Moderator Procedures

[Jim Casey]

These are the exact Moderating Procedures that the DJSO mods will be following...

I post these so everyone has a better understanding.

Introduction

Forum moderators are like the crossing guards of the message board. They keep community members within the “crosswalk” so that the board can fulfill its purpose. In some cases, the purpose of the board demands a very tight scrutiny; other times, the owners of the board prefer to let the conversation flow unfettered. DJ Source Online will be somewhere in the middle.

Another job of the moderator is to stimulate conversation in the forum. By showing activity, you can actually increase the interest of the rest of the community. (After all, who wants to sit in an empty room?)

Authority and Responsibilities of the Admin and Moderators

What Can Moderators Do?

When you assign someone as a moderator, he/she has the automatic ability to close, reopen, move, and delete topics; and edit posts within the forum they moderate. To move a topic from one forum to another, one must only be moderator of the originating forum; it’s not necessary to have moderator rights in the destination forum. A Moderator can also change forum settings for their own forum, see the main entry page of the UBB.classic™ control panel, and prune posts within their forum.

What does “moderating” mean?

Generally, moderators have a threefold responsibility: to ensure that members are following the community rules, to assist new members, and to foster lively discussion. A good moderator ensures that his/her forum is inviting, active, and an asset to the community as a whole.

Our message board is intended for Disc Jockey Professionals ages 14 and up. We intend on minimal supervision to allow free professional discussions.

For forums with multiple moderators, the group of moderators should agree on general guidelines for editing/deleting/closing topics, as well as forum rules. It is best to present a consistent, united moderation team to the community. It’s also a good idea to select moderators from within the group of members, creating instant buy-in and empathy when the moderator must take action.

Moderator Etiquette

The moderators should always be familiar with the specific rules and regulations of their board, but these are some general guidelines for good moderation.

When to edit a message

· Contains profanity

· Contains off-topic content

· Violates the board rules in some other way (cpolitical in nature, etc, etc.)

Editing is usually visible to the community; whenever a message is edited, the date/time/edit author are shown within the message (although this can be disabled by the Administrator).

In general, it is preferable to edit a message rather than delete it entirely.

When to delete a topic or message

· Unacceptable behavior (as determined by the tone of the community; e.g., profanity)

· Completely off-topic discussion

· No part of the topic/message is salvageable by editing

· Illegal/defamatory statements (illegal mp3s, etc)

Basically, whenever there is no value to the community that demands leaving the topic/message in place. It is good practice to e-mail the topic initiator to explain why it was deleted, unless the reason is totally obvious.

When to move a topic

· Off-topic discussion

When you move a topic, you have the choice to either leave a copy of the thread in the original forum, or completely move it to the new forum location. It is usually a good idea to leave a copy pointing to the new location so those returning can find it.

When to close a topic

· Discussion is heading off-topic, but does not merit deletion

· The initial message and replies contain valuable information, but further discussion is not desired

Sometimes it is difficult to decide whether to close a topic or delete it. In general, deference should be given to the members participating, and it’s better to close a topic than to delete it. (If there are individual messages in the thread that are offensive, they can be individually removed---just be careful that the remaining thread still makes sense.)

About Banning Members

When to ban a member

· Repeated violation of the stated board rules or forum rules

· Offensive behavior (e.g., posting offensive material, harassing other members, spamming)

· Attempts at hacking or destroying the forum

· Driving away other members

· Repeated attempts to circumvent moderation or banning

Banning a member means that he/she can no longer post messages on your board (it is not limited to a specific forum). Normally, unruly members are given a warning prior to actually being banned, since that is a fairly serious step. The level of discipline should correspond to the seriousness of the offense. (And remember…it is always reversible.)

Short of banning someone, you could remove their posting privileges for a brief period of time, allowing them to “cool off”. Sometimes it’s better to handle the first warning privately (via email or a private message), to give the person a chance to see the light. The best advice is to be consistent and firm in your moderation!

[ October 31, 2002, 07:37 AM: Message edited by: djmaine ]

[Steve Fernino]

Thanks Jim!

If you can, please post an easily accessable link above to the forum rules that had to be agreed upon during registration. I think this will help clarify any confusions as to what is and is not allowed.

[Jim Casey]

Welcome to DJ Source Online, the place for professionals to share ideas in a non-poilitical atmosphere.

Please read the policies for DJ Source Online carefully. They are designed to keep the flow of ideas going while inhibiting the hateful unprofessional behavior seen elsewhere.

#1 - This is a board where ideas are to be shared. You may agree or disagree with the idea(s) presented but may not do it in such a way that it is considered insultive, slanderous or otherwise.

#2 - This board is ad free at the moment so feel free to talk about any product you would like, positively or negatively. Be prepared to back up any statements with facts, otherwise your post may be edited or deleted.

#3 - Respect the Moderators and Administrators of the board. They are here doing the job of Moderating/Administrating FREE of charge. All decisions for post edits and deletions are FINAL and are at the discretion of the moderator/administrator.

#4 - Respect for other members. Obviously we are not made from an assembly line as we all have our own unique personalities, quirks, and feelings. Respect one another and do not insult, degrade, or do harm to any other member by your words. Any statements you make MUST have some sort of a foundation, otherwise, expect to be edited.

#5 - If you have a problem with another member's post, please contact an administrator immediately at djsourceonline@djmaine.com

We will examine the problem in as timely a manner as possible and determine a further course of action. Whatever action is taken, both the complaintant and the alleged problem poster will be informed by email of the problem and the solution.

#6 - Violations of any of the above policies will result in a warning the first three times, suspension of privileges for a week the 4th time, two weeks the 5th time.

In addition, any violations after the 5th time will go before the Moderators board for consideration of outright banishment or a longer suspension.

[somerfeld]

jim you write to much

[Jim Casey]

Alex,
The mod responsibilities are written by Infopop, the makers of the Software we are using here. I wan to make sure everuone is clear about why we think the way we do.

Trust me it is not too much!

[Steve Fernino]

Thanks jim,

I also want to point out the "Report Post" botton located at the bottom of each individual post.

Feel free to use it! - it will help maintain the quality of this site....
However, Please do NOT use it in a frivolous or joking manner. Only use it if it seriously warranted. Thanks!

[Wolfie]

Hi guys (and Sue wink )

Jim and Steve, it's great to see you both.

We've been out of the loop for a week or so... finally got done moving and the electricians got our puter room wired today. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

[Steve Fernino]

We were wonderin' what was takin ya!