Why do people wanna stay mods

witnessmenow

.. when clearly there interest in the subject is completey gone. Like there is on Cmod that i've literally havent seen posting in the category since i actively started using boards (about a year). In some of the forums he is the only mod.

So im asking why would you want to stay a mod?

kaimera

coke & hookers basically.

Mr Magnolia

powah!!



Seriously though, I'd only mod a section I had an interest in.

Sherifu

They say you never notice the best mods.

nesf

witnessmenow wrote: »

.. when clearly there interest in the subject is completey gone. Like there is on Cmod that i've literally havent seen posting in the category since i actively started using boards (about a year). In some of the forums he is the only mod.

Sometimes the best mod for a forum or category is a person who isn't highly active within it. It's much easier to stay neutral if you aren't committed to one side or another of the debate. Or more importantly, it's much easier to be seen as being neutral which is something more important than whether or not you are neutral.

Some people take the opposite view and think a very active mod is better. It's a matter of taste really.

Voodu Child

witnessmenow wrote: »

So im asking why would you want to stay a mod?

You can't just 'stop' being a mod..

Seriously, if you understood the things that they...oh..i've said too much already

RuggieBear

I do it so that i can oppress....and take part in the witch-hunts.

witnessmenow

I havent seen the mod im talking about post on boards at all in the time i've been here.

What would be the average reporting to action time?

RuggieBear

report a post now and tell us how long it takes?

Bard

witnessmenow wrote: »

[Why do people wanna stay mods] when clearly there interest in the subject is completey gone[?]

Well I can only speak for myself. I used to be moderator of three other forums on boards.ie (IrelandOFFLine, Gaeilge and Portable Media Players).

I gave up modding IrelandOFFLine because I hadn't the time for it any more at the time, gave up Gaeilge because A> I lost interest and B> my Irish wasn't as good as I would have liked it to be, and I gave up PMP's because I moved departments in the store I worked in and was no longer working with ordering and selling PMP's - so I thought someone else might be better suited as mod there.

...So yes, people DO stop being mods when their interest in the subject mater is gone. At least .. some people do anyway.

voodoochild wrote:

You can't just 'stop' being a mod..

Of course you can! Many have...

I AM still mod of the "Theatre & Performing Arts" forum, and it's a subject which has always interested me. It's a relatively quiet forum though which doesn't require much moderating - which is nice

RuggieBear

your moaning about Amp, aren't you?

nesf

Bard wrote: »

...So yes, people DO stop being mods when their interest in the subject mater is gone. At least .. some people do anyway.

Well, it only becomes a problem if the person stops moderating the forum because they've lost interest in the subject matter tbh.

muffler

I certainly have an interest in the forums I mod. I enjoy it - well mostly anyhow. If I didnt enjoy it I would give it up.

In the Op's case I think the mod or Cmod he is referring to is the exception rather than the rule. But then again there are mods who keep an eye out rather than get involved in the various threads.

Regarding Cmods well they are there for a reason and as for posting I havent seen any of the Cmods post in "my" forums but that doesnt bother me. In fact its better all round that the forum mods get on with the day to day running of the forums and the Cmods are there should they be needed for something serious that arises.

randylonghorn

nesf wrote: »

Well, it only becomes a problem if the person stops moderating the forum because they've lost interest in the subject matter tbh.

Why would it be a problem if they stopped when they lose interest?

Bob the Builder

well usually what is see is that there's numerous mods on each forum. The interested ones are the active ones and the uninterested one(s) are just sleeping mods, or else the sleeping ones are CMods/SMods.

cornbb

I recently stopped modding a forum because I didn't have enough time or interest to commit to it. For larger or generalised forums I don't think its very important that a mod is interested in the subject matter but for most forums I think its very important that the moderators are highly interested in the subject at hand - this ensures they are motivated enough to read and contribute regularly, and to nudge things along when the forum is quiet. If a mod/cmod can't even be bothered to log in and read their forum regularly I think they should step down in the name of fairness.

nesf

randylonghorn wrote: »

Why would it be a problem if they stopped when they lose interest?

As in, they stay on as mod but stop actually moderating the forum and don't bother to tell anyone about it.

Karl Hungus

Power, influence, and for sport.

nesf

cornbb wrote: »

If a mod/cmod can't even be bothered to log in and read their forum regularly I think they should step down in the name of fairness.

Try moderating AH or PI like that for a while.

Reading every post/thread is feasible in the smaller forums, I generally read every new thread on UCC for instance, the traffic level is very low, I wouldn't read every thread on Work/Jobs and generally read the one's I'm interested in. The Report Posts function, if properly used, removes most of the reasons for moderators to have to read every post on a forum. Then, a lot of it comes down to whether you view moderators as "janitors" or "shapers of the forum". Personally I think "janitor" is closer to the ideal because I think it's the forum regulars not the moderator who should shape the forum. Now if the moderator is one of the forum regulars, the two roles overlap but I don't think a moderator should use their powers to dictate the direction of a forum, only to put reasonable or necessary limits on said direction.

6th

Since becoming a mod I've lost a little weight and have (by all accounts) become a better lover.

Turner

Sabotage wrote: »

Since becoming a mod I've lost a little weight and have (by all accounts) become a better lover.

lolz

cornbb

nesf wrote: »

Try moderating AH or PI like that for a while.

Reading every post/thread is feasible in the smaller forums, I generally read every new thread on UCC for instance, the traffic level is very low, I wouldn't read every thread on Work/Jobs and generally read the one's I'm interested in. The Report Posts function, if properly used, removes most of the reasons for moderators to have to read every post on a forum. Then, a lot of it comes down to whether you view moderators as "janitors" or "shapers of the forum". Personally I think "janitor" is closer to the ideal because I think it's the forum regulars not the moderator who should shape the forum. Now if the moderator is one of the forum regulars, the two roles overlap but I don't think a moderator should use their powers to dictate the direction of a forum, only to put reasonable or necessary limits on said direction.

I take your point about traffic in bigger vs. smaller forums, if I was an AH mod there's no way I would read every post, but then again with the amount of traffic that place gets you're pretty much guaranteed that anything naughty is gonna get reported. In smaller fora stuff rarely gets reported even if its clearly out of order.

I agree that moderators are primarily janitors but being a moderator and wanting to drive the forum forward is a good thing too, as you are in a position to create resource stickies etc. Every mod must nevertheless bear in mind that the forum's userbase must choose its own direction, and that mods are janitors/bouncers, not policymakers.

Boston

Sabotage wrote: »

and have (by all accounts) become a better lover.

When you reach the nadir, there is only one way to go.

witnessmenow

RuggieBear wrote: »

your moaning about Amp, aren't you?


....

report a post now and tell us how long it takes?

Moaning is a harsh word...

2+ days apperently

randylonghorn

nesf wrote: »

As in, they stay on as mod but stop actually moderating the forum and don't bother to tell anyone about it.

Ah ... right.

I read "stops moderating" in your original post as stepping down, hence the confusion.

Bard

randylonghorn wrote: »

Ah ... right.

I read "stops moderating" in your original post as stepping down, hence the confusion.

Ditto here.

When I said "people DO stop being mods when their interest in the subject mater is gone", I meant that (some) people DO step down and let someone with more interest take over when that happens (- myself being an example of that), not that they just sit back and don't bother any more.

randylonghorn

witnessmenow wrote: »

Moaning is a harsh word...

2+ days apperently

It is a Bank Holiday weekend, you do realise? Not everyone spends them glued to their kb / screen.

Speaking of which ...

... the pub (well, beer garden) beckons! o/

nesf

Bard wrote: »

When I said "people DO stop being mods when their interest in the subject mater is gone", I meant that (some) people DO step down and let someone with more interest take over when that happens (- myself being an example of that), not that they just sit back and don't bother any more.

Yeah it was a poor choice of words on my part that caused the confusion.

nesf

cornbb wrote: »

I take your point about traffic in bigger vs. smaller forums, if I was an AH mod there's no way I would read every post, but then again with the amount of traffic that place gets you're pretty much guaranteed that anything naughty is gonna get reported. In smaller fora stuff rarely gets reported even if its clearly out of order.

Well there's two sides to it. Generally, even on forums as big and varied as AH, it tends to be the same smallish group of people doing most of the reporting in my experience. Bigger forums have more of a chance of having a few people like this reading it but conversely sometimes very small low traffic forums might have several of these people active in it.

RoundyMooney

Its true indeed that we have some mods on the site, who are mods in name only.

From boards' perspective, there is little that can be done to address that, bar appointing new people. Recent mod purges resulted in some moaning and gnashing of teeth when people took affront to the fact that they were considered to be inactive in moderation (although not necessarily in terms of activity on the site, posting or otherwise).

That's not very common though. Mods step down all the time, for a variety of reasons.

Some folk actually think that being a mod means something more than giving a little back to a community they enjoy. Call it e-penis, or whatever you like.

No one expects omnipresence from any one individual (this is only a website, after all), but if someone can't or won't fulfil their role, then for them to continue masquerading in that role is IMO selfish, and to the detriment of the work done by others who may have to "carry" them, as it were.

I am singling out no one with this statement. They know who they are

smashey

It's the thrill of the whinging feedback thread after you ban somebody.