Jayne Massey is the forum moderator for John Connolly, author of Every
Dead Thing and The Black Angel, and Mark Billingham, author of Sleepyhead
and The Burning Girl. She has recently taken on the responsibility of
moderating Book Talk Forums.
Jayne is a published writer, reviewer and panel judge for UK writing organizations.
A pioneer in the field of forum moderating, I recently had a chance to
ask Jayne how she found herself on this new career path, and to ask John
and Mark about the value of having a hands-on moderator as part of their
web team.
How did you start moderating?
Well, it happened by accident really. I was posting regularly on Irish
author John Connolly's forum and last summer John was away promoting his
latest novel, and the forum was very busy. The webmaven of John's site
was going on holiday for a week and she contacted me and asked me if I'd
keep an eye on the forum for her.
When she returned, she said that she had a lot of work to catch up on
and she asked if I'd continue monitoring the board for her for a while
longer. Then, a few weeks later, she offered me the job permanently, as
she was extremely busy and no longer had the time to spend on it. I was
surprised, yet absolutely delighted! I love the job and I can't imagine
doing anything else. I feel as if it was meant to be.
| Why did you decide to have a moderator for your site? |
“It just became clear over the last year or two that the traffic to the
site had increased enormously, and it was just too much for me to handle
by myself. I was letting things slide, or forgetting to answer people's
questions. It wasn't intentional. I would mark them and mean to get back
to them later, but then another bunch would arrive and I'd try to deal
with them at the expense of the earlier ones.
“
Also, it seemed like there was a lot of interaction between the people
who visited the site, and that it had become a general discussion forum
for all kinds of things: not just my books but books in general, music,
writing, even problems that people were having in their day-to-day lives.
At that point, I thought it might be a good idea to foster that sense
of community, but it needed someone with a particular personality to do
it. Jayne had been contributing to the forum as a visitor and Heidi Mack,
who looks after the technical aspects of the site and was acting as part-time
moderator on top of all that, suggested that Jayne might be the ideal
person. And she was.”
|
| - John Connolly |
|
Describe the responsibilities of your job for us. What does a
forum moderator do?
I'm very much a hands-on moderator, in that I read every posted message and
often contribute to, or even start, discussions. I feel that forum members
welcome
this; I receive many emails from people who comment on the sense of community
that is present on the forums. With Mark's forum, I was there from day one
and it's amazing how quickly it took off. People seemed to bond with each other
in
no time, it's lovely to see.
With John's forum, I was posting messages for eighteen months before I was
offered the job. John's webmaster did a wonderful job in monitoring the discussion
board,
but she became extremely busy and no longer had the time to devote to it. I'd
like to think that I've continued to help bring members together and that the
sense of community has become even stronger. Certainly, the threads have become
more personal in recent months and to me that's a sign of unity and trust.
What do you feel people most often overlook when establishing a forum?
I think some people overlook the need for a good moderator; I'm surprised how
many forums don't have moderators at all. Problems will occur and you really
need someone there who can take control and deal with tricky situations. If
not, then I can't really see a forum surviving for very long.
| When you started your forum, what concerns did you have that prompted you to
consider having a moderator? |
“ I was aware that there had been a certain amount of trouble on one or two other
forums; that things had got too heated or that troublemakers had hijacked proceedings.
While I was keen that my forum would be a lively place, that people were free
to express themselves - and yes, that includes swearing when it's called for
- I didn't want things getting out of hand. I didn't want friendly friction to
turn into anything nastier. I was also certain that I couldn't do any of this
myself, that I needed someone with experience. I'd spoken to John (Connolly)
about how his forum had been running and he was full of praise for his moderator
Jayne. I approached her to see if she'd be interested in taking on my forum as
well...a very smart move on my part.”
|
| - Mark Billingham |
|
What advice do you have for anyone who wants to start a successful,
thriving message board?
Hire me!
What value do you feel you bring to a forum?
I think I bring peace of mind to the client and to the forum members and
also a sense of security. I'm there to answer people's problems (and) queries
and
I'd like to think that forum members see me as a friendly face. I'm not an
absent moderator. I'm very much around, often joining in the conversations
and enjoying
a laugh with fellow posters. I receive emails from forum members saying that
there is a real sense of community on the boards that I run, and it's wonderful
that they have a safe, clean environment where they can discuss mutual interests.
| How has Jayne contributed to the success of your forum? |
“I think it helps to think of it as a group of strangers with common interests
getting together for a meeting in a virtual church hall. Someone needs to break
the ice, to make them feel welcome, to open up the discussion and keep it going
until people feel relaxed enough to continue it for themselves and, occasionally,
to rein it in if it's becoming too heated. Jayne does all of that, and more.
In a sense, she's the public face of the site. She makes me look good!”
|
| - John Connolly |
“I think she's pretty much been solely responsible for it. As far as the organization
goes, she's frighteningly efficient. She spots instantly if something needs moving
around, if a question has already been dealt with, if topics need merging or
whatever. More importantly though, she is a welcoming voice, and a friendly face,
that set the tone early on. It's been astonishing watching relationships develop
between members so quickly. I'm confidently predicting the first Billingham Talk
Zone wedding within the year and that atmosphere is down to Jayne. Even when
there's conflict – and I'm certainly all for a bit of that now and again
- it never threatens to turn into anything unpleasant. I think people like to
drop by, and that's because Jayne has made it a nice place to be. Not sure about
the carpets and curtains though...”
|
| - Mark Billingham |
|
What are some of the risks of unmoderated forums?
I don't see a long-term future for unmoderated forums. I think harmless disagreements
could quickly turn into full-scale arguments, resulting in members leaving
because they feel uncomfortable. An unpleasant atmosphere on a discussion
board is never
nice and, in my view, should be avoided.
Have you had any bad experiences where you've had to ask someone to leave
a forum? Or had to take extreme action to resolve a problem?
I've never had to ask anyone to leave a forum and I've never needed to take
extreme action to resolve a problem, thankfully. That's down to the fantastic
people
who visit the boards that I run - they don't always agree about things, but
they do respect each other's opinions.
How do you establish what is and is not acceptable on the different forums
you moderate?
It's down to common sense really, but I would always speak to the client
if I was unsure about anything. It depends what the client is comfortable
with.
My
job is to keep him/her happy. On one of the forums that I run, you will find
swearing here and there and the client is okay about that, but on another
forum there is very little swearing. It's fine for people to disagree on
forums,
I think that's what makes them so interesting, but if a full-scale argument
develops
then I will step in. I wouldn't tolerate bullying or racist comments of any
sort.
How important is a close working relationship with the author/host of the
forum?
I think it's very important to have a close working relationship with the
author/client; if there's no communication between the two, then it's difficult
to know how
to handle certain situations. What works for one author may not work for
another, so communication is very important. Each author is individual and
I want to
ensure he/she is comfortable with the job I do.
Do you think it’s important for authors to have forums?
I think a forum is very beneficial to the author, especially if said author
comes on board and contributes to the discussions. Both Mark and John are
actively involved in their forums and the readers appreciate this. It's great
that they
can put questions to the author and receive a reply. I would imagine any
writer finds it hugely flattering to have a bunch of people making positive
comments
about their work. And it's good for new fans to be able to come on to the
forum and read these comments. A discussion forum can encourage a loyal fan
base
and
that can only benefit the author. Also, it's an opportunity for the author
to throw ideas around and to receive feedback from the readers.
| Why did you decide to start a forum? What do you feel are the benefits of
a good forum for authors? |
“Yaron, the guy who designs and maintains my website, had been on at me about
a discussion forum for ages, but I'd been reluctant. It seemed a very complicated
business and I was worried that it would take up too much of my time. It was
simple techno-fear, and I couldn't have been more wrong. I think that a good
forum has an atmosphere that encourages people to drop by and have a natter.
“
As far as the benefits go, visitors and members can talk about anything and everything
of course, but there is obviously an emphasis on talking about one's own books
and I don't see how that can ever be bad for an author. Readers appreciate the
chance to have a dialogue with a writer; to have their questions answered and
to maybe learn a little more about the writer than can be found on the back cover
of a book. On a very basic level, it breaks down barriers and lets readers see
that authors - most of them anyway - are not too far up their own arses about
themselves, or their work.”
|
| - Mark Billingham |
|
Do you think there will be more forums in the future?
Sure. I've visited quite a lot of author websites over the last couple of
weeks and I'm very surprised how many of them don't yet have forums. I feel
certain
that will change.
Do you know of anyone else working as a forum moderator? This seems to be
a new service - how have you developed your business? Has it been hard to
find
guidance
for setting the perimeters in your job?
No, I've never come across anyone else working as a moderator and it's surprising
how many other people have said the same thing. I think that I may have found
a gap in the market. My business is still in the very early stages and so
far I only have a couple of clients, but other authors have expressed interest
in my work, so hopefully things will grow and more work will come my way.
I've
contacted
potential clients and I've set up a website to help develop my business,
but the best thing for me has been word of mouth. I owe such a lot to so
many people
who have spread, and continue to spread, the word about my work.
Almost anyone that has spent time on forums has experienced spammers or trolls
or dominating personalities that try to control the board. Why do you think
that is? What do you see as the potential dangers of letting problem posters
go unchallenged?
I've had experience with spam, it was on a discussion board where members
were not required to register and sign in, and so it was an easy target.
Messages
were being deleted on a daily basis. The problem has now been resolved, though,
and we've just launched a brand new forum where people have to type in a
username and password if they want to post a message. I've never come across
dominating
personalities who try to control the board, but maybe that's because there's
a moderator around. I can imagine certain individuals would try to dominate
forums where there is no moderator in charge, but it's not something I've
had personal
experience with. I think there has to be rules on every forum and if someone
is taking advantage and becoming a problem poster, then he or she has to
be dealt with before things get out of hand. The last thing I want is for
regular
users
to stop visiting because they no longer feel comfortable. I would hope that
any forum member will come to me if they have a problem and I would certainly
do
my very best to sort things out.
You were a participant on John Connolly’s forum before becoming the moderator,
and you’ve been Mark Billingham’s moderator since he launched his
forum. How will you handle the challenge of becoming a moderator on an existing
forum you haven’t been a participant on previously?
That's about to happen in the next couple of days. I'm going to be running
Book Talk Forums. The guy who set it up and has been monitoring it has found
himself
very busy of late and he thought I'd be the ideal person for the job. I've
literally just registered for the forum and I want to spend the next few
days going through
all the messages that are already on there and familiarizing myself with
it. (The) webmaster is going to send an email out to members, letting them
know
that I will be taking over, and then I'll introduce myself to everyone and
we'll take
it from there. It is a bit daunting, I must admit, but I'm looking forward
to it - it'll be a challenge and I'll give it my best shot. Hopefully, the
forum
members will accept me.
For more information about Jayne Massey and her moderating services, visit
her website at www.inmoderation.co.uk or check out her work for at http://www.markbillingham.com/talk/index.php
or http://www.johnconnollybooks.com/forum/ |
