• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

GUIDANCE The Moderators' Role

Status
Not open for further replies.

ChrisM

Super Moderator
Staff member
For most active members, the Forum carries on, day after day, as an agreeable place to spend a bit of time, to learn something more about the history of our city and to add what we can to the general store of knowledge. For many, precisely how this state of affairs is achieved is of limited interest or of little relevance to their day-to-day visits. But it doesn't happen by accident and for anyone interested, the Moderators have prepared a detailed statement which can be referred to and which explains how it all works and why it has to be done in the way it is.

There is a small team of members who over the years have been invited by the Forum Owner to act on his behalf as Moderators (The Team) and to ensure the Forum runs in accordance with his wishes. Their task is to ensure that the main Forum aims are pursued, that the Forum rules are observed and that everything is kept on track and tidy on a day-to-day basis. The Team depends on the goodwill, the commonsense and the courtesy which the vast majority of members bring to bear. Without that neither The Team nor even the Forum itself could operate.

The Forum aims are, briefly, to create a well-ordered store of information about Birmingham's history which can be readily accessed and added to by members; and to provide a happy, friendly and comfortable environment for members as they enjoy what is on offer and make their own contributions.

The simple Forum rules can be read in the Forum Rules section of the Forum

The way in which The Team ensures that the aims are pursued and the rules are observed has evolved over the years into an operating procedure which ensures that any significant problem comes to the attention of all Moderators and is discussed by them until a consensus is reached on its resolution. Moderators have to rely on the assumption, which most members are generous enough to make, that all decisions are taken in good faith and to the best of Moderators' abilities with regard to consistency, objectivity, fairness and a view of the overall well-being of the Forum and its membership.

Normal, day-to-day duties of members of The Team, most of whom are present several times a day, include monitoring of posts, maintenance and tidying of threads, sorting out minor problems, anticipating future upset, responding to Reports by members and similar activities. It's time-consuming but all part of the job.

Now and again, there is an exceptional problem - not frequently but quite regularly enough. A member will chose to make a comment which is contrary to the spirit and the letter of the Forum rules. It could be rudeness or even abuse directed at another member or a Moderator. It could be an aggressive attack on the way the Forum is run, or outright public defiance of previous Team requests or rulings. And so it cannot be ignored. The Team has to act, in the interest of other members and, beyond that, the general well-being of the Forum. A problem like this brings with it a time-consuming, challenging and sometimes emotionally draining private discussion within The Team. A case can take days, it's all in writing as there's no verbal conversation, it can run to dozens of contributions and, above all, it involves time which could have been better devoted by each Moderator to other aspects of the Forum (or even to personal lives). It MUST all be done fairly, rationally and thoroughly until a course of action is decided upon. The need to go to these ends is unwelcome - and, had an individual's emotions been kept in check previously or a bit of sensible judgement exercised, is almost certainly avoidable.

The Team has decided to issue a detailed statement entitled "The Role of the Moderators", in the hope that it may be of general interest to members; and useful to anyone who, in their difficulty of understanding and accepting the way the Forum is run, may be unaware of the damage and disruption caused by certain types of behaviour.

We believe - and hope - that most members will not need much assurance about The Team's good faith and will have confidence in the actions we take on their behalf. We rely on the goodwill of every member and are ever grateful for it. Without it and without the work of The Team, the Forum would rapidly deteriorate into a place where most sensible people would not wish to be.

"The Role of the Moderators" is now available in the Forum Rules section, here.


Chris
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top