PPDatH is an old Wizards of the Coast Customer Service phrase (coined by Jeff Harris, who should contact me if he reads this. DUDE!) We used it any time the day's ration of crazy/stupid/incomprehensible callers outnumbered the sane ones. We handled rules support for Magic: The Gathering, so the 'sane' bar was already set pretty low!
Nowadays, when I handle support, I do it mostly via Email. The primary advantage to Email is the ability to step back from the insane for a moment. Once my wits are in place, I can then tackle the problem du jour with the optimistic vigor I have worked so hard to cultivate. Still, there are days...
When I first started with ourWorld, I read up on community management. There was precious little usefull information out there on how to handle a large number of online contributers*, particularly teens. Most of the attention was spent on how to *be* a member of a community, rather than how to manage one. What written help the internet could provide, proved useful. I'll share the most imporant bit:
"You are a moderator, not a therapist."
It's shocking how often this phrase helps me do the correct thing. And there you have it.
-Adam!!!
* A quick Google search for 'virtual world community management' brings up a host of articles now. No idea if they're any good. When I have time, I'll need to see.
