What does it take to be a moderator?

[Samzter]

Hi people, I was asking this question generally because I was wondering what you have to do to become a moderator? Do you have to pay? What do you have to do? Do you have to love in America ? Please can a moderator help me or anyone who knows please reply. Thank you.

 

[Mrc8858]

Im pretty sure other mods choose them and I think its free.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

From my understanding you have to know the rules, be knowedgable, and be on AA alot to make sure others are following the rules

 

[Samzter]

Nunu are you a mod?

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Nunu are you a mod?

Haha no im not. If you want to become a mod you should contact one and ask them.

 

[Samzter]

I'll pm severum mumma and ask her. Is it easy to become a mod?

 

[meegosh]

There is no real requirements to become a mod. I was chosen a while back because I was a regular on here and obeyed the rules. I'm not an expert on any topic really, just basic general knowledge about fish keeping.

If you want to become a mod, play nice and just keep spreading the knowledge around. You'll be noticed.

You don't have to pay to become one. On the other side, you don't get paid to be one either.

Edit: May I ask why you want to be a mod? It isn't as glamorous as some would think. You have to watch spammers, be the "bad" guy and enforce the rules, etc.

 

[Convict2161]

Hi people, I was asking this question generally because I was wondering what you have to do to become a moderator? Do you have to pay? What do you have to do? Do you have to love in America ? Please can a moderator help me or anyone who knows please reply. Thank you.

To become a mod you must be knowledgable in areas of fish keeping but not every area there can be a mod for certain areas like one may be better served in the Cichlid section and another in the saltwater section. All mods must know all forum rules and enforce them and also be ready for PM's from members asking for help or maybe issues there having with another member, you know a e-bully.

A mod is someone who should be understanding of the individuality of each member and be aware that not everyone takes things the same way. They must like I said enforce the rules but in doing so can explain why something is being done or offer the OP the chance to explain in a PM.

Becoming a mod is a great honor and responsibility and shouldn't be taken lightly. It's not easy because you have people from all walks of life in the forum family. So you need to have some compassion.

I mod in several forums and can only answer for my sites. There's an area for mods. You talk about issues and certain members that stand out for helping others. It's usually discussed there who the new mods will be and then those members will be asked if there interested. That's how it went for me on other sites. One time I received a ADMIN email about becoming a mod.

Also being a mod doesn't give you the right to be a bully or act in a manner that is unprofessional or disrespectful to any member. It's a high standard to uphold and a mod should be aware of that.

That's my 2 cents for what it worth.

The forum I mod aren't fish forums although maybe one day that will change.


Edit;

Also a mod must have the time and dedication to put into the forum and be available if needed. They must monitor areas for problems and correct them. I enjoy being a mod and a admin on another forum. I like I help people and listen to issues, bringing them back to other mods and then talking about a good resolution to the issue in hand.

That's all...

The Con

 

[Samzter]

Thank you guys! Yeah I would like to know what it takes to become a mod just incase that I ever want to be a mod lol. It sounds like a great honour from what I've heard!

 

[Convict2161]

Thank you guys! Yeah I would like to know what it takes to become a mod just incase that I ever want to be a mod lol. It sounds like a great honour from what I've heard!

It's honor but like meegosh stated its not all glamour. You have to sometime be the bad guy and enforce rules. There's a way to go about it. You can have a certain manner and make your point.

You have to have it in you I believe. Speaking only my forums. There are mods that shouldn't even be members and offer nothing but headaches so to me a mod status shouldn't go to the head and just ruin the person.

You can be a mod and still be a nice person. You should never be made afraid to go to a mod for anything you feel strongly about and on the other side you should respect the moderators and understand they have a job to do as well.

The Con

 

[Samzter]

It's honor but like meegosh stated its not all glamour. You have to sometime be the bad guy and enforce rules. There's a way to go about it. You can have a certain manner and make your point.

You have to have it in you I believe. Speaking only my forums. There are mods that shouldn't even be members and offer nothing but headaches so to me a mod status shouldn't go to the head and just ruin the person.

You can be a mod and still be a nice person. You should never be made afraid to go to a mod for anything you feel strongly about and on the other side you should respect the moderators and understand they have a job to do as well.

The Con

Yeah, I do agree. Luckily on this site I've only ever came into contact with nice people and no one nasty. But yet again I haven't met everyone on the site. The mods on this site were very welcoming and always offer good advice. I have witnessed on other sites where members rip each other to shreds and when someone asked for advice on something another member just went 'don't want to waste my time answering you questions' how rude!

 

[Convict2161]

Yeah we don't like "flaming" here or "e bashing" instead there are no stupid questions. Ask away and someone will help I not everyone. Rather then bash away like other forums we try and let the OP understand why is we are offering advice and or opinions that may seem way out here to the OP.

Take the time to make them understand and where your coming from goes a long way.

Anyone can say "that won't work!! Your doomed good luck" or "what are you crazy doing that?!? Stupid move IMO" or other flame comments.

Comments that hold to weight should be left on the floor.

That's one of many reasons I like this forum. It's more of a family then a forum. I've met some great people from all over both guys and girls. Exchanged numbers and emails. You find out you have a lot in common and you start to know each other on a first name basis which is wonderful I think.

A lot of forums are just forums straight and forward not much else going on.

AA is a warm inviting family with very knowledgable members who are always willing to go above and beyond to help out. I've had conversations for hours with some members about issues with my tank and then ya talk about family and what not.

I'll stop rambling now.

Bottom line is AA is a different kind of forum and I hope it stays that way.

 

[fort384]

I would like to add too that you do not need to be a United States citizen to be a mod on the site. We have site team members from Canada and Australia as well as the US.
If anyone is curious you can find all of the site team members listed at the following link:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/showgroups.php

 

[DragonFish71]

No it isn't glamorous, we don't get paid, or perks. We are the bad guys, the good guys and everything in-between. We have good days and bad. We can be nice or snarky (ahem) depending on how we're approached. We do what we can when we can. We can't see everything so we depend on the good people of the site to let us know when there is a real problem. We deal with insults directed at ourselves and at others. We get called every name in the book. We all have knowledge in different areas and try to help where we know we will be able too, even when folks reply that we haven't got a clue.

We are humans.

We do it because we want to help keep this site going on solid ground and friendly.

 

[Samzter]

Yes I love this forum because with have sections like the waterhole or aquaria off topic where you can post stuff completely irrelevant to fish keeping. And we do stuff like fantasy football. It more than just a forum , it's another family!

 

[Wy Renegade]

Darn! I kind of liked that have to love in American requirement fort, why did you have to go and ruin it for me?

Being a mod also takes the wisdom to know that you don't know it all, and you probably never will. And once in a great while, you can even be wrong .

 

[Convict2161]

Darn! I kind of liked that have to love in American requirement fort, why did you have to go and ruin it for me?

Being a mod also takes the wisdom to know that you don't know it all, and you probably never will. And once in a great while, you can even be wrong .

Now that's a worthy mod! That's exactly the right attitude all mods should have.

Props to you my friend! Wait... Can mods be my friend? lol...

 

[Gboy66]

Now that's a worthy mod! That's exactly the right attitude all mods should have.

Props to you my friend! Wait... Can mods be my friend? lol...

I think you have to sign some papers

A mod also has to be someone who listens and responds to problems/complaints! If i ask a mod somthing, and they dont respond, i feel thats sorta rude. However, if the mod responds until you are satisfied with the answers you have been given, thats what it takes.

 

[Jason7894561230]

Oh yeah Aussie Mods haha
I think we need another haha
Im not hinting at anything...

 

[Wy Renegade]

Now that's a worthy mod! That's exactly the right attitude all mods should have.

Props to you my friend! Wait... Can mods be my friend? lol...

LOL, friendship is sometimes a boon and sometimes a curse. I would think that being friends with a mod could be that way sometimes.