Should Moderators Be Paid?

I think they should considering how much Chess.com makes. I don't believe that the volunteer approach will be very effective soon. 

Why will the volunteer approach not be effective? I'm not disagreeing, I'd just like to hear your opinion.

We do have a new mod, @Jordi_Agost

Because with the more scam posts/trolls on the website the harder it is for volunteers to be willing to remove it. Also people may not want to volunteer to become a mod but will do it for lets say 10-20 dollars an hour

As far as I know 🤔, maybe the payout is not that much but the prize money for the match is definitely a lot🎉🎉

If there were no other tools available, filters for example, or the ability to restrict new accounts, at least in regard to controlling spam threads, that's already true. Personally, I think they do a fine job consdering the tools they have and, I've heard, better tools are in the works... though I agree they deserve more compensation than a free Diamond membership. On the Family Plan, that amounts to about 9 cents a day, in other words: zilch.

Too bad we didn't kill AI when it was ffrst on the horizon. I'll object to it doing any such thing as long as there's breath in my body.

I don't even like these bots here pretending to have personalities. China is now investing in "robot skin" technology. Before you know it, you won't be able to tell the difference unless they bleed: "Oh, heh heh, sorry about that. Here, let me get you a band-aid."

I disagree. When someone volunteers they do it out of gratitude. When someone is paid they do that job out of obligation.

Good point. So they deserve more gratitude from the community then. They have mine, even though they've deleted a few of my comments, for no reason that made sense to me and, just last week, actually muted my account for 24 hours. It's a tough job they have and largely thankless.

Well said and I appreciate honesty. But gratitude from strangers is not what Im talking about. Im talking about individual gratitude. Gratitude for a job well done. If what you're doing doesn't bring YOU gratitude, then gratitude from others is just an ego feed.

After going through a period where traumatizing pictures were being shown on this site and seeing obvious trolls and spambots polluting the forums, better moderation is definitely needed.

That said, this site isn't focused on the social aspect of things. Only a very small percentage of users even check out these forums, and even fewer are active here. There are many instances of trolling, spamming, and other things, but the simple truth is that chess.com doesn't care enough about the forums to make such a change. Only a few moderators look after forums, but spam posts can be up for hours, and trolls can stay for weeks without consequence.

The dream for forum users:

There are a few moderators who are paid and dedicate hours out of their day to look after the forums. Spam posts are removed, users are muted accordingly, and all is well.

But moderators don't look after forums. They look at reported posts, threads, users, and things like that. And that's usually not enough for everyone.

Opinion: Yes.

Another good point. And, "one more thing, Lieutenant..."

LOL...good one.

I feel like moderator are basically volunteers for Chess.com, so I guess they don't get paid

Which is why it is everyone's job to click that little red ! and report report.

Yes indeed. In my case, lately, that's mostly for these spammers... so annoying.

Right, and my opinion is just the opposite. As I said, it;s a tough job and you aren't going to please everyone. Too little moderation and the conversation devolves into flamewars, etc. Too much and you stifle the conversation.

I also think the sense of community at any gaming site is not unimportant and that largely means what goes on in these forums. Almost every friend I've made here I've made because of the conversations here... my Game Chat setting is "Friends Only". That's around 600 on my original account and 41 on this one, just 6 weeks old.

And I never see trolls, except by a very broad definition, allowed to keep conversations going for weeks, not once. Again, that's a matter of opinion, of judgement. You would moderate more of you were a modetaor. Myself, somewhat less.

Also not true is that they don't care or aren't paying attention. All the evidence, and I do mean all, points in the opposite direction.

I'm surprised anybody would do it for free.

People volunteer all the time,. For some the gratitude for a job well done means more than a pay check. I volunteer at a local homeless shelter, and to the see the looks of genuine gratitude on peoples faces for something we take for granted, like a hot meal is worth more than money.