about the talking fish

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Writer. Wheelman. Occasional DIY mechanic. Walking collection of hang-ups. Hopeless romantic. Old-school. Analog soul in a digital world. I am all of these things and more.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Are YOU worthy of your power?

We as forum moderators have power. We have been entrusted the power to silence, the power to redirect attention, and the power to mediate in conflicts.

But are we deserving of such power? The reasons why we are moderators, I believe, come to the fore and are tested when we are forced to deal with offenders.

I've had brushes with forum mods and admins who fancy themselves on a power trip and mete out warnings and bans without giving the offending party some slack. Said mods and admins even dole out warnings when they themselves have been reminded by a fellow member that they are out of line on another forum.

Personally, I don't think we are moderators simply to suspend or ban offending members. Rather, we will be much better at our duty if we can get them to stay on while making them remember the rules of the forum.

That I believe is our ultimate goal. And I became a moderator again precisely because of that reason.

It would be much, much easier to mete out a suspension or ban, but it is much harder to grant an offender a second chance and a shot at reform. It's also the humane thing to do.

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