Posted by Mark H. on August 7, 2002, at 16:20:28
In reply to Going out of town again, posted by Dr. Bob on August 7, 2002, at 13:27:20
Dear Dr. Bob,
Dinah will be an excellent guest moderator in your absence.
Many of us have said this before, but I would like to see the boards moderated on an on-going basis by a group of well-seasoned participants, ideally one moderator and one back-up for each board (all of whom would be overseen by you, of course). For instance, Dinah might moderate the Psycho-Psycho-Babble board, and I could back her up.
The boards have grown over the last two years to the point that the next phase of good management requires delegation. I believe that the only way for you to retain meaningful control overall is to delegate a majority of control of the day-to-day operations to participants.
Two years ago, we were all in the same boat. Today, your lack of participation *as a community member* has become a hindrance to the smooth functioning of the boards. Most of us know far more about one another than we do about you. We have achieved a level of meaningful intimacy in our interactions over time here, yet our posts remain subject to the interventions of a non-participating moderator. It no longer feels right to have the list-owner "drop in" and censure participants based on a word or a few sentences that are too frequently taken out of context. For many of us, this lack of balance has become unacceptable.
By passing the role of moderator to active participants on each board, maintenance of civility and good will becomes a peer effort. If the role of moderator is further shared with others (someone takes it for a period of time, then it passes to someone else), eventually, many of the regular participants will have experienced the responsibility and difficulty of board moderation and will have achieved a seasoned sense of when to intervene and when to let things work out on their own, which will make your job much easier.
My schedule for the end of August is uncertain at this point, so you (or Dinah) may want to ask someone else to back her up. However, if I'm in town, I'll be happy to help if needed.
Sincerely,
Mark H.
poster:Mark H.
thread:7080
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20020725/msgs/7083.html