Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Posts
    594

    Forum Moderating Tips

    Forum Moderating Tips




    Once your discussion forum gains momentum and you've got a steady influx of visitors, maintaining a civil environment will become increasingly important. In this, our third in a series of "How To" articles focused on building bigger, more vibrant forums, we'll present ways to manage your community that will minimize negative behavior but still promote a lively, spontaneous atmosphere.

    Before you open the doors to invite guests and prospective members to explore your new forum, the rules of engagement should be somewhat established. We say somewhat because they'll probably change over time as others contribute to the management and growth of your community.

    Forum Rules

    While the details will probably evolve, you'll want to implement a basic framework of rules as soon as possible. Getting people to agree to guidelines as they join will be far easier than imposing new rules on an established community down the road. Below is a short list of suggestions to get you started:


    • Rudeness, insulting others, personal attacks, threats or inflammatory posts should not be tolerated
    • Repeat, redundant posting to increase post counts should be discouraged
    • No advertising, spamming, solicitation or commercial self promotion should be allowed
    • Prohibit discussing any illegal activities
    • No posting of lewd comments, language or photos
    • No posting of misleading or irrelevant comments, stay on topic
    • No posting of disturbing material (benign images that suddenly change to a screaming face)
    • Discouraging posts of uninteresting/irrelevant information that clearly invokes tactics of occupying Front Screen Space(FSS)

    While this list is by no means all-inclusive, it will hopefully provide an overview of the types of forum behavior that should be monitored and controlled. For additional ideas, try Googling the term "sample online forum rules."
    Recruiting Moderators

    As your forum community grows, so will the need for additional moderators; you'll know when you need help. It will be that moment when you've reached your limit on how many threads you can monitor, questions you can answer, and squabbles you can defuse. Recruiting moderators is a natural progression in the growth of every healthy forum community.
    While choosing the right moderators is good for everyone, empowering the wrong personality can wreak unimaginable havoc. Below are a few key points to consider when selecting candidates:

    • Has the user contributed regularly over a period of time? Are they knowledgeable?
    • Do they have good grammar, spelling and syntax skills?
    • Does the user have the right personality? Are they even tempered, likable, and fair minded?
    • Do they have the time to commit to being a moderator?

    When extending invitations to prospective moderators, try approaching users who post a high number of quality posts and appear to be committed to the forum. Approaching candidates can be as simple as private messaging them and asking them to become a moderator. Explain why you've considered them and clearly define their role.
    Moderator Responsibilities

    Clearly defining moderator responsibilities is of utmost importance. They must know what's expected of their position as well as which decisions and activities are assigned to others. Moderators are typically assigned a particular discussion forum or user group and are expected to perform the following functions:

    • Visit the forum at least once each day
    • Keep posts clean and move off-topic posts to appropriate categories
    • Communicate with unruly members and advise them of the consequences of disruptive behavior
    • Edit postings when necessary so that they conform to the forum's content guidelines
    • Delete or move single posts or entire threads when necessary
    • Lock or unlock posts as required

    Supporting your volunteer moderators once they've assumed their new roles is also critical. Be sure to communicate frequently with them, recognize and reward their contributions and give them some time off occasionally so they don't get burned out.
    Moderator Conduct

    To promote cohesiveness and decorum, moderators should be responsible for their own "code of conduct." While similar to general forum rules, moderator codes of conduct are intended to preserve neutrality, authority and confidentiality. Below is a list of suggestions for your consideration. Prospective moderators should agree to:

    • Be respectful of all members, each other, and represent your forum with professionalism
    • Be discreet and maintain confidentiality regarding moderator activities and member information
    • Consider member feelings before hitting the submit button, both in public forums and private
    • Deleting member posts should be done only after conferring with the forum admin or other moderators
    • Resign from moderator duties if there is a breach of confidentiality or the code of conduct is not followed

    Moderation Tips

    Because each forum and its audience are unique, moderation styles and guidelines will differ. Consequently, you'll want to craft your own strategy as it applies to your community. As a general overview of forum moderation practices, the list below provides a starting point.

    • Be professional: Personality is good but don't take liberties or get lazy. Try to use correct grammar, punctuation and capitalization when you're typing. How you present yourself reflects upon your forum and people's perceptions.
    • Watch out for trolls and spammers. Always be vigilant and proactively seek them out and take action to minimize their annoying posts.
    • Watch for members abusing other members. Don't tolerate flaming; disagreements are fine but any more than that will discourage guests from joining and drive quality members from your forum. Make sure everyone has a chance to participate.
    • Choose forum staff carefully. Make sure the people you choose lead by example and are patient and fair.
    • To expand on the previous point; watch for troublesome forum staff. Don't let moderators intimidate other members or dole out unnecessarily harsh penalties for infractions. Conversely, timid moderators can be just as harmful to the health of your forum.

    Summary

    As your forum community grows and more people participate in the discussion, you'll most likely be amazed by the things people say. You're the host, so the responsibility for maintaining a functional environment falls to you. A good moderating strategy will help that goal immensely. Hopefully this article has provided a solid reference for establishing a moderating plan for your community. For more tips, tricks and strategies on building your forum, please refer to our previous articles in this series. Thanks for reading!


    https://www.proboards.com/free-forum...ips-moderating

  2. #2
    Administrator ALIPAC's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Gheen, Minnesota, United States
    Posts
    67,681
    ALIPAC's forum rules have been in place since 2005 and were created by our volunteer moderators and forum users at that time.

    To my knowledge our forum rules have been sufficient for the site. If there is a specific rule you feel needs to be changed, added, or that you take issue with please contact me directly.

    http://www.alipac.us/f12/alipac-rule...ps-area-23497/

    Americans for Legal Immigration PAC believes that a well defined set of rules and suggestions will make participation more enjoyable. We support free speech and encourage debate, however we expect all users to read, remember, and follow these rules.

    MODERATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS

    All ALIPAC board managers should send you a PM "Private Message" explaining why they have edited or pulled one of your posts.

    If you do not feel that this ruling is fair you may contact the screen name ALIPAC to request a formal meeting of all ALIPAC Moderators to review your case in private. Do not question moderator actions on the open boards until you have tried to resolve your question via Private Message.

    Those that break our board rules may be warned, temporarily suspended, or permanently banned. No participant that has been active with ALIPAC with over 300 posts and three months of participation will be banned without a full meeting and vote of the the ALIPAC Moderators.

    Please read these rules carefully and when in doubt, ask a moderator first.


    Rules:

    1. Language & hatred: No obscene language or racially derogatory comments are allowed. This includes symbols that stand for profanity used to replace letters in profane words. (!&^#*#)

    When in doubt ask a moderator or check the FCC guidelines on language. Terms that are considered racially derogatory are prohibited regardless of intent or usage. The goal here is to inform and discuss, not to offend. If your motivations are racist, we suggest you find another forum.

    ALIPAC enjoys the support of Americans from many different racial and ethnic backgrounds. We are Americans United to fight illegal immigration. Our boards are open to all that share our cause.

    NO RACISM AND NO RACE BAITING

    RACE BAITING= "ACCUSING OTHERS OF BEING RACIST without evidence IN AN EFFORT TO SILENCE OR LOWER THE TONE OF THE DEBATE"

    2. Conflicts: No personal attacks, threatening language, or personal information on the board. Calling other users names or attacking others will not be tolerated. Don't call other users names or apply labels to them that you can't substantiate (See Bayourod). Any information about private citizens or your personal info should not be placed on the open forum.

    2.5
    NO VIOLENT LANGUAGE ALLOWED, NO GUN/WEAPONS TALK or AVATARS No discussion of insurrection or Civil War caused by Americans.


    3. Avatars: Avatars are encouraged, please keep them tasteful and clean. Avatars must be 200 by 200 pixels or less. Contact the admin if you need help with your avatar.

    4. Articles & Announcements: Please check the ALIPAC homepage and archives before placing article in the member news section. Please post articles and announcements in the forum instead of e-mailing them to officers unless you have a question about the material. Always include your source and a link to the original material since some of your posts may be selected for inclusion on our home page. A link to member news will be posted on our homepage shortly.

    5. Copyrights: The articles placed within this site are covered by the Fair Use Act and are being archived for educational purposes by individual activists and a non-profit organization. These articles are part of our free political speech.

    6. Disclaimer: ALIPAC is not responsible for the content of posts, comments, articles, and links to other organizations. Posting here does not imply endorsement or support. Posts from the public here are NOT organizational statements or the positions of ALIPAC. Official ALIPAC organizational positions and statements are found on the main at www.alipac.us

    7. Suggestions: We encourage our users to provide feedback and comments on our board and rules. Upgrades and improvements will be continually considered and initiated.

    8. Passwords & Accounts: User names and passwords are case sensitive. Please contact an administrator for help with your account if you have trouble logging in. We reserve the right to ban or suspend any users without warning. That being said, we will always strive to communicate with our members, provide a clear set of guidelines, warn users and explain our decisions when possible.

    9. ALIPAC website users are encouraged to seek out like minded Internet users and invite them to the site. Members are also encouraged to establish links on other sites that point at our homepage or link into articles here. Your efforts to bring others into our effort and direct traffic to this site is essential to our success.

    10. When in doubt, practice the Golden Rule.

    NOTE: SOME OF YOU MAY NEED TO INCREASE YOUR WINDOWS RESOLUTION TO A HIGHER LEVEL TO VIEW WHOLE POSTS WITHOUT USING THE LOWER NAVIGATION BAR.
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Posts
    594
    I was offering IDEAS to help Improve "Tips". The word "Improve" is subject to whom you ask: My personal Opinion is that Clicks for Bucks saturates Ideas, but my Opinion is also subject to myself and others who feel a need/Duty to spend our time finding effective\unsaturated ways to spread Pertinent Information about "What is Wrong".(98% of those able to read this KNOW "Something is Wrong"). All Information is good, including this response. Again I was and will continue to attempt to improve any and all ways to spread Information that I am associated with, even to those who say "We know everything", but dont believe that "Actions Speak". Or are stuck in some type of Cognitive Dissidence that makes them feel as if they are doing their Duty.


    Cognitive Dissonance - In psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time, or is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values.[1][2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

    Just Trying to Help.

Similar Threads

  1. San Diego Forum: Grant tips for pro-illegal alien groups
    By legalatina in forum illegal immigration News Stories & Reports
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 01-09-2009, 01:00 AM
  2. TIPS ON PUMPING GAS
    By jimpasz in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 05-29-2008, 10:22 PM
  3. TSA tips off its own tests
    By jimpasz in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 11-09-2007, 08:28 PM
  4. Migrant forum tips emotions in Denver
    By Brian503a in forum illegal immigration News Stories & Reports
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 10-24-2005, 06:00 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •