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Moderated forums have pre-approved posts by a moderator to keep out spam, inappropriate content, and off-topic discussions. Unmoderated forums lack censorship, but some use rules or protocols. Moderated forums are useful for support groups and inactive topics. Some media websites allow moderators to read posts after the fact, while others use filtering software. However, some view moderated forums as censorship. With the growth of internet traffic, netiquette is not always followed.
A moderated forum refers to an online discussion forum where all posts are pre-approved by a moderator before being posted to the group. Some people prefer such a forum to an unmoderated one, as the moderator can not only keep out spam, but also posts that are inappropriate, rude, or offensive, or that go off topic.
The Internet has always been known for its unmoderated and uncensored landscape. No one “owns” the Internet, and no police service is responsible for monitoring it. Instead it is built primarily on voluntary cooperation both at the network level and at the level of social interaction. To this end, most social forums on the internet have a set of rules or protocols that members must follow.
While the idea of voluntary cooperation is idealistically appealing to responsible people around the world and has been a great success, its strength is also its weakness. Irresponsible individuals may use unmoderated forums for their own purposes to harass, harangue, and otherwise undermine a forum’s bylaws, at least temporarily, by choosing to ignore netiquette. In most cases trolls like this can be ignored and will eventually move forward, but there are situations where a moderated forum is more productive.
A support group is a great example of good use of a moderated forum. People seeking help from others who may be suffering from illness or difficult circumstances are spared distractions by having a moderator filter posts in the group. The moderator’s job is not to judge replies or legitimate posts to the group, but simply to keep out posts that are in conflict with the basic rules of the forum.
While the example above is particularly relevant, there are many forums devoted to more inactive topics that are also moderated. This is especially true now that web forums have become commonplace, offered regularly by website host providers to anyone who can point and click. This type of moderated forum is usually more select, and the domain owner typically acts as the moderator of their chat forum.
Other types of forums fall somewhere in between. Media websites such as news outlets or sites devoted to particular TV shows might allow a moderator to read all posts after the fact, perhaps within 48 hours. Offensive posts are then removed. In some cases a moderator may not read posts at all unless someone complains. Another popular option for managing a moderated forum is to use filtering software that pulls out posts that contain profanity or other objectionable content.
Some people don’t appreciate a moderated forum as the internet has always represented the vanguard of freedom. In this case it is seen as a type of censorship or policing. However, Internet traffic has grown tremendously since the mid-1990s, and with that tremendous growth comes a proportionate percentage of those unwilling to abide by netiquette.
