Additional Information
There is no specific training required to become an online community host.
Although some employers may have age requirements, in many cases a mature
teenager can do the job.
"Depending on what focus you want, you will need a large amount of knowledge
in the subject of the forum you may want to work at. Another strong trait
of a moderator is their willingness to help others. You will be a leader on
the forums and you must be willing to go the extra mile to help another member
out," says Karl Nyen. He is the lead global forum moderator for Markee Dragon,
a gaming forum with about 80,000 members. Nyen works in the information technology
sector in addition to his role as a forum moderator.
"My only prior experience leading up to a community host-type role would
be participating heavily in other communities that interest me, then running
my own forums for various reasons," he says. He recommends communications
or marketing education to those who want to become professional online community
hosts.
"You need excellent communications and people skills to successfully run
a discussion group/forum of any kind, and having experience participating
in that environment as an end-user is probably better than most schooling
you could get on the matter," says Nick Bouton. He designed and developed
a creative writing community, which he hosts and moderates.
Online community hosts also need strong writing skills and the ability
to understand and use the different tools (software) that help maintain online
communities.