Depends on the kind of forum you have, your budget and your expectations. Usually volunteers do fantastic job because they care for your forum, however since they are not employed by you, you can’t really force them to work harder or do something they don’t want to.
Thanks for your advice. I think I will have both paid and volunteer mods on my forums. Seems to be the way to go these days.
Mods should be the one who contribute usefully and willingly to your forum. I would say volunteers are a good choice but you really can't force them. So just add both paid ones and volunteers
It is best that you know the moderators personally. Mods who are your personal friends can help you manage a busy site sincerely.
Knowing the moderators personally is a good way. I also prefer ones that volunteer to work. This shows they are motivated to help the forum and are not motivated by the money aspect of the position.
Promote from within... Existing members know the forum, how it works, the people there, and the look and feel of the place. Getting mods from outside will tell the members that you do not trust them, and will give them nothing to work for in the future except for post count. On most forums, dedicated members will work for FREE, and will happily do so. Don't pay them, rather give them forum perks, and get their addresses and send them christmas and birthday gifts. That will keep their moral up, and will inspire them to work harder. If you do pay them, make sure you are watching just how hard they are working, and the quality of their work...heck, do that even if they work for free.
I agree..people that are anxious to be moderators normally just abuse the power. I like to create a sticky thread with a generic application asking questions. Then I just let it run forever. When you do need a moderator you can try to go into the thread and find someone appropriate. I suggest someone with activity. Not a spammer but someone that posts good content regularly and spends a fair amount of time on the site. Also find someone respected by others, has good grammar, and is mature. You are better off with no moderators than bad ones. Consider all options on the site to help self-moderate it. Like the new Mybb version allows for a group to give warning points and I have a paid subscriber group that I have given this privilege. Now they do a great job collectively warning other members of infractions. You have to ask yourself what do you need from a moderator.
I agree with this statement. I've seen so many new forums just allow the first 10 members become mods. It's the stupidest thing(I've even seen an admin forum do it ). I usually pick my mods by people I have known for awhile and who I know aren't immature idiots who will abuse their power. But I do applications too to give some people a chance. This usually helps weed out the idiots.