Choosing mods? Expectations of moderators?

[matthewf]

that is tricky to answer, but I would think that different sites would have different requirements to become a mod, the one thing you really should be able to do is to trust mods and admin, if you can't trust them then giving them that power would be folly as they might abuse that power, ir delete posts, or edit other peoples, so at least gauge what a person is like from his posts, or if you take it one step closer, have that person as your MSN contact (or similar program) you could also have a private forum, which you have given your best and most active (thoughtful and to the point posts etc) and then choose from one of them

that would be my way of doing it, others may say differently, but as for what a mod can do, well their job is to help run the board, spot trouble makers or spammers, or those that post off topic, so if its a busy board you will be thankful for their help, as for what you can do for them, I think you would have to look at it as a volunteer service, so they should quite willingly give some of their time to look after your board, if they aren't willing to do that, then don't make them a mod,

well thats my view

[Amezis]

Well, the first moderator I promoted on my forum was someone who also registered early and helped a lot. He has been active since he registered, and he is now the only admin besides me. When we needed another moderator, I talked to him and we decided to promote another member.

With 1 admin (me, he wasn't an admin yet) and 2 mods, the 3rd moderator was promoted after a discussion in the staff-only forum. After that, all the moderators have been promoted after a discussion in the staff-only area of the forums, where all the current moderators have their say. All moderators are posting the member(s) he/she thinks should be promoted and why, and then we count all the "votes". But it's a consensus-like voting, so they are often changing their votes too.

[Martin Blank]

My admins and mods are chosen from the community, from those who have shown themselves to be helpful and level-headed. In four years, I have had to ask only one mod to resign, and 'fired' only one other.

I recommend coming up with a list of duties, responsibilities, and rules for the staff, and then posting it in public so that all users know and understand what is expected of the staff. The following are rules that were drafted by a couple of members of my staff after another staff member abused his powers. They have been posted in the public for all to see ever since.

Moderator Duties

• Actions taken should be logged to "Edits, Deletions, and Blatant Abuses of Power" in the General Forum.
• Threads out of place should be moved to their proper locations with a shadow link to its new location.
• Deleted threads will be moved to Crushed Cans (a non-public forum that replaces thread deletion) without a shadowlink.
• Posts should only be edited for the following reasons:
  • Excessive vulgarity and profanity
  • Direct, extreme attack on or flaming of another forum member (Moderators should use discretion)
  • Pornography including details or images, and links that do not pertain to the thread (such as KoC, etc.)
• Ice cream is yummy with chocolate.
• Posts should only be deleted (or threads removed) for the following reasons:
  • Flames against a person/race/color/game/etc which includes racist or excessive vulgarity or profanity (Moderators should use discretion between editing and deletion)
  • Duplicates (may be also locked at Moderator's discretion)
  • Request of the originating author
  • Warez and porn links
  • Spam

Moderator Responsibilities

• Mods will not threaten any forum member with vulgar comments and/or use of mod powers either on the forum or elsewhere.
• Mods cannot play favorites towards another forum member.
• Mods cannot harass a forum member.
• If a major problem occurs with another forum member(s), post a message requesting for them to tone it down. If they continue, PM them another message. If they continue after that, refer them to Martin Blank or another administrator for possible disciplinary action.

Moderator words and actions are visible to the entire community, and they are role models. Remember this when conducting yourselves.

Feel free to use or not use them for your own board.