No staff

Adam Howard

Well-known member
What do you think about sites that have no visible staff presence?

I'm not talking about the difference between sites where the staff is either heavy or light handed in their duties, but rather the sites where staff members hardly ever say a single word vs sites where staff members are just as talkative as normal members.

How do you feel about the difference?
 
I don't know. I frequently see mods and Kier online.
The atmosphere has certainly changed. I doubt there is much staff can openly say.
 
If I was not going to have fairly active staff...in my forums...I would change to read-only!

That's not the same with a place like this...where, ideally, most people don't hang out.
 
I don't know. I frequently see mods and Kier online.
The atmosphere has certainly changed. I doubt there is much staff can openly say.
WAIT

This message is not directed to you Steven S, but I will use your post as an example.

This thread intentions are NOT about XenForo.com

What do you think about sites that have no visible staff presence?

I'm not talking about the difference between sites where the staff is either heavy or light handed in their duties, but rather the sites where staff members hardly ever say a single word vs sites where staff members are just as talkative as normal members.

How do you feel about the difference?
 
WAIT

This message is not directed to you Steven S, but I will use your post as an example.

This thread intentions are NOT about XenForo.com
Sorry. I guess I read too much into it.

On my our forum I don't post regularly.
Members will email or PM me if there is a problem. We don't have co-admins. We don't have a staff to speak of.
I have a couple good moderators and the forum pretty much self-moderates itself.

I'm invisible so on my forum at least I don't think it matters that there is no official presence.
I guess it really comes down to the culture of the forum.
Our age demographic is wide. Probably low teens to high 60s.
But we all have a healthy respect for each other.

So...
I don't think it matters much.
What matters is when things go unchecked.
 
What do you think about sites that have no visible staff presence?
A forum with a team who made most of the content gives the impression of being dead.
A forum with no visible staff gives the impression being abandoned by his team (no example in mind :rolleyes: ).
 
A forum with a team who made most of the content gives the impression of being dead.
A forum with no visible staff gives the impression being abandoned by his team (no example in mind :rolleyes: ).
4chan has no visible staff and seems to cope just fine.
 
A forum with a team who made most of the content gives the impression of being dead.
A forum with no visible staff gives the impression being abandoned by his team (no example in mind :rolleyes: ).
I disagree.
I don't need to post and make myself be known.
Most of the members know far more than I.
Our site is active for what it is.
I am fortunate to be able to take a back seat.
When forums are full of spam, rude and confrontational posts,.
No sense of order or authority, then I consider it abandoned.
That is unless that is the nature of the forum.
 
A forum with a team who made most of the content gives the impression of being dead. A forum with no visible staff gives the impression being abandoned by his team (no example in mind :rolleyes: ).

Unless it is an active forum in which case even if the moderators are active in the discussions they will be mostly invisible, lost in the crowd, a good thing. Typically there is no need for moderators unless it is an active forum.k
 
I've never fully understood the staff influence in posting....

That is to say, I've seen sites where the admin will make 1 post and 450 post by members will follow it. Yet when the staff doesn't say anything, neither does anyone else.

And I've seen sites where the place will be busy as all hell and as soon as the staff says 1 word (1 post), everyone lurks in the shadows for a while... ie... Ghost town.

It seems to be a random factor.
 
Moderator and staff are the back bone of every forum

Two of the forums I participate in as a member are very active but the admin and moderators are almost non-existent. There are phases. Early in a forums life, the admin and moderators are likely crucial to creating content and encouraging participation. Once the forum gets a critical mass of members, the admin and moderators step back in direct proportion to the forum activity.
 
A forum with no staff to me has no clear leadership or path. People like to see the staff. Having no staff implies that there might be a secret staff force invisible to the users.
 
i use two accounts; one as an admin for posting admin announcements and the like, then another i use to post as just another user. that being said, i rarely post on my xf site with either. the moderators use two accounts as well and are forbidden from using a moderator account for non-mod tasks.
the result is that staff are rarely seen. a newcomer may believe that there are never staff online, but the seasoned members do know that if need be one will come online right quick to sort out any issues.

i prefer it this way. i have never liked a cult of personality, nor an admin and mods that are involved in every discussion or debate. i dont let that happen on my site because i reckon its too much ass to kiss for the members and can lead to a chilling effect. besides, i like to remain detached and aloof as an admin while having the freedom to be my trollish self on the odd occasion that i participate in a thread on my regular account.
 
i use two accounts; one as an admin for posting admin announcements and the like, then another i use to post as just another user. that being said, i rarely post on my xf site with either. the moderators use two accounts as well and are forbidden from using a moderator account for non-mod tasks.
Great idea :)
 
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