Tensions are rising... online forums are unique beasts and absolutely require moderators. Lots of them. Without that oversight, the whole system would collapse in no time.
At the end of the day, why someone wants to become a moderator is completely irrelevant, provided they moderate effectively and fairly. It’s about the results, not their motivations. You can want the position as badly as you like, but if you don't write quality content, lack sufficient "forum seniority" (both in terms of time spent here and post count), or if you're constantly picking fights, being insulting, and causing drama... you aren't going to be a mod, regardless of how much you want it.
All those factors serve as an excellent filter to weed out people who just want to enforce their own version of justice or act like they're better than everyone else 🤣 by holding a moderator title. Of course, it doesn't work perfectly every single time, but as a general rule, moderators are chosen because they actually contribute something of value. Sure, someone might get "corrupted" over time—power 😬 can certainly go to someone's head—but you won't know that until time passes. Just rest assured that a troublemaker, someone incapable of writing a coherent post, someone with a history of warnings and bans, or someone who just spams and acts out, will never become a moderator.
stormystag16 said:Look, I'm not aiming this at you specifically, so don't take it personally or think I'm attacking you or anything...😍 but when you mentioned volunteering for just five minutes a day, it really made me wonder if some mods actually think they're being extra noble by spending a tiny slice of their day "volunteering"... you know, sitting in a comfy office, sipping a latte, and scrolling through semi-interesting content, while on the flip side, there are actual volunteers out there doing much harder work in way less pleasant conditions who aren't exactly getting treated like saints
Where on earth did you get the idea that I consider myself a saint?🤷 Look, I volunteer here... as for who else is volunteering, how much, or where, that's really none of my business.🤷
I actually looked into 😁 launching my own web portal once. I did some digging into how the whole process works, and naturally, my main focus was on the advertising potential. I don't recall the exact figures since it was about five or six years ago, but I remember being pretty shocked by how low the rates for online ads were back then. Sure, things have likely scaled up since then, but I wonder how much 🤔 🤷
Just look at the cover; there are so many different mods listed... I can't even give an exact count, but it's easily at least 50 😬... if everyone wanted their own, $167 imagine how much that would cost. This forum isn't some massive Lovecraftian factory, despite what people might think...
Man, I wish they’d pay me 😁 too, but that's just not how it works. Like I said before, if you have a solid, well-oiled moderation team running the sub, and it's being 😁 monitored regularly to keep the spam and junk out, then you really only spend a few minutes on it a day. If I can't even volunteer a few minutes of my time, then it's all going south. 😬
I understand why people tend to lash out 😬 at the moderators... but consider what this forum would look like without them. Have you ever spent time on an unmoderated forum? I have... though it was probably decades ago 😬 but I know exactly how that plays out. Ultimately, anyone interested can step up to moderate. If you write quality content and stay engaging—avoiding unnecessary 😬 drama or pointless arguments—your chances of becoming a mod are actually quite high.
It works a certain way... let me let you in on the secret. 😁 When a sub-forum moderator steps down, loses the bandwidth to keep up, or when a section grows so large it needs extra hands, a proposal is made. Usually, the current moderator of that section, or occasionally an admin—though much more rarely—submits a suggestion on the moderator forum so the rest of the team can weigh in on the candidate. If the feedback is mostly positive, the proposal moves forward; if not... 👎 it doesn't exactly go through 😬 via favoritism. We always look at the quality and frequency of the user's contributions. That is the most important factor. I just want to be clear so it doesn't seem like some random guy who signed up seven days ago and has twenty posts suddenly becomes a moderator. 🙂 I could suggest a friend of mine, but it wouldn't matter if the rest of the team doesn't want them in that role. While the Admins do have the final say, even if they are on board, a proposal won't pass if the moderator group as a whole is against it. Think what you will, but when it comes to this process, we are quite democratic. 😁
Honestly, there’s a certain level of satisfaction that comes with banning an idiot 😁. As a moderator here, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought, "this guy needs to be banned immediately." Too often, those people managed to stay online 😢 . Today, I handed out a 500-point penalty for hate speech... you just can't win with some people in America 😠. I actually regret not issuing a permanent ban right then and there, but I'm taking it slow... I'm just waiting for his next move 😈
neondrifter17 said:Well, you really should have led with that from the very start. Look, that might be your personal reason, but you're just one person. What about everyone else?
The truth is, there are definitely people who use this kind of thing to prove themselves—to chase a sense of "power" or "importance" that they probably can't find in their actual RL. It’s nothing surprising or even particularly strange when you think about it. And what's the point of pointing that out? Is that supposed to be a motivation too?
It's also just a fact that none of the moderators would ever actually tell you that. I highly doubt that everyone here is strictly motivated by the desire to make the forum look pretty and easy to navigate.
I didn't say that doesn't happen... obviously it does, but that's just part of the virtual experience. For me, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks of "me," because to 99.99% of the users here, I'm just a collection of letters on a computer screen and nothing more. I don't get any satisfaction from banning, deleting, or issuing warnings... Sure, it feels good when an absolute jerk or some arrogant "internet tough guy" shows up and I can shut them down, 😬 but as I said, in six years of moderating, if only one single person complains about me, it means I'm doing my job well and for the right reasons.
Jeremy Davis7 said:So, how did you actually become a moderator?
How does the whole system even work?
Did someone "reach out" and offer it to you?
What's the motivation here?
Is there actual management overseeing everything... and are they getting paid? We're talking about processes that aren't exactly simple—you have to control things, manage people, motivate them, instill a sense of responsibility, handle consequences... stuff that, by the way, pays incredibly well in the corporate world. But here? Not a single cent!??
Actually, not just "here"... it's the same story everywhere in the world. Zero cost involved!?
It's fascinating, really.
The guy who dreamed up a business where he makes huge profits based entirely on volunteers—people working for him for free for whatever reasons (and I'm trying to wrap my head around those reasons)—is a historical anomaly. It's a phenomenon that only showed up once the internet arrived. If I were studying psychology, I’d write my entire thesis on this... honestly! (There you go, folks... a little idea for all you out there)
I'm not asking these things to be a jerk. I genuinely want to understand how the owner/boss conceived this business model. A business that—let's be real—rests entirely on your shoulders, while you perform your duties totally free of charge and with complete professionalism.
PS. I think there's a massive difference between someone just casually chatting and someone who actually manages the whole thing, keeps an eye on every thread and post, and essentially (whether you want to admit it or not) works this full-time.
🙂
😂 Do you really think that's the case? 😬 We have organized ourselves quite well on the history threads. We operate with three different moderators, each focusing on their own specific area of interest. While there is some overlap, I occasionally start a thread just to keep things moving and notice another moderator stepping in to manage it. To me, that represents smart workload distribution; if everyone tried to monitor every single topic and read every single post, we would never get anything done. 😵
I suspect people agree to volunteer their time for a few specific reasons;
1. they happen to have an abundance of free time 2. it provides a little ego boost 3. that sense of being needed or important 4. the chance to brag about it, like, "Hey, did you know I'm actually a moderator on Reddit?"
But honestly, if we're being realistic, the platforms could at least cover the cost of an internet bill, if nothing else—or maybe just buy them a coffee. These days, you can't even find a public restroom that doesn't charge you a fee just to use it.$0.67.
In short; It seems like the moderators haven't quite grasped the old saying, "time is money" 😁
😂 Have you ever considered that someone might just want to improve a subforum they enjoy writing in, have a say in its direction, or organize things so their own experience there is more pleasant? Everyone seems to assume the main motivation is some quest for power 🤣 or an ego trip 😂... whatever. It isn't always about having a high-ranking title to show off. 😵
In my six years as a moderator, I’ve had exactly one person complain about my decisions. I stepped up to manage the history section at the request of the admin back then because that subforum was a complete disaster—just constant fighting, political bickering, insults, and threats. I took it over primarily because I love history and wanted to ensure there was a dedicated space for it that wasn't a mess. You all seem to overlook those kinds of motivations. As for the time commitment... honestly, if you have a well-organized subforum and a few mods helping out, you probably only spend about five minutes a day on moderation. So, please move past those assumptions. I'm not saying those motives don't exist for some colleagues, but my primary goal was simply to curate and maintain a quality space for reading and writing.
restlesstiger102 said:What exactly is bothering you? Is it the fact that I've only been with two men? You strike me as an incredibly insecure individual who clearly lacks even a shred of self-confidence. Honestly, I was fully expecting you to come at me with some inflated number like twenty or more guys, but to find out it’s ONLY two🤣
Exactly... I don't see an issue here at all. In fact, having only been with two people practically makes her a virgin by comparison.😬
I started a discussion over on the economics subforum regarding how we could have potentially hosted a Formula 1 race back in the day—at least, that's what the rumors were when things were looking up for the elites and Bernie 😁—but due to our usual, typical American 😬 incompetence, it never actually materialized. Link:
Furthermore, within that same thread, the question of whether an F1 track is actually profitable came up. From what I've read, any circuit should fully pay for itself within two or three years. Some people are arguing that isn't the case... I'm hoping there are folks here who might know a bit more about this specific issue, so please feel free to weigh in either here or on the linked thread.
I love making 🙂 people 👍 laugh, but let's steer clear of breastfeeding topics; otherwise, we'll have all sorts of busybodies and judgmental types 🤣 throwing a fit and making a huge scene...
hollowtrucker77 said:I don't give a damn about any of that, nor do I care about the environment where things are supposedly happening it's just like if you jumped in to save some girl from drowning, gave her mouth-to-mouth, and then spent the rest of the night bragging to everyone about how you basically made out with a total knockout
😕 How does that even relate to the topic at hand? 🤷
I would save anyone from the water, but I wouldn't be giving mouth-to-mouth to a crocodile... sorry, someone else can finish the job while I step in. 😬
As for the rest... honestly, I couldn't care less. Forget about breastfeeding. 😁 The scene... a summer a few years back, walking my dog through the park, I passed a playground and saw a mother 😍 in a sundress, nursing a little kid... 😁 that was actually quite nice to see, though if it had been some crocodile, I probably would have set the dog on her. 😬
So, why didn't you feel any attraction toward some hot 🙏 young mom? Now I’m the one looking like a weirdo, when you’re actually the strange one here 😛... Let's ask our colleague Sophia White... would you be turned on if you saw some 🙏 🙂 young mom breastfeeding 🙂
Well, damn... maybe you just haven't seen a 🙂 and 🙏 young mom 😍 nursing... then you might want to ask me about being 😉
From what I've seen, 99% of breastfeeding moms aren't exactly "HOT" 🙏 young moms 😁
I actually ran into one such lady once and UNKNOWN, I almost 😬 asked her, "Hey, is there any extra left? I'm feeling a bit hungry, so if it's not too much trouble..." 😁