Forum moderators and owners must be active

kconnections · Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 5

The peoplethat are administrators for forums must be active. I have been to forums where the people in charge do not answer questions and do not make sure all posts are appropriate. These forums are not very fun to visit. You must keep on top of things in order to have a successful forum.

xaphania · Joined: 06 Jun 2007 Posts: 17 Location: England

I agree, it's really important to be there and interact with your members. I was a moderator for a long time before recently becoming a co-admin of a forum, and I check in several times a day.

In the past I've visited forums where the mods and admins play little or no part in member interaction, and the atmosphere isn't as good as on sites where the admins really talk to you.

sandmike123 · Joined: 25 Jul 2007 Posts: 5

I agree moderators and administrators need to have an active roll in the forums. Their rolls help mold the forums and keep all the unwanted stuff away. As well as make sure rules are followed so total chaos doesn't occur.

dodz · Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 5

Simply speaking, the forum will not work if the people who are there to look after it do not login and contribute to the community. Moderators, more than often are picked because of their activity and I'm a firm believer in releasing any moderator who goes inactive without prior notice or a good excuse.

crimson · Joined: 05 Sep 2007 Posts: 5

Admins and mods must be active in their own Forums
at least every other day.
I recently visited a Forum and noticed that the Admin's
most recent post was a month ago. I knew the owner personally,
so I made mention that he needed to post at least once per week.
And guess what, forum traffic picked up right away.

jarnold · Joined: 16 Sep 2007 Posts: 6

Well, if you are talking about this one (which you probably are), keep in mind that this forum is simply serves as a test for the administrators running the business. They need this to scout! But if you are talking about something else, well yes of course, but I do not think that I totally agree. The thing that truly keeps a forum alive are the users itself. Without them, there would be no forum and all you have left are four or five admins. But yeah, it would help if the admins were active as well

Seph489 · Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Posts: 6

kmk · Joined: 17 Oct 2007 Posts: 6

I've been on forums where the community remains active even after the original admin has come and gone. It all depends on the content and the people. In some ways, forums are a lot like real-life organizations - when people run out of time for activities in their lives, sometimes internet time and posting is the first thing to go.

annerz · Joined: 25 Oct 2007 Posts: 6

i lose interest on forums where admins/mods don't post much. it doesn't encourage members to post either. funny, on one forum which i am a member of, my posts count is way way higher than that of any other mods, even on that of admin's! haha! i wonder... why don't they just give me their positions instead? i'll sure be active. lol. Laughing

KaraSwims · Joined: 23 Aug 2008 Posts: 5

As a member turned moderator on a large site, I immediately noticed a different type of responsibility behind my posts. I actually don't post as many individual posts on that site but do so with more frequency so I'm always a presiding factor. I'm glad I considered taking on the role seriously before accepting because my own personal opinions are weighed differently now that I'm known as moderator. I was ready for that so I accept it but it could have ruined one of my favorite online hangouts if I wasn't prepared.

Samurai Jack · Joined: 24 Aug 2008 Posts: 16

I would agree that admins and mods must be active in their duties of moderating the forum and keeping order, answering member questions and helping with problems. But I disagree that the heaviest posters should be admins or mods. As someone who has moderated several forums and owned two myself, I've found that members often are intimidated by admins and mods and that their presence in a thread or discussion can alter the course of the thread. Some feel intimidated by the idea of discussing sensitive issues like politics or religion with someone who has the power to ban them from the forum.

I was a member of a very popular and active board and the main moderator was a very opinionated and prolific poster. She often was the instigator of many arguments and when people would disagree with her, she would ban them. On another forum I belonged to, the admin had a circle of friends with other members and if anyone spoke ill or disagreed with them, they would attack en masse to humiliate the disagreeing member. I think admins and mods have to remember that a post from someone in authority can carry more weight than an average member.

That being said, I've also been of boards where it seemed as though the admin was never present. Posting ran amok and it was chaos. On other boards, there was simply no new content. The admins job is to maintain the technical and ethical integrity of that board and, if necessary, bring fresh content in as well. Knowing how to balance all of that can be difficult. Moderating boards can be more challenging that people think.