yeah, it's pretty much impossible to be a moderator without having power. trying to ignore that makes your job much harder.
i'm glad my post was helpful. i learned all that stuff during about 8 years of running a board with 10k+ users. it was horrible until i finally accepted my limitations. set up clear rules with clear consequences and when they are broken make those consequences happen. listen to everything your members tell you and then do what seems best for the board. be transparent -- if you have a restricted-access area for board staff, tell your moderators to be neutral when discussing problem users; the goal is to run it so that if a member somehow got access, they wouldn't be upset at how business was being conducted.
if it's a firly big board, read a lot of posts and look for the people who seem calm and sensible and don't get pulled into flame wars. recruit them for your staff and give each responsibility for a particular part of the board. give them clear guidelines about the extent of their authority and turn them loose. the more people you have running the board (within reason), the less people will focus the hate ray on you for unpopular decisions and the more seriously people will take it when you weigh in on something.
be gentle. don't call people out in public unless you've talked to them privately and they refuse to follow the rules. don't tolerate other people calling out fellow board members. remember that for most people, even if it's not a huge board, getting a note from a mod does not feel good. i was on another forum and didn't read the rules closely enough. when i did a wrong thing, a mod sent me a polite note saying "hey, not really allowed here" and even though it wasn't a big deal i was embarrassed and upset. if that has happened in public, i would have run away and never gone back.
don't intervene in any situation unless a rule has clearly been broken, a member has reported a problem, or you believe someone is in actual danger -- not the "she might have her heart broken" kind, the "this guy is a predator" kind.
i'll stop now, but if you have any questions or want any advice, feel free to message me. and stop being paternal about women; we can take care of ourselves just fine.
"i'm glad my post was helpful. i learned all that stuff during about 8 years of running a board with 10k+ users....i'll stop now, but if you have any questions or want any advice, feel free to message me"
Helpful? available for questons?
F**** that! I just made you moderator!! I need you to come in and fix this mess!!!! (1)
i have not made a single post on "my community" for 35 days.
i'm gonna just chill and think about al this for a bit.
EDIT TO ADD: I don't want to come back to my community pretending to be a leader. I need to step up OR back off and let someone else do it.
(1) this is a joke. I'm actually very speechless. as much as i respect and appreciate what "sine" is bringing here i do not wish to suggest that anyone has a majic wand. that someone can jump in time machine and correct my shortcomings from 6 years ago.
i'm glad my post was helpful. i learned all that stuff during about 8 years of running a board with 10k+ users. it was horrible until i finally accepted my limitations. set up clear rules with clear consequences and when they are broken make those consequences happen. listen to everything your members tell you and then do what seems best for the board. be transparent -- if you have a restricted-access area for board staff, tell your moderators to be neutral when discussing problem users; the goal is to run it so that if a member somehow got access, they wouldn't be upset at how business was being conducted.
if it's a firly big board, read a lot of posts and look for the people who seem calm and sensible and don't get pulled into flame wars. recruit them for your staff and give each responsibility for a particular part of the board. give them clear guidelines about the extent of their authority and turn them loose. the more people you have running the board (within reason), the less people will focus the hate ray on you for unpopular decisions and the more seriously people will take it when you weigh in on something.
be gentle. don't call people out in public unless you've talked to them privately and they refuse to follow the rules. don't tolerate other people calling out fellow board members. remember that for most people, even if it's not a huge board, getting a note from a mod does not feel good. i was on another forum and didn't read the rules closely enough. when i did a wrong thing, a mod sent me a polite note saying "hey, not really allowed here" and even though it wasn't a big deal i was embarrassed and upset. if that has happened in public, i would have run away and never gone back.
don't intervene in any situation unless a rule has clearly been broken, a member has reported a problem, or you believe someone is in actual danger -- not the "she might have her heart broken" kind, the "this guy is a predator" kind.
i'll stop now, but if you have any questions or want any advice, feel free to message me. and stop being paternal about women; we can take care of ourselves just fine.
Reply
Helpful? available for questons?
F**** that! I just made you moderator!! I need you to come in and fix this mess!!!! (1)
i have not made a single post on "my community" for 35 days.
i'm gonna just chill and think about al this for a bit.
EDIT TO ADD: I don't want to come back to my community pretending to be a leader. I need to step up OR back off and let someone else do it.
(1) this is a joke. I'm actually very speechless. as much as i respect and appreciate what "sine" is bringing here i do not wish to suggest that anyone has a majic wand. that someone can jump in time machine and correct my shortcomings from 6 years ago.
Reply
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