Moderation is Key

I am a moderator on a writers' forum. There are still over 8,000 members at My Writers Circle but many of them are not active.

I understand those who were once active and don't participate at the moment, waiting for the right opportunity to jump in once again. I have no idea why so many people go to the trouble of signing up for the forum and never post even one thing. I see no benefit to being a member if you never use the membership.

But there are many who do participate on a daily basis. Many of them are honing skills and not yet published at all. Some are published in a variety of places but all without pay. I fit into that category. And some are already published for pay in a variety of places.

So there is a mix of people. Some are able to help and some are in dire need of the advice and helpful hints available. Mostly it works out quite well. Most of the members are cordial and do their best to help one another. Not all advice is sound, mirroring the real world.

Some days my moderating is an easy job. I just stroll through the boards and make sure all is going smoothly. I offer help where I can. Since I'm a grammar fiend, I generally feel comfortable with those aspects of critique. Since I'm totally lost with the show and tell aspect of fiction, I generally leave that alone. I've learned to never, ever critique some people's work since I just irritate them all to hell and back. So, I don't bother and if they misuse words and butcher the grammar, perhaps some other soul will mosey past and help them out. Or they can just get their writing dismissed at a publisher's desk.

I have noticed something over the last several months. As the economy continues to nosedive, so goes manners and tact. There seems to be a direct correlation between job security and personal security as evidenced by graceful demeanor.

I've watched our once solid nest egg dwindle from ostrich size to robin size and hope I never have to witness the hummingbird size. But I might. And it makes me crankier. I'm less patient with anyone and everyone. However, before I hit the send button, I try to remember the person or people who will read my words did not have anything to do with the current market crash.

And I have the blue stars indicative of my 'status' as a moderator. Even though I'm no better at anything than before I got the blue stars, since they appeared, I've gained a certain luster. I stand out with the stars, even though it's really not more than a couple extra buttons at my disposal.

I've seen people who are gracious get all unglued over the silliest of things. I've seen people who are posturing behind made up names, looking for a fight. And we are writers. We are all (okay, not all) very good with words. It is our stock in trade, our ammunition of choice. We can lob volleys of explosive verbiage and knock out an enemy across the globe. Except, here on a writers' forum, the opponent is equally armed.

And the death toll keeps rising. What should be a difference of opinion easily worked out (since everyone is so good with words and should understand compromise and negotiation) turns into carnage. On the forum, deregistered users turn from a blue name with a link to other pages, into a black name with the telltale Guest under their last chosen screen name.

The forum is coming up with far too many Guests where once there was Hero Member or something nice, even Newbie looks better.

I feel like a failure. I'm the one who is supposed to be moderating the people – who do not HAVE to be adults but mostly are. I know I'm good with words. But I'm no longer effective. I have no idea how to respond to the hostilities by supposedly sane adults. They are arguing over ideas, all acceptable ideas, like it is the last chance to protect their mothers from death – a horrible lingering death. They have lost their minds.

And we keep losing members.