@Fristo
Hi Fristo! 😊❤️ (a.k.a. Frito 😊) Thank you for this amazing forum post!
I could not agree with you more! Our mods deserve recognition and gratitude for what it is that they do. It's not an easy job.
I imagine there can be many stressful moments. Mods may have to walk away questioning themselves, wondering if they did the right thing and even when they did......in fact, do it the right way and the fair way. It's hard to hear negativity and if you are in charge of a room or rooms and have to ask people to stop negative behavior, well, if the person thought it was a good idea to begin with, they potentially would give a mod a great deal of "push back".
Some may fail to realize that there is a human being behind that mod badge whether it be community mod or volunteer mod. Some people lack empathy as well as are not interested in the rules or the feelings of anyone else currently in the room.
I for one am grateful for our mods and I feel an extra layer of safety and security knowing that one is in the room with me. Sometimes, simply the mod badge floating in and out of the room can make others question their behavior (puts a stop to it before it even starts, lol 😊) and a strong mod will keep the rooms safe and put a stop to things if it's becoming abusive.
I hope any mod out there considers the concept of "The courage to be disliked". Well, people might dislike you some days for doing the right thing and I for one applaud you for standing up and doing the right thing. Many more are here that are grateful for all that you are and all that you do for us! ❤️
One concept I think of is "let the mod, mod". If something negative is happening in the rooms, many times it can be a good idea to not contribute to the negativity. "Monkey see, monkey do, monkey get in trouble too" ! lol 😊 If we get up in the mix and keep it going, we get in the way of the mod trying to focus, find resolution, peace and harmony to the room. A good mod and strong mod will step in and fight your battles for you! ❤️❤️❤️ Give them a wide birth and watch the magic happen!
One thing I love to do in an effort to support mods (when, in reality, I would really like to help defend them and their stance but know I would simply be getting in their way and potentially make things worse) is the the Gizzie-ism of "smoke em' out". Yup, you smoke out negativity with positivity. You make that air so thick with positive smoke the negative behavior becomes less and less likely to survive. I encourage any and everyone when seeing a mod going through a hard moment, to compassion heart their comments at every opportunity, show your solidarity in that way, choke out the negative behavior as there is still "safety in numbers". ❤️Feel free to make positive comments towards your mod and thank them for keeping the rooms warm, welcoming, safe, inclusive and supportive.
*high fives* 😊 and great big *hugs* ❤️ mods! Stay great my friends and keep rockin' the house! Weeeeeeeee weeeeeeee! 😊