Question for mods about being a mod

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Hi,

My bf has been asked to be a mod on a forum and is not sure what being a mod intails. I know that the mods on WP are really good so I just thought I'd ask here for him.

What are the things expected from a mod and what are the best ways of dealing with issues (ex. rule breaking etc.)?

Thanks for your time and I hope I put this in the right forum.

I am a rookie moderator with only a few days' experience at that, but my overall experience on forums suggests expectations can vary greatly from one forum to the next. Overall, however, moderators seem to be responsible for keeping things running along smoothly.


My own approach is mostly only theoretical so far, but I intend to stay out of "story problems" (dramas) and just deal with people individually and in the same way I want others to deal with me: honestly and straight-up ... and I get my role model from an old movie called "Road House" where rule #1 is to "Be nice" and to not start anything inside the place.

Edit: To help with my own getting broken in here, I would appreciate hearing what anyone/everyone else here on WP would say as to expectations of a moderator and how problems should be handled.

...And accidentally removing bits of posts

OP, mods basically see when a member breaks the rules, takes care of the offending post, then warns the member. Exactly how this is carried out will depend on the rules of the specific forum and the severity of the offense committed by the member.

Yes ... I use the "Edit" button a lot in my own posts, and that has occasionally led to even messing up some of my own! But after goofing up one of yours and one other one, I now watch very closely to be sure I use the "Quote" button instead.

Oh, the coveted internet moderator position. congratulations~

Ive been a moderator before. and loved locking topics, since my life was dull it gave me something to look forward too.

excuse me while I wollow in the past,

I was once a moderator, a long time ago. That was before a friendship went sour and I started acting like a punk.

Awww, you werent a punk. I thought you did a great job!

You're right. I was a 60s Mod in black leather armor and a green wig.

Thank you.

you're welcome.

I'm not a mod on here, but I am a mod elsewhere. Two things that I think are important about being a mod are handling conflict without fighting back and further provoking trolls (just ban them and don't let their insults get to you) and being on the particular site VERY often. If you aren't 100% devoted to a site, if you aren't known by many people as one of the most active users, don't sign up to be a mod!
-OddDuckNash99-

I used to be a mod on some sites/groups a few years ago & I was made a mod on another forum recently but I'm NOT a mod here. The mod duties can very a lot depending on the forum & what expertise/skills members have. Some mods deal with the code stuff like layouts, bugs/glitches ect. I know very little about code stuff & barely know ho to use it in post. What I did was dealing with the post & members. I moved post that were in the wrong sections, banned spammers, dealt with trolls, edited or deleted post that were screwed-up, answered members questions about the site & assisted em with site problems. I also came up with ideas & made suggestions to the admin & other mods. I was sort of a liaison between the members & the the mods/admins who ran the site. I freed up their time some so they could do more skilled stuff. I had OCD & a lot of time

I's always said is just don't let it get to your head. Think before you say something and don't say a lot that you can't retract. Oh and like others have said: try to hit the quote button not the edit button. It makes things a lot less confusing. It also helps to know when a private message is needed or when it is okay to speak about something on the public forums. A lot of it is just judging a situation.

Good stuff. It's also good to answer questions & reply to PMs & post addressed to you in a timely manor. Some mods tend to stick in the background & aren't to active in dealing with other members. Having a more hands off approach can lead to problems with trolls & flame wars start

Some random observations:

Moderating takes a lot of time on a site this size. There are slow days and hectic days. It can be quite stressful at times. A difficult part of moderating is seeing the "shades of grey" when dealing with issues and with members. Not everything is black and white.

It can also be quite a thankless task. Most members respond well when it is pointed out to them that they are breaking the site rules one way or another, some get stroppy about it, some try to play mind games or pass the blame, some get downright offensive and get banned. Some members try to push the site rules to the limit e.g. regarding personal attacks or making sarcastic comments. Everyone is different and needs to be handled differently.

Moderating can be rewarding helping the site and members to be content and free from the fear of attacks by other members or trolls. Moderating can be a pain when getting abuse from troublesome or banned members. Some can get downright nasty.

Some tasks are just tedious, like moving threads posted in the wrong forum and deleting spam posts.

One unpleasant task is trying to mediate between members when they have a fall-out. Trying to separate and calm down members who are in a verbal punch up, or members who bring problems from outside of WP here with them and start fighting over them.

Sometimes a moderator needs a delicate touch but a thick skin. Other days needs to act decisively and swing the banhammer.

At the end of every day a moderator needs to let all this go and forget the site completely and get on with their own life or the site will consume them.

I am guilty in few of those. I have argued with mods on two other places regarding rules. On AFF I thought it was someone who set me up and it turned out she handed everyone warnings for the drama on the forum they were involved in so I apologized after seeing I over reacted. It was nothing to do with this one user I had issues with regarding my first warning I got over there. There really are no rules spelled out there. It's based on common sense I bet. There is no post there that have a list of rules for the place like this place does.

Then on another forum it was over an avatar. They decided to make a new rule about copyrighted avatars and they said it's never been allowed but why did they let me have my avatars in the first place? It made me mad because of it, why did they always let me have one if it has never been allowed? I saw other users with them too. So I haven't used an avatar since.

Even on here when I got a PM about a post I made in December 2009 and it got seen as a personal attack. I said it wasn't intended as one and it was something I did for fun. I never like it when people read my intentions wrong and thinking I did something intentionally. So I always feel I have to explain myself so they know. If I don't think I did an attack or if I think mine got mistaken for one, I explain myself. I am not doing it to be stroppy or to play any games or to blow anyone off.

Okay I have my sense of humor too and I have also noticed how humor can be seen as an attack when it's not. I can't remember how many times I would joke about something and then end up going back a few minutes later deleting that post thinking it might be mistaken as a personal attack. Sometimes I wonder if it's possible some of my jokes may have crossed the line here and I didn't even know it. My mom has told me sometimes my humor is hurtful or sarcasm so it's possible I have done it here too. Then I notice (IRL) I get defensive when people tell me what I said was hurtful or rude. Because I don't think what I did was hurtful and I don't understand why they are upset about it. So I get all black and white about it by going "I don't want to talk to you ever again."

I just remember on an adult forum I did an autism joke and I got a PM from the mod telling me he changed the word to stupid and there are autistic people on the forum and he didn't want them to get offended. I said back "I am not allowed to make fun of my condition?" I felt pissed he changed my post because I am not entitled to make fun of myself? Why would other autistics get offended for another autistic poking fun at their own condition? I think the admin was just being silly. But it was his forum so what could I have done about it? Nothing.

I often fear my intentions get misread here even though I have not gotten a PM from any mods yet regarding rules, not since March or April when I called myself an a hole. I have no idea how to communicate with the mods without being mistaken for blowing them off or being stroppy or playing games. I suppose let them be wrong about me? Pretend I understand?