Finding good volunteer moderators

This question is different from the other topic. I am not just asking how but more specifically I'm asking how do I do it in the gaming niche. I own a MMO fansite forum and I am unsure about the best method to go about targetting the community.

Things like this are out because I don't actually game anymore:

- Clans

- In game recruiting

Do you know of any good methods that involve finding people straight off the web. I am thinking about going to gaming forums and messaging random people in hopes that some of them respond well, which worked for me on my very first forum.

The last time I tried to do so however ended with failure so I'm hoping someone has a pretty good idea. I would really appreciate it, thank you!

Until you have members I wouldn't bother even thinking about moderators, since you're not going to need them for a while yet

Once you have a memberbase, then you should choose your moderating staff from within, making sure you choose people that work within your vision of the site and won't abuse any moderating powers they have.

AzhriaLilu said:

Until you have members I wouldn't bother even thinking about moderators, since you're not going to need them for a while yet

Once you have a memberbase, then you should choose your moderating staff from within, making sure you choose people that work within your vision of the site and won't abuse any moderating powers they have.

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That would probably be the best way but isn't it also a good idea to add moderators so that they stay because of their rank?

But those attracted to a very new forum only because they are offered rank are most often those who either have no real clue about moderating or are the first to leave when they don't enjoy themselves anymore

Eden said:

But those attracted to a very new forum only because they are offered rank are most often those who either have no real clue about moderating or are the first to leave when they don't enjoy themselves anymore

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Exactly this! The people who will only post because they have a "staff badge" are the very people you want to avoid.

AzhriaLilu said:

Exactly this! The people who will only post because they have a "staff badge" are the very people you want to avoid.

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Why don't you just mod on my forum Azhria? I'll pay you with <3 lol

Of course you aren't a gamer.

heh heh, sorry sweetie, but I'm not a huge gamer myself. I have enough on my hands with my own sites and TAZ

AzhriaLilu said:

heh heh, sorry sweetie, but I'm not a huge gamer myself. I have enough on my hands with my own sites and TAZ

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Yes I figured. Because someone of your knowledge is too hard to find. Get into gaming..............................

I think it might be pointless to even try. No one responds to my Community co op ads and I really can't do all the posting lol.

Katana00 said:

I think it might be pointless to even try. No one responds to my Community co op ads and I really can't do all the posting lol.

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I don't want to sound rude, but this is wrong on every level.
You ARE the one responsible for posting. Sure, it is exhausting to do the load of posting work at first and... WRONG!
Really, posting shouldn't be work for you. Unless you have a really smart and new idea or hop on a wagon of something new and certainly popular (like a forum for one new game that comes out soon and is anticipated for example), you can't be successful in any means if you don't love to post on your forum. It needs to be about something (your topic) that you not only can talk about for hours, but will.
Only then others will join in.

Eden said:

I don't want to sound rude, but this is wrong on every level.
You ARE the one responsible for posting. Sure, it is exhausting to do the load of posting work at first and... WRONG!
Really, posting shouldn't be work for you. Unless you have a really smart and new idea or hop on a wagon of something new and certainly popular (like a forum for one new game that comes out soon and is anticipated for example), you can't be successful in any means if you don't love to post on your forum. It needs to be about something (your topic) that you not only can talk about for hours, but will.
Only then others will join in.

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It's not the work. I shall repeat myself for the millionth time.

So basically: I CANNOT GAME OR I WOULD DO IT FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF POSTING REVIEWS AND CONTENT.

Thank you for your input but yeah.. Can't do that and I said it in the opening post.

The only game I could do that with would be Starcraft and that's old.

Alright, I'll bite. Why can't you game? You stated in another thread that you didn't game because you had more important things to do (or something along that line). If you have important things taking up your time and don't have any spare/free time at all to put into playing the games you want your forum to talk about, then the harsh truth is that you should not make a forum at all.

The bottom line is if you don't have the time to put an effort into your site - be it posting, writing articles, researching the genre (be that by playing the games or trying to generate discussion of the games) then you should not bother even starting a forum.

Contrary to popular belief, forums are neither quick nor simple to to start, grow or keep active - they take a lot of blood, sweat and tears of the person starting the site - namely YOU. If you aren't willing to put the effort in at the start, then there really is little point in even bothering.

Well, I have to put it bluntly... I don't know why you start your forum then. Why do you aim for the most saturated niche of all if you aren't even a fanatic about gaming anymore (or simply don't have the time for it)?

And an old game or even one that is not one of the bestsellers may not be the most difficult issue. Ask gogo

AzhriaLilu said:

Alright, I'll bite. Why can't you game? You stated in another thread that you didn't game because you had more important things to do (or something along that line). If you have important things taking up your time and don't have any spare/free time at all to put into playing the games you want your forum to talk about, then the harsh truth is that you should not make a forum at all.

The bottom line is if you don't have the time to put an effort into your site - be it posting, writing articles, researching the genre (be that by playing the games or trying to generate discussion of the games) then you should not bother even starting a forum.

Contrary to popular belief, forums are neither quick nor simple to to start, grow or keep active - they take a lot of blood, sweat and tears of the person starting the site - namely YOU. If you aren't willing to put the effort in at the start, then there really is little point in even bothering.

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Of course I'm willing to put in the effort. I just have to deal with the fact that I can't play video games.

Which I'm trying to do, this isn't part of the topic anyway. I think this is about finding moderators.

So let's just stay on topic. I took from your advice what I could and it was very good advice so let's move on. Again, I can't recruit in game.

Eden said:

Well, I have to put it bluntly... I don't know why you start your forum then. Why do you aim for the most saturated niche of all if you aren't even a fanatic about gaming anymore (or simply don't have the time for it)?

And an old game or even one that is not one of the bestsellers may not be the most difficult issue. Ask gogo

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Because the person I was originally going to start a forum with couldn't think of any ideas so I decided to just try gaming. It's not like I would have chosen it otherwise. Then the guy ditched me which is fine, he might be too busy or something.

I love gaming and I'm willing to put in effort where I can but then again this is also off topic.

I will deal with not being able to game. That's really my business. Like I said. I appreciate all the applicable advice I was given. I really appreciate that. Now please stay on topic.

This is about MODERATORS

And on top of all of this. ADVICE DOES NOT INCLUDE CRITIQUES OF A PERSONS ABILITIES. IT INCLUDES OFFERED SOLUTIONS.

And the advice given was there's absolutely no point in taking on moderators when you have no members to moderate.

AzhriaLilu said:

And the advice given was there's absolutely no point in taking on moderators when you have no members to moderate.

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Okay. I understand that point. People keep asking me for positions anyway. Mostly why they were given

Katana00 said:

This is about MODERATORS

And try this point:

When you treat someone like they are literally as stupid as a pile of dog feces they will become stupid just because of that.

Thank you. You've bombarded me with the same point 5 million times about how I should be a gamer to run a gaming forum. I honestly think I will try my best to handle it anyway like I do with everything else in my life that is hindered because of the things I've had to deal with in my lifetime.

And on top of all of this. ADVICE DOES NOT INCLUDE CRITIQUES OF A PERSONS ABILITIES. IT INCLUDES OFFERED SOLUTIONS.

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I have no idea what you are talking about...
No-one's acting as if you are stupid, but the points we raise are related directly towards your situation and the things you said.

You need moderators, because you can't do all the posting for yourself. That is what you told us. Moderators are not a free posting service. The posting is part of what they do, but moderators are necessary if you can't handle the well-being of your forum on your own anymore, because there is too much to act on (difficult members for example, many spammers, just too big a forum too care for alone and other things).

To me, it looks like you asked for someone to do the posting for you. I don't know whether this is true and I don't claim it to be. I certainly don't think you are stupid. I just want to evaluate whether you want to start your forum for the best reasons and whether it will work out.

For that we ask you questions and give advice.

And I certainly don't know what you mean with the last sentence.

Eden said:

I have no idea what you are talking about...
No-one's acting as if you are stupid, but the points we raise are related directly towards your situation and the things you said.

You need moderators, because you can't do all the posting for yourself. That is what you told us. Moderators are not a free posting service. The posting is part of what they do, but moderators are necessary if you can't handle the well-being of your forum on your own anymore, because there is too much to act on (difficult members for example, many spammers, just too big a forum too care for alone and other things).

To me, it looks like you asked for someone to do the posting for you. I don't know whether this is true and I don't claim it to be. I certainly don't think you are stupid. I just want to evaluate whether you want to start your forum for the best reasons and whether it will work out.

For that we ask you questions and give advice.

And I certainly don't know what you mean with the last sentence.

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I asked about MODERATORS

Explain to me how we go from moderators to you telling me I need to be an active gamer to run a gaming forum.

The question was this:

I am looking for great ways to find moderators because I can't go in game to look for them

The question was not:

Should I game or should I not game.

If I managed to get moderators who would like to post, that also has nothing to do with the fact that I can't game.

If you go off topic with me and try to act like you are sticking to the original question when I've just proven you wrong. AND you say the same thing to me 100 times when I said that I can't game and the fact that my question wasn't even related to that it makes me feel stupid.

That's what I'm talking about. You also repeated that I'm not stupid twice. Well if I'm not stupid then stop making me feel so damn stupid. Did you know that I do have self esteem? Did you know that it's below 0 at the moment because all I get are these kinds of bombardments and comments from people? And when they are positive they are still treating me like I am some kind of lesser toad for everyone to step on when they walk through a dirty pond.

Thank you again. The last part actually was irrelevant. I'm sure none of you would care to go down that road and I honestly don't care because what started out as a simple and specific point has turned into this and I simply don't care.

I also don't need a definition of a moderator. I know what they do. It's a pretty basic concept. You AGAIN talked down to me.

The last sentence is simply this sir:

When you give me advice. I want you to give me on topic advice NUMBER ONE.

Number two. I don't need you to critique my abilities. I stated that I CANNOT game. You did not listen. You critiqued me instead of offering the advice that was needed.

I should have just looked at your post and said "OH COME ON".

Katana, we're not criticising you, we're trying to help you - since you indicated you wanted help by posting the various threads you have with relation to your site. Moderating does come hand in hand with activity and you simply can't have one without the other. That's not treating you like you're stupid (whether you want to take it like that or not) that's just the basic truth. And without activity on your site, there is just no need for adding any moderators to it.

Another way of looking at it is that you asked where you can get GOOD moderators from. The word "good" is very important there - because that means you want a moderator who will do the job, isn't in it simply for the kudos of having a moderator position and is as passionate about the site as you are. The only way to get a good moderator is to hire from within your own memberbase, and to do that you need an active memberbase to begin with.

In essence, we cannot offer you advice on where to get a good moderator until you have an active forum - it goes hand in hand, since the answer will always be "from within your members."

I'm sorry if that's not the news you were looking for, we're trying our best here to help you and understand your situation - since every forum owners situation is unique to themselves, but you're not making it easy since every time we even so much as hint that you have to be an active poster yourself before you will get good moderators you're taking it as a criticism against you. Again, that's not the case, it's purely good forum practice.

To find great moderators you need to post on your forum board, create content, and post on other gaming forums. Stick a link in your sign and just hope for the best. Because you're not a gamer makes it very hard.

If you want to do something in gaming I do run a gaming site myself and always looking for new people and young admins to teach too.