Privileges for Productive Members

[Enchant]

As an admin or staff for that matter, do you find that you show a certain amount of favoritism or allow certain privileges or leniencies to members with high post counts? Do you not look at post count and treat everyone as an equal?

It is understandable to think that an active and productive member of a forum will have some kind of privileges versus a new member. They have been loyal and contributed to the forum and you do not want to loose their membership over an occasional rule violation. However, If a new member is accused of violating a rule and points out that someone else broke it and the staff didn't say anything to that particular member, it could reflect badly on the administration. So what do you do?


I personally have been fortunate, I haven't really had a problem with this on my forum. That being said, I am not ignorant to the fact that it does evolve on other communities. So, for those of you who have dealt with or even currently dealing with this issue let us know your thoughts and experiences.

[Matt [Malfoy250]]

Jun 12, 2008 14:48:14 GMT -8 Enchant said:

As an admin or staff for that matter, do you find that you show a certain amount of favoritism or allow certain privileges or leniencies to members with high post counts? Do you not look at post count and treat everyone as an equal?

It is understandable to think that an active and productive member of a forum will have some kind of privileges versus a new member. They have been loyal and contributed to the forum and you do not want to loose their membership over an occasional rule violation. However, If a new member is accused of violating a rule and points out that someone else broke it and the staff didn't say anything to that particular member, it could reflect badly on the administration. So what do you do?


I personally have been fortunate, I haven't really had a problem with this on my forum. That being said, I am not ignorant to the fact that it does evolve on other communities. So, for those of you who have dealt with or even currently dealing with this issue let us know your thoughts and experiences.

Personally I think that this would be a common reaction. Think about it, your older members have been with you a long time and know how the system of your forum works. Usually (hopefully) they will have a sense of what is expected of them, and usually they have already gained the trust of the Administration. But whereas with new members you really don't know much about them, their personality or posting styles - so with that barrier of not knowing what will happen in the future it is common to react more critical towards a new member. Some might say that being firm early on helps maintain a balance or form of self dicipline - being harsh on them early will help them learn quicker.

I try my best to treat my members equally, old and new. Of course there are some days where I might slip if I'm having a rough day, but on the whole I think I've pretty much got that covered.

[An Error Has Occured]

Jun 12, 2008 14:48:14 GMT -8 Enchant said:

As an admin or staff for that matter, do you find that you show a certain amount of favoritism or allow certain privileges or leniencies to members with high post counts? Do you not look at post count and treat everyone as an equal?

It is understandable to think that an active and productive member of a forum will have some kind of privileges versus a new member. They have been loyal and contributed to the forum and you do not want to loose their membership over an occasional rule violation. However, If a new member is accused of violating a rule and points out that someone else broke it and the staff didn't say anything to that particular member, it could reflect badly on the administration. So what do you do?


I personally have been fortunate, I haven't really had a problem with this on my forum. That being said, I am not ignorant to the fact that it does evolve on other communities. So, for those of you who have dealt with or even currently dealing with this issue let us know your thoughts and experiences.

I do have to admit, I favor older members against new members. They usually dont get privlages really though. And I find treating all members equally easy.

And most the time I have found out, the reason why new members feel picked on is because they arent used to the rules, where the 'oldies', are familiar with them.

But other than that, if a member breaks a rule, propor conciquences will be taken for that user.

I have expirenced forums where if you break one rule, like double post, they watch you like a hawk and it isnt good.

So, saying all that, I dont think I like favoritism to members with high post count. It is members that I can actually trust. New OR old.

[HoudiniDerek]

I have seen favoritism on a lot of other forums and it is something that can test the patience of a lot of members, old and new. I am an established member on most of the forums I am a member of and I do not feel that I am warranted any special privileges. If I break a rule, I am held accountable as are new members. When a staff member shows that same accountability to everyone, I think it makes it easier.

As an admin, I try to be lenient where I can, especially with new members. They have a lot to learn about posting and the way they interact with other members. If I see somethig, I usually edit or whatnot and then PM them about the infraction and what it meant. Most are very receptive to this because it is not something so public that they feel upset. After that, they tend to ask if they don't understand. It helps out all around.

As for privileges, I am not sure what you mean. The members don't necessarily get any preference or privilege based on length of membership or post count. All members can participate in games, etc.

[Gamoc]

*Back when I had an active forum*

Although I hate to admit it, I did catch myself doing this several times. In fact, it went on with one member who, later I realized, was just bringing the forum down. He eventually left in a rampage due to our acceptance of some contraversial subjects and we were ridded of him. Though the problem still lied in the fact that most members did not want to return because of the treatment I showed towards this member and not to other members. There is a great lesson in that. It is OK to show privileges sometimes, but try not to go into rule violation. Things such as custom title, temporary board mod, MOTM, etc...should suffice.

I have also been a loyal member to a forum who gave me a warning to please other members who thought they were showing unfair treatment with privileges to me and not to anyone else. They didn't just right out give me the warning, but they came and asked me for help and I agreed without a problem. I hadn't done anything really bad, but it was...minor, I guess. But that is a good way to attempt to clean your slate if you're ever unexpectedly caught in something you weren't aware that you were doing and trying to notice it more from there.

[rpchick2007]

I have done this and still do this on my forums. It's not so much the idea that a person who's been on it longer gets better treatment as a new person but the fact that older members know what is expected of them. I've rarely seen an older member on my site break the rules and if they do I treat them just like I would a new member.

I try not to keep things like problems personal. It's a site and in order to run it properly the rules need to be followed. Although I try to make friends with all my members so sometimes it's hard to dish out punishment to the people I am closer to but I do it if needed.

I am actually a bit more lenient toward new members because even though they were supposed to read the rules people still make mistakes. Older members should know the rules already and I trust them to follow them. Especially if I've given the particular older member a position as a moderator or administrator. I've never really had this problem though. At least nobody on my sites has ever complained to me about unfair treatment.

[kelendria]

I can't really say I've ever favoured older members over new.
Having said that, inkeeping with our forum's 4th birthday this year, I did create loyalty awards for loyal members (I usually give out yearly awards to coincide)
But I also regularly give out 'karma points' awards, member colour changes and post count awards to posting members, but feel this could be achieved by anyone.
I give karma to those who log in and post daily or so, yes my staff have the most because they create new topics and such, but it's open for everyone

[Mandi]

I try not to give any favourtism to old members, and generally i love new members and try to make them feel like old members in a pinch. The only kind of privileges i give to older members is basically encouraging them to welcome new people. I get a lot of new people coming into my site and because all of my old members are so crazy i think we probably scare them off.

But it is unfortunate if there admins favour older members. I was on a forum where the admin was very threatening and it made the experience there not so good, they tended to favour their older members and was a lot nicer to them, then the new members.

[Jack]

I think that I favour more active members than new members and people I know elsewhere and I treat them with more respect.

Maybe it's just that 'old' joke that the new member doesn't get and they feel left out. I try not to do it, but you can't stop yourself doing it.

I do try and be as nice to new members as I can, obviously it's them providing the future for the forum and I should be very glad for that

[Gamoc]

Jun 13, 2008 1:27:14 GMT -8 @kelendria said:

I can't really say I've ever favoured older members over new.
Having said that, inkeeping with our forum's 4th birthday this year, I did create loyalty awards for loyal members (I usually give out yearly awards to coincide)
But I also regularly give out 'karma points' awards, member colour changes and post count awards to posting members, but feel this could be achieved by anyone.
I give karma to those who log in and post daily or so, yes my staff have the most because they create new topics and such, but it's open for everyone

Yes. Those are perfectly understandable. It is good to see that you are not letting old members get away with rule violations and new members not. I used to give out awards on my forums, but I don't think I had enough activity to really give the awards out to many people, but if you have a good number of people, then awards for loyalty and activity are perfectly acceptable. Heck, this place has the PBS oscars, and it works for them.

[kelendria]

Yes it was fine back then when we were more active but now I just try to let the loyal ones know I appreciate them (it's a shame cos I used to like doing award shows every year)
Everybody's always been treated equal & the rules are there to abide by (though to be honest I've never really had to push them or warn anyone)
I don't know about the Oscars here, don't really get involved, although I think even the 'quiet' ones who don't post often deserve recognition & I try hard to include everyone in on something.

[rosebud]

I never really saw it as favoritism. I saw it as a way to encourage newer members to post. It'd have to depend on the priviledges and how the admin is showing their favoritism. I think if the motivation is to encourage members to post where newer members can equally get the same chance of some of these priviledges, then I don't see anything wrong with that. However, if the admin has to choose a member then that might become a problem.

[anime1993]

To tell the truth, when I was first starting out on Proboards I gave favoritism to other members. But now that I have thought it the other members would feel I had stopped that. I think as a staff favoritism should not be considered. Everyone is equal, and therough this I think your site can become more active. So, I try my hardest to not enforce favoritism on any of my forums.

[Kami]

Jun 12, 2008 14:48:14 GMT -8 Enchant said:

As an admin or staff for that matter, do you find that you show a certain amount of favoritism or allow certain privileges or leniencies to members with high post counts? Do you not look at post count and treat everyone as an equal?

It is understandable to think that an active and productive member of a forum will have some kind of privileges versus a new member. They have been loyal and contributed to the forum and you do not want to loose their membership over an occasional rule violation. However, If a new member is accused of violating a rule and points out that someone else broke it and the staff didn't say anything to that particular member, it could reflect badly on the administration. So what do you do?


I personally have been fortunate, I haven't really had a problem with this on my forum. That being said, I am not ignorant to the fact that it does evolve on other communities. So, for those of you who have dealt with or even currently dealing with this issue let us know your thoughts and experiences.

There are few 'exceptions' for our high-post count members.

(1) higher post count, due to our board settings, equals either active or long-time member. As such, we would generally allow them opportunities for more canon-plot-influencing canon characters (such as more powerful entities). This is because with time, or active posting, we as staff know that they are dedicated to the forum, and aren't likely to abuse the In-Character power.

(2) We delete members daily who have been inactive for 30 days or more; high post count members will receive a warning email and a two-day grace period to login or contact us to put their account on hold.

And that's it. With those two out of the way, high post counts & even staff will get official warnings just like everyone else; as well as warning levels, suspensions, and banishment.

[wolfpup22]

I give more priviliges to my active members. THe new members dont get these. The privilige for the best one is more expected to become a staff member. Another one is that an active member breaks a minor-somewhat major rule ill overlook as long as they apologize. If a new member does it then ill give them one of their warning.