Being a good BladeForums.com Moderator, a checklist / guideline
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for becoming a part of the moderator team at BladeForums.com. With your help, we hope to better the knife industry as a whole, and provide the best, most accurate information to our members.
BladeForums.com operates on the laisse-faire system - we try to remain hands off and let the members take care of themselves and each other. As such, they tend to be self policing, and generally well behaved.
Unfortunately, that is not always the case. As such, as moderators it's your duty to try to keep things headed in the right direction.
A list of our rules can be found at this page:
http://www.bladeforums.com/rules.html - go there and familiarize yourself with them. I'm sure that everyone agree's that they are not very hard to follow.
Frequently Asked Questions can be found here -
http://www.bladeforums.com/faqs/index.html - these give a more detailed explanation of the in's and out's of the site - what we expect, what we do / don't want to see, things to do in Las Vegas, etc. It should answer some of the other questions you may have.
EVERY TEACHER WAS ONCE A STUDENT
Remember, no matter how inane the questions is, no matter how "stupid" it may seem, take the high road and answer it politely. Many of the people on the forums are from countries where English is not the primary or secondary language, so be patient. Also, be ready to admit when you were wrong, as we all still have something to learn.
As with everything else, feel free to lend your opinion, after all, it's part of being a good host. But set the example for the members of your forum and back it up with facts. Use anecdotes if you feel like it, everyone likes to see a practical example of just why "it's done this way for a reason", right?
Information works both ways. Just like you learn from the people on your forums, they are there to learn from you as well. So, do them a favor and get them involved:
Share a tidbit of information - whether it's a tip, trick or technique, you'd be surprised just what people don't know, or haven't thought about concerning the littlest things. You might learn something yourself... plus the more information you share, the better they will respond. You don't have to do this every day, but we'd like to see something of interest at least once a week from each moderator. If there are multiple moderators, you shouldn't have any problems with traffic on your forum - you'll be starting a bunch of conversations!
Ask questions - see what they do and don't know. Ask what they do and don't like. Make sure they know that their opinions count. You can use the forum to get information you can use for your own business or edification.
Give suggestions - No one said sit back and just watch the train wreck happen. If someone obviously doesn't know what they are talking about, set them straight. It's easier to correct bad information when it starts than when it's become ingrained as "truth" through repetition. Just be tactful while doing this.
Sometimes this will result in an argument breaking out. If that happens, and a moderator needs to step in, notify one of the other moderators on your forum, or Mike or myself, and we'll step in. It's been shown to be counter-productive if you make your statements in an argument and then lock the thread as if to say "So there! Nyaaaahhhhhh!", so don't do it. Let someone else be the heavy.
IT'S A MODERATOR'S LIFE
As previously stated, not everyone acts like an angel. Sometimes laisse-faire isn't going to cut it, and as a moderator you have to step in and take action. We'd appreciate it if all moderators would use restraint when acting within their position - if a member insults you, do not insult them back. If someone is rude, tell them so, and suggest that they modify their behavior. Private email warnings are fine as well, just make sure that you include the URL of the message in question and 'CC a copy of it to myself and Mike so that we can be kept abreast of what's going on. If public and private warnings aren't going to cut it, you might have to step in.
Should you have to take action, there are several options that you have. We'll begin with the links found at the bottom of each thread -
Close Topic - This is to be done if the post is sufficiently off topic, or inflammatory enough to warrant it being closed. We typically don't approve of this except when absolutely necessary, but use your best judgement. If flaming is getting out of hand, shut it down, warn all of the participants, and notify us.
Archiving / Moving the topic - Unless your forum gets huge, there's probably not going to be a need to archive the topics there, though occasionally you may find a thread that's so good that it warrants being saved. In that case, you should probably archive it. What's more likely to happen is that you'll find a post in your forum that needs to be moved elsewhere - like to the For Sale forums or to the Community center or something. Simply click on this link, and a screen will come up that will ask you what you would like to do: Archive or Move the topic. If you should choose to move the topic, please select the option to lock the thread in your forum, instead of having it deleted, it will prevent the "Where did my thread go?" questions.
Delete Topic - The final option. In discussions, this is not to be used unless absolutely necessary, the reason being so that we can refer to the post later should we need to ban that person from the site, or provide justification for banning. You can feel free to use this to delete duplicate threads and such, since everyone likes a tidy forum....
In the event that you feel it necessary to delete a post, we would appreciate being notified first. Sometimes a second opinion is needed to justify this action since the thread can not be brought back after it's gone.
These are not the only options you have. As a moderator, you can also -
Edit / Delete Post - This option may or may not be available depending on current forum settings. As a moderator, you have the power to edit or delete posts when necessary. Deleting posts is typically done when there are double or triple posts from impatient users. Do NOT delete posts because of their content unless we've been notified and have taken a look (see delete topic above). As for Editing content, the only time this should be done is to fix a "Scrolling Screen of Death", when someone makes a post that causes the screen to scroll sideways. In those instances, go ahead and edit the content to fix this. Remember, when you edit a post, make sure you state why you did so by jotting a note at the end, it will prevent arguments later.
Please do not edit the content of someone's message. As with the delete function, it will be hard for us to take action against a member if the post is no longer there or edited.
Again, if the situation starts to deteriorate, warn first, then take action. Use your own best judgement.
Should the situation get heated and you need a second opinion, please feel free to notify myself or Mike, and we'll be happy to look over anything.
We do have the ability to ban anyone from our site should the situation get completely out of control. This is the final option and only the administrators have this ability.
Again, thanks for being a part of the moderator team at BladeForums.com. We hope that we can help you as much as you help us, and are glad to have you as part of the family.
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