Earlier this morning the account User:ModJD was created. It's a name that purports to be a JMod, so, naturally, it was blocked indefinitely for impersonation because there is no way to verify that this user was who he said he was.
I was curious, of course, and I contacted the real Mod JD on reddit via private message to ask if it was him. The conversation wasn't that special, so I don't think he'll mind if I post it:
to JagexJD sent 1 hour ago
- A user created an account on the RuneScape Wiki with the username "ModJD". We take Jagex impersonation very seriously, and immediately block all accounts that attempt to impersonate JMods.
- There is however a chance that this is you, and if it is, I can see about getting the community to recognize vetted JMod accounts.
from JagexJD sent 9 minutes ago
- Hey - believe it or not, this was actually me. Sorry for the confusion - wanted to chat to one of you guys about something related to the Wikia!
- Cheers, JD
I'm glad we were able to verify it was him, but that was done on my own (and by gaz on twitter, independently). We should probably have a decided process on how JMods can have their Wikia accounts verified to us, even if it is a rare occurrence. MolMan 14:26, October 16, 2014 (UTC)
Discussion
Comment - Does Wikia (or the some special users here), like the other fansites, have access to a fansite forum on the RSOF? If so, a JMod post in a topic there should provide enough proof that it is them; much like them posting their own official twitter accounts. IP83.101.44.209 (talk) 15:04, October 16, 2014 (UTC)
- Gaz, Cook, Ryan, Fergie all have access to this forum; however, I'd like as many ways possible to get discussed, and would especially like input from the mods themselves (I pointed Mod JD to this forum). MolMan 15:07, October 16, 2014 (UTC)
Some suggested avenues -
- Twitter DM
- to @RSWiki or to any other active admin on twitter - ideally the wiki account though
- from either @RuneScape, @Jagex, @JagexSupport or any of the JMod Twitter accounts, listed here
- Facebook Message
- to RuneScape Wiki's facebook page (speaking of, needs a new theme)
- from RuneScape's facebook page
- Reddit PM
- since there is no central wiki reddit account (and I don't think we really need one), will have to be to one of the wiki admins on reddit, e.g. /u/gaz_lloyd, /u/cookmeplox, etc
- from one of the verified JMod reddit accounts, that the reddit mods check first and give the special flair
- Email
- I know some admins have contacts inside Jagex, so that is a way; albeit not great. There's also the email tied to our social media accounts
- from a verified @jagex.com email
- Fansite forums in RSOF: maybe a little too public, unless they want to set up a verified account on all fansites thread?
- from a JMod
- to one of the wiki admins there
- Jagex Message Center or in-game (I mean, its a way, right?)
- to a wiki admin
- from a JMod
We have some things on RS:CONTACT, but its more about wiki issues and doesn't really aim toward more official contact, and has no off-site methods.
I believe we should continue to instablock Mod* usernames, and unblock if they're verified later, rather than attempt to verify before blocking (that is, unless they verify before creating the account). If a JMod is verified, there should probably be a post on the JMod's talk page, made by the confirming admin, that they are who they claim to be.
After that, there shouldn't be much, if any, different treatment of JMods as editors of the wiki, though it would be weird if a JMod ran an RfA. Maybe its best if we treat verified JMod accounts on the wiki as a semi-official representation of Jagex on the wiki (like how JMod twitter accounts sometimes provide information about the game or upcoming update, and sometimes talk about breakfast), and if the JMods want, they can use a different, unrelated account for general editing (much as they do with JMod/personal accounts in-game). I don't know. 
@Gaz#7521 15:18, October 16, 2014 (UTC)
Hey guys - Just my two cents' worth. My personal preference, for privacy and swiftness purposes, would be by Twitter DM; us contacting you. I also agree that you should block first (that's what Reddit do as well), until they're verified as a member of Jagex Staff. Obviously we don't want to intrude or affect you guys, because you're already doing a great job, but hopefully it's useful for both of us if we're here :).
The recently verified Mod JD
Comment - To clarify some misunderstandings, any account with Mod in the name will be prevented from creation, giving us one less thing to worry about when patrolling the list of new accounts. We don't manually block them. There is a way to circumvent the creation prevention which is to create the account on another wiki and wait for it to become autoconfirmed (4 days after creation and/or 10 edits). Ideally, any JMod accounts would be added to the authenticated usergroup too, something Wikia staff control but it should be relatively hassle free, which remove any potential for confusion and gives a means of making sure any JMod accounts are verifiably who they say they are. The authenticated route is something I'd very much like to happen, as currently there's half a dozen or so JMods editing under a single IP which makes it a bit hard to track who's who. If that's something individual JMods, or Jagex, are interested in I can get some more specific details about what's involved and send them into whatever jagex email is preferred. User:Cqm/Signature
- Explain this pls MolMan 17:43, October 16, 2014 (UTC)
Comment - We have had some pretty good results with communicating with individual J-mods on the RSWiki Twitter account. The only thing is that DM requires that we follow each other. For J-mods interested in having authenticated accounts here, I don't think it'll be a problem, a lot of J-mods follow us already. Anyone can message a J-mod on Reddit so I would assume their inboxes are often flooded and annoying. Twitter would be, as Mod JD said, swifter. User:Urbancowgurl777/Signature 20:10, October 16, 2014 (UTC)
Comment - We could always try what was attempted last year, getting Jagex to contact Wikia. "Edits will be more anonymous (as seeing which IP's edits are coming from is also not a good security practice, even if we are used to it) and talk page messages (or pm's) will be notified to the correct individual rather than getting dismissed by a random party at Jagex.
If you'd like to pursue this, the manager of the authentication program is Sena and she can be contacted at sena@wikia-inc.com." — December 2013. Although I'm not sure if Sena is still the person to contact as this was a year ago, but it's a road that can be taken if Jagex wants to. I'd just hope Michelle makes an account as well so that editing resides on that rather than the IP. Ryan PM 20:23, October 16, 2014 (UTC)
Idea - for verified jmod accounts, we could do a badge beside the username that says "JMod", like the ones admins and bureaucrats have beside theirs. Easily done with some CSS. 
I wish I was Scuzzy Beta He's a lot cooler and also smells like flowers I hear
Ironman btwOil4 I made this 03:11, October 17, 2014 (UTC)