moderator games

Psyched · Posted: 1/18/2006, 10:18 pm Post subject: moderator games

I'm just wondering if any of you use "games" to help teach your moderators or to help you see if your mods are on the same track as you want them to be.

If you do, would you be willing to share?

Some of the things I have done with my mods is to give them links to some of the very first threads from three years ago when the site began .. not much moderating was done back then .. lol .. and have them say what they think is wrong, what they would do with the thread or specific post if it appeared today, and why.

I often also sit back and watch them go through some problem solving on their own. Often a thread will appear in the mod board "omg .. what am I supposed to do with this" kind of thing. I never jump in I let the mods hash it out and wait to see their conclusion. When they are done I will often throw in a bunch of questions of my own, playing devils advocate .. "what if this or that" kind of questions .. not sure why but they love it when I do that kind of stuff .. lol

Today I threw up a thread for them titled "the podcast game" .. I make them listen to Patrick's podcasts .. I can almost hear them groan when I announce there is a new podcast available... rofl .. This game they get to not only answer questions but ask them as well. here is the post:
Ok here are the rules of the game:
post the answer to a question from the person who posted last
ask a question for another person to answer.

The questions can come from the podcasts we have listened to (we have all litstened to them right? ) or from the threads Moderator Responsibilities, Everything you always wanted to know about modding but was afraid to ask, or confidentiality of the hidout.

So for example I might ask the question, "What is your first responsibility as a moderator" the next poster would answer (I hope) first responsibility is to [name of game/web master] and the site.

got it?

ok, I'll begin: What kind of information should go into a "problem user's thread?"

Much to my surprise it is moving along very nicely.

So those are a few of the "games" I play with my mods ... I would welcome ideas as well ..

Nick · Posted: 1/19/2006, 6:37 am Post subject:

That's a good idea. I don't think I can do the old threads thing because I don't have "old threads" yet... Wink

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I don't play games with my staff members. I think most of what you said is alright, but in our case, time is very valuable and limited for us because I am very selective when it comes to staff members, so I like for us to be as productive as possible. I have things in place that help them to get a good idea of what their job entails right from the get go. These include Staff Guidelines, a Situations Guide and a Problem Users/Trash Bin system. And, of course, they are encouraged to ask questions and I am always available.

If they handle something in a way that I would not want, I correct the situation and explain. If they ask a question about handling something, I answer it. Issues need to be handled as quick as possible while getting it right - especially on communities that have a good amount of activity. If you leave them, it can really fester and instead of having 1 or 2 posts to remove, you could have 50 by the time you get done hashing it out. So, if moderators ask how to handle it, I will give them a definitive answer and let them handle it or, if they are not online, I'll handle it so that it doesn't sit there. As an administrator, I like to be very involved - I like to be "in the trenches" with my staff members, doing the same things they do and showing them that I am there with them and that there is no task that is "below me."
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dojo · Posted: 1/20/2006, 7:34 am Post subject:

I am doing as Patrick said. The idea of "playing" those games is indeed nice, but I don't have the time. My mods are selected from people who know how to handle this situation, since that's what I look for in them, experience.

And I am online a lot of time during the day in all my communities and get to modding as soon as I see something wrong.
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