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Question: What does it take to be a Moderator?

The Void

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I'm just curious... how does one become a Moderator? In some forums, an election is held and members vote for the Moderator. In others, loyalty makes a member a Mod, like in Bulbapedia.

So I'm just wondering, how do you become an Moderator here?
 
Zeffy

Zeffy

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THE FAQ said:
Moderators are reviewed and selected by the higher staff. As with many forums, the general rule of thumb is "do not ask to be a mod or you will not become one." Anyway, moderators are chosen for their assets to the forum. If you would like to be a potential candidate, be sure to be kind, helpful, and make smart, quality posts. Don't spam and respect all those around you. When a moderator is needed in one of the areas you are constantly active in, you may be asked.
A moderator's job includes, but is not limited to, moving and closing threads, as well as editing any inappropriate ones. There is, however, much more to it than that. You must be mature and non-biased at all times and you cannot let your feelings on a certain topic influence your judgment. You must be fair to every member, no matter who, and it can even become a chore to come on each day whether you want to or not. It really can be quite stressful, so be sure you can handle this before you aspire to be one right away.
Click to expand...
Got that from the FAQ. :)
But to simply put it: be a good member and always follow the rules and report them rule breakers. That should do it, I think. :)
 

Nick

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The FAQ doesn't go into very good detail and doesn't answer the question how the best it could.

Read this to find out more! It's a long blog entry, but many who have read it have found it worth the read, and have a place on staff! I hope you take the time to read it and find it to be helpful, since that's what I wrote it for. :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Taemin

Taemin

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What that blog is gonna tell you, is that it's not easy to be on staff, nor to be picked. At least not on PC, since I'm sure other forums might not make it into as big of a deal. xD; Though, if you're aiming for it, then best of luck, dude.
 

The Void

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Ohhhh............ the part in FAQ which said "it can be really tiring" kind of discouraged me. But then again, with great power comes with great responsibility, eh? (Somebody's watched too much Spiderman XD)

Wow, that was a great blog! XD You just litereally said everything you see when you become a Moderator! Nice one XD
 

Spectrum

In need of an oil change
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I remember the old days of PC when we had races to see who could get modded the fastest. Most of us (including myself) were mods for a few months before being demoted, some of us (also including myself) were arrogant and got ourselves banned... ahh, good old times. :P

I can definitely give you advice on how to get the position, but as far as keeping it goes, I'm not the one to ask, hahah.

For starters, you want to be quite active in a section that will need mods soon. Don't pick a forum that has no mods currently (if there are any?), because there is likely a few candidates already lined up. Show respect for all members... this is harder than you would think. There are plenty of people who will get under your skin, but like a real job, you need to suck it up and deal with them, because they come to you to resolve conflicts.

Be helpful, especially towards mods. Report posts, and let the mods handle the explanations. There is nothing more frustrating to a mod than a member who speaks on their behalf. At the same time, don't report everything in sight, start with the obvious things (spambots, porn etc.) and leave the more complicated reports alone. Over time, you'll get a sense of what's considered unacceptable behaviour, and should be reported.

Another thing to consider is your age. You could probably get away with modding Other Trivia at a younger age, but try modding Community Questions or Other Chat, and you will probably lack the experience to handle the heated discussions that can sometimes occur in those forums (though I'm not sure if these still happen).

People will treat you differently when you become a mod. Imagine walking around the street with a sign on your head that says "I give $1000 to my friends." You will make a lot of friends, to put it nicely. You will also make a lot of enemies, people who have aversion to authority, who will troll you in ways you have never imagined before... but luckily those people are few and far between.

Of course I have to mention the post-promotion buzz. It's overwhelming bliss, and you will never forget it. You find yourself being welcomed into this lucrative community, with messages ranging from congratulations to flat-out worship, but most importantly, you now have something to show for your efforts in making the community a cleaner, friendlier place.

That's really what modding comes down to: making PC a better place. And there's no reason you need a blue name to help improve PC. If you want to do what mods do, start now.
 

FreakyLocz14

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From what I understand, there is no set criteria that us non-mods know about. The upper staff selects them when they are needed. Generally, being well-acquainted with a certain area of the forums, the ability to not let personal feelings get in the way of fair modding, and also the ability to be online quite often are good qualities for a moderator.

There are no elections, other than inner voting among the upper staff. I'm not sure what you mean by loyalty, but I'll also add that donating money doesn't bolster your chances.
 
Taemin

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^ Guessing that 'loyalty' fits in there with dedication. Which is always a deciding factor. :D
 

The Void

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Alright, one more question: What if you're a Moderator and you're inactive?
And what if you don't wanna receive any payment? Is that fine?
 

Ho-Oh

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dragon456 said:
Alright, one more question: What if you're a Moderator and you're inactive?
And what if you don't wanna receive any payment? Is that fine?
Click to expand...

Well, firstly, it's not a good idea to double post here. Just delete your last post and then repost. :3

As for being inactive, it depends. If you're going to be inactive, you could mention to an upper staff member, or post about it that you're going on a "leave of absence" and if you're going to be inactive for a while, then you mention that you want a "demoted leave of absence" which means you're basically free to return whenever you want, but overall, you have no moderator permissions at that time. As for being inactive in general and not taking an loa or a dloa, it depends on how inactive you are. If people are really inactive then well, they'll probably get fired, but as long as we keep up to date with modwork and post in our sections a few times a week or something along those lines we're generally fine. So yeah it really depends on the extent of inactivity.

Uhhh, mods don't get paid for modding. So. :x
 
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