Do you require excellence?

[SoftWareRevue]

I'm going to quote exactly what a mod on a forum posted in the staff forum.

REMOVE THE REQUIRED PASSWORD CHANGING ALREADY!!!!

If nothing will be done, then {This Forum} and {Its Owner} can shove off! Im sick of this!!
Okay. I did remove the names to protect the innocent.

This was in a discussion regarding the effectiveness of forcing staff to change their passwords every xx days.

My immediate reaction was to return this moderator to registered. Because I have concerns on his ability to express himself in public, if he can't do it in private.

What would you do?

[Lurker]

I'd be more concerned that he didn't care about the security of the forum he is a moderator at. But to give an ultimatim like that "Lose it or lose me", sounds like he might be better as a member than a moderator.

[TheDPQ]

Good people sometimes say stupid things. I'd at least talk to said mod before deciding anything. Its rude, its disrespectful, it might be a sure sign of someone not willing to actually work things out rather then freak out, stamp their foot and demand. May be more trouble then they are worth.

.. or maybe they had a bad day, and did something really stupid.

Always good to talk to them and let them know why you are having an issue before letting them go. I've known complete asshats in public are decent people in private, and vice versa.

Best you can do is talk to them and get a better feel for it and then decide.

[B33R]

It's up to you really. Personally I don't really see much wrong with that statement.

Everyone gets a bad day once in a while when things get too much and virtually everything that happens annoys you somehow. I had one yesterday.

Was he right in threatening to quit over it? Probably not, but everyone says things they regret, if you're having one of those days it's all too easy to get mad at the wrong thing.

What's his previous experience like? In the end, the decision is down to you, maybe he'll threaten to quit again and then you can downgrade his status. Maybe this was just a one off.

Try talking to him, find out what's really wrong. If it's just because of changing a password every x days then fire him.

If he was just having a bad day, and is usually a good mod, let this one go. If he threatens to quit over an apparent non-issue again, then fire him.

[adb22791]

Ask him/her to talk to you like a normal individual, or don't talk at all. Give him/her the option of leaving, making sure to let him/her know that while they are a good part of helping the community (unless they are doing a horrible job), they are not indispensable to your community. People feeling they are indispensable have a way of telling other people to "do it or screw off". He does have a legitimate concern, it can be a pain to have to change your password every XX days, however telling you to "do it or shove off" was definitely not the right way to say that.

[Christian]

Changing your password every xx days can be a pain, but what if you increased the days? Then it's a win win situation, you have your security and the mods change their password less offten.

[SoftWareRevue]

Changing your password every xx days can be a pain...Actually, I think a thread devoted to that topic would be a good thing around here. :)

was definitely not the right way to say that.Right. Change happens through negotiation, not utimatums.

I don't really see much wrong with that statement.For me, it was the CAPS and tone.

[Doug]

I'd see how valuable of an addition to the moderator team he was, then if he wasn't "critical" or above, I'd politely suggest he may not "be a fit". :P

I can understand it'd be annoying, but if the required password changes are done in moderation (once every two weeks, once a month?), I don't think it's a big deal. Protecting the forum is important.

I'd ask him for some more specific reasons for his frustration and suggestions for improvement, if anything.