04-25-2020, 11:29 AM
Now for the most important quality forum owners and moderators can ever have...
Something which can't be taught in any tutorial...
Discernment.
It's usually developed after years of moderating communities, and some may just have a natural knack for it.
The ability to see a bad influence, to note corrosive behavior out of posters, to be able to see where things are going.
Indeed, in the early days of forum management, it's common to feel like you're crazy, if you have good discernment. You can see the agenda behind posters in a way that others can't and people in the community just don't get it. You take problem posters out before their cancer can spread too far, and if they've made any friends in the community, there will be bitching. Therefore you can expect a lot of complaining about management, if you're running your site even halfway properly, and if it's of considerable size.
Discernment is what separates an expert from an everyday mod or admin. A forum community of any size is lucky to have even one expert... and they usually don't. And damn is it ever obvious.
Something which can't be taught in any tutorial...
Discernment.
It's usually developed after years of moderating communities, and some may just have a natural knack for it.
The ability to see a bad influence, to note corrosive behavior out of posters, to be able to see where things are going.
Indeed, in the early days of forum management, it's common to feel like you're crazy, if you have good discernment. You can see the agenda behind posters in a way that others can't and people in the community just don't get it. You take problem posters out before their cancer can spread too far, and if they've made any friends in the community, there will be bitching. Therefore you can expect a lot of complaining about management, if you're running your site even halfway properly, and if it's of considerable size.
Discernment is what separates an expert from an everyday mod or admin. A forum community of any size is lucky to have even one expert... and they usually don't. And damn is it ever obvious.
