Members who ask to be moderators

Do you automatically dismiss their chances? I do.

I really think that somebody who goes out of their way to PM me and specifically ask to be a moderator (if I didn't specifically ask for PM requests), really is after some sort of power and fancy title. It's one of my biggest pet-peeves and annoys me.

Am I in the minority, or do you all feel the same way?

 

If the person is not "good" enough to be an moderator, I do dismiss but politely tell them that if the staff sees improvement in this we might take it in consideration if we get asked again. They need to wait an interval of months. I have to say that FMS[the one who helps me with the FTP] he asked for MONTHS [prolly 6-7 months] to be made moderator, and just two to three months ago he got to be a moderator.

Depends on the member maturity and the activeness.

 

Auto dismiss ? No.

Whenever we need moderators, we advertise for people to apply. Anyone can apply, no one is dismissed because they may have asked in the past. Assuming someone is "power" hungry is a mistake IMO.

 

Depends on who it is.

If it's a brand new member, with very little posts and very little reputation amongst the board (as in real reputation, not the feature) then yes, it's an auto-dismiss.

If it's a well known member, we'll evaluate the situation and see if we need an additional mod. If we do, then we put it to a vote amongst the current staff and discuss it.

 

Depends on the person and their contributions.

 

Right from the beginning I had one very active member he kept sending me complementary PM's and the like and even designed a logo I really didn't care for. Eventually one of his PM's asked if he could be a moderator. I wrote him a very polite reply telling him no that with less than 100 members (at that time) I didn't need any help, but would consider him down the road as the site grew.

I never heard back or saw him again.

 

If theyre asking to be one and are an asset to your forum, someone who loves your forums and makes regular contributions, and as a moderator you would think they would still be an asset then go for it. If theyve just signed up we tend to let them know we may consider them in the future. As 2Dub said and I am sure everyone will agree, they tend to leave after a few posts so less the fool of you

 

No, I do not dismiss them. They just get moved to the end of the list.

 

I never dismiss somebody who asks to be a moderator.

 

Agreed. But in almost all cases, asking has basically ruined it for them. There are some cases, however, where you'll get a member that offers, not asks, because they want to make themselves helpful to you (perhaps right after you've added a new section, or when they're suggesting a new section).

 

I do find it a bit suspect, yes. So far the people who have asked me have all been people I wouldn't choose on my own.

 

Doesn't bother me and it shows interest. But have yet to have one be chosen as moderator. Those that have made the offer did not seem to hang out long.

Can I be a moderator on AA :lol:


(kidding)

 

This tends to annoy me, particularly if I make it clear (whether it be via an announcement or a mass e-mail) that I'm not currently looking for members who wish to be promoted to the staff team. If I make such an announcement and then receive an influx of messages regarding "open" positions, I'll go crazy. There's no other way to phrase it. :lol:

I see that someone mentioned (earlier in this discussion) that there's a difference between "asking" and "offering" - this is correct. I'd rather have a member sincerely offer to assist the community rather than asking and/or demanding a position of power.

 

I was going to post this exact same phrase when I saw it too. A members that offers to have a position, most of the time, they are VERY dedicated to the site and they feel as if they could be a good addition to the site because of their ideas, etc.

 

... and I also noticed that you quoted my post before I made the grammatical correction.

 

Bwahaha, show your imperfections!

 

This.

 

I am guilty of this with regards to asking to get on staff, I've only did this once many years ago back in 2005. I was a new member starting out at a site and seen the graphics area was in such a stagnated stage that I knew it could be brought back to life. I sent the pm and the admin replied back saying they would consider taking on staff in this area but were not currently taking on.

I think 3 weeks had past and I received a pm back asking if i would like to join and from the time I was there I brought the graphics area back to life to the point it self sustained itself with activity. Nowadays, it's still active and flourishing. And to think the whole administration wanted to close it all down.

It's one of the fond memories I have on staffing were I knew I could make an impact and did.

 

^This. There is a difference between asking and offering. The former is usually dismissed while the latter is considered.

Exhibit A - Asking/Requesting: "Hi Nick, I'm really good with graphics, so I was wondering if I could moderate the Graphics section of the forum. I think I will do a wonderful job and I look forward to it!"

Exhibit B - Offering: "Hi Nick, I see that the site is growing pretty fast and activity is certainly picking up. I just wanted to let you know that if you were ever looking for somebody to help out with the site, I would be glad to assist where possible."

... Which would stand out more to you? For me, it's the second one: the one that offers, not requests.

Ditto.

 

Whenever I receive a message like this, I nicely tell them that I'm not looking for any additional staff at the time, but I'll keep their name in mind. And I will - if, when I'm looking for additional staff, they seem to be a good candidate anyway, I'll know that they were interested in the past so they're more likely to be a good addition. But I wouldn't ever just add someone because they requested; they have to meet all of my regular standards, proving that they would be a good staff member.