Forum Moderators: rogerd
Keeping in mind that member retention of long-time participants and newcomers alike is important, sometimes not knowing whether newer people will turn out to be outstanding regular members of the community, how members are corrected and/or edited can be a major deciding factor in the health, longevity and growth of a community.
Not only that, but the feelings of the member involved need to be considered, as well as how it "looks" to onlookers if there's anything that takes place that's visible in public. The approach taken and tone used by moderators can create bad feelings and deteriorate the climate in subtle ways, but on the other hand, depending on how things are handled, can be used in such a way that it actually contributes to community health and growth.
I've come to think of it as "Mary Poppins Moderating." Serving a spoonful of sugar with the moderating medicine really can help it go down, and can serve as an opportunity to open lines of communication with members, with episodes or infraction being turned into a positive and productive experience for all.
It's all about attitude and approach. Anyone have thoughts on the kinds of approaches - and attitudes - that sweeten up moderating actions and communications that are effective and keep people happy and help to build communities long term?
For forum admins who doubt Marcia's sage advice, I'd guess that a major percentage of the mods, senior members, and other solid contributors here got edited at least once after arrival (including yours truly) - had this been done in a less than courteous manner, most would likely have gone away and not returned; this community would be much the worse without their contributions.
OK, I'm a European, so we tend anyway to be more cynical in these kinds of situations. But I would far rather have the type of moderating which (IMO) is practised here - which says, "Look we're all supposed to be adult professionals discussing things in an intelligent manner. Your post didn't match up to that standard."
A Mary Poppins attitude hiding an iron will is something that is not uncommon in webmaster/SEO forums and newsgroups. Unfortunately the "sweet" moderator/admin is often accompanied by a band of groupies who will jump in to back up any "threat" to the established order.
At least on a board like this we can discuss whether we think Brett has taken leave of his senses...
Of course it needs the right personalities for this kind of "natural roleplay", but i works well for me.
cheers
viggen
I don't think mods need to be cloyingly sweet, but maintaining a good natured approach and a sense of humor really help calm down situations that a stern or sarcastic reply might escalate. Then again, just like in real life, some bullies just need to be backed down by someone bigger and meaner before they behave.
In reality, most TOS violators aren't bad people - they simply haven't learned the rules of the forum they are in, or are used to a different style of communication, or even have issues with the forum's primary language. Some gentle steering will work wonders in most cases.
I have a forum that attracts high school and college students, and in their personal interactions it would be common (and not particularly offensive) to say, "You are a $%&#@ idiot, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Put that in a forum post to a total stranger, though, and you've got a very hostile exchange. Good moderation assumes that the poster hasn't adapted to the forum's style of communication vs. that the poster is a hostile, obnoxious jerk who deserves a severe tongue-lashing if not immediate banning.
I have also had members who acted up in the beginning and then became some of my favorite people; not just on the board, but anywhere online. Some people just need a gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) push in the right direction.
Now. I CAN be nice when it's apparent that you didn't understand a particular exclusion, or when it's obvious that English isn't your natlang, or when you've just blown sky-high due to deliberate provocation. All of which happens with fair regularity on practically every forum anywhere in MY networld.
But DON'T DO IT AGAIN.
Base assumption: if you're posting on my fora, you DID read the TOS
Vkaryl, that's more in the category of "wishful thinking" IMO - I'd guess fewer than one in ten posters actually looks at the TOS before jumping in unless you have spoon-fed it to them somehow. A significant portion probably have no idea what TOS stands for, or, for that matter, what "terms of service" means.
I'd recommend at least one or two friendly, courteous attempts at education before putting on the stomping boots. ;) The member you save may be a great contributor down the road.
I'm sure that public fora would handle this sort of thing in a whole other manner - and I'll probably have to "moderate" my tone as soon as I start running a public board for a non-prof whose website I manage.
Definitely. I hate Mary Poppins, she's mod-ing at quite a few forums I read. Get your TOS clear, concise, and bullet-proof and then just read 'em the their rights.
Take care,
Brian
A good bouncer bends will.... to avoid having to bend Will.
Here's an approach one-size-fits-all.
"Hey YourHandle. Has any other moderator already contacted you yet about your post "blah blah"? I just have to follow up and report back. Thanks"
IF NO REPLY: then go ahead and follow up with knowledge that no-one has discussed it yet. It apears that you are not the only one with awareness, and not one to blame, yet one who has influence in how the matter is matter perceived.
IF ANY REPLY: then you have opened a conversation, and can stay third-person/non-confrontational as long as necessary to make the point/clarify/educate/whatever... or get to the point as necessary.
Thank you for your help
Interesting. Being a southerner, I'd think Marcia and RogerD were suggesting "simple courtesy"
Come now, you don't have to be southern to appreciate courtesy... ;)
One of my standard stickymails back when I moderated FOO went something like this:
nickname-
Just wanted to let you know that I had to edit your post in X thread. While your post wasn't really outrageous, and I don't think you were trying to start trouble, I'm sure you'll understand that other, less mature, members could easily read your post the wrong way and take it as "bait" to start a big argument about (choose one: sex/politics/religion/etc.)...
We really try to avoid ever discussing sex, politics, religion and any other cultural "hot button" topics in the forums here, because no matter how mature and intelligent the first posts on the subject may be, someone else will ALWAYS drag the thread into the gutter as soon as any of those subjects are mentioned.
Thanks for understanding!
-mivox
More often than not, I got an apology and a "thank you" for the edit. Two key points: "I'm not saying you did anything bad, but someone else will take it the wrong way," and "Thanks for understanding!" You've avoided putting them on the defensive by not pointing a finger directly at them, and you've given them credit for understanding before they get a chance to argue. And by doing it through private messaging, you've saved them the embarassment of a public rebuke.
This approach also worked well with link dropping: "I'm not saying you were trying to self-promote, but unfortunately even genuinely helpful links will be taken as a sign that link dropping is welcome... Then the self-promoters will come out of the woodwork, and the moderators simply won't be able to keep up editing enough to keep the forums readable. Sad but true."
But then when the polite method doesn't work, sometimes all there is left to say is, "Knock it off... you know perfectly well what I'm talking about, and if you don't stop, your account will be deleted." Which works a lot better after you've bent over backwards to be polite first.
That example is Mary Poppins Moderating. Just a spoonful of sugar - a little bit - not a 5 pound ssck.
Fixed rules for all makes it easy to assume everyone has innocent intentions, and avoids most hurt feelings. Indeed, I've seen cases where seemingly blatant spam posts were make by well-intentioned newbies who were simply trying to help. A gentle explanation prevents losing these members right off the bat.
In reality, most TOS violators aren't bad people - they simply haven't learned the rules of the forum they are in, or are used to a different style of communication, or even have issues with the forum's primary language. Some gentle steering will work wonders in most cases.
I would agree with rogerd's comments above and also add that sometimes forum posts (and email for that matter) can be misunderstood. Either the tone can come across wrong or there could be a double meaning. Also joking and sarcasm can sometimes be misinterpreted in a written context.
Like in the real world, diffusing a potential problem situation is always the best way rather than being a bull in a china shop.
Even in the worse cases its far better to get the offending member(s) discussing in private (and off the public board) and with you and not each other (if more than one).
It is alot easier to manage to (rather than edit, sticky, find and deleted or sticky/post to others mod with permissions, wait, sticky, etc).
Always ensure the very last line of every private response is an upbeat comment rather than counseling.
The cooling affect most often produces this:
:)
I've come to think of it as "Mary Poppins Moderating."
I sometimes see members in here who are behaving in such an obnoxious way that I wonder why WW doesn't boot them out.
At the same time, a friend of mine (formerly a boss too), had his account terminated by WW a couple years back. He made a critical comment about G - but the comment was also badly misinterpreted by WW in other respects. A shame really, because he never reapplied here again, and he's one of the savviest Web people I've ever met. I learned more from him than any other person I ever worked for. He's now an active, respected poster on other (lesser) forums, but I can't persuade him to come back here...
Definitely an instance that confirms Marcia's wisdom regarding the need for patience and widsom when handling questionable posts from members who *might* turn into great long term contributors.
Moderating a place like this has to be an exceptionally difficult job. My hat is off to everyone who makes WW so great.
<P.S. Count me among those who were sad to see Marcia resign as a mod, but are happy to see that she's still actively posting.>
It's sort of like the people at the airline counter who have to stay calm and help people even when those people are hostile or irrational, and blame that counter person because a flight is late and they'll miss their cruise departure, job interview, etc. The good reps maintain their cool no matter what.
