How Admin Etiquette Can Effect Your ProBoard

[Aussie]

if a member got banned for making a suggestions everyone should leave that is not how to run a forum you should except members input

[Archetype]

Too true... I mean, why would you ban someone for making suggestions.

[Lucifer Zillyhoo]

Admin etiquette is a huge part of a forums success, fo' sho'.

The Proboards I'm at is a compendium of roleplays that were once their own proboards, but had small populations. So we all formed together into one proboard, and we all acted as admins on the new site.

Unfortunately, we did not get along well. A few admins were jerks to members, and we were all jerks to each other... And it very nearly destroyed our site, people taking sides and so forth.

It ended when two admins were permanently banned, and their roleplays removed. We lost a lot of people who didn't like our decision, and I wish we had taken better note of admin etiquette.

[trent]

great first post there.

I always try to add my members to my friends list so we can chat about non board stuff and just have a nice chat. I always welcome my members too. I'm also very leinet about the rules, I allow rules to be bended just not outright broken.

Example: Double posting used to be against my rules, and I had a member who double posted but over 100 hours passed so I looked past it and even changed the rule to wait 24 hours between double posting. It wasn't a short post like lol it was a good post.

[Angelica]

myke said:

Now, whose board would you be more likely to join? Person A, or Person B?

Ooh, Person B, person B. Just joking.

I try to be as nice as I can, but sometimes(just like everyone esle)I have off days. where I can jump on someone just because they think I'm worng...........I try not to do that, cause that's just plain mean.

[SearchingRPer]

I think when it comes down to it, members will choose the person they are closest to, whether they be jerks or not. I know whenever I talk to my members, I try to be happy and cheerful so they feel welcomed around the site. Though I've seen on other sites where admins are horrible! Talk to barely anyone and when they finally do, it's usually in the form of yelling. But the members stay because nthey have friends there.

[harriet]

Picking up from Xkamelx’s excellent first post here: How Admin Etiquette Can Effect Your ProBoard.

Could I add the question, does anyone think life on a proboards, reflects life itself?

If say, a person has been badly treated in real life; an underdog in some form or other. Could he/she act this out on a proboard, especially if he/she is the admin. Or, in some kind of reverse way, find power and like that (new) feeling and misuse it.

I have seen people come here hoping to get help as a member because they feel the admin is treating them badly. I have seen suggestions that they leave that board and join another. While I would think that the best logical option, emotionally it could feel damaging. Especially if the person has made long term, good friends. How painful it would be to say goodbye. Hence, the admin is generally allowed to get away with whatever it is, and the victim is virtually blackmailed with threats of removing them from their friends.

Conversely, what happens when a registered member is Mr or Mrs Popular, even more so than the admin. The member then has the power and could, at any time, leave and take all his/her followers with him/her.

Watching board wars, and I have not been immune to being involved in them myself, it is easy to see how wars and abuse begin, with a sort of I can, so I will.

I recently joined a lovely forum, with a really sweet admin who not only made me feel very welcome, but also special. She remains the admin, I remain the regular user, but I feel no power struggle with her, or her members.

I could go on and bore ‘the pants of ya’ but I hope I made some small points.

[stars mystify]

I'm so glad this was brought up here. I was apart of a Phantom of the Opera forum a while back. It was extremely popular and filled with many members who had differeing opinions. Now, although it clearly stated in the FAQ that flaming would not be tolerated, I would see admins yelling and being very rude to some members. Including myself at one point.

The forum was said to be "for fans of all sorts" or something to that effect. Meaning it didn't matter whether you were a fan of the book, the play, or the movie. But if you made a post saying you liked the movie, you had better be prepared to be called a stupid fan girl by countless fanatics of the play. I can't count how many times I saw people's intellegence questioned by other members just because they liked the movie. And often times the staff would go along with it!

I just got so fed up and offended that I stopped posting there. And I noticed a lot of people did the same. They had way too many pointless rules and they were way too strict. Now, I understand they had to be strict with duplicate posts and spam because there were so many members, but honestly, they came down too hard on newer members. They made you feel small and insignificant. I hated it. That's why when I run my forum I try not to act so much as an admin, but more like a person you can talk to without feeling intimidated.

[harriet]

I guess you learned from what happened to you, as to how to treat people now you are an admin.

The problem with rules, is that many can conflict unless you really think them out. The basic courtesy rules, plus some about flaming and abuse are needed, but I guess not rules about opinions, esp if you have to agree with the Staff's opinions (or else).

I do think some board's admins treat members like children, rather than equals, and some, are on their boards to enjoy their members and give out positive messages which for me, is most seductive for making me want to visit again and again.

[~»tobi«~]

Being an Admin on a popular /growing forum takes a lot of work . A forum only grows and responds to the work that is put into it by the Admin . The first thing a new member see's upon logging on is not your post count or your member count , they see your forum . Your choice of color , ease of navigation , clarity ( I refused to join to forums recently because the text colors did not contrast well enough and I had to strain to read . Do you think I want to do that daily ?? ) In other words they see your work . If you present a well planned and thought out forum that says " come on in I'm a fun place " then the rest takes care of itself .

An Admin has to be the " busiest " on the forum , if he is not ( and he owns it ) then everyone else will have the same attitude.

[Joahnna]

With administration, you either make it or break it! The whole reason I started a Proboard in the first place was because I joined a Harry Potter RPG and the girl who started it had two accounts: Her admin account and her student account. She made her student account Head Girl, captain of the Quidditch team, made herself a manor board, etc. I got all my posts deleted because I made a Marauder Era character even though it didn't state in the rules that I couldn't.

That was an instance where I deleted my account because the administration was ridiculous. It made me so mad that I made my own -better!- version of the same sort of idea that she had. Guess who had the most members, the most competent and literate posters, and a better feedback on the admin of the site. ^_^ *Not to brag, of course.*

Honestly, admin is next to everything.

[HoudiniDerek]

The admin should be both the disciplinarian of the forum and to some degree the creative genius of the forum. Hopefully, the admin had the ideas that made the forum successful and a hit with members, but at the same time, walked the line in terms of discipline. It is the same line many teachers walk between making sure their students are learning something in a way that is not boring, but not allowing them to walk all over the teacher at the same time. The unfortunate reality is two-fold: That members don't realize this at first, especially with newer admins, or they take it personally and force the disciplinarian role to become more active. I think that is why a good set of rules allows the admin more freedom in the long run.

[DD-FJR]

A forum is a place where people from all walks of life can come together to learn from one another, debate myriad topics, and to interact in positive ways.
It does not matter who we are or what we look like on the other side of the computer screen as long as we are honest and fair in our dealing with others, including when we interact within the Community.

That compassion for others is the underlying heart of any forum Community.

Of course, sometimes you can't help running into someone who rubs you the wrong way, especially on the discussion boards.
I would like to take this opportunity to throw out some ideas for all of us to help avoid confrontation with other members.

On the off-chance that there is someone you simply can't get along with, we have some suggestions for making everyone's experience more pleasant.
One of the best mental exercises you can use is to post only what you would actually say if you talked face-to-face.

Often the computer screen can seem like a barrier between you and other folks, but keep in mind that words can still hurt other people's feelings.

Remember that members are individuals with their own set of problems and concerns.
Having that compassion for each other goes a long ways toward resolving problems and interpersonal conflict.

This Forum provides a wonderful opportunity for each member to meet with others and discuss their interests, ask questions and develop friendships.

It is also understood that there are times when board discussions with other members can feel like they are private conversations, but it's good to remember that it takes no registration to read the posts.

Anyone with access to a computer can see what is written.
"Lurkers" are a well-established part of this environment, and it's quite possible that there are many people watching how people react to situations and treat others.

Conflict is often like watching a train wreck: it's almost impossible to ignore two or more people verbally sparring.
Adding your "two cents" may feel good for a moment, but in the end it contributes to disputes dragging on even longer.
One of the tricks I found effective in the past is to never post when I am upset or angry.
I like to open a Notepad on my computer and type out all of my anxiety and frustration as fast as I can.
I don't pay any attention to spelling or grammar when I do this, and that is part of the plan.
After I finish getting all the words out, I walk away from the computer for a few minutes and then return to edit.
This takes some time and gives me a chance to review what I've written.
I find that I can often say things better the second time around and can choose my words more carefully.
An important part of this medium is understanding that there is no subtlety.
Words are taken at face value, and humour or sarcasm are often misinterpreted.
So it's always a good idea to be sure your message says what you intend.
Always remember to focus on the issues and not the person.
Each of us is unique and brings a new perspective to the table.
There are times when the frustration of not having one's perspective understood creates animosity.
Please take the time to state issues clearly and to read the replies thoroughly.
Misunderstandings are often the cause of conflict on the boards.
Reading over a post a couple of times will help discern what the other members are trying to say.
If all else fails, stop responding to the person who seems bent on causing problems.
The negative poster soon loses interest when they don't see any reinforcement from other folks reacting strongly to their post.

Civility is part of what the message boards are about. ;D
They provide that unique opportunity for each of us to participate in a comfortable atmosphere & we all need to work towards providing access without insult to all of the good people who participate in our Community.

DD

[Lucky. C]

Wow, good opinions you guys have. Yes, Admin's Etiquette is very important in running a forum. Here are some of my tips to be a good admin:

Do not be rude to your members. Well, it's pretty self explanatory but rudeness can reduce members *shrugs*

Guide your members nicely, especially new members who haven't got used to Proboards or forums before. Do not blame them when they post in wrong board. When they do that, just say "Sorry, you've posted in the wrong board. You can post in board A for this kind of topic". Then end the sentence with a smiley showing your kindness.

If the member is new to all those things, you can also say "If you still have any trouble with this forum, just PM me or other staffs". It's better than saying "Hey stupid, do you know what this board is for? If you can't use forums, then you shouldn't have joined." Now that's rude. Just don't do that to your members OK.

Maybe that's all. What do you guys think?

[kelendria]

^ I've seen that kind of rudeness happen to a new person, it's so demeaning.

DD-FJR you brought up good points, I was once a member of a forum where members could be quite rude & nasty (thankfully I came to my senses & finally left.) It's a shame because it was the best forum for finding stuff out about my fave music group.
But I often found myself getting into several arguements (& not really being that much of a troublemaker) where I did post when I was angry.
More often than not the admin took the sides of the other people. (particuarly their Mods)
Now I leave them to it. You couldn't say something about a particular singer because 'stans' 'attack' you, & you're often patronised & degraded for having a different opinion to someone else.
If you didn't praise the singer up high you didn't have a chance of getting away with verbal attacks.
I mean forums are about opinions right? That's what gets a conversation going!
But the constant flaming & name calling (some were obscene & unjustified) while the admins sit there & watch is not promoting a happy commnuity.
But then at the end of the day they just wanted the member count rather than the quality of the posts.
I then made my own forum based on that group, and while we're not nearly as active, I find ours to be a 'cosy' community where most members actually get along.