How to voice feedback about the Moderating Staff

[Crystal]

You know I love our moderating team, and that I appreciate all of the hard work they do! I know many of you feel the same way, but I also know all of us on the moderating staff recognize that there is always room for improvement! We aim to be amazing and to be the best that we can be!!

In fact we are making great strides to improve this forum, and with that comes improving upon how we go about moderating the forum. We want to make this place better than ever, so that means being even more amazing about how we go about our moderating tasks.

One of the things we are creating is "moderating guidelines," and once they're more formed, we'll be letting you know the skinny on when, why, and how we plan to go about moderating as we move forward. This way you can help us help you! But to create these guidelines, we need your help - namely your feedback - especially if there are any areas in which you think we could improve, or any changes you'd like to see us consider making as we look to the future.

Now I realize that if you feel you may have something to say which may be "sensitive" or which isn't "all roses," you may have a natural reluctance to step forward and voice any opinions/feedback/concerns/suggestions on how we moderate. Please do not fear retribution for any help you can give us in making ourselves better for you! We are truly open to all (of course civilly-worded ;) ) feedback! You will never be punished for voicing your concerns or feedback as long as you are able to do so while following the terms of service. We also want to respect your desire to stay anonymous in voicing any concerns that you may have.

Which is why I ask that any of you who would like the opportunity to give your feedback, do so either via PM (to myself or whatever member of the moderator team you are most comfortable with) or via e-mail to support@finchforum.com if you prefer for ALL the moderators to see your feedback.

Please know that we strive to keep PMs as private as possible. The rules of this forum still apply in sending a PM, of course, but we want you to rest assured that any information you may have to share with us will be treated with respect for your desire to stay anonymous.

Please note that in the event that information garnered in a PM may become necessary to "share," as in for legal or for internal purposes (e.g. to permit us to do our jobs better/more effectively), the information would only be shared on a "need-to-know basis," AND it would be "de-identified" where appropriate (i.e. for purposes other than legal concerns). That way any information shared can no longer be used to identify you (again unless we're talking about legal matters like reporting threats), which allows your insights to remain anonymous, and again, on a "need to know" basis only. The last thing we would want anyone to feel is embarrassment, ridicule, or that their privacy, trust, or dignity was violated.

The truth is none of us can make a progressive change if we aren't made aware of where the need for progress lies. And unfortunately, if you simply hold in your concerns or only share them with a confidant who isn't on the moderator team, we're not likely to hear of it, so we won't be able to take action to improve upon it!

I am therefore hoping that anyone who has a concern - no matter how big or small - can send it my way, or to Hilary, Sally, Liz, or Janine. (or all of us if you prefer! ;) )

Thank you for your time and any help you can give us!