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In Reply to: Good point posted by WC on November 18, 2004 at 19:41:10:
When I was in charge of U'NI-net, a network of around 250 BBS systems around the world, I took that approach.
I decided to take a strictly administrative roll in the network. I never posted about my personal life, or political beliefs. All I did was show up and put out fires.
From an administrative point of view it worked very well. But, after a few years, I began to wonder why I was doing it. The only reason I volunteered to run a network of message boards was that I liked participating. If I wasn't particpating, then what was the point?
It was satisfying on some levels. We were running about 30,000 messages a month. Lots of people were getting value. But, on a personal level, I felt kind of like a slave. Everyone got to have fun but me, and I was stuck with all the work. It got old, and I quit and ended up here.
Personally, I think that Coordinators on boards like these have to maintain high standards of behavior. We have specific rules for Coordinators now over at NDN, in terms of what they can and can't do. Things like beating up the general posters is forbidden. But, we do encourage them to get involved in the message boards on a personal level.
The thing is, you normally select your coordinators from your best and most active posters. If you take them out of being able to particpate, then it can also become a problem getting new and interesting threads going. All your good people end up with a gag on.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. I've done it, and wouldn't do it that way again. But, I do think that Coordinators have to set a good example, by setting a tone that reflects the general purpose of the forum.
