Cherry_lover said:
But as it is now, all you are doing by responding the way you have is tell people that, as a mod, you'll be acting theá way you are right now but with power and that isn't appealing to people. By responding and taking things personally you are telling people that you aren't the kind of person who that want to be in charge of the forum they're in. Right now I'm not seeing someone I'd trust as a mod.
That's not true, though. I am arguing this on here, not on my forum....
You're missing the point, though. By posting and fighting here, where you don't have authority, you're giving bad press about your forum. Ultimately, you represent your own forum and what you do reflects back upon it for better or worse.
When Hawk was active, for example, he was known as a mostly hands-off mod that was fair but had his limits. TFF was a place people could preview stories that were supposed to ultimately go to FF.net. It was a wide variety for that and was one of the reasons it attracted people because they actually wanted criticism.
I understand you want a type-moon presence there. That's obvious, but what KIND of forum is it supposed to be? It is a place where, for the majority, people post stories and comment upon them? Is it a place for people to RP? Is it a general place for discussion?
Fro example, have you tried to contact authors of type-moon/other fanfics and go 'I have a forum here that's starting, would you mind coming and posting previews/chapters so my members have something to discuss/we can give you some comments? And if people know of you maybe go 'I know I don't have the best reputation, but I'm trying to turn over a new leaf if you don't mind giving my forum a chance.'
I mean it won't always work out, but if you show people you're willing to try it might work. And if they turn you don't/are rude, then you fake a smile and politely say 'well that's your decision and I respect it. Even if they're rude and belligerent because it shows you're the better man because you don't drop to their level. And if you do get get them to come, then let them post and be polite.
It means sometimes tolerating people you don't like sometimes if they're willing to follow the rules because that's part of being an impartial mod. If you allow grudges from another forum to effect your current one, you shouldn't be surprised if people also do the same.
Right now, more than necessarily posting content yourself is going to authors other forums and ff.net and asking if they'd like to join. If there's time you're spending arguing with people here, then you could be emailing people about your forum politely. You have to be able to put your forum's needs before your personal grudges.
As for the forum itself I'd recommend basic rules and a statement that says this is not SB/BL/TFF/ETC Any grudges from there will not be tolerated here this goes for the mods/admins as well. That's the best way to show you have your forums interest at heart, so long as you keep to it. And yes, that would mean that if one of the people that banned you joins, that means you let them and leave them alone so long as they follow the rules and if they break them you can then inflict moderation
as your unbiased rules say they should apply.
You cannot target anyone even if they make it clear they're X from Y and you hate them so long as they don't break rules. Because if you can manage that and be fair and impartial then your a good admin and acting as the better man even if they provoke you.
But that means you also have to, again, watch what you do and say outside the forum because your actions will reflect upon it. Its a job to be an admin, not a hobby, and that means that you have to devote yourself to it like a real job. Not that it should consume your real life, but enough that the people on the forum know that you are actually putting enough time and effort into it.
