Howdy. Thanks for being interested in possibly becoming a
Moderator for one of my "LylePublishing" Discussion Forums!
The main duties (4) are simple:
#1 DUTY: check-in with your Forum fairly regularly, and make sure the posts being placed there are decent, respectful,and appropriate to the AIM of the Forum.
"Decent" means: G-rated language. Appropriate for anyone to read of whatever age. Even though sophisticated concepts might be dealt with in a forum, the language used should not be offensive to even a small child. This obviously means no foul language or explicit violence/sexual language.
Note that I've a component set in the UBB Control Panel to intercept and stop any specific foul words from being posted, but that's not necessary totally protective. If someone really wanted to gross-out the other readers, they could probably figure out some configuration that would pass the censor mechanisms.
I don't think we'll have much of a problem with grosser-outers as Registration is required for posting, and the topics are fairly intellectual. What we may have occasional problems with are people who let an inappropriate word or sentence here or there slip into their writings.
"Respectful" means no personal attacks. "That's a stupid argument" is ok. "The person that wrote that argument is stupid" is not. "If you follow that belief you're going to hell" is not ok. "If you believe that way, you may be in danger of hell fire" is ok. The point of the LylePublishing Forum is to learn from each other, not to close-mindedly argue any one set viewpoint.
So how do you handle a problem post?
Simple. You edit the post. Only the original poster, you the Moderator, or I the Administrator can change a posted post. Click on the icon at the top right of the post and it will come up ready for any changes you wish to make, including deleting the entire post (button on top left).
[Note that for you to become the official, listed Moderator of a Forum I just have to type your registration # in the Control Panel such that your name appears in the correct slot in the controls of that particular Forum. From then on, the Board knows that you are allowed to edit all posts in that particular Forum, and your name is listed to the right-hand side as the Moderator.]
If deleting or changing one word will bring the post into compliance with decent and respectful; aligned with the AIM of the Forum, then that's preferable to having to delete the entire thing. I should stress, however, that WE ONLY WANT TO DELETE OR MODIFY A POST IF IT IS CLEARLY IN VIOLATION OF THE RULES. People get very upset if others willy-nilly mess with their words. If the English or Grammar or Punctuation is bad---don't sweat it. The LylePublishing Discussion Forum is not at all concerned with whether the post is worded or constructed perfectly: it's a place for IDEAS to be exchanged, not for the writing itself to be perfect.
If we should get a bad apple that only wants to violate the rules and gross everyone out---let me know. Ill terminate their posting privileges. Obviously we don't want that to have to be done except in rare cases. If you can send an off-line post to the poster, that might be even better---if you can gently tell them the problem and get their cooperation to modify their behavior. But if you'd rather not be bothered trying to directly mediate, just e-mail me (Dlyle18220@aol.com) and I'll terminate their posting privileges.
#2 DUTY: as you wish, to facilitate conversation. I'd hope you'd want to regularly jump in and add your thoughts to a string of Replies, or as a New Topic---particularly if you can either bridge some argument/problem; or (conversely) keep the post stirred by a provocative comment. Especially if no one else replies to a started topic, its very important that the poster feels someone is looking at, interested in, and responsive to their contribution. After a short period of time (a few days at most) with no one replying, please put some sort of reply. It can be quite noncommental ("Interesting idea"), but at least it's something to show that their contribution is valued.
#3 DUTY: Recruitment. This is your Forum to expand, play with, have fun in, and get others to join. The more the merrier. Hopefully its very exciting to you, a topic you're really turned-on by, and one where you'd love to have more like-minded folks learning from it and contributing to it. Let friends know about it, mention it if appropriate in discussion lists you may be part of, find groups of like-interest and encourage them to come see, etc.---as you have the time and interest.
#4 DUTY: Answer occasional e-mails or questions from Forum posters (with me backing you up if any problem answering the queries).
Hopefully being a Moderator in your Forum will be very easy, and take very little of your time.
In closing, let me say a few words about "COMMITMENT."
Your Required Commitment is zero. If you discover it's too much of a hassle, or you no longer have the time to check in regularly, or you've lost interest---no problem at all. Just let me know you'd like to stop being listed as a Moderator and I'll remove you from the Moderator line-up. Easy. As long as you're having fun, keep at it. If not, and you'd like to stop, I'll find another person---or just do it myself. As the Board Administrator (and Owner) I'm the back-up moderator to all the Forums from Day One and can easily step-in anytime.
As always, if there's any question or problem you encounter, just e-mail me. If it's of general interest to your fellow (and fella) Moderators, you might want to consider posting the situation/problem/challenge/solution onto the Moderator Forum (in the Quality section, limited to only Moderators) for others to learn from and comment on.
So if you'd like to give it a crack, please contact me and let me know of your interest. Thanks a whole bunch for considering kindly volunteering your time and talent to this public-service effort.
Dan
e-mail: Dlyle18220@aol.com
2/8/03
p.s. Remember the UBB here is quite flexible. If you'd like to start even brand-new Forums that fit under my topic-areas (the entire Universe fits under my 5 topics!), let me know. It's very easy for me to start Forums that strike to your core, intrinsic interests---that will be of great use to you and of substantial worth to many excited visitors. For more info on this notion, click here!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *