More moderators?

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I reckon that more forum moderators are needed, both because of trouble that goes on sometimes, and I have only seen 2 active moderators, i.e alex and MrMark, who both do a great job, but aren't on all the time. As WP is quite a big forum, 2 moderators must have quite a workload.

I think WP needs a few more mature members, who go on WP on a daily basis to ease the workload, and speed up responses to trolls and such. Not only that, but there should be more moderators to respond to messages/questions.

I have to say, I agree, having run my own board and moderated one for over 8 months. I thought the ratio was usually around 1 moderator to every 20-30 active members? I have seen more than Alex and Mark modding, but the others do not seem to be on very regularly. I seriously think it is better to err on the side of caution and have more than enough moderators rather than too few. It means that trouble can be cleared up quicker, offensive posts can maybe be edited or removed faster...and maybe even allow for a 3 warnings then you're out system to exist.

Just opinions mind, I mean, I think an admirable job is done for such a large forum. I am an ideas person, which is probably why I modded on another forum. I like formulating ideas for improving things, but not as criticism. I hope this is taken in the way it is intended and it does not offend those who do already moderate/admin the site.

moderators are like the cops and a lot of people don't like the cops. people are more civil when they are encouraged to behave, not forced to behave. with that said, we have some moderators who don't have "moderator" tags but only 2 or 3 of those.

Moderators are not just there for ordering people around. What WP needs is some moderators who people can turn to if something is amiss, when you alex, or MrMark aren't online. I mean, with loads of online members, there is probably alot of messaging to the few with moderator privileges as well, and the workload is probably immense. Responsible, mature members, who can resolve conflicts 24/7 should be able to deal with issues such as trolls and inappropriate threads, and ensure a response within minutes, all round the clock.

I think moderators, if chosen for maturity and for their already being very familiar to members, are fine in large numbers as long as they are not enforcing rules left, right and centre, but rather are on hand for emergencies. I think it is especially important with children on the boards, considering what some of the trolls post. It would be little different to how it is now, just means that problems will be stopped before they develop into full blown thread wars with trolls or otherwise disruptive influences.

When I think about it, I actually think I fit some of the requirements for being a Mod. I'm on nearly all the time, have a good sense of 'justice', and I'm liked well enough around here to not be considered a cop to avoid, if you know what I mean.

Some problems I see are my age (16) and my maturity. Although I can get into a more serious tone when required, most of the time I'm pretty laid-back and all that. Also, I don't browse all the forums (such as Computers, Women's, Men's and Adults), but because of how often I post around here, someone could just drop me a PM notifying me of the infringement.

But that's IF I'm a mod. I don't actually expect to be one just by saying so.




But it would be neat.

I always found moderating was so much hard than I ever imagined it to be when made one, but then the rules on the forum I was on were quite strict to avoid legal issues. No children were allowed, simply because it was a forum dealing with mediumship and spirituality. It had no adult content at all as even with us all being adults, that wasn't allowed, lol. Later on, a separate kids forum was set up that was separately moderated and that had strict guidelines to protect the children. I was told I was a very good moderator, but of course, my honesty and bluntness did not go down well on the spiritual forum I belonged to and the forum admin there did not like having anything pointed out to her, lol, so her moderators were pretty much lackeys and followers who agreed with everything she did and said. I couldn't bear it. And she had a habit of banning people left, right and centre...who would return under other usernames and cause even more trouble. I think she is better now though and reinstated some people who had been longterm members and moderators...and yes, she even banned her moderators when they decided to take a different road onto another forum. Still makes me laugh. I suppose each forum has different needs and issues arising. But I maintain that where children are involved, you have to be very careful. Parents are not happy letting their little ones onto a forum where anyone can post alongside their kids and where anyone can get into the forum...not to mention their kids being able to access other areas.

Yeah a heavily moderated site for aspies might be very counterproductive. I've been
warned on other sites for things that 99% of the members on WP would not even notice.
Needless to say I rarely post on that other site. My guess Alex has figured out from trial and error that less moderation leads to a larger WP user base.

In the case of when a troll attacks late at night US East coast time when Alex and MrMark are likely to be sleeping then perhaps any future moderator should be in the UK or Australia.

I vote no to more moderators. Extreme situations will eventually be dealt with. Shades of gray are better judged by the community.

Maybe alex could give his contact info to a few people in other time zones who could alert him to a troll attack... beyond that idea, I prefer the concept of community self-moderation.

I'm nearly on the forum all the time, I could probably serve as the first defense against super disturbing members like JBM and Atomika.

Yes, I could do that, but wouldn't be comfortable judging the greyer areas of forum behavior, so I'm not volunteering to be a Mod. I think mods have to be pretty cool and detached, and I'd sooner have the amount of moderation we have now rather heavy moderation.
I agree with what Apatura said ~ shades of gray are better judged by the community.

This isn't about shades of grey. People automatically think moderators=power+ control etc etc. I wonder why that is? Moderators are also generally there to serve other functions such as moving topics that have been placed in the wrong area, helping with general questions etc. The fact is, it is not logical to simply say 'the extreme situations are eventually sorted out' and some such. Why wait until they get that extreme simply for the sake of this assumption that moderators=control freaks=less freedom? As I said before, maybe it would not matter so much were this board limited to those over the age of 16/18. but there are children on these boards, and anyone can join this board. You could have someone join who preys on children.. no moderators around to sort it out because they are all in bed or at work...what then? You could have someone attacking threads left, right and centre, leaving the most abrasive and cruel comments imaginable and causing distress to members...what then? Have the whole forum disrupted just for the sake of your feeling more at liberty and less 'policed'. Moderation isn't about policing per se. It is about helping to keep things running smoothly, assistting members, and preventing serious trouble before it gets too serious.

Having individual moderators focussing on just 1 or 2 forum areas is a good idea too so they do not have to spread themselves so thin then. But thats just my opinion based on other forums I have been on and what seemed to work best.

If seeing the mods is a problem then make "cloaked" mods. They can lock, ban and do general mod things but their profiles bear no markings, except to other mods.