Hi, Toontown! This July, keep your eyes peeled because we're bringing you a series of Backstage posts to give you a sneak peek of what it's like to be on the Toontown Team! Today, EdibleBrick is going to give us an overview of what it's like to work in Game Moderation!

Meet EdibleBrick!

Hey there! My name is EdibleBrick, but you can also call me Pebbles, and I’m a Game Moderation Coordinator. You may be asking, what's a 'Coordinator'? Being a Coordinator means that I am a team advocate! I look out for my fellow moderators to make sure that their needs are met, their suggestions and feedback are heard, and that the department is in overall good shape. As a Game Moderator, which is my primary focus, I help to maintain a safe and fun environment for players of all ages in Toontown, which I do by responding to reports and monitoring player behavior.

Becoming a Game Moderator

I was not always a Coordinator! For my first year and a half on the team, I started out as a regular ol' Game Moderator. My journey on the team began in the fall of 2021 when I became familiar with all the essential skills required to moderate Toontown. I began by learning how to keep an eye on things in-game. I did this by monitoring player behavior and chat messages. I also learned how to address situations with care and help remind Toons of our Terms of Service when appropriate.

Once I became comfortable with moderating while in-game, I moved on to the next stage of my training: learning how to use our Moderation Control Panel, also known as MCP. The MCP is pretty handy! From here, we can access player accounts, review submitted names and blog post comments, and process infractions. While I was being trained as a Game Moderator, my infractions were reviewed by a fully-trained Game Moderator to ensure all the decisions I made were correct.

After I improved my accuracy in processing infractions, I moved onto the very final stage of my training! This part of my training entailed processing infractions on my own, and sending out emails to notify players of these infractions. I completed my training the day Sellbot Field Offices were released! This meant that I had plenty of opportunities to put my skills to the test. As you can probably imagine, preparing for a big game update requires lots of help from everyone!

What I Do as a Coordinator

Becoming a Coordinator has given me the ability to prepare for game updates much more smoothly now. I've learned so much from our leadership team about preparing and coordinating our team for events and updates. This can include utilizing tools to see when everyone is available, communicating meeting dates and times, and so on!

Under New Management is a prime example of how I have used this knowledge to prepare our team for a big update! I start out by giving our Moderation Team a window for when the game update may be expected to release, and I then collect their potential availability during that time. Once everyone's availability is confirmed, I develop a schedule that we follow to keep an eye on things in-game once the update releases to ensure fair, safe, and fun gameplay.

Our Moderation Team is made up of volunteers from all around the world, which allows us to be certain that we have eyes on the game throughout all times of the day, especially for big releases! One thing our team agrees on the most is how well we all function when we work together. That's why we always encourage everyone to collaborate whenever they are moderating, usually in a voice call.

Being on the Toontown Team

I've always had a passion for ensuring that players of all ages stay safe in the games that they enjoy and are able to have a secure online environment to play in. Also, Toontown has always had a special place in my heart! During my childhood, I had many experiences playing Toontown Online with my family! Today, I am grateful for the experiences I've gained from being part of the Toontown Team, which is so tight-knit! I will forever cherish all the connections I've formed with my team members.

If you think all of this sounds right up your alley and if you're up to the task, I strongly encourage you to apply to our Moderation Team! We are actively seeking out passionate individuals who have a dedication to maintaining a fun and family-friendly environment in Toontown. Whether you are a parent at home who plays Toontown with your child, or a college student looking to gain some unique experience as part of a team, or anyone else for that matter, the Toontown Team welcomes everyone!