Criterion for selecting a moderator for the local section

[Daniel91]

I've been thinking about this for a while because it seems to me that there are no clear criteria for why some local sections have a moderator and some don't.
It would be logical that the main criterion is the level of activity in the local forum, but it does not seem to be the case.
For example, Romanian section with 44184 Posts and 5055 Topics or Polish with 29528 Posts and 2500 Topics or even Japanese with 39912 Posts and 1108 Topics have local moderator but Croatian section with 40494 Posts and 1739 Topics or Indian with 72876 Posts and 9077 Topics or Nederlands (Dutch) with 47326 Posts and 5051 Topics don't have local moderator.
I see a lot of illogicality here so I would like to hear the thoughts of community members whether other countries should get their local moderators to?
What do you think?
As ''old'' member on this forum I remember that my local community, Croatian, had local moderator in the past so if we could have local moderator before, when we had less members and activity than now, I don't see the reason why we can't get moderator again.

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[Welsh]

Not nesscarily by the activity of the section, but more likely by the amount of reports that are being made. Plus, you would need to find a suitable candidate to become moderator. In the past local sections have successfully done local elections, but ultimately its up to theymos whether he thinks a local section requires a moderator, and if there's anyone suitable for the task.

[cabalism13]

...  but more likely by the amount of reports that are being made....

So being active isn't enough and getting being one of the reputed on the local section?...

[Welsh]

So being active isn't enough and getting being one of the reputed on the local section?...

I'm not theymos, but I'd like to think that it at least requires a good understanding of the rules, and the amount of reports or even quality of reports would be better than activity. There's always a combination of things to consider, and reputation probably is a factor in the selection process.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I'm not theymos, but I'd like to think that it at least requires a good understanding of the rules, and the amount of reports or even quality of reports would be better than activity.

I'd think those would have to be the absolute minimum standards for consideration. 

What I was thinking is that being a moderator is a paid position, right?  Perhaps Theymos doesn't feel the need to spend the money to hire mods for local boards that might not get enough traffic to warrant one.  I don't know if that's true or not, and my assumption is that the forum is not hurting for money but Theymos may not think it's a good use of funds.  Plus if every local board had a moderator, those would be more members he'd have to evaluate and manage.  That could turn out to be a gigantic pain in the ass for him.

Just thinking out loud, but those were the first things I thought of.  It isn't like having mods in the local boards is a bad thing--it isn't, not at all.  So there has to be a reason why Theymos hasn't hired them.

[Welsh]

I'd think those would have to be the absolute minimum standards for consideration.  

What I was thinking is that being a moderator is a paid position, right?  

Yeah, moderators do receive a payment based on a custom algorithm which isn't disclosed to moderators or the public. Although, we are not employees of Bitcointalk.org. Theymos has to manage the current staff, and I'm sure he's got other things going on in his life also. Therefore, moderators will only be added if its shown that they're required, and the best way of judging that is by looking at the state of a section, and how many reports are being made.

Who knows existing moderators, and global moderators might be able to pick up certain local language reports. For example, I can read some languages okayish, but writing in them is a different story. I believe hilariousandco can speak languages or at least understand other languages aside from English, but don't quote me on that.

There's going to be multiple factors involved in appointing someone moderator, and I'm sure if the need for a moderator was clear then they would get appointed.

[cabalism13]

Couldn't we just pick those who can moderate and even if its for free service just to maintain the good environment across the Board?
LoL, I, myself am willing to moderate for free if I were will be given a chance. It's not just about the pay, I'm more concerned about the reputation. AFAIK, the pay for mods aren't that big enough, and its more like an incentive for doing their good works.

As long as I can be part of the forum then that's already fine with me, actually. But still I do want to do more and its pretty rare to be picked to be part of something like this.


Also, I'm currently thinking, what if theymos stop on paying these mods, are they still willing to do the jobs that has been entrusted to them? Though I'm not underestimating someone here, I'm just curious 🤫🤫🤫

[DdmrDdmr]

I recently queried on the same matter recently, since the moderator for my Local Board seems to have gone missing for nearly two months now. Whether he’s missing temporarily, or has dropped out is something we have not been able to discern yet, and whilst our general preference is to have the same mod back, we started queries to try to understand the steps to take, were it necessary to ask for an additional mod on our Local Board.

In summary, what I understood was that we needed to is:

- Open a discussion on the local board, and reach some sort of consensus on likely candidates.
- Let @theymos know when the above has been done.

Bear in mind that moderator selection is not a popularity contest on it’s own, and that likely, stats are taken into account such as good report history (on the local board for sure, and perhaps globally).

On my Local Board, some mods seem to have been able to intervene and help around despite our local mod not being around. At least some of my local reports have been handled lately which were specific to my local board (although some I do report both in Spanish and English on the same report).

<…> I have handled some of your reports recently as I'm ok with Spanish. Although, definitely not fluent, and my grammar when writing in Spanish leaves much to be desired <…>

¡Gracias! 

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

***

Well said, just to add my thought, it seems local moderators are been considered gods on those boards especially those who interact actively. Theymos will have to up his game in regards to the criteria to avoid any sort of issue relating to intimidation, favoritism or extortion been practice by any new moderator he appoints.

It seems kinda hard to pointing out individuals willing to volunteer time for the success of the forum these days unlike previously, as majority of the new users are highly been motivated by earning while lacking passion for the progressive success of the forum like back in the early days.

[DireWolfM14]

Therefore, moderators will only be added if its shown that they're required, and the best way of judging that is by looking at the state of a section, and how many reports are being made.

Seems like that could fall into a catch 22.  If few reports are made, and a moderator is deemed unnecessary, then more bad posts may go unreported.  People may feel it's not worth their time to report a post if they're under the impression that no one will look at it.

If a post is reported in a section without a specific moderator does it go int a pool that all moderators can see?

[Welsh]

Also, I'm currently thinking, what if theymos stop on paying these mods, are they still willing to do the jobs that has been entrusted to them? Though I'm not underestimating someone here, I'm just curious 🤫🤫🤫

Sure, I'd continue doing it. A lot of the staff were reporting thousands of reports before they were made a moderator so I doubt many of them would duck out if payment was pulled.

On my Local Board, some mods seem to have been able to intervene and help around despite our local mod not being around. At least some of my local reports have been handled lately which were specific to my local board (although some I do report both in Spanish and English on the same report).

I have handled some of your reports recently as I'm ok with Spanish. Although, definitely not fluent, and my grammar when writing in Spanish leaves much to be desired (very much like my English ).

Seems like that could fall into a catch 22.  If few reports are made, and a moderator is deemed unnecessary, then more bad posts may go unreported.  People may feel it's not worth their time to report a post if they're under the impression that no one will look at it.

If a post is reported in a section without a specific moderator does it go int a pool that all moderators can see?

If there's a lot of unhandled reports then that's one of the indicators that a section requires a moderator. If you think theymos isn't aware of the amount of reports going unhandled then you can bring it up, and ask for theymos to check the reporting statistics of the local section.

Global moderators will be able to see it, and patrollers will be able to see reported newbie posts. Otherwise, no one else is able to see them, and they act just like any other section.

[Deathwing]

There are a lot, and I mean, a lot of patrollers. Even if a local category does not have a moderator and/or only one or two people reporting a post, they'll be dealt with. If you think that only a few people report and it will go unnoticed, there are hilarious and other global mods who are always out for them. In our case (Turkish category) we did not have a moderator until the End of 2013 when the Bitcoin started to rise to a certain level we were getting tons of spam, same kinds of threads being created by several different accounts, in the end. A moderator was assigned.

P.S. Huge thanks to Cyrus for all his help back then, just reminiscing.

[tbct_mt2]

Let me see.

If admin sees need to have new local moderators, there are some possible inclusive criteria for potential new local moderators:
- Actively using the forum
- Highly trusted by community (by so many things: reports, scam fightings, contribute to discover, test and find bugs then help to improve the forum, etc.), locally is important.
- Can speak English so theymos can directly talk with them.
Maybe more, you can dig in past announcements of theymos when he looked for new moderators and see what he required as prerequisites for candidates of new moderators.

Need several moderators

I need several moderators for this section. Apply here. Users with high "days online" are likely to be considered.

Stefan Thomas (justmoon) is now a forum administrator. < ... >
Stefan Thomas is a long-time Bitcoin user who is highly trusted by the community.

Moderator

Who should be the Greek moderator? He must be able to speak decent English so I can communicate with him.

[Findingnemo]

There are already few threads created by forum members about need of moderators for their local section but it seems no urge from theymos to appoint moderators so he is the one can decide where a local section need to have one or not,who knows he is still looking for the right members to be as staffs or he is too busy to analyse these things.

[Halab]

Also, I'm currently thinking, what if theymos stop on paying these mods, are they still willing to do the jobs that has been entrusted to them? Though I'm not underestimating someone here, I'm just curious 🤫🤫🤫

I can't speak for all the moderators, but I will continue even without being paid (as long as I have "faith" or as long as I'm not fired ).
When I accepted the job, I knew that mods were paid, but I thought there was an annual "compensation", not a monthly pay .

And to answer the OP, the main criteria is the number of reports (and patience).
Creating a topic to describe the situation of your local section by giving examples of abuse may help.

[paxmao]

If a new mod is choosen for the Spanish forum, I humbly request that he does not use Chuck Norris as personal image like one of the current ones. It is just too 80´s

I would say that the Spanish section is more of a place to relax and has less of the quarrelling and angry arguing I´ve seen in other sections.

[Heisenberg_Hunter]

I myself am willing to moderate for free if I were will be given a chance. It's not just about the pay, I'm more concerned about the reputation.

If you are willing to gain reputation of the community by moderating a sub-forum then its totally a bad way of gaining trust from fellow members. Trust and reputation should come eventually on a person and if anyone trying to voluntarily gain them in the name of doing some welfare for the forum I wouldn't trust them forever. To be quite true I have been reporting and meriting 100s of posts in my local board but has never uttered a word about the same and nor I was willing to say that. All I revealed is when someone from my local board PMd me to post in this topic : Let's vote for a new mod for India. Also  if someone starts reporting posts as soon as knowing that reports are one of the key factors for appointing a moderator, I wouldn't trust them either even though they have been made a moderator.

Our local board moderator was removed on April 2018 and when I got to know about the "Report to Moderator" feature in March 2018, I have been reporting numerous spams from the Global as well as my local boards. None does know I belong to the country and how many posts I have reported so far from my local board until I started making posts off late at the start of 2019 since the board has reached the state of betterment due to my reports. The good reports of mine should be around 700 only from Local and apart from that myself and a group of reporters strived very hard to make the board spam-free and reactivate them from dead. I never uttered a word nor I posted in my local board up until June 2019 though I have been silently reporting the shitposts from March 2018.

As far as Indian board is concerned, we would prefer to speak in English rather than the local languages we use all over the country. This is one of the good reasons, the reporters are able to keep the board free from spam since it would be easier for the global moderators to handle reports very often. Though we don't have a moderator, we have a telegram group dedicated for the local board where we would discuss things right from personal - forum related. Almost all the non-spammer local board posters are present in the group and we would discuss about forum goings quite frequently and would subsequently take steps for the betterment of the local board.

We are also one among the very few local boards who has created a contest for celebrating the 10th anniversary in local board as well : [ANN]Speculation Game -10th anniversary Indian Forum Celebration-Win 0.002211btc We are proud to say that we are really a good working very much decentralized local board without a moderator and we don't need anyone governing us. A moderator is not a defacto leader of the whole board and he can only keep the board free from spam and promote good discussions taking place all over the board.

As far as Indian board is concerned, Every reporter is a moderator and every quality poster is a merit source. We don't need to depend on theymos for appointing someone separately to do the task. since its not really easier to appoint someone who is trustworthy to do the job effectively.

[Daniel91]

Ok, now is more clear what  criterion for selecting a moderators admins have.
I don't know statistics of reported posts in the Croatian section of the forum but generally I don't think we have some big problems with spam.
I personally reported some posts to moderators and they deleted it very quickly.
Only problem we had with moderators is that they moved some posts to the wrong section or topic because they don't understand our language of course.
Because of it and fact that we already had local moderator in the past,  when we had even less activity and members I felt it's right time to start discussion about it.
Heisenberg_Hunter, thank you for your post,  you are probably right.
We shouldn't depend to much on others but should become more independant and more responsible for our local forums.

[cabalism13]

I myself am willing to moderate for free if I were will be given a chance. It's not just about the pay, I'm more concerned about the reputation.

If you are willing to gain reputation of the community by moderating a sub-forum then its totally a bad way of gaining trust from fellow members...

Sorry mate, but you have misunderstood what I said, its not necessarily on a users account but the reputation of the board that can be left behind without any moderation. And also I don't think being a Mod will give us that kind of credit besides you were already a reputed and trusted member if you were picked to do the task. Moderator position is simply being given to users whose already a trusted member here with enough contributions to the forum, I doubt it will be random pick LoL. So basically it can't be like that.

Additionally, I get what your point here but considering not all user are willing to do the task for free.

[Heisenberg_Hunter]

Sorry mate, but you have misunderstood what I said, its not necessarily on a users account but the reputation of the board that can be left behind without any moderation.

Very true. Even with the removal of Dabs, you people still have Mr.Big as the moderator who can very well trash almost all the shitposts and is one of the very active silent moderators present in this forum.

And also I don't think being a Mod will give us that kind of credit besides you were already a reputed and trusted member if you were picked to do the task

Being a moderator will earn you more hate from shitposters, bounty hunters and trolls   and some even need to work hard like Halab who is currently moderating the French subforum really well. French, Russian and Indonesian are one among the very active local communities present here along with Philippines.

Moderator position is simply being given to users whose already a trusted member here with enough contributions to the forum, I doubt it will be random pick LoL. So basically it can't be like that.

I guess this might be true for English boards but not for local boards. AFAIK choosing mods for local boards is a random pick based on reports. A good example for such a situation is when Halab was made a moderator when he was only a Member and was pretty new to the forum at that time. But the appointment was made solely since he was really good at reporting and nothing more. There were far  more trustworthy reputed members like LeGaulois, yogg and JohnUser from French sections FYI who were not appointed as a MOD.

Additionally, I get what your point here but considering not all user are willing to do the task for free.

True but we are gaining something from our signatures for posting, why don't we help a little to keep this forum clean?