Staff Members Who Abuse Their Powers

Sometimes you may get a staff member that may cause some problems concerning his/her powers. The staff member may ban someone they dislike or hold a grudge against for no reason. They may edit or delete posts at random. Have you ever had anybody like this? How did you handle them?

I have never had someone like this (luckily). If I ever did, I would instantly revoke the member's powers. I would then talk a little to this member via PM. I may ask questions "Why did you do that?" or "Do you want to keep being a member of the staff?" If the member's answers sound deep and honest, I will wait a week then give back the powers, but keep a close eye on the criminal.

 

Yes, I've had power hungry staff members and I try my best to not hire people like that in the first place but some slip. I just give one friendly warning and if they continue it I remove them, because I don't need people like that as staff which will just disappoint members, and cause them to leave. Being staff is something that shouldn't be taken for granted. As Spiderman's uncle told him "With great powers comes great responsibilities"

 

Been there, done that with this and it drives me round the bend so now I have to watch staff like a hawk to check that they are doing, what they are supposed to be doing

 

Yea it can be frustrating to watch after staff when you hire them for the opposite reason to watch after the community, and then it just defeats the purpose when you have to look over them all the time to make sure they are doing their jobs.

 

Yea, not to mention it means that you have to spend more time doing something that you shouldn't have to be doing...

 

I make it perfectly clear that one violating a moderator rule gets them removed instantly. I have no tolerance for mistakes.

 

Being apart of the staff you would expect them to know the rules so its perfectly fine if you remove them instantly and don't give them a second chance. But I do like giving second chances as they might change, you never know.

 

There is no harm in a second or third chance, but instant demotion or constant mistakes in my opinion just takes the biscuit...

 

I've never had a staff who abused their powers. I always hire people who I know I won't tolerate that stuff. I hope I won't ever have to deal with an abuser though.

 

Completely agree with you here.

If you think about it; all common rules on a forum is common sense. I doubt that I give them a second chance.

 

You never know who you hire. They could seem like a very trustworthy person, but end up being a total power hungry person later.

 

Once that happens, you should fire them and move on.

 

If you're going to hire a person that has not been a member of the forum, and hasn't posted allot, it's best to limit there power at first. Don't give them the privilege to hard-delete anything. This means they can only soft-delete, meaning that you can recover anything they delete.

If you see a person in you're community actively posting, and being a great help; PM the person, asking if he/she wants to become a Moderator.

 

You can smell a power hungry a mile off, those people do not deserve to become a Moderator/Administrator because if you fire them they will take revenge on this forum, which may lead to a ban

 

I agree and I am sure others will find this helpful, this is great advice and this is something that I always do regardless of if they were or weren't apart of the forum before becoming a staff member.

 

Well, sometimes bad mistakes happen, and you can fix them. I know if a staff member abuses powers he/she should be fired without any questions.

 

This is great. I've been on so many forums and so many communities where someone will break a rule right in front of the head mod and they'll just shrug it off like it's nothing. If you want to lead a successful website you need to stick with your rules. It builds respect. Same punishment applies to someone that just joined as it does to a veteran.

 

I've had it happen once before and that member was banned and most their post were removed.
I do not allow myself or my forums to be abused by member or staff, they all have to face the consequences for their actions.