Being a Moderator 103 - Common Sense
Nope, it’s not an attempt to insult you, but people forget common sense is your best friend.
I’d like to thank bedub1 again for keeping me on my toes and inspiring today’s BaM with
| bedub1 wrote: |
| And so does this mean I can still be a jackass? |
And so begins
Being a Moderator 103 - Common Sense
So lets recap: Be a Member first and have a personality that makes you human. (I think that sums it up so far)
Now, lets add the quid-pro-quo to this
Common sense rules the day.
| bedub1 wrote: |
| And so does this mean I can still be a jackass? |
Yes, it does. But being a jackass is just going to make your job harder and a LOT less fun in the long run.
Power is given by people to those they respect. It cannot be forced, it
cannot be taken and no amount of titles, powers or tools will get
someone to listen to you if they dont want to and being a jackass
(whatever that means to the person you are talking to) is one of the
fastest ways to losing that respect - even if it gains you some in
other areas.
Using a little bit of common sense (you all know what that is, dont pretend you’re clueless and avoid pretending you dont have any 
) about what people actually mean, even if their wording is a bit off,
about what their intentions are or what is going to piss them off if
you reply with it, will get you a lot farther than shutting people down
and reacting off the cuff.
Putting other moderators down or making their jobs harder is just
as bad, if not worse because then you are just going to make enemies on
the team you have to work with. You are all smart people, you know when
you do it, and if someone says you did - listen to them, even if you
dont agree because it’s not what you see that matters here, it’s what others see and how they react to it.
So yes, be a member first, be a jackass, be whatever you want to be,
but be aware that all you might be doing is making your own life more
difficult and your own time on the CC boards less fun because lets
admit it, people generally dont like assholes but the hate asshole
moderators and if you have that title, then that puts you in the
“person to hate” column. Common sense will get you far in life…it
will get you most everywhere as a mod.
Have a good one, may it be sensical.