We Need to Talk About Modding
Wanted to share this experience because as we sometimes face a lack of mods, that concern shouldn't overshadow the need for quality modding practices.
I remember my first group mod experience. I came in and immediately had a member call me out. It wasn't explicit, but it wasn't the warm welcome I got when I used to come in regularly as a non-mod listener. At first, I wondered about the merit of this badge since my knee-jerk reaction was that I had done more "harm" in my first 10 seconds as a mod than ever as a listener, but I thought "no, I'm going to allow this to be a teaching moment." I addressed the member carefully and requested a private chat after my modding duties. He obliged and the actual mod experience was fine. In our private chat after, I asked him about past issues he'd had with mods(granted he wasn't a troll or anything....not sure those folks can be reasoned with). His experience had led him to believe that mods corrupted the organic growing experience with their "rules" and perceived over-zealous policing. We talked a bit more about our training and the reasoning behind some of what we do. We both came away having learned a lot. I think it made me a better mod. And I hope it made him a little less wary having put a name and real conversation with the badge.
Group modding is absolutely difficult, and not everyone is going to appreciate it. Dealing w/ trolls is annoying, BUT sometimes you just get someone who has seen some negative stuff and is a little traumatized by it. The badge, while informative to some, can bring negative connotations to others who simply caught a mod at a rough or new moment. No one is perfect. I'm not going to sit here and say every mod has performed their duties perfectly or even ethically. Sometimes, we need to be trained further. That is the reality.
But I will also say this - sometimes you get trolls. Legit trolls who come in to wreck up the place. And sometimes you get people who are on edge from previous unnecessary and negative experience and just need someone to hear them out. It's important for us to be able to recognize the difference.
thankfully today my first day on the mod job there was a call for mod assistance in a room. i went in expecting to be the bad guy but i was warmly welcomed and members and guests supported me in trying to rid the room of the disruptive element
i know not every situation will be like this but i think there are a lot of our member who have respect for mods and they can be tarred with the same brush as those who arent so supportive sometimes
@Kallie112358
Congrats on your first day, Kallie! Yes, "calls" can be stressful, especially if it's your first go.
We do have very supportive members who try to calmly de-escalate situations in conjunction with mods. It's natural for us to see patterns and group experiences to make sense of them, but it's super important to be able to discern, even in the heat of the moment, what's really going on. Though I admit this is a difficult learned skill for higher strung people like myself.
Keep up the good work, Kallie!
Just bumping this thread to you that was posted by the awesome Iara not long ago if you didn't see it :)
We are constantly trying to improve the group chat experience, there are mod meetings to talk about issues or ideas, etc. There is also this form you can use to review a Moderator, Listener or Event :) We can make it a better place all together! :D
@ Ace13
Said great post by awesome Lara actually inspired this one. :) Thank you for re-sharing it here though. Definitely worth a read.
@Athena86
Sorry ahah I didn't make it clear I was sharing it for everyone!
Thanks to you for this awesome post too :)
I agree Athena I would also like to add that members feel very anxious when a mod is around the chatrooms. They feel as if they cannot speak. I think we all need to work on empathy.. That's all :)
I love this post. Thank you. Such a good reminder.
