Thread: The Moderator Personality

I was curious what everyone had to say about this.

Do you think that there is an ideal personality you look for in a moderator?

Considering that we do not usually need to know much about the moderator to vote them in, is this a good thing?

The foundational requirements are, of course dedication and activity, but what about their personality?

I notice that moderators on numerous forms have to moderate themselves and their behaviour. Why is this? Is it because the ideal moderator ought to be a neutral party and not be inclined to side X instead of Y? Should the best moderator be the one who does not take sides but just contributes simple agreements and acknowledgment to threads?

That is not fair. Moderators should feel free to roam.

I have been a moderator myself on several forms, including this one. I realize that there is a shift in behaviour, but why?

Do you think the ideal moderator should be a neutral party? Or perhaps moderators ought to be allowed to have a platform, much like a politic? If so, should there be parties that are made for forums as well?

Before you really answer, consider a Christian form. Is it better if all the moderators are Christian or ought they have an Atheist on board for the sake of discussion development.

I think what I would suggest is nominating someone who does not believe in Lucid Dreaming as a moderator. This will cause interesting discussion.

However... what do you think?

~

I administrate a forum
www.freemagicschool.com
And yeah, I noticed everytime, a moderator is picked, there personality changes!
Most of the time, I pick them bassed on there personality.
But it normaly changes for te better. Thay act more mature. and what not..
I changed alot when I was picked to be the administrator.
A while back, I had been moderatoing the forum for about 2 years. and sudenly the site is hacked, people were posting pirated stuff, the forum split, and now I administrate it..
Weird.
but yeah.. I do think the ideal moderator should be a nutral party.
becayse he/she is there to help EVERYONE... but I think thay could kimda stick to a side, but theres a difrence between "Your wrong!! blah blah blah" and "In my opinion as me, I think blah blah blah, but as ,y opinion as a moderator blah blah"

I think moderation should be impartial, based on recognised firm set of rules.

Regardless of personal sway, however unfair on the moderator this is. A moderator is only a tool to enforce rules created by whatever party created them. As a tool it should serve impartially and efficiently.

I always thought moderation should be an anonymous thing, that seems like it would keep the process more impartial.

Great question, but i dont think there should be any one particular type of moderator. I personally think it should differ between each.
But while doing their job of actually moderating, they should be impartial, not having an unhealthy bias.

I've been the Administrator of two forums. One of them I recently created. Maybe some of you have heard?

Being the Administrator means you really have to rise to the plate and keep everything organized and running smoothly. Incidentally, the Root Administrator of the other forum I was a part of was completely insane, posting things like the pain olympics and meatspin inside his own private forum that all the staff could see. He was constantly doing weird shit which eventually led up to my banning and the crumbling of the forum itself due to the fact that he was unable to maintain its userbase. This was a person NOT fit to be the Webmaster.

Originally Posted by O'nus

I think what I would suggest is nominating someone who does not believe in Lucid Dreaming as a moderator. This will cause interesting discussion.

Seems like we could get all the benefits of discussion and whatnot by simply recruiting some regular members in the forum who don't believe in LDing. I don't see the benefit in giving them a ban hammer though.

I don't think anyone should have to break the rules to be themself and post how they feel. The only time a moderator really needs to be impartial is when a rule is broken. As long as the rules are clearly defined and adhered to, moderators should be able to post as they please.

My main point, really, is if you have to vote for a person to be moderator - what personality are you really looking for?

~

Originally Posted by O'nus

My main point, really, is if you have to vote for a person to be moderator - what personality are you really looking for?

~

Someone with the ability to easily disconnect emotionally when the need arises to enforce a rule or make a decision in a dispute.

Originally Posted by Xaqaria

Someone with the ability to easily disconnect emotionally when the need arises to enforce a rule or make a decision in a dispute.

And each time we do, we get castrated for it.