To all of you who are so eager to volunteer to be a Mod...

[Black Bud]

Take it from someone who has been there, done (and still does) that AND was the victim of a troll attack as a Mod [on another site], be careful what you wish for for you may regret it.

Although I am not staff here at BF, I ask for the indulgence of the Administration and Moderators here so that I can share my experience and insights about Modding in general (and I certainly have no objections to this post being moved to another forum if you believe it would fit better elsewhere):

1.) Being a Mod is not easy, even on a small site.

You are, by simply being identifiable as "Staff", automatically end up with a GREAT BIG TARGET on your back. A target that any user with a beef WILL aim at.

So, a stiff upper lip (and a steel backbone!) is useful.

2.) Being a successful Mod (or Admin, if Admins are also allowed to moderate the site) requires a lot of time, a great deal of patience, a cool head...and the ability to obey the rules that the Mod has been authorized to enforce! A member who wants to qualify as a Mod and who cannot obey the last item is NOT going to "impress" the Powers That Be in the way they should want to in order to be considered for the job!

3.) Experience DOES count, especially with a HUGE board such as BF! If one does not have that experience, get it. On a smaller board, preferably NOT one YOU own...and be willing and able to PROVE it if required.

That last point is important: No matter how well you control your own board/blog, the fact is that it's yours and therefore you have not demonstrated that you are capable of following instructions--and playing fair--when you don't control the "#1 Administrator" (Super Administrator on vBulletin) buttons.

No board Admin/owner loves an upstart who thinks they know all about the board "behind the scenes" and therefore can run it better than they do.

4.) Most boards, from what I have seen so far, don't take volunteers for the Mod/Admin job once they are out of the "tiny little startup" stage (and therefore have a choice in the matter). It's normally "existing staff chooses a candidate and then asks the user so asked to accept or decline" and on an "as needed" basis rather than the other way around. After all, there IS a training period needed for new staff no matter how much experience they have elsewhere (on a well-run board) since each board's policies and procedures are different. In addition, it's reasonable to expect staff to look for people who have proven to be willing to help (as shown by what they post) and appear to be a good "fit" for the organization.

So don't be insulted if a board Admin tells you "We appreciate your interest, but not now."

[Tom Stormcrowe]

Very well said!

[monogodo]

I, too, am a moderator on another site. I'd like to add my comments to Black Bud's:
Take it from someone who has been there, done (and still does) that AND was the victim of a troll attack as a Mod [on another site], be careful what you wish for for you may regret it.

Although I am not staff here at BF, I ask for the indulgence of the Administration and Moderators here so that I can share my experience and insights about Modding in general (and I certainly have no objections to this post being moved to another forum if you believe it would fit better elsewhere):

1.) Being a Mod is not easy, even on a small site.

You are, by simply being identifiable as "Staff", automatically end up with a GREAT BIG TARGET on your back. A target that any user with a beef WILL aim at.

So, a stiff upper lip (and a steel backbone!) is useful.
I concur. When I became the Off Topic moderator on that other site, every action was questioned. When I was moved to the General Info section, the questioning remained. When I was promoted to Senior/Super Moderator (with global moderation responsibilities), the questioning grew exponentially.

2.) Being a successful Mod (or Admin, if Admins are also allowed to moderate the site) requires a lot of time, a great deal of patience, a cool head...and the ability to obey the rules that the Mod has been authorized to enforce! A member who wants to qualify as a Mod and who cannot obey the last item is NOT going to "impress" the Powers That Be in the way they should want to in order to be considered for the job!I would also add that a successful Mod should enforce the rules equally, without regard to the level of membership or status of the person who posted the item being moderated. I've actually moderated posts by the owner of the forum where I was a mod. I've deleted signature banners of admins whose banners didn't follow forum guidelines. When I moderated something done by a fellow mod, and they PMd me asking me to "give a fellow mod some slack," I replied that we are to follow the same rules that we enforce, that we are not above the rules. I went from being one of the best-loved moderators (when I moderated the Off Topic subforum), to being one of the most-hated (when I was given the responsibility of policing signature banner size). I performed my duties because it was necessary for them to be done. I hated doing it, and I gave no preferential treatment when doing them, but I did them because I accepted the responsibility when asked.

3.) Experience DOES count, especially with a HUGE board such as BF! If one does not have that experience, get it. On a smaller board, preferably NOT one YOU own...and be willing and able to PROVE it if required.

That last point is important: No matter how well you control your own board/blog, the fact is that it's yours and therefore you have not demonstrated that you are capable of following instructions--and playing fair--when you don't control the "#1 Administrator" (Super Administrator on vBulletin) buttons.

No board Admin/owner loves an upstart who thinks they know all about the board "behind the scenes" and therefore can run it better than they do.That's why I started with the OT forum. The admin was actually going to shut it down completely. A couple of us volunteered to mod it for him, and assured him that we'd follow whatever guidelines he set forth. He gave us a shot, and it worked out. It worked out well enough that the admin team chose to "promote" me to the General Info and the Newbie sub-forums. After a while, they decided they needed another level between Moderator and Admin, so they asked for volunteers to become Senior (later Super) Moderators. Everyone who was interested posted in the thread. I chose to PM one of the Admins that, if they were to consider me, I'd do it, but would be perfectly happy not doing it. They chose me. The Admins allowed the Super Mods the freedom to perform our duties, which freed them up to do their Admin duties. Had I not proven myself in the three subforums, I'm sure they wouldn't have even considered me. I also happen to know that they observed how I behaved in my non-moderation activites, to make sure that my authority wasn't going to my head.

4.) Most boards, from what I have seen so far, don't take volunteers for the Mod/Admin job once they are out of the "tiny little startup" stage (and therefore have a choice in the matter). It's normally "existing staff chooses a candidate and then asks the user so asked to accept or decline" and on an "as needed" basis rather than the other way around. After all, there IS a training period needed for new staff no matter how much experience they have elsewhere (on a well-run board) since each board's policies and procedures are different. In addition, it's reasonable to expect staff to look for people who have proven to be willing to help (as shown by what they post) and appear to be a good "fit" for the organization.

So don't be insulted if a board Admin tells you "We appreciate your interest, but not now."
The board I was on asked for volunteers, but ultimately made their decisions based on the recommendations of the existing Admins & Moderators. When an opening came up, they usually already had someone in mind to fill the position, they posted in the Moderator subforum to get feedback from the team. Very rarely did their selections not work out.

While I may disagree with some aspects of how BikeForums is administrated/moderated, I understand what they have to go through on a day to day basis. I don't envy them in the least. I also have no desire to be a moderator here, as I don't think I would fit in with their management style. This board is not run the way I would run it were it mine. Since it's not mine, I'll keep my mouth shut and enjoy what is here, and express my appreciation for the hard work that is put in by the people who do run it.

[cuda2k]

Well said both of you. I've (personally) never had a problem with someone disagreeing with how things are run here. What all of the moderators and admins have a problem with is how that disagreement is often expressed. Now, I'm off for a ride, catch ya'll later. :)