I am rather curious about the moderators and their relationship to The Chicago Reader and the SDMB.
Are moderators volunteers, or are they paid employees of The Chicago Reader?
How does one become a moderator?
Is there a “grand high moderator” of all the SDMB, or is each forum headed by a different moderator? Who do moderators report to? Is there a manager at The Chicago Reader that manages the moderators?
How much time do moderators spend administering on the board? Does it work out to be an eight-hour day for them?
Is there a lot of job satisfaction with moderators, or is it viewed as a thankless job? Is there a lot of turn over?
In the beginning was our Perfect Master Cecil and the Admins (Lynn and Tuba)were his Prophets. They in turn recruited Mods, who live in the lap of luxury in a solid chocolate condominium in the Swiss Alps, showered with riches and either babes or studs of their choice, so that their lofty decisions will remain pure and untainted by the trials of the workaday world.
Oh, they’ll claim that they have normal lives, don’t get paid, and only get a coffee-mug (sometimes) for their efforts, but those of us in the know know different.
As to how one becomes a Mod, I immodestly point you here for the true Straight Dope.
All SDMB staff are volunteers. We receive nothing but a nifty SD coffee mug (like the one on our merchandise page) emblazoned with the word “STAFF.”
One is considered for a modship only after displaying an extended period of interest in the SD. The main qualities we look for are an even temper, ability to make posts of quality in all forums, a wide range of interests, rather above-average writing ability, tolerance of all viewpoints, the ability to be firm (and make it stick) when necesssary, a good knowledge of Cecil’s work, respect of the members, ability to take criticism without taking it personally, … among many other qualities. Generally, the same qualities that would make a good ambassador or diplomat. We also used to solicit applications, but are getting away from that; more and more it’s an invitation from the admins with the advice and consent of the existing staff.
The time spent moderating a forum depends, of course, on which forum a mod works in. I try to spend a minimum of two hours per day modding MPSIMS. Often it is more. And anything else I wish to do here is above and beyond that. We also spend time writing the staff reports, but that is a much bigger group than just the board staff.
Job satisfaction genrerally runs high since we think we have an exceptional membership. Of course, there’s always a few clowns that seem to wish to do nothing except be irritating, although they are vastly outnumbered. That’s simply part of the territory and some of the crank e-mail is hilarious.
No, see the outfit is customizable, and usually has to be custom-ordered. I mean, you should have seen the trouble we had finding a pair of jackclogs for Coldie, and it’s so hard to accesorize a watchband with stainless-steel spikes.
Who supplies the moderator hat that goes ON and OFF? Are these hats available for sale to the general public? Do the hats go ON and OFF automatically, or do the mods have to put them ON and OFF manually?