Forum moderators.

Started by Nick October 27th, 2011 7:14 AM
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Nick

Seen 4 Weeks Ago
Posted July 28th, 2021
17,572 posts
18.6 Years
What do you think the most important job of a forum moderator is? Not just moderators here, but on other sites you may go to. If you're a moderator anywhere else, what is it that you try to do above and beyond anything else that you think is important enough for other moderators in your community (and other communities as well) to do?

Sweet Candace

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Age 30
Male
Somewhere; maybe over a rainbow.
Seen August 26th, 2012
Posted August 20th, 2012
5,282 posts
16.1 Years
What do you think the most important job of a forum moderator is? Not just moderators here, but on other sites you may go to. If you're a moderator anywhere else, what is it that you try to do above and beyond anything else that you think is important enough for other moderators in your community (and other communities as well) to do?
Keep the forum's environment safe, fun and happy for everyone who joins up and posts.

Nihilego

[color=#95b4d4]ユービーゼロイチ パラサイト[/color]

Male
scotland
Seen September 28th, 2018
Posted March 16th, 2018
8,874 posts
12.1 Years
Depends on which site it is and what the memberbase is like, as well as how it's run. If I was a moderator on here, for example, I'd want to be setting a standard for the section by making what I consider to be good posts and sorting out rule-breaking ones. On another forum I'm actually staff on, my main priority is to check and activate user accounts since I'm an admin and so not tied to any one forum. To be honest I wouldn't go around deliberately helping out the new members because getting used to a new forum isn't really something that's taught. If they were to come to me then that's fine but I won't go to them all "OMG YOU'RE NEW CAN I HELP YOU???".

As for keeping the forum fun and all, while the moderators are usually the ones who host the events and hand out the rewards and stuff, it's not just up to the mods. Members can always hold events too (or at least suggest them). Moderator ≠ babysitter.

And yeah obviously enforce the rules if you're on the type of community which seems constantly unable to follow them. ~_~
s͎̭̚ ̪ͭͩy͔͚̰̻̗̩̺ͣ́ͨ̌͡ ̩̳̙̖̖̺͡m̷̱̘͎̝̘̣͒͌͒̚ ͇͖̔̐̔b̝̪͚̞̦ͬ ̢͔̱̟̞̝͙̮͌̅̈̓̿̿i͐̈̃͊ͯ̎҉̟̠͓ ͕̥̣̪̠̃͑͞ỏ̵͕̠̱̬̬̞͛̋ ̨͈̻̱̟̱͓̪n͒̒͂͊̀ ̻̰̰̜̅̃͒̂͞tͭ̍̈́ ͙͇̘͕͍̜̖ͫ̌̊̿ͫ̂̀:̵̾͒̔͂ ̟͉̜̽͒͌͜p͎͇͎̦̺̙͒͆͋́ͅ ̨̠̠̘͚͖̺ͫ͛̎̉a̲͍̫͖͗̄ ͓͖͍̯̤̼͙̿̆̂̂̄r̬̟̮͖̥̼̆̓͑̃̾ͬ̉͟ͅ ̬̼̗͊͛a̛̯̮ ̮̬͍̙̮̤́ͪŝ͊ͬ̒̎̃ ̧̝̮͎͙͆̓ì͈̹̻̱̾͝ ̘͉͕̭̊ͤ̉̓tͩͯ̉̐ͨͬ̚͏̻̺̖̮ ̞̘͂̋̋ͯ͑ͦ͗e̞͔̎̇ͫ͊͗

Dawn

Queen of Magical Girls

She/Her
East Coast, USA
Seen 20 Hours Ago
Posted December 13th, 2022
4,594 posts
14.7 Years
Ultimately it can either be one of two things depending on the type of forum. It's either about making sure the members enjoy themselves, or it's about security, so to speak. Either way, both are extremely important parts of the job in any type of forum.
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[1] Hisui Legends

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Age 32
Male
Australia
Seen October 17th, 2020
Posted December 21st, 2017
8,958 posts
12.3 Years
I'd say a moderateor's job varies depending on the kind of forum they moderate. On PC, the things the mods have to do would vary greatly. In the more discussion-oriented areas I'd say that the main job is to act as a drama-slayer and in the more activity-based areas it's more about controlling spam and keeping the place clean.

I only really have PC as a basis for comparison, it's the second forum I've ever belonged to and I wasn't really all that aware of the mods in my first forum.
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Hikamaru

Age 30
Female
Australia
Seen January 24th, 2019
Posted September 4th, 2018
50,214 posts
12.2 Years
The most important jobs of a forum mod are to help new users in need, make sure everyone follows the rules and to make the forum itself a fun place to be in.
He is right, mods and other staff need to keep the site in good shape.

If I were to be a moderator here in the future, I'd keep watch on all the new users who come along and show them the rules.
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Truality

Left for good

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Seen May 17th, 2013
Posted December 4th, 2012
1,006 posts
11.8 Years
Imo the most important job of a moderator is their basic one; moderating the forum posts/threads. Helping users, keeping a good, welcoming atmosphere and go-happy stuff can all come after that.

I'm a super moderator on a gaming forum and I know all too well that, especially if the forum is busy and loaded with new stuff, I prefer to prioritize forum moderation over being too attentive towards other users.
This is my December . . .

-Jared-

Certified Responsible Adult

Age 31
Male
Northern California
Seen June 16th, 2022
Posted June 14th, 2014
1,817 posts
14.2 Years
I feel that actual moderating of posts and helping members should be about equal in terms of importance, and should both be of the highest priority. Promoting activity, and creating welcoming and happy atmosphere come after that.

Of course, no actual effective moderator experience means my ideals may be a little off for what reality entails. xD

Kura

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Age 33
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London, UK (orig. Toronto, Canada)
Seen August 30th, 2021
Posted August 24th, 2021
10,993 posts
18.7 Years
Basically to ensure that people don't act like pricks to each other <3 That is the most important goal <333
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Yoshikko

the princess has awoken while the prince sleeps on

Female
Seen April 27th, 2020
Posted February 6th, 2020
3,065 posts
11.8 Years
To enforce the rules and keep a safe environment for everyone; new and experienced users, and to set an example really. Moderators are rolemodels.

Mr Cat Dog

Frasier says it best

Age 32
Male
London, UK
Seen September 29th, 2017
Posted July 12th, 2017
11,344 posts
19.1 Years
I guess I see my role here as made up of three separate components:

1) Enforcement: If rules are broken within my section, I need to deal with it. Same with other mods in other sections.
2) Activity: Fostering continued activity through direct action or encouragement.
3) Atmosphere: Keeping a non-hostile posting environment and advertising the section to others.

As well as that, I've always felt that mods (and forum staff in general) should conduct themselves in a relatively professional manner in pretty much everything they do within the forum. I don't mean they need to always write in perfectly grammatical sentences and can never express opinions... I guess I just mean that mods need to set a good example, especially for new members unaccustomed to the ways that forums work, so to speak. But that's just me.

Wings Don't Cry

Maybe she's born with it

Age 28
New Zealand
Seen January 24th, 2020
Posted May 19th, 2016
1,939 posts
14.7 Years
I know helping members and actually moderating sections of forums is an important part of their job but I always thought the most important one was setting a good example for the other members. If the staff starts to slip up on the rules and just having a bad attitude and inappropriate behavior then the members will feel it's okay to break the rules.

So I always thought the most important thing for a moderator to do is to make sure they're setting a good example for all the other members.

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parallelzero

chelia.blendy

Age 32
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Posted May 20th, 2013
14,627 posts
19.3 Years
The most important job of a staff member is to be all evil and scary looking! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!*

*actual statement may not be an accurate representation of real opinion

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Overlord Drakow

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Seen November 6th, 2019
Posted November 5th, 2019
3,654 posts
15.6 Years
The most important job of a staff member is to be all evil and scary looking! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!*

*actual statement may not be an accurate representation of real opinion
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Hmm I think the most important aspect of a staff member is to keep things running as smoothly as possible.
Age 28
Seen July 16th, 2012
Posted July 15th, 2012
2,420 posts
11.6 Years
I do think that being a Forum Moderator is a very difficult job, you need to be as perfect as you can be seeing the members look up to you, you have to be the role model amongst them. You also need to build up and maintain a healthy atmosphere for the members to enjoy interacting with one another, and most of all a rule-enforcer. :')

Aquacorde

⟡ not everything is sink or swim ⟡

Age 29
she/her/he/him
Ankh-Morpork
Seen 22 Hours Ago
Posted 2 Days Ago
12,277 posts
18.9 Years
The most important job of a moderator is to help users in need of assistance while maintaining a kind, tolerant, calm and patient attitude. Really they should be representing the better qualities of PC as a whole.
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