Moderated, moderated, but not moderated out...

Hey everyone, I’m writing this post-reflection in response to the latest events on Grushechka (not for the sake of conflict, but to understand the process). In case someone is out of the loop, let me briefly describe the subject.

• First, an investigation was conducted to find out what the people want.

• Then the Master (aka The Infernal Pink Dragon, Creator of the Hellfire Lottery ^\_) was appointed as a moderator of the portal on a trial basis. To assist Ruga, so to speak.

• Then the unrest began in the style of “The Penguin cannot moderate because.. (the version of why the penguin cannot).”

In short, I’m briefly describing the subject of moderation as I see it. Everything I write comes from personal experience. I was a moderator for several years, later a super moderator and a little bit of an admin on a gaming forum, so trust me, much of what you write is not even close to the truth due to some realities. Let's go step by step..

To help me with the subject, I will have the penguins from the cartoon “Happy Feet.”

1) A moderator is the face of the site, we do not need a pink lottery face

This is Ruga, and he is tired of cleaning up the mess..

Let’s start with the fact that a moderator has never really been the face of the site. Well, by default. The moderator's position is actually quite inconspicuous. It’s the top bloggers who sit in the sun soaking up everyone’s respect, and the moderator.. needs to avoid ultraviolet light altogether, they shrink from it. The essence of moderation is to remove messes from the site, resolve conflicts, and guide newcomers through the rules. Most of this work always remains behind the scenes. If you come to visit, you will thank the hostess for the epic banquet, the successful playlist, and the entertainment program, not for clean floors. Because floors should be clean by default, regardless of the culinary talents of the house's inhabitant. Moreover, no matter how delicious the meal, it won’t bring joy if cockroaches are loudly munching beside you. I’m sorry.

A moderator is that cleaning lady, the aunt with a brush, detergent, and cockroach chalk, who makes sure that new guests wipe their feet at the entrance and that regulars do not drink too much and do not pick fights. And the maximum she gets is an envious sigh, “Your house is so clean, so clean!”

The face of the site is those who can bake delicious buns, come up with cool fun activities for guests, and orchestrate this celebration of life. As you can see, this does not really relate to the cleaning, which is the moderator's main prerogative. And to be a good moderator, you don't need to keep in mind the titles of the most current songs or have an advanced “Party Host” skill. You just need to know how to mop the floors and smack those who spit shells on the floor with a mop.

2) A moderator does not spend much time on the site, a couple of hours is enough

Let this one be Kotovsky..

Another misconception that stems from inexperience. Moderation, contrary to expectations, sometimes takes no less time and effort than blogging. Think about it: a moderator needs to read new posts, evaluate them. Check whether they are original, ensure that no rules are being violated. Then they need to track all new comments. Delete spam, remove profanity, and give a reprimand. Stifle bickering between users and, if necessary, send a user into a timeout with the ban hammer for a while. If a newbie writes them saying they can’t find where to look for certain info, the moderator should provide links to the relevant topics. If a post is created in the wrong blog, the moderator has to move it to where it will matter. And if you have a small site where a dozen active users write, then that’s manageable in an hour. But if there are dozens, if not hundreds, of users writing constantly, what can you say about an hour?

Meanwhile, we are talking not only about the time spent but also about the exertion of energy. Just plain moral energy to do this work and do it well. Think about it: this is a routine, endless job because posting doesn’t stop on weekends or holidays. Spammers and foul-mouthed users do not take time off on Mondays, and newbies won’t spare you, using search and their heads. Most of the moderator's work happens in secret, so sometimes there is a steady and misleading impression that the moderator is picking their nose and resting on their laurels, while this is not the case. Much of the work is done privately, and this is normal. Except, of course, for the fact that someone who is unfamiliar with the specifics of this job starts to think that it is easy and quick. It’s not easy and not quick, trust me.

3) A moderator basks in the glory, and this is for show

And this is a disgruntled user angry at the moderator.

Yet another problem from those who clearly do not understand the specifics of the subject. The moderator, as I mentioned above, often remains in the shadows, their work takes place behind the scenes. People rarely thank them for something they don’t witness. Not seeing a moderator's work, they very seldom say “thank you” for it. Meanwhile, the routine can be more exhausting than blogging, and in response to completely reasonable remarks, one might receive profanity and other indignities thrown their way. You might post a perfectly sound and lawful warning, and a user begins to freak out in a private message because you are an evil demon, and your place is in hell. Your nerves are frayed (think about it!) for doing your job correctly. Moreover, they do not even try to figure out what and how. I agree that a moderator is a person, so they can also make mistakes and exceed their authority. But in my experience, in the overwhelming majority of conflicts between “moderator-user,” the user is to blame. Because they didn’t read the rules, didn’t keep themselves in check, and do not try to understand why they were punished, but see the moderator as an enemy right away.

It’s only Hercules who received an award for cleaning out the famous stables. In reality, gratitude to moderators is rarely expressed, though much depends on the specifics of the resource. But other than that, it’s more of a myth than a reality.

4) A moderator will cause chaos, I’m out of here

And this is the moderator in shock..

And another foolish notion that I don’t even know where it comes from. Any moderator, regardless of their powers, always reports to the admin. This rule underpins all the work. If there is no accountability, there will be no moderation. Any admin, even on the most ancient IPB forums, can review moderation logs and understand what their dear moderator has been doing lately. Yes, I have faced situations where trust in certain moderators and super moderators was so great that they were virtually unmonitored. This happens, and it is normal. But this never happens with newbies in this role. Simply because they are newcomers, and they need to get used to this new role. And yes, they can screw up. And that’s okay, the question is how epic they screw up and in what context.

No one starts working without mistakes, but that is not fatal. The question comes down to how willing the admin is to help the moderator learn to handle their responsibilities, and how willing the moderator is to learn. Everything else is trivial. In my experience, the folks I banned for incomprehensible floods, with a proper approach to the issue, became very reasonable moderators, and the newbies who just arrived yesterday turned into competent successors. This is not fantasy; these are real situations with real people. Just as admins massaged their protégés’ rules for exceeding their authority, and in cases of recidivism even booted them out altogether. Yes, sometimes the appointment of a moderator was discussed by the entire moderator team, but only because they all had to work closely with the newcomer, and it was important to understand how warmly the team would accept them.

But there is always oversight of the moderator, more or less, and you can always report to the admin on a rogue enforcer. With evidence and proof, of course.

5) A moderator must be a people’s favorite to manage

And this is a cute moderator.

As my personal experience shows, a competent, truly working moderator can quickly lose their “cuteness points,” especially after organizing bathroom tours for some individuals. Trust me, it will be much more pleasant for you if a lovely girl bans you rather than a hairy guy the size of a “wardrobe with loft.” I bet that you will generally not care since the result is the same: you are banned.

Relations with the moderator over time develop in quite a different way. And only a few points are fundamentally important to the user: how often a specific moderator has smacked them by the rules and how clean the site/forum is overall. And cuteness somehow takes a back seat. Yes, I don’t argue that, for example, female moderators are generally seen by the community with a little more enthusiasm. But (again, judging by experience) it is often the girls who turn out to be the most meticulous enforcers of ethics and regulations. The largest sections of the forum I’ve been on were run by two girls who enthusiastically sorted newcomers into piles of “by adequacy,” hitting them with educational material and teaching them to march in a straight line through topics. They meticulously outlined what rule was being charged against them for each little misstep.

This is about cuteness. ^\_

n) as a final note..

About the bright future..

Now let’s summarize all that has been said above, yielding an unattractive resume. Initially, yes, everything looks like a pie with a cherry on top: additional rights and opportunities, an advanced status, practically a “smack” in profile. But de facto, in response to all this, you receive a pile of duties without any mega-rewards, a heap of negativity, and all of it – in your free time, which will noticeably decrease as soon as you step into this role.

In general, from my personal experience, I can say that the less responsibility you take on yourself on a gaming site, the more enjoyable and comfortable it will be to stay there. At least because you can do whatever you want and whenever you want, as long as it does not violate the rules. You can disappear, and no one will say a word to you. You can stop writing, and that will be okay. And if you want to participate in a contest, your status (or rather, the lack thereof) will not be an obstacle. Seize the moment, honestly. My peak activity on the gaming forum came during the period when I was free of any obligations and was left to my own devices. Believe me, it’s great. And thank the deputies who often take on the responsibilities of moderators; thank the moderators who run around cleaning up sections from trash.

And overall, I always keep one phrase in my mind. “It’s not clean where they clean all the time. It’s clean where they don’t litter.” The less work and problems you create for others, the more time and energy they have to engage in something grand and creative (and this is often in your own interests). For example, to read your posts and upvote your comments. It’s very simple. :)

That’s all.

P.S. All of this is my opinion; not for the sake of conflict, but to understand the moment. I know that many things might have changed since my days of active involvement, but the essence of moderation is still roughly as described above.