So You Wanna Be A Moderator...

by Bill "Pegasus NZ"
of New Zealand
Aquarticles

Sounds easy… a bit of checking here… a bit of checking there, but being a moderator is one thing, and being a "good" moderator is another. I've been moderating on several forums now for some time, and am a senior moderator on one of the forums I frequent most. Usually you ask if you can be a moderator, or in many cases are asked by the Admins or staff if you would like to moderate, mainly due to your knowledge and activities on the forum. In asking you, the Admins then become dependant on you as a moderator to make the correct and sensible decisions at all times.

Moderating is not just a matter of looking for profanities or items that may offend other members, but having the forethought to be able to read a thread and see a little way into the future and know if this thread is going to cause a problem that may effect the smooth running of the forum. A few harsh words may be the only signal you get at this time, so if you are wise in your decision, you would post a small polite warning that will let the members involved know that you are monitoring the situation, and it also allows them to cool down slightly and reconsider what they may have said. Saying.."Come on you guys, cool it down a bit" is far better than saying, "Look you two… I'm watching you so you'd better stop it." Use a bit of diplomacy… read the thread carefully to see which way it is heading, and study the members, know their characters if possible, and try to feel if the situation is going to explode, and "always" be polite in your warnings. By reading the thread carefully you may be able to discretely divert the subject by mentioning something else that may be related to the topic, but avoid direct confrontations where you might get pulled into a heavy debate.

Watch out for the ones that "fly in" and spam the site with multiple postings showing their link, which may be a commercial one and not fish related, then they "fly out" and disappear, never to be seen again. You may also get the obvious "manure stirrers" that arrive at the site with one thing in mind, and that is to start trouble by various means. Their whole object here is to usually degrade the site in some way. This is usually apparent in their first posts due to their attitude towards the members or the site, so these should be watched. You also get the members that have a bad reputation, so they enroll by a different name, or several different names, in order to "cover their tracks" so to speak. Many sites only allow one alias per member, so you should watch out for these, as the person in question may have been banned from the site. Again, reading the posts these people make will quickly tell you who they "really" are. There is little action you can take against this, unless the member has been previously banned, so it is best in these situations (if you have proof of this) to inform your advisors.

If you moderate forums "X" and "Y", and do this in conjunction with other moderators, don't rely on them by thinking, "Oh, it'll be ok, because so and so will have checked this". You have been given a responsibility, and that responsibility is to check "all" forums you moderate for infringements in new posts. Work together, share the load, but don't neglect your duties as a moderator.

Your position as a moderator may be a joint one, along with sometimes many others that cover the same forums as you do. One major rule in moderating is never to over-rule a decision made by another moderator on the open forum.

By this I mean… If moderator "one" takes action against a post or thread, then moderator "two" should not over-ride that decision just because they think "their" opinion is the correct one. The Senior Moderators or the Admins can of course do this if they feel the action taken was an incorrect one, and this is sometimes unavoidable, but generally the senior staff would inform the moderator in private regarding the matter. Never allow your personal feelings about another moderator or member affect the decisions that you might make. Allowing this to happen will become like a disease inside you, and because you have these harsh or bad feelings against someone, they will certainly hinder your judgment in taking any actions as a moderator, so clear you mind of your personal feelings first, before taking any action.

The open forum is "not" the place to discuss your grievances with a fellow moderator, and should be kept away from the open forum and discussed in private. Any grievances that occur between moderators that are made public on the open forum create a bad image, not only for the moderators in general, but for the whole site. Visitors arriving for the first time are usually instantly put off by this type of thing, and invariably never return once they leave. Resident members also see this, and if it happens on a regular basis, again will invariably find another site to frequent.

As a moderator you become an ambassador for that site, and should promote it to the best of your abilities at all times. You can do this by working with other moderators as a team, and by helping the members in any way you can. You don't have to answer every post in an attempt to look good or feel good, just be there if you are needed, and help out if you can. A good start to this is by making all newcomers welcome, which is a thing in my view that is neglected on many sites. Nothing makes a new member feel "more at home" than a good rousing welcome from the other members and moderators, so by doing this you are creating an image that all newcomers like to see. Make "your" posts mean something, and avoid "one liners" that have no substance.

We don't have to go far to see the "Power Hungry" type moderators, that throw their weight around the forum because "they were here first" or they feel that "they know better than you."  These types of people are not fit to moderate in my estimation, but there seems to be many of them on the various forums. Pointing out that "you are a moderator" and "this is your forum", or "I was here before you so I'll make the decisions" is never a good policy on the open forum, and will generally cause problems and create a bad image. If you work together as a team and envisage what "really" should be done "before" you take action, then invariably your decision will be the correct one.

Finally, members sometimes look at moderators with varying degrees of either like or dislike, and it is up to you as a moderator to create the best image you can for yourself and for the benefit of the site, as your example will reflect not only on your own performance, but on other moderators and the whole forum also.

Happy Moderating Everyone.

Bill (Pegasus NZ)