How do you choose your mods?

[Tanksy]

I happen to run a couple of forums and I've always had difficulties deciding who to invite to participate in the forum's maintenance as a moderator. I usually go with very active users who have no history of going berserk on other forum members, posting illegal stuff or trolling.

 

[pennylove]

I think these criteria can help people in deciding which members to hire as mods:

1. History in the forum.

How long have they been in the forum? Preferably, a month of posting regularly is okay. More than a few months of regular posting is even better.

Do they have a history of fights or misunderstandings with other members? Generally, you'd like a mod that is neutral and unbiased. You can't have a mod that's too stuck in his own opinions or thoughts.

Do they post relevant and informative stuff? You'd want a mod that can put up meaningful threads and can discuss topics well.

2. Number of posts.

You'd want a mod that has obtained a large number of posts or threads already because then you're sure that he truly knows what the forum is all about.

3. Reputation.

Do people generally like that member? Do they look up to him? Do they have respect for him even as a member?

That's it really, I hope this helps you!

 

[IT-INDIA.com]

I think these criteria can help people in deciding which members to hire as mods:

1. History in the forum.

2. Number of posts.

3. Reputation.

1 - well said

2 - I would make sure his posts are sensible. I see sh!t loads of web-spam in forums these days. Most people are asking a question which has already been asked zillion times and there are countless people posting same answer over and over again. What's the fun when 10 users pop-up saying "Facebook and Twitter".. heck same / ditto 10 replies.. is that to amuse or educate? I wonder..

3. well said

Cheers!

 

[Tanksy]

Thanks for all of your suggestions guys. I always feel a bit uneasy about giving people power over my forums simply because a malevolent one could destroy the place by deleting all the threads or banning people. It's essential that we vet the potential mods properly. Have any of you ever tried a revenue sharing scheme for the mods?

 

[IT-INDIA.com]

> Have any of you ever tried a revenue sharing scheme for the mods?

-----> Needless to say, very good for mods, who wouldn't love that?

 

[Smithee]

Thanks for all of your suggestions guys. I always feel a bit uneasy about giving people power over my forums simply because a malevolent one could destroy the place by deleting all the threads or banning people.

There's one forum owner I know who woke up one day to find that almost all posts on the forum had been deleted by a moderator. I don't know if he found a way to restore all the posts that had been deleted. This is why a forum admin ought to restrict moderator permissions/privileges because you never know when you inadvertently anger someone and they respond thusly.

As for revenue sharing with mods while it certainly can be a good way to motivate moderators to stay around if your forum isn't making a lot of money you might need moderators who don't expect to be paid.

 

[yourpcoptimizer]

Thanks for sharing your answer.