TNWiki Article Spotlight - How to Become an MSDN or TechNet Forum Moderator

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How to Become an MSDN or TechNet Forum Moderator

 

This article is part of the Wiki series: MSDN/TechNet Forums. 
 
 
 
To become a Moderator, here are some recommended steps:

  1. Find a technology's forum (on MSDN or TechNet) where there's a huge need for moderation and answerers.
  2. Become an expert in that technology.
  3. Answer a ton of questions (300-500) with quality answers. Check your profile to see how far you are.
  4. Propose a lot of answers (especially ones that aren't from you), and vote for posts that are Helpful. 
  5. In addition to Recognition Points, you'll also earn Forum Achievement Medals, which show your experience and value to the Forums. For example, you can try to answer questions with code, which earns you unique Code Answerer medals. Go here to see how to earn Achievement Medals (and how to earn Recognition Points). Try to get a few Silver medals and at least a thousand or so points (there's no right number; just go big).
  6. Track down the Forum's Moderators, or email me (edprice at Microsoft). Or leave a comment on this page. To see who the forum moderators are, see this Wiki article: How to Find Out Who the Moderators Are in an MSDN or TechNet Forum.
  7. Make a case (given your Forum experience and abilities) to become a moderator.

When you become a Forum Moderator, you should read and follow the Moderating Microsoft Forums instructions and guidelines.

Once you are a Moderator and experienced in the Forums, you might want to look at becoming an MCC (and continue down the path toward becoming an MVP).

NOTE: The forum owners (most forums have different owners) might decide to make you an Answerer instead of a Moderator. It's very similar, but you focus on marking answers (honestly, that's the biggest need). Make sure you read the guidelines on Marking Answers here: Forum Moderation Guide: Managing Posts and Threads: Marking Answers.

For more information about the differences between Moderators and Answerers, please see The Different Roles in MSDN and TechNet Forums.

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The article is short and sweet. Make sure you go to the Wiki page, because that's where we/I will update it...

How to Become an MSDN or TechNet Forum Moderator

 

Plus it's been translated into four languages already! So click the link to check it out. Have a wiki-licious day!

   - Ninja Ed