Demoting Mods

[Sephiroth 9999]

Yes, I hate it when members nag about being Moderators. Like when a new version comes along: "oh please please please can I be a Moderator?". And you get these complete n00bs coming up to you asking if they can be Admin? Don't they realise I can't just go about promoting everyone or we all may as well be Administrators.

Demoted Moderators also drive me nuts. It's as though they've been given an unbrakeable contract by the government to Moderate at your forums.

[thefluke]

I've had to fire two admins for being inactive, and I had spoken previously a few tiems to them earlier.

One admin said admins shouldn't have a lot of posts, so that's why he doesn't.

There's a difference between not being active and not posting alot.

A way of doing this without causing such a fuss might be to have a post requiring all your admins and mods to check in once every month or two. Start it on your busiest day, and give them 5-7 days to post saying they've changed their passwords or they will lose mod or admin. This is also a great way to make everyone more secure. (passwords are like underwear- best if there's only one owner, and it's a good idea to change them often).

Then, if they complain, tell them that they failed a security check. Reinstate them, telling them they need to pay closer attention to the boards and being secure. If they fail again, they're out.

[Andrew111888]

Yes, I hate it when members nag about being Moderators. Like when a new version comes along: "oh please please please can I be a Moderator?". And you get these complete n00bs coming up to you asking if they can be Admin? Don't they realise I can't just go about promoting everyone or we all may as well be Administrators.

Demoted Moderators also drive me nuts. It's as though they've been given an unbrakeable contract by the government to Moderate at your forums.

I had a member ask the other day who has 1 post say: "What do I have 2 do 2 become a mod or admin at the TAC?"

[starbucks]

I had a member ask the other day who has 1 post say: "What do I have 2 do 2 become a mod or admin at the TAC?"

i would of replied with "dont post for 5 years", then i MAY consider it, or ban him, whichever takes my fancy

[thefluke]

I had a member ask the other day who has 1 post say: "What do I have 2 do 2 become a mod or admin at the TAC?"

attempting to type in proper english always helps.

I always like it when you start a new board. everyone wants to be a mod... of course, when most new boards start, that's how they try to get members, at least in the community I'm in.

[Andrew111888]

attempting to type in proper english always helps.

I always like it when you start a new board. everyone wants to be a mod... of course, when most new boards start, that's how they try to get members, at least in the community I'm in.

For me it was a kind "Thanks, but we don't need any moderators at this time."

One kid even threatened to kick my ass if I didn't mod him

[Beth]

Power hungry

I had someone determined to climb my ladder from member all the way through my custom usergroup to make it to admin. Some hope

[Techguy1]

had similar cases...

we actually had to post this sticky once in the mod forum because info was 'mysteriously' leaking...

This forum is private.
Do NOT disclose any information discussed in this forum without prior agreement with the Team. Information posted and discussed here is NOT for general public and therefore should not be referenced anywhere outside of this forum.

Thank you for understanding.

There was also once this very annoying member, that finally got banned (not for this). He posted these threads the day after he joined the forum:
http://www.hftonline.com/forum/showt...threadid=11728
http://www.hftonline.com/forum/showt...threadid=11903
http://www.hftonline.com/forum/showt...threadid=11974
http://www.hftonline.com/forum/showt...threadid=12113
http://www.hftonline.com/forum/showt...threadid=12178

Tell me it's not obsession :\

[Andrew111888]

By the third time I would have told him any chances of being a mod are totally shot and to just give up.

[Steve Machol]

FWIW my experience is that the people who actively campaign to be a Mod are the absolute worst choices for that position.

[Kathy]

I recently had a member who was relentless.

She joined and within a few days emailed me to ask for a mod job. I declined and told her that we select mods from the membership based on how they work within the community helping others.

She was auditioning with every post...posting tons during the day (I wondered if her family ever ate) and then she started trying to get chummy with the mods. She signed up for the highest subscriber group.

She would PM a few and ask them how a person becomes a mod.

Then she would PM other mods and ask if her posts were okay and would she make a good mod.

Her posts had been good at first...but she had become a bit off with her responses, not representing our site's mission but not knowing it. She was swinging way to one end and then the other. She didn't know our TOS and we frequently had to PM her to let her know about something she had posted that was edited....

Without knowing that she had emailed me to ask early on for mod job, the mods started asking if I thought she would be a good mod. I remained quiet, politely turning them down when they made the suggestion.

Then one day she opened PMd another mod and asked her again about being selected as a mod. The mod forwarded her PM to me.

I PMd the member and explained that she needed to stop asking mods about being a mod. I explained that mods may get a title but the best members were the ones that helped our members without titles. They were heros of our site and to please keep posting and helping others.

She was furious. She PMd all the mods and flamed them. She replied to me that she deserved to be a mod for all the posts and money she subscribed with. (Policy of subscriptions= non-refundable as this isn't a gift but rather a service they enjoy with their membership with the added benefits).

She took her avatar down, removed her signature and left the site. She hasn't returned (logged in) since that day over a month ago.

Odd? Yes.

But it shows me that her intention wasn't to help the site...(the true intent for helping others is no recognition) but her goal was to be a mod ....no matter what.

Its my policy that I never, ever, "hire" a mod when they ask.

Its also my policy that I never hire mods quickly. I sit back and wait and watch. If they provide input for a long time, remaining devoted to the community....I might begin to consider it.

I've had to demote a mod once....and decided then and there I would be much more careful noting character qualities and listening to the red flags and alerts I hear along the way.

That ex-mod is still around (yes, she is a grown woman) and comes to this site even to read my posts. She created another site like mine and tried for a while to use my member list to email my members.

My point...although I've typed alot and rambled much...is to be careful who you select to be mods. (Goes without saying for admins!) But be careful...and do not put a person into leadership position without knowing much about that person.

[Techguy1]

FWIW my experience is that the people who actively campaign to be a Mod are the absolute worst choices for that position.

indeed!

[Techguy1]

By the third time I would have told him any chances of being a mod are totally shot and to just give up.

I personally mentioned this in the my very first reply to his first post. Other team members just re-emphasized it in a softer way

[Techguy1]

To ask for an admin position and have no idea whatsoever about running of this board is quite ridiculous.

We don't give out admin positions on an ask-give basis, sorry. Frankly, I think no board does.

so there you go...

[Techguy1]

Btw, I've never had a huge problem with any moderator, mainly because of the selection method. There was only one rat in the very beginning of the forum - who left for another site and then destroyed all posts of his by editing them. But that was with member permissions, even though I still think this is unacceptable for an ex-moderator. Unethical at least.