February 2012

As the forum administrator on the Supernatural.tv Forums I built the areas of the message board, invited members to become moderators, dealt with day-to-day arguments between members, solved technical problems, and planned contests, games, and challenges for the community.

Running a forum takes a lot of time and effort. That’s why as an administrator, you need a reliable, effective forum staff. Based on my experience, here is a list of twelve ways to help moderators take better care of your online community.

1. Have a staff-only area. If you can make a part of your forum private so that only staff members can access it, do it. If your forum software doesn’t allow for a private area, come up with an alternative (such as a separate staff forum or an email chain). You need to have a place where staff can discuss issues, plan forum activities, and keep track of who does what.

2. Keep each other in the loop. Moderators should communicate with each other often. A staff-only area makes this easy. When a moderator handles a problem, he should post about it in the staff forum. This way, everyone will be aware of what’s going on and moderators won’t double up on the same problem. Keep track of troublesome members and repeat issues. A staff-only area is also the perfect place to plan activities for your forum and bounce around ideas.

3. Write guidelines for your staff. Outline their responsibilities. Explain the steps they need to take when someone violates a forum rule. List your expectations for how your staff should treat each other.

4. Write up case studies. Give your staff examples of how to handle different types of situations. For example, when two members have a huge argument and it blows up to involve a whole group of angry members, how should moderators step in? What should they say? What did and didn’t work in the past?

5. Make sure your staff knows that the rules apply to everyone. Staff members should follow the forum rules just like regular members. If a moderator violates a rule, he must face the same consequences as a regular member would. Don’t play favorites with your staff and don’t excuse inappropriate behavior.

6. Resolve differences among your staff. Sometimes staff members will disagree about how to handle an issue. As the administrator, it’s up to you to resolve those differences. Don’t take sides, but instead figure out the solution that is best for the community.

7. Demote inactive moderators. Moderators should be regular visitors who have an interest in reading discussions and talking with members. If you have a moderator on the staff who doesn’t visit your site anymore, you should demote her to a regular member. Otherwise, you and your members might think an area of the forum is covered when really no one is there.

8. Appoint new moderators as necessary. When you replace inactive moderators or when your community grows, you will need to add new staff members. Look for active members who are engaged in the community: people who start new discussions, welcome new members, follow the rules, and look for ways to improve the community.

9. Reassign areas and/or duties. Chances are, your staff members are volunteers. They want to enjoy working on your community. If you assign moderators to specific parts of the forum, make sure your moderators care about the discussions they oversee. If you have moderators in charge of running contests or other activities, make sure those moderators enjoy what they do. If moderators aren’t having fun, change up responsibilities so people can work on the parts of your community that they enjoy.

10. Utilize staff talents. Is one of your moderators good with Photoshop? Ask him to make a new banner for your forum when you need one. Is one of your moderators super friendly? Appoint her to welcome each new member to your community.

11. Listen to your staff. As a whole, your staff members cover more of the forum than you can, and they interact with more members than you do. Ask for input about what is and isn’t working in your community. Moderators will be happy to voice their opinions, and you’ll be better equipped to make positive changes.

12. Lead by example. Members look up to moderators, and moderators look up to the administrator. Each time you handle an issue, talk to a disruptive member, or plan a forum activity, your moderators will be paying attention. What you do on the forum should be a good example of what you want your moderators to do.

These tips and techniques should help your forum staff be more effective as a team and take better care of your community.