-break in my opinion.

If there's effective procedures for reporting guardian power misuse, a decent application/requirement system and strong staff leadership and general involvement, it could work well. I've got my fingers crossed.

[Tidings]

Paul LaFontaine ‏@PaulLaFo (https://twitter.com/PaulLaFo)
@HabboDublyu (https://twitter.com/HabboDublyu) You level up in Helpers to be a Guardian

oh dear..

[Mark]

Paul LaFontaine ‏@PaulLaFo (https://twitter.com/PaulLaFo)
@HabboDublyu (https://twitter.com/HabboDublyu) You level up in Helpers to be a Guardian

oh dear..

I thought that was pretty obvious? Even though the name of this 'helper' rank has changed dramatically you were always going to have to work up to it. Although it's probably going to get abused by the time a lot of people have it.

[Jarkie]

I've spent a while reading all the replies to this thread, particularly the ones from my friends Jarkie, Alice, Tom, Laurensh, and some other 'news' on Twitter related to the guardians idea and I'm feeling quite positive overall.

So long as Habbo pick people who will actually devote a decent amount of their time and energy to the project, and people who won't simply use this opportunity for 'e-fame' it's got half a chance of improving the hotel. Finding such people is a very tricky business though and they are more than likely to pick a few people who will not be suitable at least at first. Critically what needs to happen this time is that ineffective 'guardians' need to be released from the system and new people brought in to replace them as quickly as possible. This was one of the key downfalls of the hobbas and eXperts. People who were pretty much doing nothing or no longer had the time to devote to the projects were kept on for far too long when there were motivated, able and willing people available to replace them. How they manage the first few batches of guardians will be make-or-break in my opinion.

If there's effective procedures for reporting guardian power misuse, a decent application/requirement system and strong staff leadership and general involvement, it could work well. I've got my fingers crossed.

I so agree with this. I really REALLY hope that they'll choose people based on how trustworthy they are.


Paul LaFontaine ‏@PaulLaFo (https://twitter.com/PaulLaFo)
@HabboDublyu (https://twitter.com/HabboDublyu) You level up in Helpers to be a Guardian

oh dear..

oh dear... I can see a huge HUGE downfall with this. . .

[Tidings]

I so agree with this. I really REALLY hope that they'll choose people based on how trustworthy they are.



oh dear... I can see a huge HUGE downfall with this. . .


he also added that you must rank up through reputation and get approved.. no applications, nothing. im guessing its the helpers rating system. if you have all thumbs up [however many you need] your account will be looked into. which is just *REMOVED* stupid.

Edited by Chris (Forum Moderator): Please do not avoid the filter!

[Jarkie]

he also added that you must rank up through reputation and get approved.. no applications, nothing. im guessing its the helpers rating system. if you have all thumbs up [however many you need] your account will be looked into. which is just *REMOVED* stupid.

Urgh that will be so silly; as there will be people out there, calling for helpers and putting 'no' once on the review stage just to mess someone up.. sigh.

[Tidings]

Urgh that will be so silly; as there will be people out there, calling for helpers and putting 'no' once on the review stage just to mess someone up.. sigh.

and the fact that there are 1/10 genuine help requests doesn't help. with 24978 helpers on the hotel. its going to be a disaster if REAL helpers are not chosen. it seems like its first come first served. it should be based on experience, age, records.. all that. and they are making it acceptable by someone clicking "Yes" or "No" ..

[Jarkie]

and the fact that there are 1/10 genuine help requests doesn't help. with 24978 helpers on the hotel. its going to be a disaster if REAL helpers are not chosen. it seems like its first come first served. it should be based on experience, age, records.. all that. and they are making it acceptable by someone clicking "Yes" or "No" ..

This Paul feller has no idea what will become of the hotel :rolleyes: he says the 'moderators' will issues these warnings to users that abuse the 'tools' given... I have no idea how that will work considering the 'moderators' can't even do their job right let alone review others.

[Tidings]

This Paul feller has no idea what will become of the hotel :rolleyes: he says the 'moderators' will issues these warnings to users that abuse the 'tools' given... I have no idea how that will work considering the 'moderators' can't even do their job right let alone review others.

i have to keep threatening the mods when i report now. ive just done one then, saying " this habbo is dressed inappropriately and due to the recent concerns it is unacceptable, i am logging your reply and taking screenshots, please warn this user immediately"

and then boom. they did as they were told. try it. haha.

[Red]

i have to keep threatening the mods when i report now. ive just done one then, saying " this habbo is dressed inappropriately and due to the recent concerns it is unacceptable, i am logging your reply and taking screenshots, please warn this user immediately"

and then boom. they did as they were told. try it. haha.

I have did that loads in the past. HAHA It does work :')

[Jarkie]

i have to keep threatening the mods when i report now. ive just done one then, saying " this habbo is dressed inappropriately and due to the recent concerns it is unacceptable, i am logging your reply and taking screenshots, please warn this user immediately"

and then boom. they did as they were told. try it. haha.

Hahaaa i guess they will feel threaded when a user writes like that. I hate reporting, with my past experiences sometimes if you; for example report to much they actually ban you! I got a 2hour once for reporting 2 guestbook comments, and 2 people within the game client, lol. So I very rarely report now.

[Tidings]

Hahaaa i guess they will feel threaded when a user writes like that. I hate reporting, with my past experiences sometimes if you; for example report to much they actually ban you! I got a 2hour once for reporting 2 guestbook comments, and 2 people within the game client, lol. So I very rarely report now.

mods tend not to *REMOVED* :') thats silly being banned for reporting. if you say things like i do then they should be like "oh crap i better do my job for once"

anyway, back on subject.. if this guardian thing is a fail, im gathering all the old- eXs together for a discussion.

Edited by Chris (Forum Moderator): Please do not avoid the filter!

[Jarkie]

mods tend not to *REMOVED* :') thats silly being banned for reporting. if you say things like i do then they should be like "oh crap i better do my job for once"

anyway, back on subject.. if this guardian thing is a fail, im gathering all the old- eXs together for a discussion.

tbh I think it will all depend on what these Guardians get. If anyone can get it, i really doubt powers like 'room override' will happen etc.. I would laugh if it was only a BADGE and no tools whats so ever... and you say a discussion.. well I will look forward to that :>

[cameron354]

Paul LaFontaine ‏@PaulLaFo (https://twitter.com/PaulLaFo)
@HabboDublyu (https://twitter.com/HabboDublyu) You level up in Helpers to be a Guardian

oh dear..
You should wait a see, you never know. Plus he also added it's down to reputation and also you're account will need to be approved by staff.

[Alba]

i have to keep threatening the mods when i report now. ive just done one then, saying " this habbo is dressed inappropriately and due to the recent concerns it is unacceptable, i am logging your reply and taking screenshots, please warn this user immediately"

and then boom. they did as they were told. try it. haha.
TBH, that's pretty sad of you.

[Tidings]

TBH, that's pretty sad of you.
why is it sad? they are PAID to make the community safe and dont do anything.

[Jarkie]

TBH, that's pretty sad of you.

How is it being sad? If that's needed to make these so called processional moderators do their work then why not?

[Red]

No it isn't sad when they are too incompetent and lazy to deal with help calls. It's sad that it takes threats for them to actually do their job.

[Jarkie]

No it isn't sad when they are too incompetent and lazy to deal with help calls. It's sad that it takes threats for them to actually do their job.

Indeed, and Paul says that they are 'Professional Moderators' :rolleyes:

[Red]

Ikr, I think we need a rating system when our call for help gets answered. habbo helpers and customer support have one, so why not them? I remember at one of the meetings with Kitano and Puffin and the issue of moderators came up. She said if they aren't doing their job properly ask for their name. They never give them though, so I just reported them with time logs and screenshots to cs.

[Bob1]

Ikr, I think we need a rating system when our call for help gets answered. habbo helpers and customer support have one, so why not them? I remember at one of the meetings with Kitano and Puffin and the issue of moderators came up. She said if they aren't doing their job properly ask for their name. They never give them though, so I just reported them with time logs and screenshots to cs.
I really like the idea of being able to rate the help you receive, you can do it in all other businesses that have customer facing staff in some form I don't see why Habbo should be any different now they're out-sourcing.

[Red]

I really like the idea of being able to rate the help you receive, you can do it in all other businesses that have customer facing staff in some form I don't see why Habbo should be any different now they're out-sourcing.

Yea I think so too. Some people may abuse it but it does annoy me, how there is no place really to complain about the conduct of moderators. Not sure how much they actually take into consideration, the rating system. I don't know a single person who has had a positive experience with Katharina on customer support and yet she's still here, as useless as ever! :(

[Fifty-Six]

Yea I think so too. Some people may abuse it but it does annoy me, how there is no place really to complain about the conduct of moderators. Not sure how much they actually take into consideration, the rating system. I don't know a single person who has had a positive experience with Katharina on customer support and yet she's still here, as useless as ever! :(

Would tweeting the idea to Paul help?

[Red]

Would tweeting the idea to Paul help?

Just tweeted him. He replied 'Mods are monitored closely. How would that work?'
Then 'That makes sense. 5 Star Habbo is an initiative to ensure such feedback considered.'

[auffant1]

I like the idea. Now if only Sulake can go through with it at a reasonable date.........

[Tom]

This will be good, but hard to get and will most likely be unfair on people who actually WANT to do it and know quite a lot. It'll most likely be already well known people. However, I could be wrong.

[GommeInc]

Paul LaFontaine ‏@PaulLaFo (https://twitter.com/PaulLaFo)
@HabboDublyu (https://twitter.com/HabboDublyu) You level up in Helpers to be a Guardian

oh dear..
It's basically a ranking system like the one found on this forum - the post ranking system. Over time it will become worthless, too many "gods" will appear and many would of got to that title without really earning it properly... Not that I am saying Habbox Gods on here are useless or undeserving, but given the context it makes sense :P

[PiippBB]

This will be good, but hard to get and will most likely be unfair on people who actually WANT to do it and know quite a lot. It'll most likely be already well known people. However, I could be wrong.

Judging by some of the bias on Paul's Twitter feed you could well be right. I give it two years, tops.

[Jarkie]

It's basically a ranking system like the one found on this forum - the post ranking system. Over time it will become worthless, too many "gods" will appear and many would of got to that title without really earning it properly... Not that I am saying Habbox Gods on here are useless or undeserving, but given the context it makes sense :P

Hahaa so true!


Judging by some of the bias on Paul's Twitter feed you could well be right. I give it two years, tops.

I wouldn't even give it a year. Sulake like to give up on their 'wonderful' ideas once it starts to fail.

[JlMMY]

A lot of worthy discussions going on here. One thing I was trying to figure out is which time frame were you all talking about regarding Hobbas? Back when Habbo.com became the new site for Habbo USA they had the applications open up for Hobbas. I do remember a lot of abuse then, but before there was even a habbo.com and it was only Hotelli Kultakala, Habbo UK, and Habbo Switzerland the Hobba moderation staff was very mature. I spent most of my time on .ch when it opened up and enjoyed the company and support from the staff there (Hobbas like amberrachel, KidCreme, and Dreamwalker). I remember running into Flumsi and Dreamwalked on .co.uk (when it was .com) using an account called Hobba-Contact. They had an intelligent team to look up to and when Ione was running things at Habbo.com the Hobbas were kept in line. The problems I remember were only scammers and scripters. I can't recall a pedophile problem, but then again I was younger then and I didn't even care about that webcamming stuff as it wasn't used too much outside of AIM and MSN.

The recent Hobbas did have many abusing their powers, but the moderators cracked down on them. I remember seeing the Hobba population drop-down rapidly. I held onto mine for a bit longer than my friends and then tried to pretend to give into a scam so I could bust someone (Scarlet) for selling their habbo account. That failed miserably even though I added whispers to the log saying, "I'm not actually going to buy this account just trying to get her caught in the act". Yea, won't be doing that again lol.

Edit:


@PixelWarning (http://www.habboxforum.com/member.php?u=69459) Pretty sure that's the law I was talking about, I knew we pulled the Hobba scheme from US before the hotel even launched but I couldn't remember why, I wasn't even allowed staff rights on my account however I had them on all other English speaking hotels. However when the hotel was shared before the local hotels (2001-04/05?) we did used to have US Hobbas, maybe it depends upon where the company is registered or based? As at that point there was no US office, the .com hotel was operated from London HQ. Maybe now the hotels have merged it wont be an issue with Guardians or is the site still based in the US?

Alright, I decided to read the other 7 pages I missed. I saw bob1 and the name "bob" from the original Habbo UK/USA appeared in my memory. I remember seeing the bob character, who I thought was a guy, but always dressed as a woman in HPD. Years later I learn Bobby is a multi-gender name and now I got it lol. HPD... that was the hangout back then for the good people and the not so well behaved people. It's cool to see names like bob reappear.

[JlMMY]

Sorry for double post.

Alright, I decided to read the other 7 pages I missed. I saw bob1 and the name "bob" from the original Habbo UK/USA appeared in my memory. I remember seeing the bob character, who I thought was a guy, but always dressed as a woman in HPD. Years later I learn Bobby and Bobbie is a multi-gender name and now I got it lol. Gender doesn't really matter, but that was one thing that I could never figure out then. HPD... that was the hangout back then for the good people and the not so well behaved people. It's cool to see names like bob reappear. Bob, you wouldn't know me. I had created the account imJay on the English speaking Habbo hotel years ago. The only fame I received is when Jay came up to me in Cafe Ole and said, "Word Up! Imjay!". They put me on the front page, accidentally sent me two typewriters by mistake, and for the next two months they struggled to remove permanent clones hiding in my doorway of my room. Man I miss that version of Habbo. The scripters blew my mind! I haven't really checked back in for a year now. It's hard to keep up!

[e5]

Hobbs were the safest thing that happened to Habb, so I hope they come back.

[Jarkie]

apparently with the 'talent tree stuff' if you get banned or warning there is a high chance that a moderator can 'reset' your 'talent tree' level.. so making you do it all over again. this is going to suck 'cos the amount of unfair bans and warnings people get. :l

[santa-my-nana]

apparently with the 'talent tree stuff' if you get banned or warning there is a high chance that a moderator can 'reset' your 'talent tree' level.. so making you do it all over again. this is going to suck 'cos the amount of unfair bans and warnings people get. :l

Oh yes but hopefully with this there will be better moderation which will lower the bans and warnings, I'm sure they have said they will be unbanning some people for false bannings somewhere. Also you can appeal bans.

[Ardith93]

Bad news...

http://s11.postimage.org/cxlpo30z5/ttr.png

[Lewis]

Bad news...

http://s11.postimage.org/cxlpo30z5/ttr.png

Can't see the picture. Use tinypic.

[Lee]

Can't see the picture. Use tinypic.

http://s11.postimage.org/54v1w3v01/ttr.png

[iLogan]

Can't see the picture. Use tinypic.

http://grab.by/eFrA

[DPS]

who cares? hes full of crap lol

[MKR&*42]

http://grab.by/eFrA

Hotel is screwed x Giving teenagers powers in a large community. Fair enough, some are mature enough to do their job but the majority will just be power-hungry noobs and show what a failure the system will become.

[Puma!]

Yeah, not having an age restriction isn't very good - I would prefer an over 18/21 scheme.

In the last few days, the age indicated by some users mean there are plenty of Habbos to choose from also.

[funn]

I just find it amusing that paul dont even answer the tweets normaly as if he doesnt read them. For example a guy asked:

@PaulLaFo (https://twitter.com/PaulLaFo) are the top patrollers going to be the first guardians? I cant wait !.
And paul answered:

@Tidings_Habbo (https://twitter.com/Tidings_Habbo) three weeks. going to be great.

[AngusBreez]

Its a reasonably good idea in my opinion but the as said before the selection process will be difficult.

[Kardan]

Nothing you have said in this (rather biased) post has disproven what I said. I wouldn't be surprised if I knew more about Xs than you, considering you were one of the aforementioned newbie Xs. But knowledge on Xs is nothing to boast about so I shan't mention it again.

Your presumption that Xs adhered to the security and confidentiality rules is very foolish. Plenty of people whose X applications were successful couldn't and wouldn't shut up about it. I had to endure a running commentary of the whole process and was bombarded with screen shots of the forum and your supposed training.

There were no face-to-face interviews or phone interviews, so there were no interviews. Answering basic questions on a forum or on habbo is not an interview.

Regarding X specialisations, there was no training or any vigorous attempt to ensure Xs knew what they were talking about. Xs simply had to memorise a few quotes which they repeated on request (e.g. "download AVG and run a scan" and "don't bet in casinos because you might be scammed") - those who couldn't be bothered to do this became host Xs.

I can not recall any X being fired after 0rca took over, not even the Xs who had left habbo were debadged. By 2007 staff were indifferent to the programme and rarely enforced the rules - hence why I said Xs were unsupervised, because in practise they were.

Your presumption that my critique of the X programme derives out of jealously is just another example of the childish and petty behaviour you guys so frequently displayed. Why you think there was anything to be jealous of I don't know, the only thing they had which was desirable was the room override and that was removed anyway.

I joined the UK Habbo eXpert team back in November 2005, the very first batch when Hobbas were still around, became a Team Leader in 2007, and was still in the team when the program ended in 2008. I was one of only three to stay from beginning to end, so personally I like to think I know a bit about the program as a whole.

At the beginning, the application process was simply a copy of the basic Hobba process, we had to provide contact details, address, telephone number etc. and had to write some sort of essay. From that, they picked a team immediately and the first batch was created. You were right, a bit of a shambles. From then, a few eXperts got hand-picked into the team, such as Ardl, and it was over half a year before applications opened again in June 2006.

At the start, there was one Team Leader, AvadaKedavra, an ex-hobba - and really, the first two months there wasn't much to do to be honest. There were no X Forums, no regular meetings, barely any contact with Staff, but things changed afterwards, with the creation of two teams, which expanded as the program advanced.

Now, you are partly right in saying that eXperts weren't supervised, but not about 0rca. When redtiz was in charge, the program was well managed, Team Leaders were effective and everything ran smoothly. When redtiz got promoted within Sulake, Heidster took over, and she was in charge for about... 6-9 months at a guess, and through-out that time, there was barely any supervision. I think we heard from Heidster about twice, and we actually heard more from Becs in that time, who was head of community or moderation within Sulake at the time. Team Leaders did a good job to keep the team going.

Eventually, Heidster gave up looking after the X Team, not that she did that much anyway, and 0rca and colmc took over, and personally, I feel that's when the team had the most supervision. You say that no X's were debadged during 2007, but I made an eXpert Database over the 3 years I was within the program, making notes of team changes, join dates, debadgings etc. And I can say that 17 eXperts were debadged in 2007, and 8 were debadged in 2008 (And remember, the program only ran for 6 months in 2008).

I feel that the outside impression of the X system is something along the lines of Habbos going into the Welcome Lounge for 5 minutes and then entering official competitions for the rest of their time online, which isn't correct in most cases. There were discussions on the X Forums about removing override for guest rooms (although I'm sure people would still complain about overriding events within public rooms), and colmc did make sure that everyone was clear on the current rules regarding events; you were allowed in, but had to regularly refresh to allow others the chance. Of course, this system wasn't perfect - in hindsight eXperts only needed powers for the Welcome Lounge, Safety Spa and eXpert meetings and eXpert events.

In some ways, people should be thankful that eXperts only had room override, which wasn't a huge power in itself. On the Canadian hotel, UK eXperts were all given a VIP Badge for an evening, which meant room override and the ability to not be kicked, lets just say that a few UK eXperts enjoyed playing falling furni that day. Back in the UK, Team Leaders were given kick, mute and ban powers for a short while, and even though there were only five or so, of the most trusted people in the hotel, Sulake still wasn't comfortable with them having these powers, so it makes me wonder why Sulake have changed their mind, especially since they have less staff to focus on such a program today.

[Bob1]

I remember seeing the bob character, who I thought was a guy, but always dressed as a woman in HPD. Years later I learn Bobby and Bobbie is a multi-gender name and now I got it lol. Gender doesn't really matter, but that was one thing that I could never figure out then. HPD... that was the hangout back then for the good people and the not so well behaved people. It's cool to see names like bob reappear. Bob, you wouldn't know me. I had created the account imJay on the English speaking Habbo hotel years ago. .

I do recognise the name actually! It's nice to bump into people I remember from being around. I am a guy, I once dressed as a guy a very long time ago and Habbox actually ran a news story about it... lol.

Kardan I'd prefer to see an X-like system like this again, with some alterations, than what I think the Guardian system will turn out to be. I think Xs came about at a bad time, Sulake was in the process of changing as a company/management changes so it wasnt developed as the Hobba alternative it could have been. Unfortunately Sulake wont dedicate the time/money in staff or other resources to make it happen because of this I imagine the flaws will be larger with Guardians...

[Okeanos]

You say that no X's were debadged during 2007, but I made an eXpert Database over the 3 years I was within the program, making notes of team changes, join dates, debadgings etc. And I can say that 17 eXperts were debadged in 2007, and 8 were debadged in 2008 (And remember, the program only ran for 6 months in 2008).

Are you including people who were initially accepted onto the programme but didn't pass their trial? I can not think of a single person who passed their trial but was later debadged. I was friends with Xs who were very open about their disdain for the X programme, some of them didn't log on for months (nearly a year in one case) - but they were never debadged.

The problem was friends managing friends; it was never going to work. Team leaders were a bad idea from the outset because they could never be impartial or fair. It is hard having to keep your friends in check, and nearly all of them failed to do so.


I feel that the outside impression of the X system is something along the lines of Habbos going into the Welcome Lounge for 5 minutes

Actually, that is basically what happened. There were so many times when eXpert friends of mine asked me to join them in the welcome lounge because they had to do their 15 minutes; we would spend the time chatting and then leave. This was pretty endemic, nearly all Xs did this whether you or Jarkie admit to it or not.

If it were a choice between bringing back Xs or nothing at all, I would go for nothing at all. I hope the guardians are at least 18, trained and staff supervised but I doubt this will happen.

[Kardan]

Are you including people who were initially accepted onto the programme but didn't pass their trial? I can not think of a single person who passed their trial but was later debadged. I was friends with Xs who were very open about their disdain for the X programme, some of them didn't log on for months (nearly a year in one case) - but they were never debadged.

The problem was friends managing friends; it was never going to work. Team leaders were a bad idea from the outset because they could never be impartial or fair. It is hard having to keep your friends in check, and nearly all of them failed to do so.



Actually, that is basically what happened. There were so many times when eXpert friends of mine asked me to join them in the welcome lounge because they had to do their 15 minutes; we would spend the time chatting and then leave. This was pretty endemic, nearly all Xs did this whether you or Jarkie admit to it or not.

If it were a choice between bringing back Xs or nothing at all, I would go for nothing at all. I hope the guardians are at least 18, trained and staff supervised but I doubt this will happen.

No, all those debadged Xs I mentioned passed their trails, in my database there's a different section for eXperts that didn't pass the trial. eXperts were debadged regularly for a variety of reasons. Also, just a note, when I say 'debadged', I mean eXperts that had their badge forcefully removed from their accounts, not eXperts that resigned by themselves and had their badge removed. If you count them, I'd say there's easily 100 eXperts that fit into that category.

I'm not denying that Xs went into the Welcome Lounge for 15 minutes and left, that was what was expected, and what was written within our handbook, I'm just saying I don't agree with the impression that we just hopped in and abused our rights the rest of the time.

The only thing that eXperts were *required* to do was do a 15 minute session each day they logged in, the majority of Xs, including myself, did a lot more than 15 minutes - and when you consider that some eXperts logged in everyday, that's one session per day.

Of course, I'm speaking from past experience, with hindsight the system looks awfully flawed that all we had to do was stand around for 15 minutes. eXperts would have worked a lot better with the tools that were implemented later, such as meeting new Habbos in their starting room for example.

[Bill]

If anyone knows the X programme, it's Kardan - trust me. :)

[Jarkie]

If anyone knows the X programme, it's Kardan - trust me. :)

Indeed.

[Bill]

I'll chime in and say its AWESOME that this whole hobba thing has brought back so many oldies! Even Bob is back in action.

[Kardan]

Touching on the Team Leader part Okeanos mentioned that it never worked, I agree and disagree. When Team Leader roles were opened within the program, everyone had to send in an essay on what made them qualified to be a Team Leader, of course Habbo Staff would read these, but also base it on recommendations as well as other factors.

I applied for the Team Leader position in December 2007 for XGen, the Team I'd been in since the very beginning for two years, of course I was determined to become a Team Leader, since I held XGen close to my hearts, and had been working with the people in that team for a long time, so I agree with you, that of course there was a preference to lead the people you knew, it'd be easier and friendlier and just more enjoyable.

I then got the next Team Leader position that opened a few weeks later for RoleX after the previous applications were looked at it again, and from within a day I was happy in XGen to suddenly leading RoleX, and I wasn't particularly close to anyone within RoleX. I feel like I was fair to everyone within my team, and when new eXperts were brought in at the beginning of 2008, I had no say who was put into my team, and I knew nobody that was put into my team.

So as a Team Leader, I can say that I felt I treated everyone equally, but that's simply because I didn't know anyone. Some Team Leaders probably did favour some eXperts though, but it could barely be avoided since people had been in the program so long, and I'm not sure what positives there would be from being favouritied by a Team Leader. But I can agree that Team Leaders weren't perfect, I do recall one being debadged from the whole program because of something that happened.

And nice to see bill on here :) Joined the eXpert program in July 2007 with effeX and moved to proteX until the program ended if I'm correct :)

[Okeanos]

snip

Let's see this list of names then!

I don't pretend to know everything about Xs, but I find it hard to believe that as many as 17 could be debadged when so many others who should have been, weren't.

[Jarkie]

Okeanos;

I don't understand why you still have so much hate for a system that died in 2008? Perhaps it's time to move on.

[tm]

Let's see this list of names then!

I don't pretend to know everything about Xs, but I find it hard to believe that as many as 17 could be debadged when so many others who should have been, weren't.

Thought I'd throw my hat into this ring.

I've been going through a few old emails recently and found a lot to do with the expert programme. Many messages from colmc, redtiz and in particular 0rca. How we were supported by staff seemed good at the time, but looking back it was exceptional.

The amount of staff support was ultimately the downfall of the whole system due to the time they WANTED to spend on it. There were also many experts chosen who probably weren't up for it, that's for certain, and if there's anything bad to say it's regarding the nature of the selection process, but overall I think the whole expert system worked brilliantly towards a better Habbo.

The whole expert idea had two major aims.

- 1. Assist users that required specific advice.
Considering we were without a tool such as the helper tool (which is great when used correctly by the way) I think this was achieved to a decent standard. People knew to come to the welcome lounge or safety spa for answers to questions, and the answers delivered were always at least satisfactory.

- 2. Promote safety in the hotel.
Campaigns were limited by staff, but experts held many games and other events that did engage regular Habbos and the message of safety was promoted well overall.

Also just to be clear; Habbo expert leaders were not superior to regular experts in any way. Our role was simply to hold meetings and keep the experts engaged in the programme. We were told that we were the peers of regular experts and were treated by staff as such (at least from my experience).

If the guardian scheme could be well supported by staff and as completely understood by it's participants and by regular Habbos, it would be far better than the expert system, mainly thanks to the helper tool.

BUT - with limited powers (expected to be just kick) and what I can assume will be minimal staff interaction I think this whole thing is going to go badly.

Hobbas were a way to do low level moderation 'on the cheap' which IMHO has absolutely no place on Habbo especially after all the problems of the past few years have been beautifully highlighted by the press. Guardians doing a similar role would be a borderline disaster. What they also claim to be doing is hiring more trained and vetted, paid moderators. That's only a good thing and will have a decent impact if they hire enough and train them to a high enough standard.

The worst part about all this is that I get the overall impression that the current Habbo staff have not seen the mistakes made by their predecessors in terms of the whole 'silver expert mess' on old.com/ca or the issues with expert selection (favouritism), and are ready to make all the same mistakes again.

[Kardan]

Let's see this list of names then!

I don't pretend to know everything about Xs, but I find it hard to believe that as many as 17 could be debadged when so many others who should have been, weren't.

Sure, here's the list of eXperts that had their badge removed for a reason other than resigning or retirement:

GlowingSpirit - Debadged Feb 2007
.Matt..Chenery. - Debadged Jun 2008
2Crime - Debadged May 2007
Bokers - Debadged May 2007
Departing - Debadged Feb 2007
Deserting - Debadged Feb 2007
Dragon-nccb - Debadged Jul 2008
Dudelyness - Debadged Apr 2007
Envieux (Team Leader) - Debadged Feb 2008
EternalMasque - Debadged Nov 07
Flumples - Debadged Mar 08
G_BNLL - Debadged sometime in 2007 (Records aren't fully complete...)
HelpfulDragon - Debadged Feb 07
Maze-expert - Debadged August 07
MysticDreams - Debadged Jan 08
Nath - Debadged Sep 07
Octagon-X - Debadged Jul 07
Robsladey - Debadged sometime in 2007
Shortcheese - Debadged May 07
Snim - Debadged Mar 08
Terrafire - Debadged Jul 07
Urges - Debadged Feb 08
XRF - Debadged Dec 07

That's everyone debadged in two years, not including everyone debadged from 2005/2006, and not including everyone who left on their own accord.

[Bob1]

BUT - with limited powers (expected to be just kick) and what I can assume will be minimal staff interaction I think this whole thing is going to go badly.

Hobbas were a way to do low level moderation 'on the cheap' which IMHO has absolutely no place on Habbo especially after all the problems of the past few years have been beautifully highlighted by the press. Guardians doing a similar role would be a borderline disaster. What they also claim to be doing is hiring more trained and vetted, paid moderators. That's only a good thing and will have a decent impact if they hire enough and train them to a high enough standard.

The worst part about all this is that I get the overall impression that the current Habbo staff have not seen the mistakes made by their predecessors in terms of the whole 'silver expert mess' on old.com/ca or the issues with expert selection (favouritism), and are ready to make all the same mistakes again.

Agreed, well worded. I know the MOD system is still out-sourced through Spanish call centres, would be so much better if they used sites like emoderation to get professionals on board, in comparison to the money lost through this PR nightmare I bet they would have saved money having never out-soruced (which is still the main problem with the site and Sulake show no signs of reverting to paid professionals). Guess we'll wait and see how the Guardian system goes...I still give it less than a year.

[Okeanos]

@Okeanos (http://www.habboxforum.com/member.php?u=35609);

I don't understand why you still have so much hate for a system that died in 2008? Perhaps it's time to move on.

I don't hate it, I just never liked it much. Just because four years have passed, that is no reason to forget the (many) problems that were in the X programme. There's nothing wrong with being critical.


Thought I'd throw my hat into this ring.

I've been going through a few old emails recently and found a lot to do with the expert programme. Many messages from colmc, redtiz and in particular 0rca. How we were supported by staff seemed good at the time, but looking back it was exceptional.

The amount of staff support was ultimately the downfall of the whole system due to the time they WANTED to spend on it. There were also many experts chosen who probably weren't up for it, that's for certain, and if there's anything bad to say it's regarding the nature of the selection process, but overall I think the whole expert system worked brilliantly towards a better Habbo.

The whole expert idea had two major aims.

- 1. Assist users that required specific advice.
Considering we were without a tool such as the helper tool (which is great when used correctly by the way) I think this was achieved to a decent standard. People knew to come to the welcome lounge or safety spa for answers to questions, and the answers delivered were always at least satisfactory.

- 2. Promote safety in the hotel.
Campaigns were limited by staff, but experts held many games and other events that did engage regular Habbos and the message of safety was promoted well overall.

In my opinion they failed on both counts. Whilst some Xs did there best, in general they were a very unhelpful, petty and selfish lot. Most never exerted themselves to do anything but the minimum amount of work possible.


Sure, here's the list of eXperts that had their badge removed for a reason other than resigning or retirement:

GlowingSpirit - Debadged Feb 2007
.Matt..Chenery. - Debadged Jun 2008
2Crime - Debadged May 2007
Bokers - Debadged May 2007
Departing - Debadged Feb 2007
Deserting - Debadged Feb 2007
Dragon-nccb - Debadged Jul 2008
Dudelyness - Debadged Apr 2007
Envieux (Team Leader) - Debadged Feb 2008
EternalMasque - Debadged Nov 07
Flumples - Debadged Mar 08
G_BNLL - Debadged sometime in 2007 (Records aren't fully complete...)
HelpfulDragon - Debadged Feb 07
Maze-expert - Debadged August 07
MysticDreams - Debadged Jan 08
Nath - Debadged Sep 07
Octagon-X - Debadged Jul 07
Robsladey - Debadged sometime in 2007
Shortcheese - Debadged May 07
Snim - Debadged Mar 08
Terrafire - Debadged Jul 07
Urges - Debadged Feb 08
XRF - Debadged Dec 07

That's everyone debadged in two years, not including everyone debadged from 2005/2006, and not including everyone who left on their own accord.

I happen to know that Dragon-nccb was only debadged temporarily and she was reinstated as an X soon after. If you remove any names who were only temporarily debadged then I'm sure that list would be much shorter.

[Kardan]

I don't hate it, I just never liked it much. Just because four years have passed, that is no reason to forget the (many) problems that were in the X programme. There's nothing wrong with being critical.



In my opinion they failed on both counts. Whilst some Xs did there best, in general they were a very unhelpful, petty and selfish lot. Most never exerted themselves to do anything but the minimum amount of work possible.



I happen to know that Dragon-nccb was only debadged temporarily and she was reinstated as an X soon after. If you remove any names who were only temporarily debadged then I'm sure that list would be much shorter.

If you have a look at the date, she was debadged in July 2008. The program ended in July 2008. The fact was she got debadged mere days before the program ended, and she was simply 'reinstated' purely so she could take part in the final X events with staff, I'm not entirely sure if she actually got her badge back, but she was only reinstated for a week maximum.

Nobody else on that list got 'rebadged', since there's also a separate category for that on my database, also, no eXperts that got debadged (not left or retired) are allowed to be rebadged, Amanda only did because the program was ending and essentially there was no point in her being debadged.