[cobby]

Best way is to pay staff at least in my experience.

[Ryan]

I disagree

however...it completely depends on your forums and your needs. For some, it will be best to pay staff, for others it will not...You can't say that one way or the other is "best" for all forums.

For most forums, it is best to find administrators and moderators who will do so voluntarily. First, because most forums do not have the funds available to pay staff...Second, because you want to find staff who help because they want to, not because they are getting paid.

That said...if you need staff to to development, advertising, etc., then you may be better off paying them...but in my experience, it's almost always better to get free/voluntary staff for the typical admin and mod positions.

[cobby]

Again yes you are correct for certain circumstances yes a good
mod / admin can be found that are volunteer

but theres something to be said for the all mighty dollar, and people wanting it badly enough that they become trained in your methodology quickly. Its a great incentive for a hard working admin to take home a couple hundred a week it helps displace the pain in the rear the job can be. thats one of the reasons burnout can happen so quickly.

[Ryan]

A couple hundred per week?

That's the thing...are you getting your money's worth by paying your staff? For me, I've found that I can find great staff who are will to do the necessary work and spend the required time all for free...That means I can take that couple hundred per week that you are spending and spend it elsewhere on things such as development or advertising.

Sure, a paid staff member is a happier staff member...but is it worth $200/week per staff member? If somebody isn't happy unless they are getting paid that kind of money, then I am quick to say "no thanks", because there are plenty of people out there who would love to do the same work for free

[Ashley]

The best moderators do it for love of your community / subject - not pay or power.

Perhaps reward your staff with small bonuses at Christmas, which is what I plan to do. But $200 a week? I wish I made that much

[Flashgear]

I wouldn't mind getting paid $200 dollars to be an admin of a forum , where do i sign up ?

But you shouldnt pay people for what can be done for free by other people that want to help you not because its a paid position. And take into consideration what Ashley said, reward your staff at chirstmas for being loyal to your forum.

[Moelman]

Ryan i quit unless you pay me $200 a week.



I disagree with you Cobby. I think the best staff are those that do it because they love the community and want to help. I've never paid staff before and I'm also a moderator here and on another forum and I do it because I enjoy being a part of the community. People like that are who you should look for, not people that are in it for the money.

[htmlmaster]

Paying staff can be a great way to get a forum off the ground, especially if you don't have friends to help you. However, I, like just about everyone else, feel that you should have a staff with members that actually care about your forum and post there because they want to, not because it's their job.

[RedMatrix]

Hey, I'd be happy with $200 every Christmas.


*cough*

[bcmtouring]

Paying staff can be a good thing if they are willing to take it up like a full time job and you are willing to pay that much amount of money.

Else this is a really bad idea, you can’t expect any one to be your employee for some thing below minimum wage (US$ 200/week would be great for some one like me from India but not for an American or Canadian) and expect them to be devoted and willing to work full time.

Let’s imagine you have an issue where you have difference of opinion with your moderator/administrator, will you act like a boss or like couple of friends working together on a project?

Chances are if you are paying some one then your choice of words and tone would be different than if some one was helping you out for free. Now put yourself in the shoes of a person who is being paid US$ 200/week and yet feels like he is being treated like an employee, any guesses what will happen next?