How do you become Moderators?

[Hungarian21]

I'm not saying I want to be a moderator, its not that I dont, but I'm not sure what comes with it, and I'm kind of busy with college. Anyway, I was just wondering how you become one; do you mail the administrator, or reach a certain amount of posts? Just wondering. :happy:

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

Well, this would differ site to site. But its mostly by an evaluation of your record, activity and how you carry yourself in key situations and your ability to handle them. Its not something that should be determined by just one instance or a few, but derived from an evaluation that has been reoccuring since this member joined.

What have they done in this time?

Overall, there is no single attribute than an honest adminstrator should be looking for, but rather several. If it was just one attribute then many more would qualify than actually should and we'd have more people in authoritive positions than necessary.

I think its a combination of how the candidate has technically proven themselves, and what type of person they are. If they're unreliable, they're wasting space and abilities better suited to someone who can put them to better use.

And then of course theres the issue of what type of authority or position to give them.Theres different levels of that and different people that would be ideal for the varying positions.

A trend more and more common is the popular vote. Wherein people simply vote for who they want to lead them. This itself is a bag of mixed results and allows for too many loopholes and personal bias to get in the way. I don't recommend it.

In the end, it should be the adminstrator making this decision based only on what he/she wants and feels. Listening to what the people want is fine and including them is fine, but they're influenced by many elements. The call of the adminstrator is to be able to make these types of decisions without giving in to influence.

I've seen alot of site owners lose respect and legitimacy over this very issue, and its pathetic. If only they had listened to themselves before the whimsical demands of the lot. I've seen sites go under because the leaders basically allowed the members to run things, and make pretty much every decision that needed an opinion. Theirs were taken as absolute in place of the staff even, all in an effort to appease the members and keep them coming.

I think, in the end, you have to weigh what the site needs versus what it wants. A balance must be found, and that would be true for modship.

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

Also, an admin who is planning ahead has to ask him/herself what TYPE of moderators they want to help them. Its a give and take experience with this.

Do you want the mods to be different, each bringing something unique to the table but having to accept that they may disagree and do things differently at times? Do you believe this kind of staff is more well-rounded and each staffer fills a role or compensates for what other staffers may lack (and vice-versa) and by being this way, it results in more teamwork?

Or are you the type who wants all of your mods to be the same? That is to say, do you want them all to follow the exact same path in an effort to get them to come to the same conclusions and you will only appoint moderators who all generally fall under the same consensus? Do you want to sacrifice some of those unique qualities for a more easily discerned choice or decision for/about the site? Obviously if all the staffers are trained/asked/told to act/be a certain way, then theres little to discuss, but how many missed opportunities were there.

Being that this is a fetish forum, I'd say it should be the first option. The second is fine in it's own way, but it's not necessary for this type of site.

 

[Hungarian21]

WOw.......well said! 😀 How do you know all that? Are you guessing, or are you by any chance a moderator somewhere?

 

[BigNorm]

let's see, i'm on everyday, i'm fair, nice, a gentleman.

*hint hint* :tounge:

 

[MistressValerie1]

At my groups and mini-forum, I appoint moderators with different skills and backgrounds to create a highly diverse team. I keep a running list of future candidates based on (1) contributions to the community, (2) integrity, (3) tactfulness, and (4) availability. I give extra points for having strong computer skills and being able to communicate in a foreign language.

Although I don't use a quota system, I like to have staff of various nationalities and political persuasions. I discuss probable candidates with my groups' co-owner, and we usually set numerical membership targets for adding additional moderators.

 

[nessonite1]

The ability to maintain the standards of the forum and the ability to visit regularly are the main criterea. Fairness, good judgment, honesty...these things are also important. You also have to be completely trustworthy.
Each person who becomes a moderator or admin on any forum is chosen for their own individual reasons so it's not like you just fill out a form and you're either selected or rejected by a computer somewhere.
I'm a mod here and now on the ATF. It's not a lot of work, per se, but it is a lot of responsibility. Don't lust after the job too much, normie and hungarian. It's not all lights and glamor and fancy parties. =^_^=

 

[alf1]

Well, since some times i notices that there's one moderator left, and TT himself seemed to have disseparead into real life 😛 . But it seeems the forum moderation is well done so he don't show up much.

 

[Hungarian21]

Don't lust after the job too much, normie and hungarian. It's not all lights and glamor and fancy parties. =^_^=

:happy: But can we still try? 😀 Anyway, thanx, its been a question on the tip of my modified mind (modified by video games.😛). Just wondering, JUST wondering.....XD

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

WOw.......well said! 😀 How do you know all that? Are you guessing, or are you by any chance a moderator somewhere?

Thank you. :happy:

I know of all this from personal experience. To answer your question, I have been/am in different authoritive positions on different sites of varying natures. I am/have been a basic moderator, super moderator (a term that is used to discribe someone who is above a standard moderator but below administrator), administrator, and I've even been a co-owner and co-founder of a few sites and groups. All of them were different types of sites for different types of things, ranging from anime, to religion, to politics, to this type of thing.

So, I know what it's like to serve on these different levels of authority and responsibility, and I've been in both common, uncommon, unique, rare, and even unpredictable situations. I'm quite proud of all of this. 😀

You asked....so...😛

 

[Hungarian21]

Do we have super and standard moderators here? And what happened to our fellow Administrator? I only see traces of him, from 1-2 year old threads; is alf's opinion true? Did he really just move on?

 

[nessonite1]

The admin comes and goes. I guess we see a bit more of him than you do cause he posts in the staff forums and therefor doesnt seem quite as absent. LOL where did you get the idea that there is only 1 mod left, alf? There are three of us plus one overseeing each artist forum plus those in the RP forum. Things run pretty smoothly, I think. I'm rather proud of the membership here for not requiring heavy handed modding. ^^

 

[cosquillero1]

The admin comes and goes. I guess we see a bit more of him than you do cause he posts in the staff forums and therefor doesnt seem quite as absent. LOL where did you get the idea that there is only 1 mod left, alf? There are three of us plus one overseeing each artist forum plus those in the RP forum. Things run pretty smoothly, I think. I'm rather proud of the membership here for not requiring heavy handed modding. ^^

Excuse me nessonite, what's the RP forum ?.

 

[Hungarian21]

Republican People.😛

 

[Kalamos]

Role Playing.

 

[cosquillero1]

Role Playing.

Thanks you Kalamos.

 

[Kalamos]

Well... it's my forum, I should know!

[Mine and Cassandra's... I'd never want boundless power to rule them all...]

😀 😀 😀

 

[Timewarp]

and I complete fail every standard set forth by everyone.

(Free post +1)

 

[Duke Diablo]

How do you become a mod, hungarian? Well, it's pretty simple: Admin makes you one. 😀

Now, on a more serious note, when I make people mods, I mostly look out for the types who are there a lot, keep an eye on the latest events, are friendly and helpfull, don't misuse the power given to them as mods, know a bit about computers and forums, don't cross the road until the little man shows green, sacrifice chicken on regular basis, act as demons in at least 6th circle of hell..... Hmm, maybe I got too carried away.

 

[alf1]

LOL where did you get the idea that there is only 1 mod left, alf?

well that's due to mispelling of course 😛 .... by left i mean : gone of course, you should have noticed it instead of asking so stuuuuuuuupid questions !!!!! 🙂 😉
it's exotickle who gave up i saw

 

[Kalamos]

Technically speaking it's surprising they gave me a forum to manage.

...

 

[Faramir]

I'm an "Assist" on an MSN group. I didn't ask to be, nor did I really want to be ... I was just made one! I gather I was made one because I've been an avid fan (and now friend) of the subject person of this group for many years.

 

[Hungarian21]

ok, many of you mentioned the stuff needed to become mods; but what happens if you .....I guess missunderstood someone, and they do use their power irrisponsibly?(sorry about sp.🙂) Can you remove them if they do bad? Do mods have the power or right to remove other mods? :question:

I know, I'm a question bombarder, :happy:, but they dont teach everything in school.😛

 

[Kalamos]

The worst a mod can do is ban users. Even then, no big deal: posts don't disappear, accounts can be restored in a wink.

I mean... this is just a forum. You don't kill real people when you ban an account, nor you're stuffing a cloth down their throat when you delete posts.

It's not like mods can grab a stick and track down users, and exact private bludgeoning revenge.

...

I *would* do that, though, that's why nobody would risk and give me full mod powers.

 

[nessonite1]

Moderators can't ban other moderators. If Kalamos were to run around and be a rampant shithead I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Only the admin can do that. But that is why mods are chosen very carefully so it is unlikely that those chosen would do something worth being banned for.
Everyone is entitled to a few mistakes. We're certainly not above human error by any means. If one of us deleted something that shouldn't be deleted or otherwise makes a bad judgment the other mods are free to step in to discuss it and/or reverse the decision.