Wednesday, January 07, 2015 | 3:07 AM
Dear Editor:
Please take full compliments for producing a great paper which I like to call “the little paper that grew”, since I’ve watched the Observer evolved to be the Number One paper for information. Congratulations much sir.
Thanks also for the opportunity in allowing readers to participate in meaningful discussions, but I must also be critical about the role of the moderators on your forum. The biggest mistake forum owners make when taking on forum moderators is expecting them to police the community.
Many see the main role of moderators as enforcers of the site rules, as people who delete posts they don’t like and lock topics the moment they run off-course.
If these are the priorities of moderators, they are doing it all wrong. A community must never be repressed, but moderated effectively – this means adopting a laissez-faire approach and allowing members a large amount of freedom, within the rules, of course.
If moderators crack down on members the second they step out of line, you will be sending a negative signal to your community that free speech is not tolerated on your site.
Some moderators are definitely politically biased too…only allowing posts which support their party. This will discourage readers from getting involved – hardly the ingredients for a successful community! When you take on forum moderators you need to make it clear exactly what you expect from them. Most see themselves as forum police officers and will only edit/delete/lock content without creating any themselves.
This is a mistake – make sure your moderators know that their primary role is to encourage interaction, to encourage member involvement, and to encourage a sense of community within the forum. No point in having comments ‘pending’ for days, only to show up later when it is no longer relevant to the news…and it kills the natural flow of the discussion too.
There’s also no logic behind some censored/blocked posts where if you cut and re-paste it, it magically shows.
Have moderators working around the clock too, since people post from around the globe at all times. Forum moderators are there to encourage interaction – NOT stifle it!
Errol Gager
legager25@gmail.com
321 Dawes Rd
Toronto Canada
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OBSERVER ONLINE READERS COMMENT - The role of the Online forum moderator
