Staff Age Requirements

Do you have any age requirements or limits when bringing a staff member on to the team? Must they be 18 years old, for example?

Personally, I wouldn't use age as a limiting factor. Some younger users can be extremely mature, dedicated, wise and enthusiastic which makes for a great staff member.

 

I don't use age as a factor in considering staff members. There are some very mature young people and incredibly immature adults. Overall, I look at the quality of contributions, demonstrated maturity and the ability to work with others. I tend to find that the younger a person is, the better a staff member they may be. That may just be may linked to the fact that they have more computer time than full-time employed staff. There are plenty of talented people out there, wouldn't want to hold age against them.

 

Like the both of you, I do not use age as a limiting factor. The maturity shown by some of the younger moderators that I have worked with (i.e. ages 13 and 15) is quite incredible. Their grammatical skills, logic, and reasoning are better than many of the older members on my board.

 

18 years of age. I know younger people can be mature and responsible. However they cannot legally enter into agreements and that can cause problems. This is especially true when you work at some of the sites that I have in the past where you have to deal with NDAs and non-compete agreements.

 

You bring up an excellent point, Wayne.

 

As far as NDAs go, isn't it valid if they sign alongside their parent/guardians?

 

Not in California. Not sure about other states.

 

Age Limitation Is Nothing, Sometimes It Is. I Would Prefer Experienced Staff.
There Are So Many Sites Out There, Free Forums And Paid For Websites. I Think
The Best Site I Have Seen, Is Ownsta, Powered By vBulletin. There Are Just So
Much Stuff, Its Crazy. So I Would Prefer Experience In Staff Members.

 

For me, it's all about what they did that made me want them to make a moderator.

 

On my DJ Board, aside from one supermod (who happens to be the other technically adept guy), I'm the youngest. That being said, I've learned a tremendous amount from the older folks who moderate/co-admin with me, not the technical stuff as I teach them that, but at dealing with member issues and stuff like that. I'm always happy to learn, I don't think I could learn any of that stuff from a textbook.

Aside from that, we really have no minimum age when the board was first started I made the mistake of making a 13 year old a moderator which a lot of older folks (40's and 50's) seemed to resent but all in all the kid is a great kid and his heart was in the right place he was just too immature at the time. To that end, I'm a lot more cautious with younger folks.

 

Well I think it would be a bit unfair for me to limit staff to over 18, seeing as I'm only 17 myself.

However unless they do something to impress the pants off of me, I generally have 13 as the 'minimum'.

 

I've seen some communities promote very young members (10 to 11 years old - now that's just ridiculous) to various staff team positions. I think that's a bit too young... but whatever works.

 

Now!! that i agree with...Good staff are hard to come by..so when you get one look after them i say.

 

For me it depends on what forum it is but mostly I do not have any age limit because even young people can be very good moderators and even administrators.

 

Nope, I do not have a set age requirement.

 

I think it really does depend on a) the maturity level of the member and b) the level of knowledge he/she has regarding the subject(s) being discussed. I do find staff members who are 10 or so years old to be a bit young... but in the end, I'm quite sure that it comes down to the two factors mentioned earlier in this post.

 

My main factors are maturity, knowledge of the site's niche and activity.

 

Yes Maturity And Knowloedge Is Right. Sometimes I Just Go Along With My Friends.
Or When I See Someone Doing Good I Choose Them. So It Goes With Everything
You Guys Have Said From Age To Knowledge, Experience, Relationships And All.

 

I've promoted personal friends to various staff positions in the past, but it hasn't always worked out nicely (or as smoothly as I wanted it to).

 

Wow, that's hard to believe.

My members are always being deed-like, but every time a member does that, I don't appoint them as a moderator.

Maybe I'm reading too much into your remark, but if you are doing what I think you're doing, I believe you have more moderators than members.