ZacFields
03-23-2008, 04:21 PM
I've heard people commenting about how "nice" and "lax" we are with our moderating here at IAF. I guess that's a reflection on my (and many of our moderators and other admin) philosophy on moderating. I'm currently a member of a lot of other online forums, and I have to agree that our style of moderating is the way to go.
Here is my philosophy on moderating:
Rule #1: Moderating an online forum is not a prestigious job. Don't treat it like one.
Rule #2: If you're going to lock a topic, or delete a post/topic, don't talk about it; just do it. Threats like "if this topic doesn't get back on track, I'm going to start deleting posts" only makes you look like an asshole and makes people want to leave your forums.
Rule #3: Learn the difference between a simple heated argument, and an argument that is actually out of control. If everybody were required to agree on everything, and forbidden to argue, then what is the point of even having a forum?
Rule #4: Sometimes you have to ask yourself: Is this really so bad? Is my locking/deleting this topic going to change the world in some way? If the answer is no, then maybe you should just let it be.
Rule #5: We live in a free country; a democracy. Don't act surprised if people leave because you run your forums like a dictatorship. There's a reason Americans chose this type of government.
Rule #7: As a moderator, you are not any more important than anyone else on the forums. Odds are you've been here longer and were determined to be trustworthy. Don't pretend like your contributions to conversations are more significant than anyone else's.
I could go on and on. All of our moderators here at IAF understand this philosophy and they do an outstanding job of moderating by it. It sounds really harsh, but I'm a member of a sports forum that is completely off the deep end with their moderating and I've been trying to pound it into their heads ever since I got there that they need to quit acting surprised that members come in and get like 15 posts and then disappear forever. Needless to say I am in a feud with the moderators/admin out there. Maybe I need to create a "Admin Rules" as well stating that "Good advice can come from anywhere. Just because someone is a n00b on your website doesn't mean they don't know way more about running a forum than you do."
Maybe if we had 2,000 regular users we might be a little more inclined to strengthen our moderating. I don't like to delete posts and I hate the idea of locking a topic. I just like to let things be, for the most part. We've got a trash forum here where we just move posts that don't belong elsewhere. That way if you don't like it, you can stay out of there.
Here is my philosophy on moderating:
Rule #1: Moderating an online forum is not a prestigious job. Don't treat it like one.
Rule #2: If you're going to lock a topic, or delete a post/topic, don't talk about it; just do it. Threats like "if this topic doesn't get back on track, I'm going to start deleting posts" only makes you look like an asshole and makes people want to leave your forums.
Rule #3: Learn the difference between a simple heated argument, and an argument that is actually out of control. If everybody were required to agree on everything, and forbidden to argue, then what is the point of even having a forum?
Rule #4: Sometimes you have to ask yourself: Is this really so bad? Is my locking/deleting this topic going to change the world in some way? If the answer is no, then maybe you should just let it be.
Rule #5: We live in a free country; a democracy. Don't act surprised if people leave because you run your forums like a dictatorship. There's a reason Americans chose this type of government.
Rule #7: As a moderator, you are not any more important than anyone else on the forums. Odds are you've been here longer and were determined to be trustworthy. Don't pretend like your contributions to conversations are more significant than anyone else's.
I could go on and on. All of our moderators here at IAF understand this philosophy and they do an outstanding job of moderating by it. It sounds really harsh, but I'm a member of a sports forum that is completely off the deep end with their moderating and I've been trying to pound it into their heads ever since I got there that they need to quit acting surprised that members come in and get like 15 posts and then disappear forever. Needless to say I am in a feud with the moderators/admin out there. Maybe I need to create a "Admin Rules" as well stating that "Good advice can come from anywhere. Just because someone is a n00b on your website doesn't mean they don't know way more about running a forum than you do."
Maybe if we had 2,000 regular users we might be a little more inclined to strengthen our moderating. I don't like to delete posts and I hate the idea of locking a topic. I just like to let things be, for the most part. We've got a trash forum here where we just move posts that don't belong elsewhere. That way if you don't like it, you can stay out of there.