Elected mods - Limited or indefinite terms?

[spanishspy]

Mar 14, 2016 4:40:43 GMT Krall said:

Mar 14, 2016 4:30:44 GMT spanishspy said:

Moderatorship solidifies informal influence; a moderator who lasts long enough without term limits in some manner will become merely part of the scenery, something that cannot be questioned without drawing ire. This will create a status that does not exist on AH.com, for they do not have elected moderators. It will, in effect, create elder statesmen.

I really don't understand what you mean - how would the moderator being elected entrench their position and influence?

Essentially, it's what happens with, say, ex-US presidents. Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have since passed their terms of office, but both are still respected and their advice is still sought, and their opinions are influential. Ex-moderators are likely to do the same. Having a limit on terms will reduce this influence. I do believe, however, it is unavoidable, given our low population.

[lordroel]

Mar 14, 2016 13:08:23 GMT spanishspy said:

Mar 14, 2016 4:40:43 GMT Krall said:

I really don't understand what you mean - how would the moderator being elected entrench their position and influence?

Essentially, it's what happens with, say, ex-US presidents. Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have since passed their terms of office, but both are still respected and their advice is still sought, and their opinions are influential. Ex-moderators are likely to do the same. Having a limit on terms will reduce this influence. I do believe, however, it is unavoidable, given our low population.

How long should a term be, a year, two years.

[Krall]

Mar 14, 2016 13:08:23 GMT spanishspy said:

Essentially, it's what happens with, say, ex-US presidents. Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have since passed their terms of office, but both are still respected and their advice is still sought, and their opinions are influential. Ex-moderators are likely to do the same. Having a limit on terms will reduce this influence. I do believe, however, it is unavoidable, given our low population.

I'm afraid I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill here - I don't see someone's unofficial influence becoming a huge problem, especially since if they're no longer a mod they won't be privy to any private mod discussions and won't be able to make any real decisions, and if it does become an issue I don't see how limiting the number of consecutive terms someone can serve for will help curb it.

[lordroel]

Mar 14, 2016 16:42:56 GMT Krall said:

Mar 14, 2016 13:08:23 GMT spanishspy said:

Essentially, it's what happens with, say, ex-US presidents. Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have since passed their terms of office, but both are still respected and their advice is still sought, and their opinions are influential. Ex-moderators are likely to do the same. Having a limit on terms will reduce this influence. I do believe, however, it is unavoidable, given our low population.

I'm afraid I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill here - I don't see someone's unofficial influence becoming a huge problem, especially since if they're no longer a mod they won't be privy to any private mod discussions and won't be able to make any real decisions, and if it does become an issue I don't see how limiting the number of consecutive terms someone can serve for will help curb it.

As much as i like the idea, this is to much work for a small forum like this.

[panzerfaust150]

I am all for selection of mods..but I would want term limits..many moderated sites do it this way..and it serves to get fresh blood in.

[wendy]

I moderate about half the sites i am on. The way they do it there is that someone further up (administrators), decide from the posts and visits whether posters are cluey enough to see whether the person understands the material and is generally unbiased in treatment of others. They are eventually offered moderation role, etc.

I think an understanding of the topics is important too.

[Krall]

Jan 5, 2017 12:50:44 GMT wendy said:

I moderate about half the sites i am on. The way they do it there is that someone further up (administrators), decide from the posts and visits whether posters are cluey enough to see whether the person understands the material and is generally unbiased in treatment of others. They are eventually offered moderation role, etc.

I think an understanding of the topics is important too.

Yeah, that's how most forums do it. Althistoria was partially founded on the concept of staff accountability though, so we want to ensure our system of moderator appointment is transparent and involves the community as much as is reasonable.

We were kind of jumping the gun with the whole elected mods idea though - this site's still too small to require a moderation team beyond a few mods.

[lordroel]

How do you prevent that a mod who punish a member of the forum from being punish themself when they become a regular member again by the member who was punished and who has been elected a mod.

[Krall]

Jan 6, 2017 22:00:15 GMT lordroel said:

How do you prevent that a mod who punish a member of the forum from being punish themself when they become a regular member again by the member who was punished and who has been elected a mod.

That's an awfully specific set of circumstances, but we plan to have a code of conduct for mods, a list of offences that mods are able to punish members for, a system of appeal against mod decisions, and a system for removing mods that ignore the rules themselves.

[lordroel]

Jan 6, 2017 23:50:27 GMT Krall said:

Jan 6, 2017 22:00:15 GMT lordroel said:

How do you prevent that a mod who punish a member of the forum from being punish themself when they become a regular member again by the member who was punished and who has been elected a mod.

That's an awfully specific set of circumstances, but we plan to have a code of conduct for mods, a list of offences that mods are able to punish members for, a system of appeal against mod decisions, and a system for removing mods that ignore the rules themselves.

Still i think that have elected mods is a bad idea, to much trouble, elections can go dirty and all those things, it would work in a big forum but on a small forum like this it is better to have mods who people know and can trust than having new once appearing every time.

[wendy]

I've seen mods do things too that were punished. On one site, the mod banned a user for a period of time, and a second mod found out about it. The ban was lifted, and there was a private discussion between the mod and the administrator. I suppose ultimately the admin has the final say, and the various mods do the day-to-day duty of keeping the sites clean of various things like spam, hammering, and inappropriate material. This is why i suggest someone who is reasonably clued up in the subject, without having to be biased towards any viewpoint.