Behind the Moderator Curtain

As a fairly new moderator, it occurred to me that some of you might be interested in the world of moderating HW. First of all, I was pleasantly surprised by the generous stipend that....what?....no?...PeterDA was kidding?...oh well....

Anyway, what happened to me was that in a weak moment I volunteered after opening my big mouth on a couple of threads. Turns out that "volunteering" isn't enough in and of itself. Rightfully, the site owner/administrator (Peter Waite) does some due diligence to make sure that the potential moderators are not obvious psychopaths or serial killers. This included emails to Peter from 142 and PeterDA that supported my candidacy. TonyC also weighed in and it's obvious that Peter W. holds Tony in very high regard. Of particular note for me was the fact that I have had debates (arguments?) with all 3 of those mods previously but, like the gentlemen they are, they put that aside. This is a good example of how respectful disagreement still can lead to friendships.

Beyond this, Peter W. took the time to review a number of my recent posts and, in spite of that and my general clumsiness, he decided that I was good to go. In his congratulatory email he told me to expect "Forum Moderator" to magically appear by my name, gave me a rundown on my super-powers and asked me to review the forum rules and the "Moderator FAQ's" before jumping into the deep end.

Upon my next log in I did find some new buttons on my screen and some new options that I know I should use sparingly and only as necessary. It turns out that I can edit any post, can lock/unlock threads and can delete posts as well as threads. Since I was always pissed when a mod edited or locked me, I vowed to try to use these powers only for the good of Gotham City. Though, I must admit that since mods can use these options on any of the HW forums I was tempted to edit some of my friend Purg's posts on another forum just for grins but I figured that would get me booted pretty quickly as the other mods would not have thought I was so funny.

Speaking of other mods, I now have access to a HW Moderator Forum. This is my opportunity to interact with moderators from the various forums, ask and answer questions and get information/perspective without bothering the owner.

You will note that banning another member is NOT one of the moderator options. However I have learned that there are some HW moderators who are appointed as "Super Mods". These moderators do have the power to ban spammers and I go to one of them when I see a dirty-rotten spammer so as to save Peter W. the trouble. The Super Mods all seem to be female; based on our experience with the great females who populate the PCa forum, that would seem to be a good call! Peter W. reserves the right to himself to revoke membership of members for other reasons and I think that is appropriate.

From a personal standpoint, I find this is a gratifying way of giving back something to this valuable forum and get a lot of satisfaction from that -- along with a little frustration. Occasionally I find myself not saying something that I might have said pre-mod but then I go ahead anyway but try to walk the walk and phrase it respectfully.

So, I hope this is at least a little bit interesting and a diversion from debating when we should screen. My next chapter will divulge the secret handshake....wait?....what?....142 was kidding?....geeez.

Jim

Late edit: I meant to also include that there is a fair amount of off forum communication. Your three mods group email several times each week about forum issues/questions and there are also occasional emails from forum members about various issues - I think this is good.

Thanks guys for all you do. The challenge of herding cats comes to mind...

By the way tudpock18, do you have a Swedish background by any chance? My wife's cousin's nickname is Tud, an affectionate Swedish nickname.

Just curious.

Mod job, no thank you. But you guys keep doing what you do because you do it well.

tud +25

Tudpock18 -

You're already showing a very positive management skill: you're keeping the lines of communications open with the rest of us, and in a positive way, as he tone and content of your above post indicates.

Maybe not on the level of an FDR and his Fireside Chats probably, but it's a good management move to be in contact like this, letting us know what's on your mind, and vice versa, with the communication benefits that it has to offer. It can head off misunderstandings, growing discontentment, etc., by catching such things early on.

Jim, you are already a Gem among Moderators. Keep on keeping on, you have my vote of confidence, as well as the other PC mods.

david in sc

Some secrets remain behind the curtain.

One thing they didn't mention is that you get a special t-shirt. The one with a bulls-eye that is invisible until the most inopportune times.

Thanks each of your for all the work that you do to make the a wonderful site.

Cajun Jeff