Re: Additions and changes to our Mod team
Just a quick update to clear some things up.
We have have mod nominations in the past but people just ended up nominating their friends without thinking about their suitability and so we didn't go ahead with things then. This time around we are asking people to put themselves forward. You can still nominate people if you want to, but ideally we want people to think about what it means to be a moderator and to put themseles forward. It isn't some kind of game - what moderators do and say on a forum can have a profound and lasting effect on members.
There's also been some questions raised about eligibility with regards to prejudice and hateful opinions, so here's a quick-check questionnaire to ascertain how suitable or not a member might be as a moderator:
- Do you believe all humans regardless of where they were born or which race they belong to to be equal?
- Do you believe all humans regardless of their gender or sexuality to be equal and that they deserve full equal rights? (such as supporting gay marriage and equal pay/rights for women)
- Do you believe in helping and not discriminating against those who have been persecuted elsewhere or are less fortunate than yourself (ie. those on low-incomes, benefits, or seeking refuge and immigration etc)
- Do you believe everyone has the right to believe whatever they want to believe (religion or otherwise) so long as they are not hurting anyone else (you don't have to respect their opinion, just their right to hold it and live their life as they please)
- Do you believe everyone has the right to air their opinions so long as they do so in a respectful manner?
If you answer no to any of these answers you would not be a suitable candidate for a moderator position on this forum. We have members of all walks of life here, and the last thing I want is for anyone to feel less of a member because of the views of a moderator, which, whether we like it or not, is given somewhat of an elevated platform because of their Moderator title.
Having said all that, we've always understood that potential mods are actually few and far between, so what we might do first is create a group of Forum Helpers, and then those who prove themselves can be offered a Mod position (not 100% on this yet mind - it's just an option but would mean we could be more flexible with the criteria above. Ideally we would have enough suitable mods come forward instead)