Jump to content

OT: I'm a moderator


FretFiend.

Recommended Posts

  • Members

NO! DON'T PANIC! NOT HERE!

 

I frequent a lot of forums (fora, fori?). So one of the ones I frequent is being barraged by spam, and all the resident moderators have evidently jumped ship. The admin essentially desperately asked for volunteers to help... I offered, with the warning that I have never done any forum moderating, and would appreciate some guidelines or something.

 

So the next thing I know, he responds that I am now an official moderator. Sure enough, I start exploring my new world, and discover that I hold in my hot little hands, a BAN HAMMER!

 

Damn! I already feel the power, and if feels GOOD!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I used to be a mod on a non-music-related forum. It wasn't fun. The Admin didn't want me, some of the senior members talked him into it. When I did start moderating, there would be very public disagreements over my moderating style (i.e., I posted warnings when I had to do serious moderating and got reamed for it afterward). I got sick of being undermined and I haven't been back in years. BTW, I've always said "forums."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Good luck, old bean. Lot's of spam, disgruntled members, moderation suffering to non-existent, low pay, harsh working conditions and a right-to-work site? Bring it on! Um, pine with 6 pall bearers okay or are you okay just shooting your foot off?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

With great power comes great responsibility...ahhh...shaddap.

 

Have some fun. Ban someone and then hook them back up. Do it a few or many times just for grins. Apologize - oops, my bad - and then repeat. Pick someone who walks that self-aggrandizing bad boy edge. After a few times just tell him you're practicing. Y'know, gotta calibrate the stun gun and stuff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Actually, so far, it's not been a headache at all. I check in once or twice a day, which I probably would have done anyway. If I find spam, there's a neat feature in vbulliten for moderators called "One touch ban and clean." A couple of clicks of the mouse, and BAM, the offending threads are deleted and the offending spammer is permanently IP banned. Not a lot of trouble.

The forum is low traffic, so that's about it.

 

Now, trying to moderate something like the Political Potty or Open Jam here… that's another story. My hat's off to the guys trying to keep peace there.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Well, the experience is a feather in the cap, then. I really don't see the conflict that moderating at a more combative forum would present. I'd just hit the button with a 3rd offense and be done with it. That would be while enjoying a sammich, too.

 

Moderation applied to a political discussion forum is pretty much oxymoronic, and arguing the rules is the ultimate paradox. Politics is another word for insults. I would not bother moderating even if my name was on the banner. If someone reported another person I'd simply advise them they asked for it by their mere engagement and to police themselves first. If they kicked it up the pike to the god-mod I'd tell him to deal with the stupidity. In those forums you reap what you sow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
NO! DON'T PANIC! NOT HERE!

 

I frequent a lot of forums (fora, fori?). So one of the ones I frequent is being barraged by spam, and all the resident moderators have evidently jumped ship. The admin essentially desperately asked for volunteers to help... I offered, with the warning that I have never done any forum moderating, and would appreciate some guidelines or something.

 

So the next thing I know, he responds that I am now an official moderator. Sure enough, I start exploring my new world, and discover that I hold in my hot little hands, a BAN HAMMER!

 

Damn! I already feel the power, and if feels GOOD!

 

 

I'm the one who got you that job. Everyone else wanted to black-ball you. Just remember that.

 

I think you've got exceptional potential. But I can squash you like a bug at my whim. And I routinely chew-up ban hammers for breakfast.

 

Remember who your friends are.

 

Just sayin'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I was a moderator at Banjo Hangout for years, and it can be a thankless job. When the political posts devolved into people threatening physical hard, the decision was made to ban political discussion. Needless to say, a lot of people tried pushing the boundaries, and the moderator was always wrong. I was accused of being a right-wing nut and a left-wing nut.

 

Maybe this is why I hardly play banjo anymore...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...