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The real purpose of forum moderators revealed
As your forum becomes popular, you will inevitably need help administering it. Many forum owners understand the need for forum moderators but few understand what their real purpose is. This article will reveal what forum moderators should be used for - follow this advice and you will have an immediate head-start over your competitors.
Forum moderators are not police officers
The biggest mistake forum owners make when taking on forum moderators is expecting them to police the community. Many see the main role of moderators as enforcers of the site rules, as people who delete posts they don’t like and lock topics the moment they run off-course. If these are the priorities of your moderators, you are doing it all wrong.
As I have said before, you must never repress your community. You must ensure that you moderate your forum effectively - this means adopting a laissez-faire approach and allowing your members a large amount of freedom. If you or your moderators crack down on members the second they step out of line, you will be sending a negative signal to your community that free speech is not tolerated on your site. You will make people nervous and discourage them from getting involved - hardly the ingredients for a successful community!
Forum moderators should promote interaction
The primary role of a forum moderator should be to promote interaction. A forum moderator should be posting new threads and adding new content to the site. They should be helping out members with their queries and they should be keeping threads alive by asking questions.
I am not saying that forum moderators shouldn’t be allowed to delete or lock threads that are inappropriate - of course this should be one of their roles. What I am saying is this should never be their primary role.
When you take on forum moderators you need to make it clear exactly what you expect from them. Most moderators see themselves as forum police officers and will only edit/delete/lock content without creating any themselves. This is a mistake - make sure your moderators know that their primary role is to encourage interaction, to encourage member involvement, and to encourage a sense of community within your forum.
Your moderators
Do you have moderators on your forum? Have you made their role clear to them? Have you advised them that their primary role should be to create content and encourage member interaction? Share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below.
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- Fantastic forum members make fantastic staff members
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December 20th, 2007 at 2:43 am
There’s only myself and one other person that moderates the forum. I don’t think we’ve deleted one post as to now.
You’re right, though. I’ve been a member of several boards where topics are deleted or locked just because someone disagreed with the moderator, or because the moderator didn’t like that person’s post.
I left those boards.. so people will do the same with yours if you act the same as the above mentioned moderators!
December 20th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Yes, Smiley has got it right. The moderator has got to understand that the role is to moderate not to be a censor!
December 20th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
I have a moderately sized niche forum (~ 3,000 members) and I disagree to a certain extent. I think there are certain topics that cause more harm than good to a community. These topics are religion and politics and I have banned them outright. Beyond that everything goes. The primary role my mod team fulfills is killing spam as it pops up.
December 21st, 2007 at 3:33 am
Actually it is more interesting when it is a little controversial and a healthy debate (as opposed to acrimonious argument) should be encouraged by a moderator rather than nipped in the bud.
December 21st, 2007 at 11:22 am
What you say as real purpose of forum moderators is absolutely true…They should really understand their role and act accordingly
December 26th, 2007 at 3:34 am
Well, I’m a moderator of a forum with about 400 active members. There are technically no rules there - the admins expect everyone to use common sense. While most people abide by that, there will be a poster every once in a while that comes around and abuses it to post whatever they feel like. The most recent incidents involved the most uncreative racial slurring I have seen in my life. His reasoning was exactly as I expected : “There are no rules, so I can post whatever I want.”
In cases like that, I see post deletion / thread closure without a word to be completely appropriate.
December 29th, 2007 at 12:04 am
[...] The real purpose of forum moderators revealed [...]
December 30th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
I agree with banning comments that are on religion, politics, and racial-ethnic slurs.
Otherwise, freedom of speech should prevail
James
December 31st, 2007 at 7:20 am
It is no doubt moderators actually play a very important role. Whether a forum will be successful or not depends on the moderators part to promote the forum and encourage positive interactions among members. Most important I believe, is to help out with members seeking help at the forum.
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Moderators are the most needed person in any forum. I got some real help from them and before that I was thinking what they can do but now I know how much they can do for the users of a forum.
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Smiley - I couldn’t agree more. I also like the fact you only have one moderator in addition to yourself - some forums have too many staff members and as a result become far too overbearing and more like a community of police officers than a community of regular people!
Ramana - You’re right; the definition is in the word ‘moderator’ not ‘oppressor’ or ‘police officer’!
Jewelry Luvr - Banning controversial subjects can be a good idea as it can prevent arguments, however a little controversy can be healthy for a community as it encourages debate and interaction. I am glad to hear that you haven’t fallen into the trap of making deleting and locking topics the primary role of your moderators.
Reena - You’re right; a little disagreement from time to time is a sign of a healthy, vibrant community. Just as long as it doesn’t degrade into downright abuse!
Sudarshan - I am glad you agree. Do you run a forum website?
Manze - I don’t think I completely agree with you on this one. Whilst your site doesn’t have any rules, you will have people that cause you problems and use the same excuse you have just mentioned. Draw up some site rules, and you will see less abuse and have more legitimacy when you need to delete or lock threads.
Live Music Los Angeles - I don’t think that controversial subjects should necessarily be banned as these help create and encourage interaction. You just need to be careful that threads on controversial subject don’t get out of hand.
Adiadi - I completely agree. Moderators represent you and how you want your community to be perceived. If your moderators are friendly and approachable, you will encourage long term visitor loyalty.
mobile - You’re right; moderators are an integral part of any online community and that is why they need to be given clear direction from the community owner as to their role and what is expected of them.
January 8th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
In any forum Moderators are most important person. I believe
that Whether a forum will be successful or not depends on the moderators part to promote the forum. Thanks for this great one.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Counterfeit - Good moderators are extremely important to any forum. Even more important than moderators though, is the quality of the content contained within the forum!
January 28th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
I believe that moderators should also act as role models for the rest of the users. They should be able to find a happy medium between being too strict and being push overs.
January 30th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Zane - I completely agree. Members often follow the examples set by staff members; if your moderators are friendly and welcoming, your members will often be the same way.
February 7th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Hi all, I am a moderator on Computerforums.org, which has 31,240 members as of today. I’d just like to say that Martin wrote a great post that I agree with completely. Over at CF, we the mods do not just look for rule breaking. We like to think of ourselves as normal members, with privileges that allow us to make the forum better. There is nothing worse than a trigger happy mod.
I just want to say one thing though. In your article, you mentioned “If you or your moderators crack down on members the second they step out of line, you will be sending a negative signal to your community that free speech is not tolerated on your site.”
I agree with that, but from personal experience on a very large forum, I have to say that a certain degree of strictness does have to apply. Interfering with what people have to say (editing out facts/opinions/information from posts is not OK, but not allowing flaming is. If freedom of speech for a certain member means being able to flame others, then it is not truly freedom of speech.
Thanks,
Thelis
February 7th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Thelis - You’re right that at times moderation does need to be stricter than normal. Moderators should be encouraged to take a laissez-faire approach to their role as enforcers, but shouldn’t be scared or hesitant to take decisive action when it is needed.
Thanks for your contribution - I hope you’ll stick around, and I look forward to reading more of your comments in the future.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Would you then say that strictness is an attribute that comes from size? So, the bigger the board the stricter the policy?
February 20th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
BeoPuppy - I do find that larger forums sometimes have stricter rules, but this is often because they are more able to afford to lose members that are put off by an extensive list of rules or through bans.
I still think a large forum can be successful without draconian rules and regulations, though - it all depends on your community’s personality.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Great post, depending on how big the forum is then it means you will need more moderators
February 26th, 2008 at 12:13 am
[...] moderators? Community Spark emphasizes that mods function best when their primary role is creating content and encouraging member interaction, not policing the community and repressing [...]
February 27th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
[...] additional help when it comes to moderation. Even if your members are fantastically well behaved, moderators are useful to have as they are a reassuring, visible presence in your community. They help encourage [...]
February 27th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Jason - You’re right that larger forums tend to require more moderators, but this isn’t necessarily always the case! Thanks for your comment.
March 1st, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I agree with you. When forum owners get some volunteer moderators, they forget that it is their sole responsibility to keep the forum clean and not mods.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Gadgets - You’re right. Moderators should be a complement to your own job of checking all is running well with your forum. They shouldn’t completely replace you!
March 11th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I post on a forum/site of 3,000 users, and growing, that has no moderators. You can post anything you please as long as it is not illegal.
March 14th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
[...] The Real Purpose of Forum Moderators Revealed, How to Effectively Moderate Forums, and don’t miss this: Archived List of Articles on Forum Development, by Martin Reed, The Community Spark. [...]
March 15th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Max - You give a good example of a rule that is simple, basic and effective. Thanks for your comment.
March 18th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Quite welcome. That rule is enforced through community moderation. Seems to work so far, will see as how effective that is as the number of users grow.
March 19th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Max Power - You may find that as the community grows a few more rules may be needed, but until then they should continue to work on encouraging debate and interaction rather than stifling it through an excessive number of rules.
March 23rd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Reminds me of a forum I joined once, a few years back. Long story short, the forum died (users moved to another identical forum) because the moderators were acting like police officers - just like you said :). Instead of promoting more meaningful discussions, they were more interested in deleting posts.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
They’d have to be regular contributers and have a feel for the subject in question before given the role
March 24th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Nai - An all too common story, yet many forum developers fail to realise this. Forum moderation should be focussed on encouraging interaction, not hindering it!
Plumber - Agreed. They should also have demonstrated their maturity, commitment, enthusiasm and passion for the community before being invited to become a staff member, too.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Awesome article every host should read this, A moderator should not be a censor
March 27th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
thank you for the advice. i’m starting a new community and your blog is very helpful.
March 29th, 2008 at 12:31 am
If you want to see a police state along with a weekly brawl, you should visit dnforum.com.
March 29th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Ash - Thanks for your kind comment. A moderator should be a censor, but only when they absolutely have to be!
Viet - Good luck with your new community; keep in touch and let us know how you get on.
Sad - Well, I don’t use that site so I can’t comment on the accuracy of your statement!
March 30th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I know one well-known forum board that have too many moderators (and few administrators) practicing the very worst sort of forum moderating tactics. They put too many members in state of perpetual fear of being scolded, punished or censored, their accounts suspended or demoted to PG-rated forum boards (it’s strictly a hierarchical-leveled forum board with few graded forum boards). Moderators there are behaving like PC-obsessed commissars “empowered” to do what their tyrannical forum administrators ordered them to. Censorship is their rule in order to keep the forum board “thriving”, which it’s bullsh*t. The name of the forum board is called Above Top Secret. Google it. I’m not kidding about what I said and I left it because I cannot stand that kind of practices. There’s no room for interaction or freedom of expression at ATS.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Dogboy - Thanks for the great example. Whilst I am not aware of the site you mention, the fact is that whenever people are hesitant to post for fear of repercussions, your community is in a very bad place.
Moderators are there to encourage debate and interaction - not stifle it!
April 14th, 2008 at 3:37 am
I just opened this site, theofftopic.com and I definitely can relate. I know the last thing I want is my userbase to become fearful of the mods.
You have to find the balance between letting people just troll all day and protecting the rights of the users.
April 15th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Off Topic - You’ve got it spot on. However, if you lead by example you shouldn’t have too much of a problem with trolls - be welcoming and engaging and your members will follow your lead. Good luck with your new site.
May 21st, 2008 at 4:24 am
A good moderator will save you time as well. I’m lucky and have two good ones that have really taken it on. I don’t always have the patience to go through it all the time. One of them is addicted to it. He may need therapy.
May 25th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Dave - A moderator addicted to your community, eh? I guess in a way that’s a good thing, let’s just hope they don’t turn into a bunny boiler!!
May 31st, 2008 at 9:56 am
I have a really hard time giving up control, especially with a forum I have nurtured. It is very difficult for me to add new moderators.
Tri
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Tri - Yup, it can be hard. As long as you choose the right people, and effectively communicate your expectations to them though, there is no reason why you should see it as a loss of control.
June 26th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
The moderators on the forum I used to go to (I left due to the mods, actually) were pretty awful - they banned at a pindrop and just overall sucked. I’d refer them to your guide if I were still there =D
June 26th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Dofollow - Thanks for your comment. This just goes to further strengthen my argument that forum moderators are there to encourage interaction - NOT stifle it!