Does anyone have any good web resources on how to be a good community moderator?

A friend and I will shortly be launching a podcast and want to have a Reddit community where listeners can interact with us. He and I will be forum's moderators to begin with, and I want to research how to do it well.

I gave two conference papers in the last month, both in a fairly new field to me, having never attended a conference before. I got good responses and lots of encouraging feedback.

I know there are some R Scott Bakker fans on here, and I was thinking recently about the Second Darkness series. Rot13d for spoilers:

Vg'f n funzr gur pbafhyg ner rivy. Vs gurl jrera'g fb pbzzvggrq gb rivy npgf, gurl pbhyq ratvarre n jnl gb tvir rirelbar n unccl raqvat.

Jr ner gbyq gung fbepreref ner qnzarq, naq gung gur hygvzngr tbny bs gur Vapubebv vf gb erqhpr gur ahzore bs yvivat fbhyf ba gur cynarg gb srjre guna 144,00 va beqre gb frny gur cynarg sebz gur Bhgfvqr naq rfpncr qnzangvba. Gur Pbafhyg pbhyq erpehvg nf znal fbepreref nf cbffvoyr, genva gurz gb terng cbjre naq gura rkgraq gurve yvsrfcnaf jvgu gurve Grxar, juvyr hfvat gurve vasyhrapr gb zbir gur phygherf bs gur jbeyq gbjneqf n zber uhznar naq pvivyvmrq zbenyvgl (be, tvira gung gurer ner nccneragyl jnlf gb trg qngn ba ubj gb orpbzr fnirq be qnzarq, ng yrnfg gbjneqf n fbpvrgl gung vf uvtuyl rssrpgvir ng qvfpbhentvat qnzavat npgf). Bapr n fhssvpvrag ahzore bs fbepreref (fbzrjurer whfg orybj gur 144,000 svther) unir orra npphzhyngrq naq gur jbeyq pbafvfgf cevznevyl bs aba-qnzarq vaqvivqhnyf, gur Pbafhyg pbhyq hfr gurve uhtr zntvpny cbjre gb dhvpxyl trabpvqr gur ragver cynarg, oneevat gurve bja zrzoref. Zbfg fbhyf jvyy or fnirq, naq gur qnzarq fbepreref jvyy erznva ba n frnyrq cynarg, univat nibvqrq qnzangvba.

Guvf ng yrnfg nccrnef gb or n jnl gb trg gur znkvzhz ahzore bs fbhyf n unccl raqvat - juvyr jr qba'g xabj jung unccraf ba gur cynarg bapr vg vf frnyrq sebz gur Bhgfvqr, gur Vapubebv frrz vagrag ba npuvrivat fb gurl zhfg oryvrir vg'f qrfvenoyr.

Last month, I visited a school of dance with a number of other composers from my university, to meet students there and explore possible future collaborations. I had misunderstood how the meeting would take place, and so I only realised I'd have to give an informal presentation about my music when I was already at the train station.

I'm an okay public speaker but nervous about presenting on my music, but the hastily-improvised presentation went really well, I got a great response from the dancers, and met several people who expressed an interest in working with me in the future.

I'm feeling more confident about my presentation skills, my ability to communicate about my music, and my music itself as a result.

Survey taken!

I tried it a few days ago and it didn't submit as far as I can tell - in between I looked up the answer to the calibration question, but I answered as I did originally (NAILED IT anyway).

Survey gripe: I answered "left-handed" for the handedness question, but I only really write with my left hand, and do everything else with my right. My left hand might be a little more dextrous but my right is definitely stronger. As such I'd see myself as cross-dominant rather than ambidextrous; is this something that could be included on future surveys or is it not useful for the kind of data you're collecting?

I have a moral question.

Is it better for the last million people of a certain population to die, or for two million people all around the world, randomly selected and evenly distributed, to die? For the first group, their death would not just result in loss of human life, but potentially loss of a lot of cultural information; their language, their religion, their mythology and folklore, their music. I feel like this cultural information has value.

Thoughts?

I've only read the first one, where Katniss jvaf gur tnzrf ol guerngravat gb pbzzvg fhvpvqr va n yvgrenevyl hafngvfslvat jnl.

Brings to mind the Hunger Games, personally.

Could make a fun Omake?

What an ending that would be: Harry uses the Self-Indication Assumption to conclude that he is most probably a character in a Muggle story about magic, then manages to 'blackmail' the author into granting him godhood in order to stop Harry from committing suicide in a literarily unsatisfying fashion, since the author would prefer the former as an ending over the latter. Someone would object that Harry doesn't have agency? But he does, if the author takes the character seriously and continues with a high-fidelity in-character continuation. If Harry found out he's likely a character in a novel, he'd be right, and there's no reason he shouldn't use that to his advantage.

Talk about writing yourself into a corner! :)

EDIT:

"It's not going to work!" Harry was shouting at the top of his lungs, his wand pointed at his own temple. He gripped it so tightly his knuckles were white. "You wrote me this way, you know there's no going back from this point, you knew I'd find out eventually."

Ominous clouds were forming, a harsh wind picking up, making Harry shiver from where he stood in the Hogwarts central yard. Students stood aghast, staring at the screaming boy pointing the wand at himself.

"And you can stop with the weather charade, if I do this -- and I will, your book will be ruined, those little touches of drama aren't going to fool anyone!"

"Harry." The cold voice of the Defense Professor carried over the noise of the wind effortlessly, yet seemed spoken with little effort. "I have new ... " Quirrell pointedly glanced at the students present. "... information regarding your quest. I don't know what you are trying to achieve with this, but it may be best we go inside and ..."

Harry scoffed -- actually scoffed at his mysterious ancient wizard. "Silence, Mr. Intriguing-Plot-Point! I shouldn't even be talking to you, not any more! I won't be distracted, this ends now, one way or another. Which ending will you be writing, Mr. Not-Quite-Omniscient Author? None of your characters will make me back out of doing what's right! If you write this novel, I will make sure it's an utopia, or I'll ruin it!"

"Harry!" A wide-eyed Dumbledore appeared as if out of nowhere next to Quirrell. "Harry, my dear boy! Stop this madness! This is not what the hero is supposed to -" "You know, Headmaster, I don't blame you for your failures, for not seeing the obvious. That, too was part of the plot. You see," Harry's voice was dripping with condescension. "You weren't supposed to be endowed with enough agency, or to be taken seriously enough, to actually come to the right conclusion, and to cut your own strings. You remain the puppet ... with all due respect."

"Harry Potter. You and I have unfinished business!" Draco Malfoy, his father's spitting image, strut upon the courtyard. Harry didn't even look at him. Draco stared incredulously as Harry looked up at the sky, and continued to shout against the wind. "That must be some sort of movie allusion. Getting desperate, Mr. Author, aren't we? You won't salvage this ending, no matter how hard you contrive to. This show is over, no more diversions. It's time to end this!"

The wind stopped abruptly. Harry turned around, to find the courtyard empty. Only a certain twitch of his eyes betrayed that he had come to a decision, that he was preparing to act. The wand pressed ever harder against his temple, he opened his mouth to speak the final words. Had he overreached with his precommitment? I can only go forward, if I stop, I'm lost.

"Harry, oh Harry." A soft female voice said from behind him.

He knew that voice.