Attention: Moderators - Darkforum.com - Dark Stories, Dark Art, Poetry, Photography, Debates and Discussions

gArGOyLe^^ · **Attention: Moderators -** 10-30-06

Hello :-D

This mainly goes out to Moderators of DF who aren't mods any more due to the restructuring/planning phase.

Any one else who might want to apply is free to do so as well. We don't need many moderators just right now because we aren't getting hit by huge amounts of traffic.
Please send me the following details. Just keeping it official!

Thanks :-D

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Due to the current growth rate of the forum we are looking for some moderators. Darkforum deals with a wide range of topics that cover everything from art, music, politics, and general discussions. All these topics need some guidance, direction and moderation. Due to these reasons I am looking for moderators.

Very recently, the moderators of the forum were relieved of their duties so that the admins can set up some guidelines for the site. We noticed that we needed to tinker and nudge the whole system a bit to allow Darkforum to reach its full potential. Whether that works or not is to be seen but we have definitely noticed improved participation by members and increase in traffic. Now that we are getting moderators (re)instated we only expect things to improve even further.

We are mainly interested in moderators with previous moderation/administration experience. The technical aspects of forum moderation are quite simple, however, there is far more to forum moderation than just techy stuff. Things can get tricky especially with people management and keeping your selves calm in tense situations.

Our goal is to make these forums into a high-quality resource for people.

Our moderators will have a set of guidelines. Detailed guidelines/handbook will be available to selected moderators as well.

Here are a few of the things we are looking for:

* have previous moderation experience;
* be a regular or semi-regular reader of this site for at least three or four months;
* Can be decisive, fair, consistent, calm, and mature in moderating forum posts (this implies that you are providing support to DFers and you shouldn't flame back

) ;
* Expect to participate actively in the forums themselves, at least daily;
* At least 18 years old;
* Have good English skills.

This is important because, while forum moderation is not technically difficuly, it can be tricky dealing with "people" situations. Moderating fairly takes a certain degree of wisdom and maturity. Moderators know how not to take matters personally and how to deal with people as guests on the forum. Moderators are almost the backbone of a forum and they can make or break a forum.

If you believe that you do have people skills then that should be alright.

What does moderation involve?

Basically you check the forums at least once a day and use the built-in moderation functions to handle any problems that come up. You’ll automatically receive an email whenever a forum member reports a problem, so in many cases you’ll be alerted to problems before you even visit the site. Your privileges will include the ability to disable, close/re-open, and move threads and posts.

Moderation should be fairly light because we already have experienced forum supermods and admins helping out as well. We'll frequently be asking for more volunteers if traffic or load gets too high for current moderators.

If you decide that you no longer wish to moderate, you can quit at any time. I just ask that you give me reasonable notice (a week or so) to find a suitable successor.

Why become a moderator?

Anyone who has moderated a forum already knows how rewarding it can be. If your goal is to fill an ego-based need like status or popularity, you probably won’t make a good moderator. A good reason to become a moderator is that you enjoy helping people and are looking for an outlet to contribute. Great moderators are active in their forums, and they love seeing their communities blossom. An active moderator has tremendous influence over the type of community that evolves. You will be a huge influence on the direction of the forum that you moderator. If there’s anything you’ll get out of being a moderator, it’s that you’ll build stronger communication and leadership skills.

How to apply

If you’re interested in becoming a moderator, just visit the Contact Form or PM and send me the following info:

* some basic info about yourself (who you are, what you do, your main interests, your web site if you have one)
* your previous history with Darkforum.com (how long you’ve been visiting and how often)
* previous forum moderation experience you’ve had (or why you’d make a good moderator)
* which particular forum(s) you’d most enjoy moderating
* your city and country (just because it's cool to know)
* why you’d like to be a moderator

We need to be this thorough with our moderator selection process mainly because this site does get a good bit of traffic and we are very serious about keeping Darkforum growing. The future of Darkforum depends a lot on our moderators and members

All applicants (even people who are expected to be reinstated) please send me this information. Thanks. :-D

Wicked Lady · 10-30-06

Give me the movies board back. It was mine first.

And I'll be nice.

Sorta. And there's titties and buttsecks in it for you.

Dyshade · 10-30-06

I never remember you not being fair in there

Wicked Lady · 10-31-06

Not in that one. But I freely admit to deleting someone's thread in the Friendship board way back in the day. But I was like 17 and asserting my pen0r power.

I'm old and have a bigger pen0r now.