Our discussion group moderators: what do you think?

As you may or may not know, many online discussion groups use moderators as neutral “hosts” who volunteer to keep conversations flowing as intended. We’ll be doing the same thing in our Families for Depression Awareness Online Community.

In case you’re new to discussion forums, here’s some helpful information about the role of moderators and what you can expect. We’d also like to know what you want the moderator to do or not do. After all, this is your community!

The following questions and answers should give you a solid background on our moderators.

1. What is a moderator? A moderator serves as a discussion host who watches for repeat messages, offensive language, “spamming” a phrase or word, and selling products or services (which is not allowed). In our community, moderators will also watch for inappropriate medical advice related to family members or loved ones with depression, bipolar disorder or a dual diagnosis with substance addiction.
2. Why do we use moderators for our discussion groups? We want to make sure that this forum is valuable to you and is focusing on the topics offered for each discussion thread. We’ve learned that it’s important for one person to monitor content, answer questions, keep the conversation on-topic, and address inappropriate behavior and information.
3. What would you like to see in our moderators? We’re planning to ask our moderators to guide topic discussions and quickly address any behavior issues. Beyond that, we’d love to know what you think a moderator’s role should be here, and what it shouldn’t be. Please post a blog comment to let us know!
4. How do moderators know what to do? We’re developing separate discussion boards for moderators only. These will offer a place where our moderators can post messages to each other and the Families for Depression Awareness staff members to ask questions, check procedures, trouble shoot any concerns that may come up, and schedule their time online with us.
5. Would you like to help this online community by volunteering as a moderator? We already have a few volunteers, but we can always use more! If you’re willing to share a day, a week, or any other time period with us, we’d love to have you on board. It can be a very flexible arrangement; you can schedule a certain time each week or rotate your time with other moderators on an ongoing basis. And, we’ll provide you with the information you need to feel comfortable in this role.

If you’re interested in moderating one of our discussion forums, or if you have any questions, please post a comment on this blog topic.

Until next time, I hope you’re enjoying your autumn.
Stacey Leibowitz