Moderators drift away

Greetings, all. First time on admintalk, hoping to get some advice.
I have a fledgeling forum That is about a year and a half old now. I'm just starting to get regular posters in small spurts, but it's still not self sustaining. I've made a number of people moderators, and yet they all seem to kind of drift away after a while.

I don't want a million moderators, but I would like a few trustworthy people that can help keep things active as well as help users out. I haven't had much by way of controversy, so maybe there isn't enough to do . . .

I read over the [url="http://admin-talk.com/threads/moderators-slipping-away.44537]"Moderators Slipping Away[/url] thread, which sounds very much like the problem I'm having, but there didn't seem to bea specific solution. I'm wondering what strategies others have come up with since then. Because people are donating their time, I don't want to be an ass, but I'm also disappointed that many of them are off on other forums, and not active on my forums. I'm also worried that if I change guard too much, the forum will look disorganized or unable to keep itself together.

As I said, it's weird because I feel like the forum is getting just a little traction, but not enough continuously generate interest, so users fade in and out as well.

 

I would tend to talk to them in a friendly manner and ask them for their ideas of how the site can be improved, if they feel part of the management team then they may respond positively.

I would look at seeing if you are giving them enough recognition on the forum, every one likes a pat on the back for a job well done! When was the last time you did this?

Remember the golden rule, Criticize in private and praise in public.

 

Honestly @VickyB I sympathize with you a lot as i am having a similar problem(and have been always) since my site's existence as of 2-3 years ago.

I've always had a high number of staff even if my site didn't particularly warrant said number(10). Mistake 1: Making friends Mods without giving it a more mature and thought out process.....But hey i was 16.

Over the course of 2 years, I've had some extremely dedicated staff members and I have had horrible staff members.

My site has been on for 2 years and it is my baby but like you...I don't want 1000 moderators....I don't want 100 or 10. I want a set group of people I know that i can depend on that if i am not there.....my site is in good hands and i can trust people to do what needs to be done and stay active.

it's stressful and though they are volunteers, yes, it is quite hurtful...frustrating and disappointing when you see them put so much dedication into things and making excuses or even lies to explain why they can't do something.

It's bad for my myself simply because I care about these people like 2nd family...I've been with some of them since Day 1.

What I am going to suggest is simple....You want the help and you want to have a good team? I do as well but i am telling myself...the more you want/need for a staff, the more you become dependent.

My suggestion for you is simply to discuss this with your staff and see what is going on but more importantly take the time to reevaluate and re-learn yourself.

My staff does next to nothing....I do promoting, I start mostly 90 percent of all new topics...I engage members....I do the social networking(FB, Tumblr, Twitter), Reaching out to sponsors and authors(It's a book site), I also take the time to learn Coding, Server stuff, etc etc...all the while I have my own life in the real world.

My staff's main job is to at least try and do 30 posts daily...Literally that's all I ask of them and even then that is a problem for them despite being on the forums hours of the day(3-4 hours). 30 is not a lot, especially when i can do 30 quality post in like 20 minutes and i average about 60-120 a day alone.

It's also gotten bad because members have quit my site because they didn't feel like the staff was friendly enough or that they just didn't care for the staff...Unfortunately, I sort of lost some power on my site.

Collectively together my Staff(except 2-3 who are trustworthy) are super close and I'd hate to have a war with them(Been there done that and I lost then and I'd lose now) simply because they have more power than me over the overall community.

So i simply suggest to learn yourself....Work your hardest....Do your best...It sucks to think people just don't give a damn and they probably don't even they'll never say it but as long as you keep working your hardest...I eventually believe you(And myself) will find quality people that can become the team you deserve!

Don't let the lack of others helping you be the reason your site fails...I've been doing this for 2 years and I have a staff of 9 people where 2 of them are TEAM PLAYER and if my site fails, I want it to fail because I did my best and it wasn't enough...Not because i was waiting around for people who claim to want to help to give a damn only to discover they don't....

So get your mind right and if need be, drop the staff who is giving you trouble and push on forward.

 

I know one forum where many moderators (and even one admin) are <16 and they act as if they were complete idiots. Many mature users sued stuff members (its owned by company) and hey ho.... They won, all of them.

 

If moderators aren't making an effort to be active on your forum, then there's something wrong. They're also the backbones behind the community next to you, of course, so they need to be active and make an effort to be apart of the forum. Do you get along with your moderators? Perhaps, some of them are busy with school or work like some of my staff members are, so thus, they're excused because I know what's going on. You should have a chat with them and see what the issues are and if you can resolve them.

 

forum in question is not mine or is not connected with me in any way..... I know it from my colleague, I vistited them once, didnt even register as it was not my type of forum.....
Thankfully, forum on which Im moderator is doing well.....

generally when your stuff drifts away from you it is sign that something begins to be not as it should be/planned.... It requires you to take some (sometimes radical) steps towards community growth, and to stop people drifting away.

 

Moderators are volunteers for the majority of communities. You sort of have to expect that they could possibly drift away for the sake of family life of the job that is actually paying the bills. That's sadly just the case. People are offering time for free and that may eventually stop as they drift away.

I don't like seeing it, but I expect moderators to change often on communities unless they are getting something that makes them fell more important or better. There is a business idea that basically suggests that if the person in the role feels trusted and appreciated then they will work hard and be motivated. This, in example of a forum, can take place by giving them instructions to create information topics (such as allowing them to rewrite the guideline threads if they wish) as well as letting them have an input on the actual community. I find this can help.

 

Partly true. Moderators (and stuff in general) divides into two groups: one being people devoted to their communities (thgey will hardly do any harm by misbehaving), and the other being who became stuff just to feel important and in fact does not care about community.