# Webinar: Creating & Nurturing a Moderator Program
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295
**Category:** Events
**Tags:** webinar
**Created:** [March 12, 2026, 4:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295 "2026-03-12T16:38:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Danielle](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Danielle)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2026, 4:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295/1 "2026-03-12T16:38:42Z")
On 2026-03-19T04:00:00Z, we hosted our webinar: **Creating & Nurturing a Moderator Program.**
One of the biggest themes throughout the session: moderation is not just cleanup. It is foundational to the long-term health, trust, and survivability of a community.
A well-supported moderator program helps shape culture, reinforce norms, reduce friction, and create an environment where members actually feel comfortable participating over time.
If you missed the session, you can watch the replay here:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t0ka21Reuc)
### The Impact of Moderation
Throughout the conversation, we explored how moderation needs change as communities grow:
- Smaller, high-trust spaces may rely on a handful of deeply involved moderators operating relationally and informally.
- Larger enterprise or public communities often require clearer structures, escalation paths, approval workflows, and moderation tooling.
One of the strongest discussions centered around the idea that moderation impacts the people who _don’t_ post just as much as the people who do.
> “One of the bravest things that can happen in a community is when a lurker decides it’s finally time to chime in.”
That means moderation is not only about removing harmful content. It is also about lowering the social risk of participation and helping members feel safe enough to contribute in the first place.
We also discussed the reality that communities without healthy moderation often drift toward the “lowest common denominator,” making it harder for thoughtful participation, trust, and meaningful discussion to thrive.
### Moderation Models
We also spent time breaking down different moderation models and how communities often evolve from small, highly relational spaces into larger ecosystems that require more structure and support.
### Moderator Recruitment
Rather than selecting moderators purely based on activity volume, we discussed the importance of identifying people who demonstrate thoughtful judgment, de-escalation skills, community trust, and the ability to navigate nuance.
**Key diagnostic questions:**
- How much noise are you dealing with?
- Do you need expertise or just judgment?
- Are mods organizing or just enforcing?
- Volunteer or paid?
- How fast do issues need to be handled?
- How high are the stakes if something goes wrong?
- Do you need consistency or flexibility?
- Is this reactive moderation or proactive?
- Do you need escalation paths or can one person handle it?
- Is your community high-trust or low-trust?
- Are you dealing with people problems, content problems, or both?
- Do mods need authority, influence, or both?
We also explored the different “personas” moderators can take within a community, from organizers and culture-builders to threat spotters and knowledge curators.
One especially important takeaway: volunteer moderators should be supported as community contributors, not treated like unpaid employees. Strong moderator programs are built around collaboration, trust, communication, and shared investment in the health of the space.
> “Moderators are more than hall monitors. They’re often the heart and soul of a well-functioning community.”
### Additional Highlights
We had some really good conversations around:
- Moderator support systems and burnout prevention
- Thoughtful moderator onboarding
- Escalation procedures and gray-area decision making
- Building institutional knowledge over time
- Creating private collaboration spaces for moderators
- Balancing AI-assisted moderation with human judgment
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### Author:  [@bartv](https://meta.discourse.org/u/bartv)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2026, 5:41pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295/2 "2026-03-12T17:41:11Z")
Very interesting! I’d love to see this but have calls at that time - if I register, will I be able to access a recording afterwards?
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### Author:  [@Danielle](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Danielle)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295/3 "2026-03-12T20:07:37Z")
> [@bartv](#):
>
> will I be able to access a recording afterwards
For sure! My goal is to get a replay posted here within about a week of the event. 🙂
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### Author:  [@nat](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nat)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2026, 3:54pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295/4 "2026-03-19T15:54:11Z")
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### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2026, 5:00pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295/5 "2026-03-31T17:00:04Z")
The event time confused me. I just tried to figure out why it says 5 o’clock in the morning instead of the afternoon, as shown in the local date below. It seemed like a problem with the time format of the translation to me, but now I noticed it’s the same in English.
Now I’m relieved that it’s not a translation issue, but I thought you might want to adjust it.
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### Author:  [@Danielle](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Danielle)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295/6 "2026-03-31T17:23:28Z")
Thanks for pointing that out, just adjusted. The main goal was to get it on the events calendar, so people can see previous events. 😅
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### Author:  [@bartv](https://meta.discourse.org/u/bartv)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2026, 6:14pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295/7 "2026-04-07T18:14:58Z")
Hey Danielle - gentle nudge to post that video 🙂 I’d love to see it!
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### Author:  [@Jenny](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jenny)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295/8 "2026-04-07T18:39:49Z")
Hey @bartv!
Danielle is away enjoying some much deserved PTO but will be back next week and will upload the replay then 🙂
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### Author:  [@bartv](https://meta.discourse.org/u/bartv)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2026, 6:20am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295/9 "2026-04-21T06:20:17Z")
Trying once more - I’m really interested in this topic 🙂
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### Author:  [@Jenny](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jenny)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2026, 7:06pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295/13 "2026-04-21T19:06:05Z")
Hey Bart!
We’re working on getting this edited and available for everyone. We’ll update you as soon as it’s ready.
Thanks for your patience 🙂
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### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2026, 6:02pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295/16 "2026-04-29T18:02:10Z")
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t0ka21Reuc)
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### Author:  [@Lilly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Lilly)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295/17 "2026-05-28T18:15:16Z")
when are we going to get a recap posted?
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### Author:  [@Danielle](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Danielle)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-creating-nurturing-a-moderator-program/398295/21 "2026-05-28T22:56:17Z")
Thanks Lilly! Recap is posted now, and sorry for the delay getting this one wrapped up. 😊