Why We Moderate Online Forums and Communities
Why moderate? Why do we moderate? If you ask a collection of people who run online communities, you’ll likely come up with dozens of different, or different sounding reasons. But, they’ll likely all come back to one thing.
That thing is focus. When you really break it down, that is why we moderate. Because we’re focusing on a specific niche, a specific environment. Moderation is the act of creating focus.
If you remove vulgarities and profane language, you are focusing more on a work and family friendly environment. If you remove inflammatory and disrespectful comments, you are focusing on a more respectful community. If you don’t allow political or religious discussion, you are focusing on whatever the main topic of your community is.
Moderation is a way of taking a space that is undefined and giving it definition. This can happen without moderation, but it rarely can be maintained without it.
Moderation is essential to maintain order, community, and focus. Far too many sites think that by moderating, they are going to alienate their members, but those people they are alienating are likely there primarily for a self-serving purpose. If you moderate while thinking about the betterment of the community as a whole, you’re serving to make that community a better place to do whatever is that people do there.
We certainly get flack for our rigid moderation, but it is always from people who want to take from the community vs. those who are there to learn or give to it. Thanks for the post.
Moderation is a required factor. That I agree. But the fact is that. some moderation policies should not satisfy all readers. Because they thinks that their comments have less value. Even if it contain some useful infos. In my opinion Moderation is needed. But recheck that If it is a satisfactory one.