#7 - Obstacles To Moderated Content
In this article we'll try to take a clear eyed view at some of the obstacles we would face in creating a moderated community.
In the previous article in this article series we pumped the benefits of moderated discussions.
There's always another side to every story. Let's examine the obstacles to moderated content here.
It's Too Time Consuming!
Every time I've ever discussed moderation publicly, there's always a chorus of folks concerned about the time involved in moderating posts.
This is a real concern, shared by many.
Here's a question that may help.
Do you intend to read the content that is added to your community?
If not, moderation isn't for you. If your goal is to create a content building system that will run on auto-pilot, moderation won't fit in to your plans. If you're going for quantity instead of quality, stick with the normal open Cocktail Party model of Web 2.0 that allows users to type with relative abandon.
If you do intend to read the content being added to your community, then moderation is simply a matter of reading that content BEFORE it is published, rather than AFTER.
The only extra work is clicking the approve link for those submissions you wish to publish.
That Said...
Any system that involves human involvement is limited in scale, compared to one that doesn't.
Again, it's important to decide whether you are going for quantity or quality, before you launch your community.
A moderated community will probably have less content than an open community.
There is no right or wrong, other than it's smart to be clear about where you want to go, before you start the trip.
On The Other Hand...
Keep in mind that moderated communities won't have some of the time sucking problems that routinely afflict open communities.
Conversations won't spin out of control in to open warfare, because you won't let them. You won't publish the angry personal rants that get everybody all stirred up and yelling at each other. Once folks realize angry rants won't be published, they'll stop typing and submitting them.
You won't have to continually remind careless users about the guidelines for your forum, and then enter debates about your policies. You can, if you choose, quietly and politely not publish posts that don't follow your guidelines. Simple, easy, educational, and takes less time.
Many of the spammers will leave you alone when they realize there's no way to get their junk in front of your audience.
Do You Need To Be Loved?
If you exercise power over what gets published, and what doesn't, some people will resent it.
You may get hate mail, and will surely receive at least a few indignant lectures about freedom of speech, from folks who don't understand what freedom of speech is.
Sooner or later somebody will stomp off the forum because you didn't publish their latest post.
Can you hack it?
Being an editor isn't for everybody.
If it's important to you that everyone give you hugs, being a moderator probably isn't a wise plan. In fact, hosting a community by any means may not be a good choice.
Know thyself, and decide accordingly.
Selling Quality, Expanding Horizons
Many of your visitors won't get moderation at first.
Most visitors will be used to, and expecting, the Cocktail Party Chat Room model of Web 2.0.
You may need to sell the benefits of quality content, and introduce your members to moderation and Web 2.5 principles.
You may be a bit lonely until you've collected enough quality content so that visitors can see these principles in action.
Being a leader means being out in front.
Being a leader involves doing things other than what everybody else is doing, and making it work.
Being a leader is having a vision, and rolling the dice.
Lots of us aren't well suited to this role, and thus shouldn't try to swim upstream against the group consensus tide. If rocking the boat isn't your thing, don't rock it. Nothing wrong with that.
Again, know thyself, and act accordingly.
Say Goodbye To Your Favorite Rants
Being a moderator is a completely different role than being a poster, especially if you are routinely exercising control over the posts of others.
A good poster should be thought provoking, interesting, an explorer of the boundaries of the group consensus. This may very well involve some debate with other members, and even a bit of arm wrestling.
A moderator who has the power of life or death over everybody else's posts, needs the respect of the membership. Members need to believe that the moderator is fair, and not using their power for a purely personal agenda. Members need to trust that the moderator's priority is the health of the entire community.
If you wish to be a moderater, you may need to change your posting style to that of an objective interviewer. The goal of most of your posts should be to draw out the perspectives and opinions of other members, not press your own point of view.
Is that role for you? Again, only you can decide.
