Tintin Forums

I think it will be better if in the Middle of every year, we will vote and choose the moderators. The most post contributors and the most serious members will be the candidates and those who will get the most of votes will be selected as moderators.

There are many, many problems I can see with having a yearly election for moderators. Would the person(s) with highest votes necessarily be right for the role? What if admin didn't want them? What about all the experience the current moderators have garnered? How would changing moderators every year affect the tone of the forum? etc, etc, etc.

The moderators were invited by the administrator (also a moderator), shortly after the forum opened more than five years ago. Over that time we've helped develop the rules, made decisions about the forum structure and - perhaps most importantly - set the tone of the forum. Of course, we may have made the odd decision along the way, which with the benefit of hindsight we might have done differently. But on the whole, I like to think we've helped make the forum a success (although that's really for others to judge.)

I don't think it's as simple as you might think, and I'm not just saying that to protect my position!

I haven't been a member long but I agree Harrock n roll. Changing moderators every year would get confusing.

One minute...! How can it be confusing? The candidates will be selected by their history. If there's any mistake, we'd throw them off!

I wouldn't like that at all to need to change everything like that every year. I think that the current system is the best thing we could have anyway. Us members aren't here to be moderators, but instead are here to discuss all things Tintin. I think it would definitely detract from my fun to have people "campaigning" for moderator positions.

Like Harrock, I'm not replying here to protect my position - I was honoured to be asked by Admin to moderate the forums, and I'm glad to be involved, but the time taken to do it is obviously time I could use to do something else, were I to no longer moderate.

Still, I would be interested to know why it would be "better" to hold these elections as suggested? It would be different for sure, but then the forum would be different too, and that wouldn't necessarily work better...

You must remember that the forum isn't the property of the members, and doesn't exist through some absolute right for us to be here.

It's Irene's: she maintains it on the technical side, finances it entirely herself and moderates it too – and sets the tone of polite debate, mutual respect and tolerance which underlies it, making it the decent resource and pleasant place to be that I think it is.

I understand that this may not be an environment to please everyone - I know that there are far more free-wheeling forums on other subjects out there, where debate is far more robust and flame wars and trolling abound: perhaps if that is what is wanted, then someone else could set one up of their own, and see what happens?

I just think it would be a pity to dismantle this forum to replace it with something else, and then find that it didn't work so well...

I agree with Jock and the others. I'm all for democracy, but I think you're mis-applying the concept to this website, Rastapoper. We're not talking about a country with citizens needing to elect paid MPs, or a public company with shareholders needing to elect paid board-members. This is a privately owned website, run the way they want to run it by its owner, administrators and moderators. They host a forum (for no reward or profit) for the benefit of anyone who wishes to participate. The fact that they're kindly providing this service for our interest and enjoyment as well as their own doesn't make the website publicly owned, or give us all the right to run it!

You might choose to invite a lot of people into your private home. But you wouldn't expect your guests to suddenly start demanding voting rights over how you ran your home, or the position of your furniture, or demanding the right to be elected as the home-owner instead of you!

If you're longing to be a website moderator, simply start your own website!

I suspect that you may simply have raised the idea for fun, Rastapoper, to stir up a bit of debate. But please don't make the current moderators feel got at, or feel that they even have to justify their positions. The last thing the rest of us want is for Jock and Harrock to feel that their freely given time isn't greatly appreciated and for the forum to be bereft of their services.

Current system works fine, why change it?

I agree. The 20,000 word dissertation, 10 mile assault course (a bit like the 'Jeux Sans Frontieres' Tintin-themed show) and 3 hour multiple choice exam on 'L'Oeuvre D'Hergé' works extremely well at the moment. Why change it? ;)

Thanks for the votes of confidence by the way!

The moderators are merely here to keep the peace. I personally do not see any need for myself to be a moderator, because it is a lot of responsibility. It is not really like being a moderator is some glorious, lofty position. From what I've seen, here and elsewhere is that being a moderator is tough (and often thankless) work. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our moderators and administrator for keeping this place in line, and pleasant.