[OT but for mods] How to be a better admin?

[randomling]

As some of you might know, I run my own boards (link is in my sig). It's fun, and we have a great sense of community, and my moderators are fantastic. But we've been having a serious problem with spamming (porn) recently. I seem to be banning IP addresses left right and centre today.

So, my question to the moderators (or those who moderate other boards) is how do I improve my administration of the boards? I'm currently reorganizing in an attempt to cut down on the spams we've had in one particular forum.

What is good moderation or administration technique?

(NB: We've never yet had a flamewar or even an argument, just the spam.)

Help?

 

[Henry]

I don't want to speak for Morrus or the rest of The Emperor's Hand, but I will tell you some of the things I've learned here.

1. Decide what kind of discussion you want to foster. Do you want "buddies living room?" "The pub downtown?" "The Hellfire Club?" Think of the basic ground rules you would need to lay to promote the kinds of discussion tone and subject on your site that you want to see. If the site ain't fun for you, and you aren't making a profit either, it ain't worth it.
2. Pick people you can trust. The more you chat with someone online, the more you come to know their likes, dislikes, their character, and their motivations. If you find someone who is level-headed and who has the same kind of mind that you do for the topics on your board, then you have someone who would make a good moderator. If they have the Patience of Job to boot, then they would probably make a good admin.
3. Back your people, and don't put up with antics. Don't be afraid to ban someone who is making the running of your boards miserable, because chances are they are making your regular members miserable too. If your people run into a problem, speaking as one is the way to present a board that is dedicated to their topics, and who doesn't put up with people who are there just to cause trouble. It's fine to discuss privately, but publically you should have each other's backs like a bunch of Marines.

I hope some of this helps, and not all of it may necessairly apply, but it may give you ideas of the direction you wish to go in.

 

[randomling]

Wow! Thanks Henry

All my mods at the moment are Hiveminders from here, so they're people I've talked to a *lot* online and know really well. My "staff team" is incredible, actually. Not to mention the fact that I just recruited Darkness, and he is wonderful.

We're all friends at Randomling's House, which is great -- we combine a bunch of ENWorlders with the members of our crew on Outwar and just... well... hang out, really. The tone's very relaxed and I trust my friends not to get in flamewars, but the problem has been with unregistered users. (I've banned IP addresses and tripled the moderators in the problem forum.)

As for "not making a profit".... I do keep meaning to ask how the Community Supporter thing works, from the admin end I mean. We're starting to get more activity than I can afford to fund out of my own pocket, but I don't want to feel like I'm extorting my friends....

It's thorny, because we're still so small (120 users, but they post a lot and I only have 5 gig a month right now).

 

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I was just overthere. Now i see what you mean about trouble with guest jerks.


http://www.randomlingshouse.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27

 

[Glyfair]

I've recently been made a Moderator on a couple of the WizKids fan sites. Something that gets brought up when things like this start to get out of hand is to set up the software so that new users are moderated for their first posts. That way the porn spambots, etc. get caught before they can flood the boards.

Of course, this barrier often will keep new users from posting. I personally wouldn't consider it until it reached a level where I felt I had to deal with it.

Glyfair of Glamis

 

[hong]

On a related note, whenever I try to go to Randomling's House, it kills my connection. And I mean, kills it stone dead. I have to switch off my cable modem and switch it back on to get the connection working again.

Anyone knowledgeable with networks care to take a guess as to why this is happening?

Sorry, Randomling! Can't make it to your place right now.

 

[randomling]

Hong: I'm sorry too. No idea why though! I just know how to make messageboards work (and not very well it seems).

Osis: it's been sorted and that guy's IP address has now been banned.

Glyfair, I'm not sure if PHPBB can do that!

 

[Darkness]

All my mods at the moment are Hiveminders from here, so they're people I've talked to a *lot* online and know really well. My "staff team" is incredible, actually. Not to mention the fact that I just recruited Darkness, and he is wonderful.

As for "not making a profit".... I do keep meaning to ask how the Community Supporter thing works, from the admin end I mean.

You might want to ask Squirrel Nutkin for some ideas; fund drives in NL usually work out rather well... And Nutkinland also uses the same board software as you, so he could even make software-specific suggestions.

For example, selling custom titles to users for a small fee might be a good start...

 

[Sir Osis of Liver]

For example, selling custom titles to users for a small fee might be a good start...

I find it hard to believe someone would donate money to message boards they frequent just for a custom title.

 

[Darkness]

I find it hard to believe someone would donate money to message boards they frequent just for a custom title.

Right, it's not for everyone. But it has been done...