Moderators

moderator

Main Entry: mod·er·a·tor

Pronunciation: \ˈmä-də-ˌrā-tər\

Function: noun

Date: circa 1560

1 : one who arbitrates : mediator
2 : one who presides over an assembly, meeting, or discussion: as a : the presiding officer of a Presbyterian governing bodyb : the nonpartisan presiding officer of a town meeting c : the chairman of a discussion group
3 : a substance (as graphite) used for slowing neutrons in a nuclear reactor

— mod·er·a·tor·ship \-ˌship\ noun

Many forums, blogs and chat sites use a moderator or several moderators who work to maintain the credibility of the site. A business with a reputation to uphold will be diligent in making certain that their product is well represented and not degraded. A forum linked to a car manufacturer for instance will want to protect their image so that they can sell as many cars as possible.

Part of a moderater's job is to keep the content of a forum or chat to an respectable level. A person who joins a forum or chat may be angry and uses a forum as a means of venting his or her anger. This person may choose to use foul language to get his or her point across. While this may be this person's way of expressing his or her feelings, it is not an appropriate way to act in public. Forums, blogs and chat groups are public forms of communication so one must be aware that they are speaking to the masses. Depending on what type of site it is, there may even be an approval process prior to the post being accepted thus taking a proactive approach to the content of the chat or forum.

A moderator also keeps everyone on topic. He ensures that those on the forum or chat site obey the rules of the site. Again, depending on type of forum or discussion group it is, the site may state rules such as no religion, no sexist comments, no offensive jokes, no political posts and such. This way the chat on a forum for Yamaha motorcycles doesn't take any other path than that about motorcycles and mainly the Yamaha brand of motorcycles. If someone begins to chat about a near death experience while riding his Yamaha motorcycle and then the conversation goes way off track by getting into a religious debate then the moderator will want to bring the discussion back to Yamaha motorcycles before the discussion gets out of control. Anyone who has been involved in a heated argument over religion or politics can certainly understand why.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/MODERATOR