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Ask HN: Zealous community member wants to help

A member of my site's community has been asking for a greater role. He wants to write the homepage announcements, send out our email updates, and help liason with bloggers and such. Considering that we love getting help with the outreach (so we can spend more time on coding), I'm really happy to accept the help. However, I'm worried about what he expects to get out of this, and I'm also worried that he'll be offended if I just come straight out and ask about his motivations. Anyone have any horror stories or words of warning in this area? What warning signs should I be on the lookout for? Any tips on how to proceed?

khafra 17y ago
As a first approximation, I'd say your safest choice is to create an official "power user" or "moderator"-type user class, with explicitly defined responsibilities and privileges, and make him the first member of that class.
- MicahWedemeyer 17y ago
  Yeah, good idea. Thanks!
- jacquesm 17y ago
  Second that. And be very clear about what he is not allowed to do as well. Power users running amok is the last thing you want. And make a trial period where you check stuff he does before it goes out.
ScottWhigham 17y ago
I had someone like this a few years ago but they were asking for other little things they could help with. I found them some low-level yet important things they could do for us, made sure to thank them publicly in several places, and it was win-win. At no point did I give them user/pass somewhere nor did they receive elevated privileges anywhere; just something free for their time/effort. His motivation, had I asked him, was probably that he thought we were really small, really bright, and that he could save money with a creative solution to our problems. He was right and it worked out great. Good luck!
growt 17y ago
We had two of those volunteers when I ran a rather large website. And it was a realy positive experience. We gave them admin rights to subsections of the site (message board, etc.) and they did a really great job. So no horror stories from me.
Mz 17y ago
Some people just like to feel helpful/needed and like to spend their time working on stuff they believe in. If no money is exchanging hands, your best currency is to make them feel respected and appreciated. But, as others have suggested, don't give access to something that might lead to regrets. And start small and let the role grow. It's much better to do that than to give too much to the person, have a bad experience on both ends, and try to curb it back.

khafra 17y ago

As a first approximation, I'd say your safest choice is to create an official "power user" or "moderator"-type user class, with explicitly defined responsibilities and privileges, and make him the first member of that class.

MicahWedemeyer 17y ago
Yeah, good idea. Thanks!
jacquesm 17y ago
Second that. And be very clear about what he is not allowed to do as well. Power users running amok is the last thing you want. And make a trial period where you check stuff he does before it goes out.

ScottWhigham 17y ago

I had someone like this a few years ago but they were asking for other little things they could help with. I found them some low-level yet important things they could do for us, made sure to thank them publicly in several places, and it was win-win. At no point did I give them user/pass somewhere nor did they receive elevated privileges anywhere; just something free for their time/effort. His motivation, had I asked him, was probably that he thought we were really small, really bright, and that he could save money with a creative solution to our problems. He was right and it worked out great. Good luck!

growt 17y ago

We had two of those volunteers when I ran a rather large website. And it was a realy positive experience. We gave them admin rights to subsections of the site (message board, etc.) and they did a really great job. So no horror stories from me.

Mz 17y ago

Some people just like to feel helpful/needed and like to spend their time working on stuff they believe in. If no money is exchanging hands, your best currency is to make them feel respected and appreciated. But, as others have suggested, don't give access to something that might lead to regrets. And start small and let the role grow. It's much better to do that than to give too much to the person, have a bad experience on both ends, and try to curb it back.