Should Moderators Be Elected?

[trypmo]

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So, should mods be "elected officials" or "appointees" of the PTB?

And what are the important characteristics of a mod, anyway?

Frequency of posting?
Longest time on the forums?
Maturity, ability to be impartial?
Status as DS1,2,3,4, or DDS/DMD?
Popularity?


Addendum: and should forum groups (e.g., "Dental Forums") be able to choose whether their mods are elected or appointed? (and if so, who decides? and will there be a vote? and will there be a vote to see whether there's a vote to see whether we vote on our mods? multiconvolutions of "democracy"...)

 

[honestpredent]

Moderators should be selected not on tenure or popularity which is how they are currently selected. They should be selected on

1. How active he or she is on the forum. Check out the last date they posted to see if they are even in the forum. We all know moderators who probably don't even read these forums any longer.

2. How much he or she contributes to threads and answers questions. The best forums are the ones in which the moderator actively answers questions and takes an active role. We all know moderators who never post even though they read a lot.

3. How impartial and objective they are. People who are overly opinionated and get into arguments all of the time shouldn't be moderators.

4. No Nanny's - nothing is more irritating than the moderator who is a nanny and censors nearly everything and moves everything all of the time too. Anyone with a prudish "nanny" type of personality shouldn't be a moderator either. We all know those types too.

In my opinion, Gavinc and Yah-E would be excellent moderators

 

[DcS]

You people REALLY need to get out more 🙄

 

[ItsGavinC]

What is this "out" thing you speak of? 😀

 

[gpg]

I am mainly on the International forum and Henna has done an EXCELLANT job there as a moderator. I also support Gavin and Yah-E as future office bearers.

 

[DcS]

What is this "out" thing you speak of? 😀

😉

 

[dientesfuertes]

Does anyone really think that the forums have been inhibited by the lack of an "active" moderator? IMO, as long as the moderator isn't censoring too much or, on the other hand, allowing porn or hate words to be posted, what difference does it make?