Moderators?

[FFnut]

We're slowly getting more and more members, so I was wondering if we should be looking towards the mod direction - for those of you who don't know what Moderators (mods) are, they're the same things as Administrators (admins) but their powers only affect a specific forum. Admins, for example, can edit any person's post anywhere on the forums, whereas mods can do the same thing as long as the post is in the forum that they mod.

The benefits? A more structured hierarchy for the forums, more specialized help (people realizing they can ask the mod of a specific forum for help in that game, as it's unlikely that someone who mods a forum has limited knowledge of the game), less work for the admin (he can let the mods check up on the forums, rather than going to every forum himself), and a desire of all member to be better member so that they, too, may one day receive modship. We can even have elections for moderators of forums to make it easier for the decision to be made, as long as the person who runs for it actively participates in the forum (otherwise they should not be allowed to run in the first place). An old forum that I used to go to had a whole near-law written up for moderator selection, I'll see if I can find it.

On a totally unrelated note, we need a forum for FFT. It's a great game and many people have played it.

[Gumdrop]

I already brought this up once, I think shaggy is still thinking on this one
I agree with most of what your saying but I dunno if mod election threads are a good idea becuse they tend to turn into popularity contests rather than who can get the job done, but they are sort of fun :P
-on that note I'd love to mod if you want me to shaggy, I've had experiance, I'm a G. mod in two forums and an admin in two (I only made one of those forums though).
if we have a fft forum then we should have a crystal chronicals one to, i dont recomend maveing to many forums though :/

[FFnut]

Alright, so I went back to the forums that I originally came up with the name FFnut on (this was years ago) and reread the Articles of Moderation. I noticed that a majority of the limitations affect these forums far too much (for example, to become a mod there, you must have been a member for at least two months and have at least 200 posts, something that we definitely do NOT have, although HC is close) for us to completely adapt them. However, a nice amount of the election isn't run by pure votes. Let me post the relevant sections:

I.2. Primary Election
The moderator election in the chosen forum is a primary election. It is solely for the purpose of the forum leaders to get an idea about who is favored to lead that forum. Candidates post that they are running, and other members vote for them... A voter may post why they feel the candidate is qualified, but it is not necessary. A candidate SHOULD NOT:
- Post what they will do as a mod. The responsibilities are always the same.
- Post multiple times in the topic. Extra posts make it hard to be sorted through.
- Bribe members.
- Discourage others from running
- Be a bad sport. Doing so will hurt the candidate’s chances of winning.
It is advised that someone (a non-candidate) take up the responsibility of keeping a tally of the votes.
When the primary election has gone on long enough, an administrator will close the topic and send it to the Moderator Forum for a final decision. The winner of the primary will not necessarily be selected as the new moderator, and all candidates should recognize this before running... (Note: As we do not currently have any mods, we therefore do not have a moderator forum. We could probably make one after we have a few, leaving the Moderator Election task directly up to Shaggy in this case.)

III. The Moderator Election- Final Decision
After the primary election is closed in the chosen forum, an administrator will move the topic to the Moderator Forum. It is here that the final decision is made. All candidates are reviewed. Usually, only the top two or three winners of the primary election are looked at. Their record is reviewed; allowing disqualifications... to take place. Also, this is where comments made by the forum regulars (mentioned in Article II.2) will come into play. The moderators will vote on who they believe is the most qualified. After a certain amount of time, the votes are tallied and the chosen moderator is put into power... the administrators have the final say. Therefore, it is possible for the final ruling to be against any votes of the moderators. (As I said, until we have enough mods, this entire task can just be Shaggy's decision.)

This Articles Of Moderation thing beautifully defines everything a mod should do and the steps taken to modship. I can post the full thing if you wish.

[Spiff]

Good Read FFnut,

I've never heard of moderators getting elected to their positions. Interesting...

[~Hidan~]

I've also asked about this. He'll appoint Mods when he is ready to have them.

[Shaggy]

Yes I will, but righth now there is really nothing to mod on this board yet. You are all to good so far..

[LoKuS]

I no im the n00b here and all, but i wouldnt mind being a mod, plus ive been down with the FF series for awhile now.

[Arkacia]

I've just read this thread for the first time and even though FFnut's post is an old one, I want to have my say on mod elections.

Basically they are a very bad idea.

No matter how strict the guidelines are, they will turn into a popularity contest. Backdoor forum politics and the charisma of a person running for the job will over ride whether they are capable of doing the job.

I am a firm believer in the admin and other mods of a forum choosing any new mod for the simple reason they know what the job entails and as they are usually the most active people on a forum, can readily work out by observation who would make a good mod and who wouldn't.

Then of course there is the most important aspect of any new mod from an admins point of view. Its trust. A mod has the ability to ruin/destroy a board and no admin in his/her right mind would even consider putting someone into the position unless they felt the person concerned was completly trustworthy. Choosing the new mod themselves keeps the admin in control of that, mod elections would take the issue of trust out of the admins hands and put popularity into the memberships hands instead. That I feel is way too dangerous.

[ShadowHeart]

I agree with Arkacia. If anything, Shaggy should appoint mods himself when he feels he needs them.

[Shaggy]

And I will be needing them very soon.

[Raven]

I think it's a good idea, if the members are mature, but I don't do it.
I to run a forum, but I contact members, if I feel I need help.
I used to have mod applications, but that's not an good way of having moderators.
People who want to be moderators usually have plans of their own and therefor, I appoint moderators when I feel it's necessary.

[ShadowHeart]

It seems we have our first moderator on the boards

[Arkacia]

Yes you do .

I'm just going through and cleaning up the forums a bit. If any of you find anything I've either missed or not got to yet, please feel free to PM me with a link.