I read an interesting post by one member of an internet forum, but today the post just says “Edited.” I have found my Leviathan. The job of a forum moderator is to keep posts “appropriate, ethical, and without foul language.” As both a forum member and an active forum reader, I have come to know this leviathan in the online forum space. When I apply to be a forum member, I often have to be approved by the forum moderator as well. This may take hours to days, depending on the level of activity of the forum and the dedication of its members. The leviathan has several methods of enforcing social norms in the online forum space. Most of the time, they check their forum frequently and remove this information. Often, when someone tries to post something “against forum rules,” he or she edits the person’s post without their consent or even knowledge. Wallace has some applicable theory for forums, especially the “raised eyebrow” factor by which both the forum moderator and the forum members make sure each comment is related to the forum thread. For example, one cannot start a new discussion topic without first creating a new thread. If the member tries to sell something or promote himself, he also becomes “booted,” which Wallace would say encourages group dynamics such as maintaining a close team, even if one member tries to disrupt the group. In many forums designed for posting specific news-related information, there is even a post rubric, by which each member must make their post with specific information, in a specific format, and in the correct order or the comment is rejected.
Although the Leviathan, or forum moderator, may abuse his or her power, my experiences have usually been positive with them. When I am looking through a forum for an answer to a computer-related question or one about the best way to find something online, I have usually been quite successful looking through certain forum threads. They are mostly on topic and to the point, and many experienced “techies” make discussions interesting and non-tangential. I would disagree with Wallace’s portrayal of the Leviathan in this specific instance because they make forums much more manageable, and forums would have not been as popular without the moderators bringing “order to the chaos.”
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