WARNING! NOTHING PERSONAL IS INTENDED BY THIS IDEA!
It’s just a thought I had. We all get a little burnt out now and then and even the best mod can find that he or she reacts testily to the eight thousandth thread they have to move. Face it, we aren’t the easiest bunch to ride herd on and they are scarcely appreciated for the job they do FOR FREE. So, maybe the administration might want to have term limits for them? There are plenty of people who would like to take on the job if they knew it was only temporary. Some of them might even be competent and if they aren’t, well, if the first month or two was a probation period their term could end early with minimal fuss.
FWIW, dropzone, it was my experience modding on a different board for three years that people tend to decide when is the best time to move on, from personal needs, stress, or whatever. And there’s nothing “permanent” about any volunteer job, including modding the SDMB – you’re free to resign at any time.
We’ve also had mods take a period of time off, sometimes quite short (as when Lynn recently had a medical leave) or longer (such as real life interfering temporarily.)
Boy, this topic could be read as a Great Debate also.
(but I’m not trying to start such a thing).
Bad Idea, IMHO.
For the same reason that I oppose term limits on elected representatives–you get rid of the baby with the bath water.
Why put an articficial limit on a good Mod who enjoys her/his job, and is good at it? Just to get rid of someone who isn’t as good? The admin of a Msg. Board can fire a Mod at their whim. What else would you need?
I don’t know what MC is, so I can’t answer that part of it. There aren’t any set hours, unfortunately. I say “unfortunately”, because what they have to do instead is “enough to get the job done”. Which is never less than about two hours a day, from my experience, and that’s only if the posters and the hamsters are both behaving unusually well.
And, of course, the problem days seem to come exactly when you have the least time to deal with them.
Moderating and administrating is both more and less a “job.”
It’s often as difficult and time-consuming as what we do to earn our daily bread, but mostly with the only compensation the glow that comes from knowing you have done A Good Thing. It’s a damn expensive coffee mug.
It takes a very special person to give of themselves, their time and etc. to keep this place going on. We are incredibly fortunate that these people choose to gift us with their work on our behalf.
What with this free time and all.