Special forum for staff members?

[lludawg]

Is it worth it to create a hidden forum section for staff members only? I have been at a forum where the staff love to chat with each other and I've been at other forums where this hidden staff section is never active. Thoughts?

 

[AresBlade]

Personally, I like to have a hidden section, but prefer for my staff to only use it for administrative things (conversations relating to discipline or design, etc) rather than just general chat. I encourage them to simply post their chatter in the appropriate forum whenever possible as it's nice to see the human side of the moderators.

 

[Jordan]

I allow a hidden staff area. It's nice to have a place to discuss the administration of a site with the rest of the staff. Only thing is with us the staff section does not increase post count.

 

[cyberpuppet]

I think it essential to have somewhere private for staff. There are some things that should definitely not be discussed on the main boards especially if there is a disagreement between staff on the best way to handle something. Also there are times when staff need to be able to vent a bit - in my experience when you are moderating some posters can get quite personal and abusive and you need to be able to show a more human response behind closed doors as it were instead of the nice professional face you are using in public.

 

[Rainman]

There was one forum where staff members would openly argue about what was or wasn't to be done about an issue. And it wasn't civil debating I'm talking about. There was name-calling, cussing, such stuff. It creates a bad impression, right?

A private board for staff to discuss issues about the site which other members shouldn't know about would be good for a forum.

 

[net_zen]

I think a hidden section for both VIPs and mods/administration is a good idea. I've been a mod on a few boards that had a multi level hidden area, with the first level available for VIPs or other special category accounts and the second area visible to mods and admins. And I suspect there was one more still, available for admins only. It's a great way to discuss board administration and new rules without doing it in the open.

 

[cyberpuppet]

To be honest the more I think about it the more I wonder how it can be possible to run a forum that has more than one staff member (Admin is a staff member as well) without a private area not visible to ordinary posters. Ok if it is just admin and one moderator that area can be PMs - but as soon as there is more staff the need for a place where everyone can communicate becomes imperative.

 

[Azareal]

Private staff forums can become very awkward when someone in there has been saying negative things about a member for years and then, said member ends up becoming a staff member. I have seen this happen before, where staff don't really think twice about ranting about someone and said member eventually becomes staff.

 

[cyberpuppet]

A staff area should not be so heavy on threads that it is difficult to clean up - and before new staff member joins the admin should consider if anything has been said about them. I have on occasion both deleted stuff in the staff room or explained to the new staff member what they would see before they entered on the grounds that I try not to say things behind someones back that I would not say to their face (both online and in real lift). It can be a case of "remember that time you kicked off about" or "when such and such was going on staff were not sure" and if a person is going to be a decent staff member they will find the existence of such threads reassuring because it confirms that staffing is not random.

On the other hand if a member of staff is constantly bitching about a member on a purely personal basis I have to ask are they suitable to be staff - and if they are removed as staff any bitchy threads/posts will be deleted at the same time.

 

[kfander]

I agree with the consensus here. When there are more than two staff members, I think a private area is important. Several advantages can be gained by it, including the ability to get advice from other staff members before taking action on something, the ability to vent outside of the sight of other forum members, and as a place to discuss changes planned for the forum.

 

[proxynvpn]

I have always seen it beneficial to have a forum for staff only that is hidden from members, it gives the staff a place to be able to discuss ideas and also problems without it being seen by forum members and causing a problem. It also gives you the ability to be able to gain opinions and ideas easier without interference from forum members.

 

[PenguinManiac]

It's absolutely necessary for forums with a large number of staff members. I've worked as a mod before, and we always used private subforums to discuss organization, reviewing content, choosing new staff members and everything related to logistics. That's just something you can't handle with PMs only.

 

[Deka]

I would say that having a special forum for your staff is a great way to talk about issues or problems the forum might be having. You won't need to talk through messages this way. All the staff members get to see the opinions of the other members when it comes to the issue. If you have an announcement to make, it's easier to keep track of it this way. If you have a new rule to implement, the staff members get to see it immediately. If a staff member has an issue with a member, you can discuss your thoughts about it here.

Of course, it all depends on just how many staff members you have too. If it's just the two of you handling a forum, it's better to just talk in messages. If you have more than three staff members, then a special forum might work best for you.

Like you said, sometimes it's not even an active part of the forum. And you would have to decide if it's worth it to have that special section. In any case, you can always close it if it's not working for you.

Good luck!