Moderating on-line groups: advice, please?

[sarahmichigan]

I've moderated a few on-line groups, including a yahoo group and some low-traffic LJ communities. I'm writing an article about how to be a good moderator for an on-line group, and I have ideas, but I'd like feedback from my friends list. I know I have at least half a dozen people on my FL who have experience in this realm.

Some ideas I'm already working with:

-Have clear membership and posting rules.

-It's OK to have loose rules of moderation or strict ones, but just be clear about spelling out what they are.

-Enforce the rules evenly, no favoritism.

-Have a thick skin. It's likely you'll be criticized.

-It can be nice for moderators to introduce themselves, and tell a little about themselves.

-Have a clear policy about flame wars and how to report if you're being attacked or abused by another group member.
-Decide if you want to take a interventionist approach or a more hands-on approach and be ready to explain yourself and why you've chosen that approach.

-Consider finding a co-moderator or back-up moderator in case you want to take a vacation or get sick.

-Make clear, obvious announcements when there are changes, including changes in rules or changes in who is moderating/how to contact moderators.

Do you think I'm wrong on any particular point? What would you add?

Comments

[scien.livejournal.com]

I learn from the best.

http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/006036.html
http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/008856.html

[scien.livejournal.com]

I would add:

'It's OK to have loose rules of moderation or strict ones'
...depending entirely on the subject matter, membership, and what type of dialogue you want to foster (questions and answers? fun chatting? academic debate? heated discussions?). It is best to think about that in advance so that you can choose not only the rules but the venue and software that most suit your purpose.

'-Enforce the rules evenly, no favoritism.'
Disagree. You don't want to take it to extremes of whimsy of course, but someone who has proven a valuable member in general can be given more leniency than someone who has just wandered in from the highway, if only because you can be fairly sure of having a constructive dialogue with them. And someone who is clearly only there to be a prat does not require you to go through the whole official warnings-delay-temporary ban procedure you've set up for members you assume are just making mistakes of one kind or another. Trust your intuition on whether to come down on something like a ton of bricks or to give second chances - if you're feeling too angry/invested to make the right decision then talk to someone whose judgment you trust, or just go for a walk to gain some perspective.

I think the most important advice I would give a hopeful would-be moderator who wants to create an online group is to do their research and their thinking before jumping in to set something up. Take a look at what other conversations are happening about the subject, and where. If you don't already participate, start, and learn from your experiences. What kind of thing are you trying to do, and how does it compare? how large, what tone, to what end? Are you hoping to make money (note this is difficult bordering on the impossible), to share expertise, to learn? What tools will help you to achieve this? Choose carefully, the software powering your group will utterly shape the kind of conversations that happen. What will you be offering visitors that's different to the other venues? how will potential new members find you? what's going to keep them coming back?