I asked in this thread months ago if you let your forum members know you're the admin or not. Originally I assumed that everyone did. But started reading some comments here and there that people had a 2nd account to do administrative work, and a main one that they participate in discussions.
I still sit on the side of I want people to know me as the admin. That way they know who is in charge, who to come to, and that the admin is available and active in the community.
BUT...do you ever want to get into some of the more divisive, spicy, or controversial conversations...but are hesitant because of your admin role? Or do you ever want to call someone out for being just plain stupid? Maybe not call them "stupid", but be quite disagreeable with their post or opinion (in a tactful way, of course) but if you were to do this as the admin it could seem heavy handed?
I'm not sure if this makes sense, but just wondered if you sometimes did not participate in certain conversations because you were the admin (or mod). Would you ever consider a separate account for such arguments? Or just leave as is?
I never let people know im the "Admin" then it's they'd think im all about "Power" and im not. People know im the Admin ofcourse and that's good but i don't say "Ill ban you because i don't like you" or stuff like that. As an admin all i do is enforce the rules, which is what everyone should do, although be as kind as you possibly can.
I consider myself to be a fairly strict admin, but that has to do with enforcing the rules, and not consistently banning members to show that I carry the power. I act like a regular member any other time, while attending to administration duties as well.
I wouldn't abuse the title ... I have it for the reasons you said in the first post .. to let people know I'm there to help and handle difficult situations. It may be a good idea though to pick up a separate account to get into those juicy conversations lol .. But most of the time I jump in anyways and stay as professional as possible about it 😀
Gladly this really has not raised its head - probably on 2 occasions I have popped into a thread that could have got into an argument and said lets leave it there ........ and it has been.
Have enough drama in real life - this is just for fun.
Everyone at my place knows i'm admin, but i'm an active member too, if there's a problem (and there hasn't been as yet,) I would contact the member concerned via pm, there is nothing worse imo than an admin or moderator that publicly berates a member even if it's completely justified, threads can be locked and if necessary posts removed if things become heated.
I try to join in everywhere at my place, I don't think being an admin affects anything, i'm still a member with ideas and opinions too, I hope i'm approachable and reasonable and a fair admin I try to be.
You have to watch that some times. If you just give them simple slap on the wrists (if that's even what it can be called), then I can guarantee that you'll be having members thinking the forum is an anarachy, which is every administrators' worst nightmare.
You must give infractions and perhaps bans periodically. That way it will force members to obey your rules.
The only difference between me, and the members on my forum, is that I have more responsibility. I don't have to state that I am an admin, because I think it is fairly obvious, and that if a person doesn't know, then they will soon enough.
As for the controversial topics, I get in, drop my 2 cents, and then leave it at that. I don't bother getting involved any further than that unless false information is being posted, and I indicate that. For example, a member on my other forum, said that he didn't want Obama to be president because he was going to change the National Anthem.. and proceeded to debate those in favor of Obama.
I simply said that while, he is entitled to support whomever he chooses, that he should at the very least, get his facts straight before posting about it, and I posted a few links challenging the points he made regarding Obama changing the anthem, and confirming that it was an urban legend whose orgin game from a satirical post on a conservative website.
Other than that, the only time I go back to the topics is to make sure that everyone is being respectful. I don't refrain from posting in topics because I am an admin.. because that would then imply that I am not a member just like everyone else. While I do treat them as equals, that doesn't mean that I won't enforce the rules and punish someone if necessary.
I haven't yet had a need to really get up in someone's face, however if a reason occurs I will without a doubt. If someone does something wrong, first you let them know. If it becomes a repeated thing you deal with it with a short ban, if it gets worse you just perm ban. Besides, I think very few people will want to cause any real "trouble" on any of my sites, it wouldn't be in their "best interest".
While controversy happens in every forum, it's important that as the administrator, you keep an eye on it extensively, as it can easily spiral out of control.
I let people know I'm the Admin and that I have the final say in decisions. I tell you, it has not caused any problems in my 4-5 years at my forum.
Though that could be because I'm negotiable and I actually ask for member's opinions on things before implementing/removing things. I don't just 'go-out' and make decisions without at least some sort of consolation.
As for controversial threads, I do my best to let everybody have their 'freedom of speech' while also keeping the peace. If things get out of control, then of course I have to step in. Usually I'll make a post like, 'Cool it guys', and if that doesn't work, then the thread may just need to be locked.
I mean, an Admin is an authority figure, which make make members feel a little 'safer' on the forums. If there is no staff around, then members can be put off, particularly in heated discussions.
I have made an admin account before and a different one for discussion. Right now I just use the admin account, but of course I have backups and stuff.
I think you should the admin account PERIOD. Whether it's for administrative duties or discussion. Members need to know that who they're talking to is the one incharged of the whole forum. That way, they may respect the rules.
