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I thought I would make the first post in this new News Thread to explain the recent changes to the moderator structure on Fanmail.biz. {thumb2}
With immediate effect, the post of Junior Moderator has been removed, and has been replaced with the rank of Trainee Moderator. I think this replacement provides our non-moderating members with a much better idea of the function of what were, Junior Moderators.
Unfortunately the old name gave a lot of our members the wrong impression of what our "Trainees" are. Basically, anyone joining Fanmail.biz who has a wish to help out on a regular basis on the forum, can apply to become a Trainee Moderator. This does not necessarily mean that they will all progress to become full Moderators, but their time as a trainee should give us a much better idea of whether they will be able to fit the bill later on. There is no longer a time limit on being a Trainee, and they will only be promoted as and when the rest of their team feel they are ready.
The powers of a Trainee moderator are already limited, and very soon the authority for them to directly edit posts will be removed :neutral:
The other big change, is that the forum is now organised into Teams, each one headed by one of our 10 Global Moderators. You will see in your profile (next to your rank) that you have already been allocated a team. Each team comprises a Global Mod and around 5 Full Moderators. In addition, each team of Globals and Mods will have their own Trainees allocated to them (around 6 in total).
Another change to the system is that Trainees need to be voted on as full Mods by their own team. This means they need to be a regular, constructive member of their team to get the vote.
The overall benefit is that there will now be a clear line of leadership. If a member has a problem with a Trainee or a Moderator, then they can go directly to the Team Leader and have the issue resolved. Equally, the full Moderators and Team Leaders will be there to monitor, praise and evaluate their teams - a great many of our mods do a fantastic job.
We have some really great moderators on this board, who do a tremendous amount of work to benefit us all, day-in-day-out, free of charge, and this system will recognise them. By the same token, the system will also highlight those of the moderating team who do not offer such a reliable and positive service.
I know it is early days with the new system, and I am sure it will be tweaked and changed over the coming weeks. But I sincerely feel it is a big step in the direction of making the moderating team more accountable to each other, and giving our members a clear system of hirearchy.
Please feel free to post your comments if you like
Cheers,
Ian
