I get asked this question a lot in my emails so I thought I would run a blog post about to share my thoughts on this subject.

First off, let me say there is no exact answer to this and most people will think differently when it comes to this subject.  But I like to think that you should hire a moderator when they are required.  When you can no longer fulfil the moderation duties of your forum alone.

Less Active Forum

When your forum is less active but still too much for you to fit moderation and administration duties in then I would assign a moderator to two or more forums. This keeps expenses down if your pay your moderation team and also keeps your forum clean.  You don’t need to hire more moderators if they are not needed so stick to one and see how the plays out.

More Active Forum

If your forum is much more active than you may wish to assign at least one moderator per forum. This will help you keep on top of your forum and you will effectively combat the spam.

Conclusion

There is no right or wrong way to this problem. I follow the basic structure which is outlined above. When ever I cannot handle the moderation duties, I hire a mod. Whenever we both can’t handle the moderation I hire another and the process is endless. You keep repeating the process until you can cover all the moderation duties.

What’s Your Say?

When do you think you should hire a mod? Does your forum have specific guidelines on when to hire a mod? Post your comments below I would love to hear your thoughts.

Ninjapost is a relatively new forum software to the market.  Regarded as the forum of the future Ninjapost truly grasps the Web 2.0 feel.  Ninjapost costs $50 to be hosted for 6 months, you can also pay an extra $50 if you would like a custom design to match your current website layout.  Very reasonable.

Installation Score: 10/10

Installation is very easy but does require a bit of knowledge about your server which could be tricky to a new forum admin or webmaster.  All you have to do is fill out a small form and create a “A” record for the sub-domain you wish to register your forum on.  I thought it was very easy to set up compared to your traditional forum setup.

User Friendliness Score: 8/10

Ninjapost is very user friendly, most of its features being AJAX.  It has an easy accessible UserCP complete with auto-resizing avatars in which I think every forum software should have.  Remember, you want it as easy as possible for your users.  The AdminCP link was clearly visible aswell.  No need to go hunting all over the page.  Saying that, I seen no place for adding signatures.  Signatures add a personal feel to a users post and quite often you can tell a users personality just from looking at his signature.

How Intimidating is the Admin Panel Score: 7 /10

The great thing about Ninjapost, for new administrators this will be a very suitable admin panel because it is very easy to use but for experienced administrators this could be very simplistic.  There is not much to customize your forum by, well nothing compared to boards such as vBulletin and MyBB.  Saying that, there is still plenty of options to effectively run a board by.

How Efficient is Moderation Score:6 /10

I make a big deal about moderation maybe more so than other forum admin’s as I believe it’s a very important part of running a forum.  I like for the users to be able to easily report offending post and also I like being able to effectively punish someone depending on the extent of the rule break.  Unfortunately, Ninjapost does not provide an infraction/warning system such as you would find in other popular boards. You are able to move users to a ban group but unable to set timed bans.  Users are also able to report offensive posts and an email will be sent to the moderators which I do like.  So, there is some sort of moderation system but nothing complex.

Layout Score: 9/10

One of the things I love about Ninjapost is there layout.  They have thought out side the box and came up with something different.  You will not see another forum like it.  Most of the features and Board are AJAX therefore giving it a more web 2.0. feel.  They have adopted a sidebar navigation which I thought was great.

Customer Support Score: 7/10

Ninajapost provides support through email and phone if you do come across any problems with your forum.  There is a F.A.Q aswell though I do not see any support forum at the moment which I think is a good medium for communication

Overall Score: 8/10

Ninjapost definitely impressed me as a forum admin.  I do think though there is still room for improvement like any board I have reviewed.  I think the moderation features need to be improved on slightly but it is still early doors.  Ninja post has taken a step forward on the forum administration world and to be honest I am glad some one did it.