Comments on: Should you interview potential moderators?

By: Martin Reed - Blog Author

Martin Reed - Blog Author — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:09:44 +0000

Chris - I am glad you found the article useful. I have written a few other articles about choosing and developing moderators that you may find helpful: How to recruit forum moderators Keep your moderators personal but identifiable Always avoid repressing your members Ensure your moderators work as a team Should you pay your forum moderators? How to effectively moderate forums Getting more from your moderators I hope these links help - if you would like to see an article on something in particular, let me know!

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 04:10:05 +0000

This is very useful advice, and will hopefully give me more insight in choosing a new moderator. You see, my site is new, too new to attract a steady flow of new users. However, looking into these sort of things will allow the board to look more prepared and professional.

By: Martin Reed

Martin Reed — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 18:16:36 +0000

Smiley – that’s great that things are working out so well with your new moderator.

Having him move questionable posts to a specific area for you to review is a great idea and allows you to better teach your new moderator just what is and what is not, acceptable in your community.

By: Smiley

Smiley — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:56:15 +0000

I don’t think he has lost interest, as his posts are still of high quality. But he has followed me from 2 different communities, and when he posts, HE POSTS, 300+ posts every time he logs in. It’s hard to think of new threads after a while!

Plus, he is the type who likes the titles. So, if you have a nice attractive title for someone who posts a lot, he’ll go for it. Like I said in another post of yours, the number of posts have dramatically dropped since I got rid of standardized titles.

I agree with your view that spam control should come first. This is exactly what I’ve told him. Any abusive or ‘bad’ posts that he feels requires deletion, I’ve instructed him simply to MOVE to a hidden section of the forums, where I can review myself later on and decide whether to move it back or edit. I’ve explained that his main priority is simply to delete spam posts.

If a new user logs onto your forums to find 2-3 spam posts, they are obviously going to think the forums are neglected and not bother!

Since I made him mod I’ve noticed him logging in more often and making a bigger effort thinking of new topics, though!

By: Martin Reed

Martin Reed — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 17:35:25 +0000

Layouts – I am glad you found the article useful

Smiley – It may be a worry that your potential new moderator has stopped posting of late; perhaps he has lost interest in your community.

On the other hand, promoting the user to moderator status may encourage them to get involved again.

In any case, yes – you should choose users who you are confident will continue to add content and value to your community but remember that quantity does not always mean quality!

By: Smiley

Smiley — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 07:00:21 +0000

I needed a moderator for my message boards as spammers are hitting it in large numbers this past few days as I’ve had a surge in Yahoo ranks.

I simply went for the poster I’ve known the longest and who I felt was the most loyal.

He hasn’t been posting as much lately and he is my strongest poster, he posts more than all the others put together, so I had a hidden agenda – hopefully making him mod will make him more dedicated and give him another kick start.

His dozens of new threads a day is what keeps the community alive at the moment whilst we’re trying to get found by users.

By: Layouts

Layouts — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 23:09:34 +0000

great post, it gives me lots to think about…thanks!

By: Martin Reed

Martin Reed — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:08:16 +0000

Hey Tim – Ah yes, our good old friend democracy, eh?!?

A moderator election sounds interesting and is similar to the process we use at Just Chat to choose new Chat Guides for our chat forums.

Interesting can mean fun, too!

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:04:34 +0000

I agree with you on about every point. In our forum we’re currently holding a referendum which could just have very weird results. (the moderator election amongst the current mods already had a rather strange result).
Note: Whatever you do… don’t use democracy, it fails…