#scriptlgbt

Yes! There are ways to become a mod!

Misc Blurb On The Current Situation

We had an application a while back but it was probably the equivalent of writing an exam on queer studies, and I think it needs some re-doing for that reason, if we opt to make it an application-based thing.

I'm the only person currently active with this blog (though I don't feel alone - the whole ScriptFamily, including inactive folks, have a Discord together and we share memes and talk regularly). So while I yap with the others regularly and often consult folks about things I don't know, I'm kind of the only one logging in. And chronic illness (and a fourth homelessness episode while going back to school, love life reconfiguration, etc) has made it hard for me to

Requirements (Expertise)

The ScriptX family of blogs was specifically started by @scriptmedic more than 10 years ago (jeez that's a long time...). ScriptMedic started the blog to provide information on medical topics for writers from the point of view of an expert on the subject matter.

Other blogs were inspired by ScriptMedic, and followed a similar rule. People who join the ScriptFam and write for these blogs need to be considered experts in the topic. What this meant in this context as laid out by the ScriptFamily, was that you would feel confident in the role of an expert witness in a court of law, on the subject matter you're answering questions for.

So what does this mean for ScriptLGBT? Everyone is the expert of their own personal identity and how they experience things themselves, but the questions we are asked go beyond personal experience. You might be able to recognize 30 different pride flags, but can you answer a question someone has about how to represent a queer parent of a trans child in 1960s Australia? You don't necessarily need to be able to answer that straight up, but, being in this role, you need to be able to research the information you don't know, and form a credible answer for what you can. And acknowledge it when you can't find an answer.

You will be asked about fictional characters, not your own experience, but you'll probably be able to talk about those fictional characters by bringing your own experience into it.

Personally, I think the most important skills here are knowing how to research, and knowing a lot about queer studies and media studies in general. You don't need a PhD in queer or media studies (colonial institutions shouldn't be the litmus test for queer expertise). But you should be at a knowledge level where you could carry a stimulating conversation with someone who might have one, where you learn things from each other. (I'm happy to yap about this if you're unsure! It's more about the effort you've put in to learning about queerness in general.)

Above all, I think it is important to know the limits of your own knowledge, and find joy in expanding them. And knowing how to do that on your own volition and initiative. And having a passion for sharing what you've learned in a digestible way.

Requirements (Other, Training Sort Of)

There are some internal protocols we have around how we answer questions. (Assuming good faith, only posting original content, among others.) We'll talk about this if you join. You'll probably also want to be very familiar with questions we've answered in the past so you can direct people to answers to similar questions, and have a general understanding of what we do here.

Requirements (Capacity)

The bar is low right now for capacity required to be a mod. Which you can probably tell from the bursts of in/activity over the past years. If you feel like you want a trial run of it, or only want to answer a few questions on specific topics you feel expert in, and then bounce if it doesn't work for you, that's totally fine. Just try to let us know if it's something you're just trying on, so we know what to expect.

How To Become A Mod

If all this vibes with you, or you have any questions or want to talk about requirements, reply to this post with what stuff you. I'll reply or DM you from my main Tumblr to ask about it. (Note: It may be months before I get back to you. I would love to be prompt and I might be, I just also know my capacity and distractibility.) I likely won't be able to respond to everyone but will do my level best.

Another Note

This blog is its own account. It has its own login, and is not a sideblog, and cannot be made a sideblog. (I tried!) This has been a hindrance for past mods (and also me) in terms of capacity to be on here and reply to messages in any kind of timely manner, or even at all, since you need to log out of your regular account to log in to this one. This will probably be a barrier for you too if you decide to be a mod. I've kind of worked around it by having my laptop logged in here and my phone for my regular Tumblr, but your mileage may vary. I figure this is important to disclose when you're assessing your own capacity.

Since we received this question, @scriptlgbt was born, so I’m hoping they’ll see this and reblog with an A+ answer.

However, I do think it’s important to note that while finding someone who identifies as non-binary (or any individual with specific experience in anything) is important, their experience doesn’t necessarily speak to the whole. Because we’re individuals, and one person who identifies as non-binary may have a completely different experience as someone else who is also non-binary. So to wonder if we have advice on writing “them,” makes it seem like we can draft up one true, right way to write about these characters. And I don’t think there is one right way, or even two or three. 

Three non-binary characters may share that in common, but if they grew up in homes with vastly different support systems, or if they were open about it or forced to hide it, or if they faced bullying for even more than just their gender identity (race, sexuality, disability, ect.) then that compounds their ability to embrace their identity as a whole, and depending on the character’s coping mechanisms, they may evolve in various ways. 

However, just because you write a non-binary character does not mean you have to write about non-binary social issues. You can still tell a story that’s independent of the character’s gender identity. I feel like that’s one way we start to show that it’s normal, but I know there are various opinions on this, because ignoring the social issues might minimize how marginalized they are as a group.

I’d love for anyone to chime in, reblog, add comments, especially if you identify as non-binary, so this anon can be setup for success. 

So... we have a giant backlog of years-old messages. Some of the questions may or may not be relevant anymore to their askers. Some are from deactivated blogs. Some are things we've struggled to answer. Etc.

The backlog of asks has prevented us from opening the ask box.

So we want to ask you as readers and writers what your opinion is. Longer explanation below.

Life happens, and this is all volunteer-run. But I am sorry for all of you who wrote to us over the past few years only for us to not have the capacity to answer at the time.

Something we have done in the past was briefly open asks to help us get the momentum going, while we chipped away at older asks that required more research or reaching out to guest mods with identities we don't have. Or slowly getting to answering questions about our own trauma in order to help someone else write it in a way that respected its gravity.

With opening the ask box then, it also meant that the mountain continued to grow large. In an ideal world, we'd be able to answer every ask quickly.

I realize folks will see this and reply with, "why not just get new mods?"

Taking on new mods requires figuring out what an application looks like, reaching out to demographics besides our own (and knowing where to do this, and the right way, considering this is an unpaid gig), interviewing, and training new mods in how the ScriptFamily group of blogs operates. And generally, even when people go through all that process, very few people are able to maintain activity on the blog. Which is understandable! We are all in that boat! (ALSO. This isn't a sideblog, so it requires logging in and out, or using another browser, pls advise if you know a workaround. ) So the balance of labour put in to bring on new mods, vs. labour saved by it, is a HUGE roll of the dice.

I say all this not to discourage people from asking tough questions. Only to hopefully give some insight into why some asks take so long, and that it's because I've been researching Molly Houses from their heyday for like 5 years and figuring out what a Bavarian asexual man would call himself in 1920 using repatriated texts from the Magnus Hirschfeld Institute, typed manually and auto-translated. And also... someone asked about the omegaverse, AKA the A/B/O trope and transness this one time and... we all have a lot to say, haha. It's a lot to unpack! But we're passionate. And I hope as we work through asks in the future, our archive will help us better be able to help you.

We’re looking for mods (again) and this time our application will stay up as a permanent-ish thing so that people can apply on a rolling basis. This particular application also has some quiz questions based on what we need areas of expertise in, rather than solely asking about identities like in previous applications.

If you’ve applied in the past, please feel free to apply again!

We received over 80 applications last time and a lot of the vetting process has been refined since, so it will be easier for us to sort through the applications.

If you’re unfamiliar with ScriptLGBT:

We answer questions for writers, character creators, storytellers of all kinds on how to represent LGBT+ identities and experiences. This branches out into atypical relationship formats sometimes and even some specific subcultures and so on. 

As a mod, you would be expected to be able to answer questions on a regular basis. When the ask is open, we receive anywhere from 1-50 asks per day. We close the ask box based on how overwhelmed the mod team is feeling and have open communication with each other about these things. You definitely would not need to answer at that rate, as you would not be the only mod. Ideally, 1 a week is a good minimum to aim for.

We’re not yet sure how many new moderators we are taking on, and this will be determined based on the applications that come in. The mod position is a volunteer one, but mods are welcome to link voluntary payment methods in their bios and signatures of the asks they answer. Most of the benefit, however, is having a really supportive community of peers who have shared interests.