Moderators not doing the job?

Amirsan · Posted: 9/28/2005, 7:53 pm Post subject: Moderators not doing the job?

Hey,

I run a forum where things do tend to go wild sometimes (A gaming fansite) and I have three good moderators helping me run the forum.

However, most of the time, when I see something on the forum, my moderators never pick up on it and either let it slip or didn't even notice it. I dont know how many times I have told them to crack down on these posts, and members but they continue to stay lenient.

What it comes down to is my mods not doing their jobs. What should I do?

Thanks,
Amirsan.

Patrick · Administrator

In simple terms, tell them what they need to do and that they need to start doing it or that you will be forced to make some changes (obviously a bit nicer). Stress the importance of maintaining the community in line with your goals and restate your goals so that they can either get behind them or leave.
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harishankar · Posted: 9/28/2005, 8:13 pm Post subject:

Yes, obviously when moderators don't do their jobs, it can be a bit tough for you. There should be a point at which you should probably change your staff... It's just that some people aren't cut out for moderation however good they may be otherwise.
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Triumvirate · Posted: 9/28/2005, 9:36 pm Post subject:

Let me tell you a story:

Once upon a time I was involved with a certain community. This community was run by a decent person but this person had, unfortunately, no idea how to effectively lead. This person had several Officers (Moderators) who were involved with maintaining the community and advancing it. The leader constantly talks of how he wants to hear the opinions of his members and what they feel can be done to make the community better. I bite.

I hold a private conversation with the community leader in which I express my concern that the community lacks "focus" and is generally "clique-ish" making it difficult to feel a part of the community. I also express my concerns that the Officers are not doing the job they are supposed to.

He responds to me telling me he agrees that these officers are not doing the job they should be, but also says that he "can not force them to do what they should". Needless to say I was confused by this comment. How could he, the leader of the community have Officers that would not do what he asked and expected of them to do.

I respond back, perplexed and astonished that perhaps if these Officers are unwilling to do the job they should no longer be officers.

He bans me from the community.

Alas, my tale does not end there. I e-mail the community leader and ask why I was removed from the community. He responds telling me he didn't agree with what I said so he removed me. Shocked and horrified I offer my apologies if I offended and note that my intention was simply to offer suggestions as requested. He un-bans me from the community but I am wary to go back if offering a differing viewpoint may cause a ban again.

I continue with the community but become frustrated as the leader begins publicly complaining that his officers will not do anything yet does nothing about it. I leave the community quietly and say nothing more to anyone. Two months later the community is completely gone, hundreds of members have left or were removed for expressing views similar to my own (that is, the leader needs to make the moderators do something, and if they do not, they should no longer be moderators).

Now, the purpose of that story is fairly simple and I hope clear. It is my personal belief that if a moderator is incapable/unwilling to do the job expected of them they should no longer be a moderator of that community. This is of course not to say that these moderators are not good people and fine contributors to the community, but the are simply unfit (whether it be by circumstance or choice) to moderate and need to be removed from that position or need to begin doing the job they are supposed to be doing.
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Patrick · Administrator

Wow. Bad leader there.
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Dj · Posted: 9/28/2005, 10:55 pm Post subject:

If my moderators do not do their jobs, I will flat out say that they need to get in gear, or I will have to find people who will.
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~HG~ · Posted: 9/29/2005, 5:31 am Post subject:

I have a hidden forum for moderators where discussion about certain people/topics actions can be discussed between them and they will make their decisions based on general concensus.

I also have a rules page for moderators to follow if they are in any doubt.

(you can view the rules here)

Feel free to copy them and change them to suit your own board if you require. It is only a html page and I had every intention of setting it up on a php page but still havent got around to it after more than a year.

You can use the Rules mod to set it up as part of your forum proper but the only link to it is in the hidden moderators forum.

Moderators also have my mobile phone number in case of emergency.
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Ex0dus · Posted: 9/29/2005, 8:15 pm Post subject:

I dont have the misfortune of having to deal with such a situation, but if a situation were to arise, i would go about things something like this:

1. Look at myself first - Too many admins tend to look at the faults of others before they look at themselves. Are you being too strict, too paranoid, are you not setting a good exmaple? Do you not have the rules to be enforced presented clearly to everyone? Gotta make sure youre good to go first before questioning the mods (because they WILL point his out, and youll probably get mad that they do point this out if they are right)

2. Ask the moderators WHY they arent performing whatever it is youre upset with them about. Instead of straight just saying "youre not doing your job right" get their viewpoint first. No need to blindly argue, because that will only cause problems. Alot of times, theres a grey area, and they may not want to look like the overzealous moderator, sometimes they just need the confidence to know that you will back them up. Alot of moderators are scared they will step over the line and get into your bad side, so sometimes they prefer to not incur that problem. This is espedcially true, if they havent seen examples of the admins way of moderating, and the rules being enforced in action.

3. Make any adjustments needed to make sure that the message is clear to your moderators on how to react to given situations that theyve failed on in the past. This includes improving communication, giving examples, etc. In my mind, if they fail again after this step, then it is time for replacement. If you do need to replace people, make sure to get the message across (via words AND actions) that its nothing personal. Do not disrespect them in the process.

-Ex0dus

Teknomancer · Posted: 10/1/2005, 10:45 pm Post subject:

Nick · Posted: 11/9/2005, 5:22 pm Post subject:

I had a situation with my General Staff (overall mods) not doing much of anything. I made one of them a mod of the sports section only, removed one of them (a friend who lost interest in my site a while back...), told one to let me know when she wasn't busy as much (she's been moving and working at the same time), and left the other two for my own personal reasons. Then, I added a mod (that's a total of three General Staff members) who I know will be there doing what a mod should do...in fact, if she weren't a mod, I'd have to warn her for mini-modding already. Interesting how that all played out.
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