Something that I have seen go both ways, is seniority. Do you value seniority for staff and members, or do you disregard someones join date or their time on the staff team? Do you promote those with seniority first or do you promote based on other things?
Seniority?
- Thread starter Thomasss
- Start date
It really depends with me. Someone can be there for a very long time and they have not done an amazing job. Hence, I won't promote him/her. However if the staff member did an outstanding job, I would promote them and reward them in many different ways.
I value senior staff members if they are good. I would promote someone who has been working on the team for a shorter period if they are better than the senior member so it depends on their performance. If two people are equally good, then I will look into seniority so it is more like a secondary thing I would look at when deciding who to promote.
I believe that seniority does play a significant role when it comes to deciding who to hire if it came down to it. I am simply more interested in reputation and experience and I believe ultimately I will be more familiar with the person who has been part of my forum longer than someone who just signed up (or hadn't signed up at all). Now if it's a case of the "senior" simply registering but barely have posted at all in the forum then obviously I wouldn't pick them straight away. I would have to consider all factors when it comes to promoting anyone to a staff position.
When it comes to promoting a regular member to moderator, we definitely look at how long they've been there. I'd say a long standing, loyal and dedicated member would be higher up on the eligibility list than someone who just joined yesterday.
I mostly use seniority when ordering staff members in a list, as that seems to be the most fair to me. For example, on the FP team page, admins and TLs are ordered by the time that they've been an admin or TL.
Kind of like how the military does seniority I guess. 😛 A captain is senior to a lieutenant. Someone who has been a captain for a month is senior to someone who has been a captain for a week. Someone who was a captain for a month and a lieutenant for a year is more senior than someone who was a captain for a week, and a lieutenant for ten years.
I don't consider it as much of a factor when it comes to promotions. What I do consider are three things: whether you do your current job well, whether you have done that job well consistently in the past (similar to seniority, but not the same), and whether I think you will do the new job you may be promoted into well.
Kind of like how the military does seniority I guess. 😛 A captain is senior to a lieutenant. Someone who has been a captain for a month is senior to someone who has been a captain for a week. Someone who was a captain for a month and a lieutenant for a year is more senior than someone who was a captain for a week, and a lieutenant for ten years.
I don't consider it as much of a factor when it comes to promotions. What I do consider are three things: whether you do your current job well, whether you have done that job well consistently in the past (similar to seniority, but not the same), and whether I think you will do the new job you may be promoted into well.
Rich Edmonds
Seasoned Veteran
I tend to go by who's generally fit for the job. I don't particularly care whether you're a newbie, or have been using the forum since dial-up, if you've got the experience to manage said position, you're in. Same goes for promotions, you may have only been on the moderation team for a total of 92 years, but if you've not got the leadership skillage required for head moderator, then you won't take the seat.
I don't really play the whole seniority card. If you've got the skills and we need someone to fill the space, I'll give it to the person that deserves it. If I needed a "tiebreaker" to decide between two people, I'd probably go with seniority, but I'd probably ask around a bit privately with members that I knew well and wouldn't say anything or former staff that were still active.
That said, I probably wouldn't just bring a new member onto a staff team. I'm a little hesitant on that. I'd like to give them a chance to shine a bit on the forums and see how they are instead of just handing them a staff position right away, even if they do have the potential for it.
That said, I probably wouldn't just bring a new member onto a staff team. I'm a little hesitant on that. I'd like to give them a chance to shine a bit on the forums and see how they are instead of just handing them a staff position right away, even if they do have the potential for it.
Seniority can indicate someone's dedication to a forum. If they've been there for five years, then they're clearly not going anywhere - and they clearly have a love for the forum, and aren't likely to leave abruptly. That doesn't necessarily mean that they are mature enough or have enough time to be on staff. However, it can be a good starting point when looking for people to join the moderation team; after all, you want someone who's sure to stick!
Nustron Noah
Acquaintance
When I am looking to promote a member to a position higher than they current are I do indeed look at when they joined, when they first started posting (some members create an account early but don't use it for a while and then just spam up there posts to make it look like they have been here since the beginning and have been active), then I read some of there posts and see how there grammar is. I guess if the senior member, and this new member where equal in there "stats" I would probably go for the member that has been there the longest.
Promoting members who have been around for a long time is normal practice. I think most admins/forum owners follow along with this. It shows that the members are dedicated, and wouldn't just leave out of the blue. They have time to prove themselves they have what it takes to become a staff member.
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