Moderators - Call for Assistance

[NeutronIC]

Hi everyone,

I'm getting very thin on the ground for moderators after a few have stood down their positions lately for numerous reasons. I am therefore putting out this call for assistance - are you brave, fearless, a sucker for punishment and don't care how many rude names you are called? Drop me a note - if you can let me know what experience you have both dealing with people on and off forums (not necessarily this community) that would be good.

I will warn you now the job is not easy, it can involve a lot of soul searching, some flurries of bad attitude towards moderators and so forth - but on the whole the positive feeling you get from helping keep the forums sane makes it worth while (did anyone believe that?! ).

Still, if you have a bit of experience dealing with people and you are prepared to negotiate / discuss all sorts of issues that don't necessarily tally with your own thoughts of beliefs (moderators aren't here to expose their own desires on the forums, we're here for the "greater good" - that makes it hard some times!) then drop me a note via PM.

Matt.

[ca55ie]

I'm probably too young...

Sam

[ianmacmillan]

Hi everyone,

I'm getting very thin on the ground.

And on top.

[JonathonAG]

You have a P/m Matt
I would love to help. So i hope I get the chance to

[NeutronIC]

And on top.

It's these kind of insults that.... well, make us laugh to be honest

You'll get yours Ian!! You'll get yours!!!!

Matt.

[ianmacmillan]

Better pack the padded underpants and not turn my back at Warley now.

Got a feeling I might be volenteered.

[fairlie]

I'd be glad to help

[johndibben]

I will warn you now the job is not easy, it can involve a lot of soul searching, some flurries of bad attitude towards moderators and so forth - but on the whole the positive feeling you get from helping keep the forums sane makes it worth while (did anyone believe that?! ).

If it's any help, I received a very positive feeling from, mostly private messages and comments on the forums. I know most members wish UKTS well. Even people who have been banned were supportive.

It was a rule that anyone with commercial interests was seen to be putting themselves in an awkward position though.

Personally, I found that entering into discussion with anyone that obviously didn't want to be a member except on their terms was fruitless and swift and decisive action was the only alternative.

Ironically, this approach which was the nub of my problem has been adopted by other forums.

Matt was very supportive and so were most of the members. Beware of being an ex-moderator though as you're fair game which is to be expected and quite amusing

[barrybryce01475]

Perhaps this would be a good point to say how much I do appreciate the efforts made by the mods, it's a pity that by the nature of things you'll only really get to hear the complaints!

(Not volunteering though. I'd probably start a fight in an empty house if I was a Mod.)

[allypally]

I offered myself up as soon as I saw the post at 1830. I think it would be hypocritical of me if I was openly supportive of the mods, yet refusing to even volunteer to take part of the burden.

[Fodda]

Yes please! Give me moderator power! I want the ability to teach some people here a good... Errr... I promise to not use all the extra power for revenge or personal satisfaction.

LOL... Good luck Matt. Although I'd love a go at moderating, I think it's obvious that every now and then I have a very short fuse and having major forum powers wouldn't be much good for the long-term well being of the site.

I suggest other people do a bit of soul-searching before applying, even though you love UKTS, might you lose it suddenly as I did. Can you be as fair and open minded as you think?

[johndibben]

I honestly think it's a thing for which people should be chosen. There's an immediate sense of support from site admin (Matt). This could turn into a popularity contest along the lines of the 'elections' which were suggested. Anyone rejected could feel let down.

I agree with Gary that you want you think long and hard before accepting. Being 'all-powerful' soon loses it's novelty and you're never sure support is genuine or you're simply being urged to do someone else's bidding.

You also have to work with the other mods and agree to disagree a lot as everyone's different.

Actually, only two 'high-profile' mods plus Matt's dad have disappeared from the list, that I can see. How many mods does a website need?

[saddletank]

I'd echo other 'veterans' comments here and ask everyone who feels they want to volunteer to really think carefully about this. It will eat into a lot of your free time (if it doesn't that means you are not moderating properly) - you will make some enemies on the forums (principally those 'free spirits' who think any kind of policing of 'free speech' is wrong) - and you will have to take a step back from the community and watch what you say to some extent. I didn't and I've regretted several outbursts ever since

At the risk of sounding rude to the enthusiastic newcomers who think they should give this a go I'd also suggest that moderators also ought to be people who have been using the site for quite some time, around a year is a good time period to get to know who is who and what is what and to begin to follow various themes and undercurrents that flow between groups of people and underpin certain subjects (ahem...). Such knowledge of the community and forums is vital in detecting potential problems before they occur, and spotting classic problem-causing user behaviour before it results in nasty fallout.

But it's not all doom and gloom. Matt almost always wholeheartedly supports the mods team, and the team itself is a community of friends in it's own right and if anything I have found a stronger and more relaxed, even intellectually more challenging group of people in the mods team than anywhere else in the MSTS community.

Please also note that for simple conflict of interest reasons people working for commercial teams should not apply.

[NeutronIC]

Obviously I can't stop people from feeling rejected if they are do not become moderators but it's important to realise that I am only looking for one or two just to top things up a bit - and I won't ever be bringing loads of moderators onboard in one hit anyway, it's important each has time to bed in, get used to things and decide if they really want to continue it.

I have had about 20 people apply - so there's plenty of people that won't be asked to give us a hand and it is in no way a reflection on those people.

I now need to spend some time to go through the PM's that i've received on the subject and look for a handful for the moderating team to mull over - it's just as important that the existing moderators are happy with any newcomers as it is for me to be

Matt.

[Lad491]

Sometime ago I offered my services to Matt as a moderator, at about the time i was starting to get pretty heavily involved here. I offered as I do have a fair bit of experience as a moderator of both forums and chat rooms ( I actually have a certificate from NBCi for completing their 6 weeks online moderators course ). My offer wasn't accepted at that time.

This time around i was tempted to apply again, but decided against. Not just because im now "involved with a commercial group" as Saddletank puts it, but because I feel that my views about some of the things which have gone on here of late are so wildly different to others that i would find myself out on a limb more often than not.

So ive decided against. Good luck to those who do get accepted, I think I do share one view of others here, you wont find it an easy job.