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***Kris Kringle*** · 10-28-2014, 12:28 PM

Guide to Successful Moderation

Moderating is perhaps better termed mediating. We are not controlling when and how people respond to questions. Rather, the purpose of a moderator is to ensure that user-driven discussion does not veer off into fighting and argumentation. A forum full of name-calling, flaming, and trolling won’t be welcome to anybody except those who like to fight. A moderator mediates between users, so that a healthy discussion can take place.

Dealing with New Users
Everybody is new at some point. NationStates is an online umbrella community that attracts people of all ages. Some of us are lawyers, doctors, and stay-at-home parents. Some of us are college students and recent graduates. Some of us are also just beginning to venture into the world of online communities, and aren’t even old enough to go to an R-rated movie.

Such a wide age gap means we should expect different levels of experience and maturity from our users. Younger users might not completely understand forum etiquette, so it is better to teach them with kindness than to scold them and hand out points. We don’t want to drive new people away from our community.

Off-Topic Drifting and Threadjacking
What happens if a discussion starts going off-topic? First, don’t be too strict about what a thread absolutely must be about. Moderators do not dictate what is to be discussed. Users create discussions and keep them going. It’s healthy for threads to drift away from the original topic from time to time.

The only time moderators should get involved is if a minority of users are disrupting the discussion to the detriment of all the other participants. This isn’t for moderators to decide themselves. We should wait until there’s a report made, or it becomes obviously clear that things will start going downhill. If a thread drifts off-topic, but not due to arguing, and users still complain, consider splitting the thread into two different threads, instead of shutting down the off-topic discussion.

Flaming, Trolling, and Baiting
This is where the moderator’s job can be difficult. First, what are we talking about? Flaming is easy enough to recognize.

Flaming is when a user posts a hostile and/or insulting message directed at another user. Flamers don’t intend to be constructive, so they’re the bane of all forum communities.

Trolling is a little more subtle. Trolls intend to incite confrontation, using witty and sarcastic remarks they know will draw the ire of others in the thread. Where the flamer will outright insult another user, the troll will insult a general idea or belief, like making fun of a certain religion, political position, etc.

Baiting is more difficult to determine. The baiter creates an environment that will draw another user into violating the rules and start flaming and trolling the baiter. It’s similar to trolling, but is targeted at specific users, rather than the community as a whole.

When dealing with flaming, trolling, and baiting, it’s best to nip these in the bud as soon as you see them. Flame wars catch quick and spread fast, so it’s important to get there early and put a stop to it. If, by the time you get there, the original flamer, troll, or baiter has successfully gotten other users to start fighting and violating the rules themselves, everybody is guilty. Part of being consistent and fair is dispensing punishments to all rule-breakers, not merely the person who started it.

Trolling and baiting are sometimes difficult to see when they first start. Moderators will inevitably have to use their judgment and subjectivity when dealing with trolling and baiting. It’s hard to provide a detailed guide to telling the trolls and baiters from the merely emotional debaters. Chances are, though, we will know it when we see it.

When handing out warnings and punishments, it’s important to be calm and collected. Do not excessively admonish users. Do not write a wall of text. Absolutely do not participate in the discussion while moderating. That doesn't mean you can’t participate in a thread and also moderate it. Rather, it means that when you are handing out warning and punishments, you shouldn't use your pedestal to participate in the argument in a position of authority at the same time. Simply hand out warnings and punishments with a proper explanation, and go on about your day.

The points system allows moderators to hand out a range of points for these offenses. How many points to give is based on how severe you think the problem is. If it's a first time offense, and it's just petty name-calling, you should probably give a low amount of points. If it's an all-out flame war, the maximum amount of points is likely warranted.

Closing Threads
Sometimes, discussions get so unruly that they simply can’t be allowed to continue. There’s just no easy way to get things back on track. However, that rarely happens in reality. Many moderators will be quick to press the “Close Thread” button. Rather than putting a fire out, this just leaves it to smolder, until one day is grows back even bigger and hotter. Threads should be closed sparingly. It’s better to deal with troublemakers individually than to punish the entire forum because of a few bad apples.

Avoiding Politics
It's incredibly important to ensure that moderation doesn't disrupt the political system, although "politics" is no excuse for breaking the rules. There is no best way to prevent disruption, but there a few things we can consider. If a moderator action would cut-off debate on a hot political issue, we should approach the situation more carefully. Issue more warnings before taking more serious action, for instance. Moderators shouldn't appear to be looming over a thread. Instead, moderators should try to guide discussion away from trouble by, for example, pointing out that arguing won't move the process forward.

It's admittedly a very difficult line to balance. The simplest thing to do is adopt a hands-off approach, and let the Chair of the Assembly take the more forceful measures. The Chair is democratically accountable in an election, while moderators are not.

Different Styles
Moderators are human beings. We all have our own personalities, and thus our own ideas about the best way to moderate a forum. Although all moderators are expected to uphold all the forum rules, some moderators are more hands-off, while some walk around in combat boots. It’s important to realize this, and allow moderators to handle things the way they prefer. Do not step in and take over if you haven’t been invited, even if you think a moderator is handling the situation poorly. Take your concerns to the private moderators-only forum.

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