I was granted moderatorship on the website for the guild i joined on Mabinogi

any advice on how to be an effective moderator ?

Shout "politics!" a lot and lock threads.


Also, if someone disagrees with you, delete their post whilst replying to a very nonspecific quote which may or may not have had anything to do with the actual thrust of their argument.

Being a moderator isn't hard, but it does take some VERY thick skin. You have to learn how to sort through the garbage, ok posts, and how to end flame wars if they begin. All I have to say is peeing on a grease fire only makes it worse.

Do not take after moderators on BSN ! but i have RL friend who was moderator on a forum, try to have a reasonable line for what's accepted and what's not, try to be fair to others and having a calm posture when dealing with trolls and offensive people is what i see as a good attribute for a moderator.

I was Guild Manager of [KISS] once on GuildWars (They used to be big but now it is crap), but I have seen my share of trolls and rude people. I made sure to clean up any mess and help out the other GMs of anything. I took it seriously, and it is sad the some only wanted the title of GM/Officer just to be called that.

So I had thick skin and you should too!

Get a block of graphite as a role model.

Don't do anything too extreme.

as a person who currently moderates a small zombie forum, Moderating is easy really. A lot of people seem to think that being a moderator means you cant be friendly to people anymore, that if you do you'll pick favorites and so on and so forth. What I do is the moderator equivalent of walking around being nice, but carrying a big stick. the stick is your banhammer. The biggest mistake most make, is they abuse their power. You should only ever use your moderator abilities when its absolutely needed, not whenever you want to. You are a tool as a moderator. If you use yourself right, you'll do fine. Use yourself poorly however, you'll more n likely get the boot.

Rules I go by:

1: People have opinions. Let em have theirs.
2: don't be an ass
3: Act like you did before being a moderator, just remember that you're enforcing the rules now
4: Don't abuse your power. Banning someone because they don't like another member, moderator or an admin is a low move, about as low as you can go in my opinion.
5: Be yourself. Yes, you're now in a position of power, but that doesn't mean you have to change into some sort of overly strict rulebook.

Know the forum rules, and only act if they are violated. If a discussion is getting close to violating the rules, post and nudge it back on track.

You're a moderator EF? Oh dear.

You've got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, know when to run...

Look at what the other moderators do, which things they warn/ban for and which things they let slide, how they handle messages to and from members. And if you're not sure about a particular case you're dealing with, don't be afraid to ask them for advice.

Yeah don't forget your fellow moderators. They can help ease you into the role. Familiarize yourself very well with the rules. Don't forget to consult with your fellow moderators if a certain course of action seems iffy.

Or in the case of the Beth forums, they toss you into the skyrim forum and if you manage to survive you were the right choice.

I played it safe, my first ban was a spam bot in the Arx Fatalis forums.

That was all I banned as a GM, just spammers. Heck, some guy had the nerve to spam a recruitment for another guild in our guild chat thinking he is gonna get members

Depends a lot on the rules/acceptable behavior for the forum you're moderating. What's cool/ok on one can be a no-no on another etc. But in general, as the others have already said....thick skin and getting a feel for what's appropriate reactions/actions for your forum. Being open to communication from the members. And remembering not to act, yourself, in a way that's contradictory to the rules you're enforcing.

It is, dare I say, an epic fail.


Ahem, all meant as good humour. If someone is upset, don't be.

On-topic: I'd imagine not misusing your power. And well, just generally be the perfect member on the forums that everyone should look up to in terms of what to post and what not to post.

I can't imagine how the other people on that forum are...

Sad but true.

On one hand I'd really want to see what this forum would be like with you as a moderator, but on the other...

Continue to be a regular guy, just one who's responsible. Don't view it as a sort of higher social stratum: I've known various moderators like that, including a couple of co-mods from a forum I moderated many years ago, and people like that always make terrible moderators, both for forum members and their colleagues.

I am/have been an Admin/Mod on several small forums. Maintain the same "voice" you had a regular member, but keep to the rules- you know every regular member sometimes strays over the line. Chat as you always did, but be prepared to defuse problems and regulate discussions. View it as a pain in the ass tedious job and not as a chance to exert power over others and you should do fine.

By collecting taxes for the king.

Something like that.....I know it has to do with making ppl miserable.

Yeah, it's more of a janitorial role than a privileged one, and it pays to remember that; the point about defusing problems is well made, pulling rank should be a last resort, not a first one.

Just take your cues from the site admins and the other moderators. Also, get used to being hated, even if you're a cute fluffy bunny that just wants to be hugged. Think of yourself as an administrator - i.e. less of a warden, more of a filing clerk. It's mostly like being a parent: 99% of it is running around tidying up after people and the other 1% is saying, "No, we don't pull hair. Let go. Let go. Let go ..."

Your basically hand of the king now, good luck.