Have you assembled a moderator team?

Community
21

Good moderators are open for honest criticisms on procedures that may need reviewing. Canapin was an excellent team member. It was ashame to see them leave Meta.

Now there is a difference between focusing on an individual instead of the issue being discussed.

In the case of the mayor; well of course ppl will come to criticize poor performance and broken words.

Moderators can be a lot better than a politician if they choose to be. :wink:

A lot of things can be black & white and a lot of things are grey. I have observed directly numerous times on platforms when a mod chooses their personal bias against a member due to their poor opinions/prejudices.

Foster an environment of self moderation and mutual respect. Not only makes a site friendly but also reduces a mod teams’ workloads.

1 Like
23

Here are the qualities I look for in a moderator, who, in my opinion, shouldn’t just ‘moderate’ the community but help it grow and stay active:

  • Understand and assist new members.
  • Find information in past discussions or documentation (no extraordinary technical skills needed).
  • Handle criticism and not take it personally.
  • Not always insist on their own point of view and keep their ego in check.
  • Have an innate willingness to help and be available.
  • Align with the community’s culture. If they are technically excellent but lack patience and understanding, they are of no use to me.
  • Prove their value in action. Anyone can talk; I choose those who demonstrate it.

I keep an eye on them for a few months, and if I see they meet at least 80% of the qualities listed above, I ask them if they’d be interested in the role and try to understand how they would like to be rewarded (gadgets? discounts? etc.).

6 Likes
24

Absolutely, if people have nothing positive to talk about and only criticize the leadership then probably good to ban them from community.

In general that isn’t usually the main reason for people to join a community, but if there are members who are upset with the leadership or enforcement teams then can be good for there to be opportunity to reconcile differences.

This is the foundation of democracy in that there is a balance of power and accountability between different departments, such as the legislation of law into effect and the enforcement of those laws are completely different processes.

That may not be completely related to moderation of most discourse sites but for my use-case am doing outreach with local government and people who go to the public meetings.

1 Like