Forum Moderation Guide: Moderation Approach
This page is part of the [[Moderating Microsoft Forums]] series.
Before learning about specific moderation guidelines and scenarios, it is important to first understand the approach to take in any Microsoft forum. Microsoft forums are intended to be a friendly place to participate in a technical community to learn and discuss issues related to Microsoft products and technologies.
In general, we ask that you be yourself. Microsoft communities are intended to foster discussions by diverse individuals from all areas of the globe. We ask the same of moderators. However, moderators who take part in discussions must exercise additional caution. As a moderator, you were specifically chosen to enforce the standards and rules within Microsoft forums, so not exercising caution when posting may affect your credibility and that of Microsoft. We also ask that you help to maintain a positive environment on behalf of Microsoft.
The approach to take as a moderator is to not be too “heavy-handed”. This means that as a moderator, you cannot take drastic action because you don’t like or approve of the way someone is handling themselves or the questions they ask, unless this explicitly violates the rules outlined in this document.
On the other hand, it is important to be firm when necessary. Many moderators have a difficult time with this – especially MVPs. If you are not sure what direction to take or how to handle a specific post or poster, make sure to escalate the issue.
Back to Moderating Microsoft Forums.