Originally posted by jdbolick
Fixing the Forums in Ten Easy Steps
1. Remove McBriar, coachviking, and the other moderators who think they have the authority to make up their own rules. Barring that (since I know you won't do it), make it clear to them that they're not supposed to be judges but rather officers who enforce the letter of the forum rules and are not to decide to ban someone first and then search for some kind of forum rule they can use as an excuse to do so.
2. Institute a moderator training program. Either use real forum examples or create fictional ones, but go through the process whereby moderators understand what to enforce and how. Also tell them to actually read the forum rules and come up with some questions they can ask you about. New moderators should be assigned a mentor to whom they should direct any questions they have when something pops up.
3. Make it clear that there is to be no double standard. Each individual action should be judged on its own. If using the word "retarded" is to be punished, then that has to be applied for everyone regardless of their perceived status. Moderators that let people they like get away with things or those who improperly ban someone they don't like will be reviewed and removed if judged to be acting on personal bias.
4. Stop moving threads. FFA doesn't want their forum littered with main's refuse, while threads that might be more appropriate for FAQ can be answered just as easily in main. If a thread is ridiculous or has no obvious value then it can simply be locked. Moving threads stiffles discussion, plus Bort seemingly refuses to fix the issue of moved threads continuously flagging as "new."
5. Have a standardized annual review where all moderators discuss their performance with you. It doesn't have to be exhaustive, but you should go over any complaints about them as well as a few examples of their ban or lock history to communicate how well they are reflecting your vision for how the forums should be managed. Make it clear that there is no quota of bans or locks that needs to be met for them to stay moderators. Being an active moderator isn't about those types of numbers, but rather simply being visible and doing a reasonable job of keeping the forums positive and productive.
6. Promote forum activity by having moderators and support staff contribute to the forums. That can take the form of posting rankings threads in various league forums (which can be done in less than a minute since they require no commentary). More ambitious staff members may post write-ups or game recaps and have those count towards their performance review. The contests from you and DrkSandman are good examples of things that can be done to create some activity. I believe that EllisBell has also done such contests from time to time. They're good for morale.
7. When a ban is successfully appealed or overturned, credit the time spent banned to the user's account. I and I'm sure many others have been banned for clearly ludicrous reasons while lead moderators conspired not to accept the appeal until a certain amount of time already passed. That way they could still punish the user even while acknowledging that the ban wasn't legitimate. That's obviously an abuse of the system.
8. Revamp the warning system. Instead of having a warning for something from two years ago mean that committing a similar offense now results in an automatic ban, have warnings be very temporary in nature. You can go weekly or even daily, but use warnings as a means to let people know that you disapprove of what they're doing and that continued action may result in a ban. If warnings become a "hey, knock it off" type of message then they can be used more frequently, they won't need an appeal, and it's more likely to stop unproductive behavior while avoiding resentment than simply banning someone.
9. Remove anonymity from the ban process. There is no good reason to hide the identities of the person who bans, those who comment during the appeals process, or the lead moderators who decide the outcome of the appeal. It's infuriating to have faceless individuals comment, plus it gives them a feeling of protection whereby they can say and do whatever they want without consequence. If someone gets mad about their ban and starts harassing those involved by PM, you can ban them again for that, but we users should know who is involved with suspending and judging us.
10. Create a forum ombudsman. You need someone who isn't a moderator or admin to collect user feedback regarding the forum moderation process. They should not have moderator powers nor the ability to overturn bans, but they will exist simply to receive complaints or suggestions as well as to formulate their own. Preferably this would be someone you trust and have worked with who isn't currently a moderator, but if you can't think of anyone then I would suggest reddogrw. They can then convey that information and their opinions to you on any forum issues that need to be addressed, rule wording that needs to be clarified, and ways to improve. They should not be involved with reviewing individual moderator performance, however, to avoid any antagonistic feelings between them and the moderator staff.
Fixing the Forums in Ten Easy Steps
1. Remove McBriar, coachviking, and the other moderators who think they have the authority to make up their own rules. Barring that (since I know you won't do it), make it clear to them that they're not supposed to be judges but rather officers who enforce the letter of the forum rules and are not to decide to ban someone first and then search for some kind of forum rule they can use as an excuse to do so.
2. Institute a moderator training program. Either use real forum examples or create fictional ones, but go through the process whereby moderators understand what to enforce and how. Also tell them to actually read the forum rules and come up with some questions they can ask you about. New moderators should be assigned a mentor to whom they should direct any questions they have when something pops up.
3. Make it clear that there is to be no double standard. Each individual action should be judged on its own. If using the word "retarded" is to be punished, then that has to be applied for everyone regardless of their perceived status. Moderators that let people they like get away with things or those who improperly ban someone they don't like will be reviewed and removed if judged to be acting on personal bias.
4. Stop moving threads. FFA doesn't want their forum littered with main's refuse, while threads that might be more appropriate for FAQ can be answered just as easily in main. If a thread is ridiculous or has no obvious value then it can simply be locked. Moving threads stiffles discussion, plus Bort seemingly refuses to fix the issue of moved threads continuously flagging as "new."
5. Have a standardized annual review where all moderators discuss their performance with you. It doesn't have to be exhaustive, but you should go over any complaints about them as well as a few examples of their ban or lock history to communicate how well they are reflecting your vision for how the forums should be managed. Make it clear that there is no quota of bans or locks that needs to be met for them to stay moderators. Being an active moderator isn't about those types of numbers, but rather simply being visible and doing a reasonable job of keeping the forums positive and productive.
6. Promote forum activity by having moderators and support staff contribute to the forums. That can take the form of posting rankings threads in various league forums (which can be done in less than a minute since they require no commentary). More ambitious staff members may post write-ups or game recaps and have those count towards their performance review. The contests from you and DrkSandman are good examples of things that can be done to create some activity. I believe that EllisBell has also done such contests from time to time. They're good for morale.
7. When a ban is successfully appealed or overturned, credit the time spent banned to the user's account. I and I'm sure many others have been banned for clearly ludicrous reasons while lead moderators conspired not to accept the appeal until a certain amount of time already passed. That way they could still punish the user even while acknowledging that the ban wasn't legitimate. That's obviously an abuse of the system.
8. Revamp the warning system. Instead of having a warning for something from two years ago mean that committing a similar offense now results in an automatic ban, have warnings be very temporary in nature. You can go weekly or even daily, but use warnings as a means to let people know that you disapprove of what they're doing and that continued action may result in a ban. If warnings become a "hey, knock it off" type of message then they can be used more frequently, they won't need an appeal, and it's more likely to stop unproductive behavior while avoiding resentment than simply banning someone.
9. Remove anonymity from the ban process. There is no good reason to hide the identities of the person who bans, those who comment during the appeals process, or the lead moderators who decide the outcome of the appeal. It's infuriating to have faceless individuals comment, plus it gives them a feeling of protection whereby they can say and do whatever they want without consequence. If someone gets mad about their ban and starts harassing those involved by PM, you can ban them again for that, but we users should know who is involved with suspending and judging us.
10. Create a forum ombudsman. You need someone who isn't a moderator or admin to collect user feedback regarding the forum moderation process. They should not have moderator powers nor the ability to overturn bans, but they will exist simply to receive complaints or suggestions as well as to formulate their own. Preferably this would be someone you trust and have worked with who isn't currently a moderator, but if you can't think of anyone then I would suggest reddogrw. They can then convey that information and their opinions to you on any forum issues that need to be addressed, rule wording that needs to be clarified, and ways to improve. They should not be involved with reviewing individual moderator performance, however, to avoid any antagonistic feelings between them and the moderator staff.
