Staff: Creating a Moderator Manual

[NYCGuy76]

Very useful Kathy thank you.

 

[famade]

hey, thanks for the info, Actually, this is very helpful for me to modertate my own forums.....thanks for sharing great thing here,....hope I will get more related posts here....

 

[MikeOO17]

I quote. I'm writing right now my own.

LoL... Your name isn't Yoda by any chance, is it?


I agree though. A forum, even a small one, needs to have an idea of what they want to be and how they intend to get there.

 

[rider900]

Thanks for sharing this, we've only got 1 moderator at the moment but I'll be sure to let him know about this

 

[Mariner]

Pretty nice guide.

 

[ViciousRose]

That's why it here. Personalize it as it fits your needs.

Thank you!

 

[Target_Practice]

Very nice, Kathy - well written and thought out.

However, as something of a career moderator (I'm trying admin for the first time!), I'd like to point out that a truly good moderator shouldn't need a manual - if nothing else, they should have a good 'sense' of what to do in most situations.
Of course, each site's unique foibles and quirks will need a little explaining, but I'd expect a good moderator to know the difference between posting plenty and just spamming for the sake of it, for example. I'd certainly expect them not to indulge in it!
The important thing when appointing anyone to represent you and your board (because let's face it, that's what your staff are doing) is to trust them. When my current project finally gets going and (fingers crossed!) reaches the size where myself and my partner in crime can't handle it alone, I will only give moderator access to someone who I have observed on the forums for long enough to trust that they are capable of doing the job.

Occasionally, there won't be anyone fitting that description, which can be a problem. However, I'd maintain that you'll suffer fewer headaches from leaving a potentially troublesome post up for a few hours while you attend to 'real life' than you would from appointing an unsuitable moderator.

Rules are all well and good (and please don't get me wrong, as rules go, the suggestions in this thread are fantastic), but even if you have the best rules in the world, it doesn't guarantee that your team will follow them.

 

[Theocracy]

Thanks Kathy. I just used this!

 

[ShaveMyBaby]

Thanks a lot for the infos.

 

[[EZTEC]Boomer]

Thanks for posting this. we will be implementing something like this on our site. Nice job.

 

[R3ignlasting]

Thanks for the article, and the sample for use. You saved me a lot of time xD

 

[Kebsy]

Thank you! This was very helpful as we're rewriting our Moderator Criteria/Contract!

 

[nat9655]

I have gave the link for the thread to my Forum Manager & asked him to create a Guide (well, we call it that ). He likes the idea

 

[bahgheera]

Thank you Kathy, thanks a lot. I've been looking for exactly something like this for a week now. I am not as expressive or thoughtful as I want to be when trying to write something like this, so this should help me compile my own mod manual without seeming scatter-brained, heh heh.

Thanks again!

Laters...

EDIT: Also thanks to those of you who shared your own mod manuals and thoughts on the subject, I'll be incorporating ideas from those as well.

 

[jkosmin]

Kathy, I've been working on putting a Moderators Guidebook together myself lately, and find it a bit daunting to codify everything in a succinct document. Thanks for the post -- this is a great starting point for me!

 

[MishyMashy]

This was a must for my site! Iv added a wee manual for my mods