Mod:Mod handbook
Contents |
0. Credits and Acknowledgements
First attempt to organize these issues was done by mashead testing and gmni13 with suggested material for the original "FAQ: How to be an effective moderator at Bluelight" document.
Editing and Additions performed by johnboy, Mellabopper, babydoc_vic, Pleonastic, fairnymph, ice-9, Catch-22, abygale, MrGeezer, Dakeva, Simon, TheLoveBandit, FoX, and felix.
Ported to a wiki format by DigitalDuality, Forgotten, m885, Finder, Chr1.5, tambourine-man, 'lil leecie, dasani, alasdairm, and (Wordy).
1. Introduction
Welcome to the staff and thank you for volunteering to help Bluelight by becoming a moderator. We understand that not all of you have experience as a moderator of a website like this, so we've prepared this Moderator Handbook to help you learn the ropes and provide a reference for any questions you have in the future. This handbook is intended to both explain the expectations and responsibilities of a moderator, as well as to provide the procedures for most of your moderating duties. If you have questions that aren't addressed in this handbook, please feel free to raise a discussion in the staff forum so everyone can become aware of the site policy or practice. Likewise, if you find an error in this document, please notify an administrator so we can correct it for future mods. That being said, let's get into the who, how, and why of being a Bluelight moderator.
2. New Moderators
Welcome
Congratulations on becoming a moderator and we are happy to have you on the team! Hopefully you have found your welcoming thread and had a chance to introduce yourself. You are no longer just a regular poster and now you will be held to higher standards. People will treat you differently and expect more from your posts. Although you are only a volunteer, you might have to make decisions that open you up to criticism. At times being a moderator can be a thankless task where you will never be able to please everyone. With all that said, you are fully qualified for your position or else you would not have been selected. Being a moderator can be a rewarding chance to help others and contribute your energy towards the mission of Bluelight.
Advice
The best advice during your first few weeks on the “job” is to just get acquainted with how things work. Maybe you have been registered at Bluelight for a long time, but there is still a lot to learn about being part of the Bluelight staff. Whether you actively post or only lurk, please make it a habit to check the Staff forum, Reported Posts, Warnings, and Support for anything that relates to your forum. If you are not already familiar with the different parts of Bluelight, try to visit all the forums to understand how your forum fits into the big picture. Do not be shy about asking questions if you need help.
You will work closely with the other moderators in your forum, so it is a good idea to maintain good communications with your new co-workers. If you do not already know them, contact the other moderators for your forum and introduce yourself. Try to build a good working relationship and take the opportunity to ask if there are any “unwritten” guidelines for the forum or if they have any advice for you. Start being active immediately but defer to your co-workers until you get the hang of things.
Another important issue that new staff members should be aware of is the importance of security and privacy. Bluelight occasionally has vicious attacks where hackers try to disrupt everything. As a moderator, it is your responsibility to protect your password and remember to log out of your account when using public computers. For your own safety, keep your computer virus-free and in good working order. If you think someone has your password or if someone has taken control of your account, immediately email the administrators so the appropriate actions can be taken. Also, your visibility increases dramatically when you become a moderator. Carefully consider whether you want to have your picture in the photo gallery or what information you have in your user profile. You might save yourself some hassles if you remove your AIM/ICQ information and put down “ask me for it by email” instead.
Getting started
As soon as you become a moderator, please confirm that your customized title is accurate and that you are listed as a moderator in your new forum. If you have not already done so, please set your account so it can receive Private Messages through Bluelight. In addition, and this is very important, every moderator is required to have a working email address where they can be reached on a regular basis. Sometimes hotmail accounts receive so much junk mail that the size limit is quickly exceeded, and Yahoo servers are known to filter our emails as junk. Do whatever you think is necessary, but please find a suitable email account and check it regularly. Topic reports and other information will be sent to the email address listed in your user profile. In addition, you will be subscribed to the “Mods” mailing list that will periodically have email announcements about the status of Bluelight. Subscribing to the moderator mailing list is mandatory and please read all the messages you receive.
3. Basic Expectations Of A Staff Member
As a moderator, your actions and your posts are a reflection of the entire Bluelight staff. Your behavior impacts our image so please always act in a reasonable way that supports Bluelight’s official mission statement. Our goal is to educate the public, so you incur the responsibility to make a solid post when you try to answer a question. You do not have to be perfect or infallible but you must make a reasonable attempt to help without overstepping the limits of your own knowledge and/or experiences. Do not dispense blatantly irresponsible or reckless advice. You are still free to speak your mind and add your perspectives, but be cautious about giving people a false sense of security. Bluelight has an obligation to help the general public and for us to be a credible resource we need to maintain our balanced perspective when presenting facts about drug use and harm reduction. Sometimes it is wise to remind people to seek professional help. Moderators who act irresponsibly in the drug forums or in other serious situations might be warned or removed for such behavior.
It is important for all staff members to make a reasonable attempt to support the Bluelight User Agreement. Handle issues that originate in your forum and use the Topic Report feature (which allows anyone to report a thread that should be reviewed by the forum moderators and administrators) whenever you see a clear violation outside of your own forum. Refer other matters to the administrators by a private email. If a regular Bluelighter tells you that someone has approached them for drugs, encourage the poster to report it to the administrators or offer to do so yourself.
Law enforcement, parents, government agencies, the media and all sorts of anti-drug crusaders are monitoring Bluelight. Some people look up to staff members and give their posts much more weight than a regular poster. When discussing your own experiences with drugs, attempt to be cautious and consider how a naïve drug-user might view your comments. Remember that there is a way to be candid without encouraging people to repeat the same behavior. Try to avoid becoming a sound bite for stupidity.
Besides the official mission of our site, we also have an obligation to make sure Bluelight remains a place where people feel comfortable to ask basic questions and new people are given a reasonable welcome that encourages them to stay. Being a moderator requires diplomacy and judgment calls, so moderators should strive to be consistent and to accept responsibility for their actions. Do not play favorites or endorse obvious double standards. Enforcing rules can make someone unpopular, but a moderator should put the health and well being of their forum over their personal popularity.
We should always be setting a good example to other Bluelighters. A moderator should respect the authority of other staff members and not assume they are above the rules. Regardless of who you personally like or dislike, always try to be civil and avoid bickering with other staff members. When people see a post by someone identified as a Bluelight staff member, they make an indirect judgment about Bluelight and all the volunteers who work to maintain this site.
4. Oversight of Administrators
Moderators perform 95% of the work to keeping their forum going and have a tremendous amount of discretion in how they manage their forum. Administrators periodically review all the forums but try to delegate as much of the decision-making as possible to the moderators.
Sometimes we receive complaints about moderator behavior or other issues inside a specific forum. Administrators will check into the matter and see if there is a problem. When an administrator asks you questions, you should try to give a prompt response and provide your side of the story. Sometimes it is merely a misunderstanding or a case of miscommunication. Administrators are fully aware that moderators might become unpopular in the process of trying to do their job, so unsubstantiated or vague complaints are not given serious consideration.
If administrators review a situation and agree there is a problem, you might receive some suggestions or perhaps a warning. If a single major problem occurs, a staff member can be replaced without warning and without regard to past standards. We cannot allow a particular staff member to jeopardize the important work that happens at Bluelight. If at any time a particular forum is not in agreement with Bluelight’s overall goals or is having problems maintaining an acceptable level of quality, administrators can make changes without warning and without consulting anyone. Administrators can promote or demote individual moderators and create or remove entire forums as necessary. During the normal moderator selection process (see "Changes to your moderator team"), administrators also reserve the right to veto a selection if they do not want that person to join the Bluelight staff.
5. Duties Of A Moderator
Staying involved
Your primary function as a moderator is to make sure your forum runs smoothly. You are expected to have an invested interest and a solid familiarity with the subject matter of your forum. You are not expected to be omnipresent or omnipotent simply because of your title. It is important that you stay aware of relevant issues that are happening outside your forum. Scan through the staff forum or Support looking for threads or posts that relate to your forum. Check your email account regularly for Topic Reports and messages from administrators or your co-workers.
If a well-established moderator needs to temporarily reduce their activity level or just take a vacation from Bluelight, they should communicate this with their peer forum mods, and in the staff forum letting everyone know they will be away. People will know what is going on and no one will think you have permanently left Bluelight. People who vanish for an extended amount of time without leaving an explanation will most likely be replaced.
Forum guidelines
Bluelight has a few basic rules that are listed in the User Agreement. These rules apply to all Bluelight forums, and anywhere at Pillreports.com. Please take the appropriate action if you see violations. You can also contact the administrators directly depending on the circumstances. If at any point you need clarification about the Bluelight User Agreement, contact the administrators or start a discussion thread inside The staff forum.
While the Bluelight User Agreement describes the basic rules of Bluelight, each forum is free to create additional guidelines that are specific to their forum. Forum specific guidelines are enforceable by rule #5 of the Bluelight User Agreement. The guidelines should provide a framework for the structure and tone with which you will moderate the forum. A team of moderators should consider the purpose and special circumstances of their forum, then write a set of posting guidelines that matches their goals and expectations. If the guidelines do not accurately reflect the way you currently manage the forum, it is the responsibility of a group of moderators to revise them. When writing your forum guidelines, make them flexible enough to allow you to handle unforeseen circumstances. This sentence might be helpful: “Forum moderators reserve the write to make judgment calls and the rules do not cover every conceivable situation.”
Please keep your forum guidelines simple and to the point. The average reading rate for people who use English as their primary language is 250 words per minute. Start by referring to the Bluelight User Agreement and then enumerate the additional rules that exist in your forum. In addition to defining your forum guidelines, you might want to change the description of your forum or even (in exceptional circumstances) the name of your forum. Please contact the administrators if you need assistance.
Building your forum
Moderators should try to build their forum and keep it as vibrant as possible. While no one can single-handedly make a forum successful, a moderator can build a forum by being an active presence and always acting in the best interests of the forum. Encourage positive discussion by starting interesting topics (if applicable) and by replying to good topics. Facilitate discussion, encourage questions and find ways to support/recognize Bluelighters who contribute to your forum.
People look to the moderators to fix basic problems and to enforce the guidelines consistently. As a leader of the forum, you should not discourage people from posting because they simply misunderstood the rules. Be helpful towards Greenlighters and make the appropriate judgment calls. If a new person posts something where the title is not in the right format, consider editing the post rather than locking the thread and demanding that they repost the information.
Things will never be perfect but sometimes a forum will become inactive or too hostile. Make a list of things you do not like about your forum and do one or two new things every month to address these issues. Take the initiative to do anything you think might help. If you seek constructive criticism or are unsure of what might be wrong, ask for feedback so you can get a better idea of what people think of your forum.
Try to build your forum through gradual improvements. If your forum was out of control or very inactive, it might take weeks and months of sustained attention from the moderators before the improvement becomes noticeable. Do what you can to attract quality posters to your forum and make it easy for them to stay involved. The job of a moderator is not merely to lock or move threads. You should care about the future of your forum and be willing to spend time making things better.
Monitoring your forum
Once you have defined the scope and guidelines of your forum, it is just a matter of making sure things go according to plan. As you monitor your forum, look for anything that is inappropriate or out of place. If you find something that does not belong at Bluelight or in your forum, take action to fix the problem. If you are unsure of what action is appropriate, discuss it with your co-workers and see how they normally approach such situations.
If you notice a problem in your forum, you have THREE options to address the situation. The first choice (in the event of a minor violation) is to quietly resolve the situation by editing the post. If the situation breaks the rules but you judge it to be an innocent mistake, the second option is to edit or lock the problem and then privately contact the poster in an attempt to resolve the problem. You need to be diplomatic and levelheaded when contacting a poster by this “off the record” method. It would be very wise to keep copies of all your correspondence in case there are later misunderstandings.
If a poster has broken a rule and needs to be issued a warning, the third option is to make a permanent record of the violation using the Warning system. When you make an entry into Warning system, an automated warning is sent to the poster and copies are sent to the forum moderators and the administrators. Currently a poster’s warning information is only viewable by the entire staff (moderators and administrators), members are to view their own warning information.
If you make an entry into Warning system, it is mandatory that you save an intact copy of the post by using the Report function for later review. Administrators will monitor the entries made into the Warning system and take appropriate action. People can be suspended or banned for having a history of minor inappropriate actions or for a single major incident. Administrators will not consider vague/unsubstantiated complaints or things not documented in the Warning system.
When trying to judge a new situation, moderators might want to view someone’s existing warning information to see if they have a history of certain behavior. That might help you decide which of the three approaches (no warning, “off the record” warning or formal warning report) are most suitable. A moderator has the option to move, edit, close, delete, split or merge a thread in order to resolve an issue.
Move a thread: If a thread is more appropriate for a different forum, simply post a note saying you are moving the thread from Forum X to Forum Y and then transfer it. It is your responsibility to have a basic idea of the purpose and scope of all the forums at Bluelight. Do not move a thread if you know that the new forum’s moderators will just have to close it.
Edit a thread: Sometimes a thread belongs in your forum but has a couple of minor problems. For instance, the title might be vague or have the wrong format. In these instances, simply edit the post to correct the problem and then leave a note explaining what you did and why you did it. In some circumstances, a moderator might want to ask the original poster edit their own post.
Close a thread: The purpose of closing a thread is to prevent additional replies from being made. Typically moderators will lock a thread if there are already other active threads on the same topic or if the thread has gone off-topic and turned into a flame war. As the thread is closed, a moderator should leave a brief explanation that directs the poster to the relevant information or describes what action (if any) the poster should take next. A closed thread indicates the content is not allowed, and serves as a lesson for all readers.
Delete a thread: Sometimes you will find a thread where the initial post is a serious violation of the Bluelight User Agreement. In those cases, immediately submit a warning and delete the thread. You may also choose to Report the post, so the administrators will be able to review the situation later.
Split a thread: Sometimes there will be a lengthy thread where the discussion completely diverges and certain people are discussing entirely new topics. In those cases, split the thread apart and make the necessary edits so the separate conversations can continue as distinctly different threads. Explain what actions you took so people will understand what happened.
Merge a thread: Sometimes there will be several smaller threads discussing essentially the same topic. A moderator can merge these threads into a single thread so the discussion flows more smoothly. A moderator should leave a note explaining why the threads were merged. It should be noted that merged threads will sort all of the replies by post date, so there may be some continuity lost in the merge.
Sometimes a thread is perfectly acceptable except for a couple of replies or even a portion of a single reply. The replies might be serious violations of the Bluelight User Agreement or just simply inappropriate for the forum. If you need to submit a warning, send an intact copy of the thread to Deleted Messages and then edit or delete specific replies to the thread that stays in your forum. If you edit a reply, please leave a brief note explaining what you did.
Infractions and Warnings: How and when
So you've decided you want to formally warn a user for their behaviour?
There are two types of warning you can give: a "Warning", which is less severe, and an "Infraction" which is more of an official warning, and may in time lead to a ban. An "Infraction" is what used to called a "Warning".
Infraction = Points added to the user's list. This is a formal recorded message that stays on their record until it expires. (See below for more).
Warning = What we used to call an informal 'soft warning', i.e. no points added.
So, to slap someone's wrist for a post:
Click on the icon at the bottom left of the post in question. You will then see this screen:
So far, so obvious. Just click the radio button for the appropriate type of douchebaggery in the post. Here is the main difference: if you only want to issue a soft warning, without any points: check the 'Warning' box.
(At this stage, only Admins & Senior Mods have access to provide 'Custom Infractions'.)
If necessary, fill out any required information in the 'Administrative Note' field (which will be visible only to staff) and then enter your 'Message to User'.
Press the 'Give Infraction' button and that's it done. You will find a PM in your Sent Items and the user will receive one in their Inbox, detailing it all for the record. Examples:
Originally Posted by felix Dear testing, You have received an infraction at Bluelight. Reason: Drug Solicitation
Do not attempt to sell or buy drugs on Bluelight. This is in breach of the user agreement, please read it again. Any further attempts may result in the termination of your account here.
This infraction is worth 1 point(s) and may result in restricted access until it expires. Serious infractions will never expire.
All the best, Bluelight
Originally Posted by felix Dear testing, You have received a warning at Bluelight. Reason:
Abuse
You should know better by now. Please stop that or it'll be an infraction next time.
Warnings serve as a reminder to you of the forum's rules, which you are expected to understand and follow.
All the best, Bluelight
For both Warnings and Infractions there will be a copy in the [Warnings http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=163] subforum of the Reported Posts forum for staff records.
To do the same thing for something that isn't a post, click on their profile, switch to the 'Infractions' tab, and use the 'Give Infraction' link.
So remember: if you tick the box, it's just a soft warning. No tick = points!
You are ONLY permitted to issue infractions in your own forum. If you feel that something in another forum warrants an infraction, report the post or PM the relevant mods. Do not issue profile infractions, only infract specific posts.
What are these points things, exactly?
Generally, when a user has collected a sufficiently large number of points, we consider a ban - either temporary or permanent. This number will vary depending on how quickly they pick up their warnings. Say someone was warned three or four times in a day for sourcing or flaming - we'd probably ban them then. On the other hand, long-time users might pick up 8 or 10 warnings before being banned. Accounts that have been set up solely to source, or to spam, will generally be banned on sight. A genuine user can always return to the site and re-register if they wish.
What sort of behaviour warrants a warning or infraction?
Just because you can warn someone, don't feel that you have to. It's almost always better, in our experience, to take a soft approach rather than issue a formal warning, especially when the user is new, or the offence is minor. Some examples:
Sources: some examples.
New user with username cheapdrugsonline.com posts "hai guis, go to my website cheapdrugsonline.com" as his first post. Action = ban. He's a spammer and a sourcer. If he wants to participate, he can re-register.
User posts: "hey guys, I've got oxys if anyone wants to trade them, PM me."
Action = Infraction. Explain clearly that he can't do this. If he does it again, he's gone.
User posts: can anyone get me some acid?
Action = Infraction. But he gets one (maybe even two) more chances.
User posts a request for a source website, or posts a link to a source website that they aren't personally involved with.
Action = Warning, if a new user. An Infraction for a more experienced user, or for a second offence. Unless it's repeated a few times, no ban.
User posts: "it's really dry for acid round SoCal at the moment".
Action = Maybe a Warning, maybe PM them to tell them that it looks like sourcing. Consider unapproving if it looks like they're asking for sources. This is a borderline one; the relative availability of drugs is an interesting topic, and probably relevant to harm reduction. Use discretion, it depends on the tone of the thread.
We're strictly against sourcing, but that doesn't mean we ban on sight; just like we wouldn't warn someone for posting prices, or for occasional abuse.
Abuse or Trolling
As well as insulting people, this could include continually posting offensive or non-work safe pictures, or continually posting off-topic posts (or stupid/jokey replies in serious forums), etc. Generally, we would just edit a post, or ask someone to 'play nice' (or your choice of phrase). It's much better to try to convince someone to behave than to give them an Infraction immediately. A sustained flamewar over more than one post would warrant a Warning. Continual flaming or abuse in your forum would warrant an Infraction. The forum you moderate will affect your decision: allow abuse in the Lounge, be tougher in TDS. Generally, someone would have to continually disrupt Bluelight over a long period of time to be banned for abuse or trolling. We should be willing to forgive and forget minor or one-off incidents - anyone can have a bad day and lash out.
Other actions
There are other things that are against our guidelines, but we wouldn't issue a Warning or Infraction for. These include:
- posting in the wrong forum (move the thread to what you think is the right forum. If the thread isn't suitable for any forum, e.g. if it's a trip report posted in Other Drugs, but doesn't meet the Trip Reports guidelines) then point them to the best forum, and explain the guidelines);
- posting the name of an event/venue (we discourage this because we don't want law enforcement/media to know that someone will be taking drugs at a certain event, although usually they will know this anyway. It's for the protection of users and events);
- posting prices (this is discouraged in most forums because it leads to dick-sizing, or to people trying to buy or sell drugs from those who have posted a price);
- cross-posting (close the thread that's in the wrong forum. If it could work well in two forums, then leave the longer thread open);
- posting questions that have been asked many times before (point them to a relevant thread, consider closing their thread if it doesn't add anything new);
- using 'SWIM' or other stupid terminology (politely inform them that we discourage this: it offers you no legal protection, and makes the posts hard to read).
And finally....
You'll find that users question your decisions, sometimes insult you or dislike you. This is natural. Bluelight is a big community, and it would be weird if we all liked each other. As a mod, you're more visible, and people may disagree with you. They may attack you. Sometimes their criticisms might be valid - most of the time they won't. While it's hard, we strongly advise that you don't take any official action in this situation. Let someone else (a senior mod, or a more experienced mod in your forum) take action for you. We all get defensive or angry when attacked, but it doesn't make for good moderation to respond when you're in a bad mood.
Dealing with spammers
When dealing with spammers, first report the post (be sure to report the post as spam, it helps us to keep track of the amount of spam we get if its actually reported as such), and make a post about it in Troublesome Users in the staff forum. Next, simply UA (unapprove) the post. Thats it! Please do not delete the post. It causes an extra step when they are being dealt with by senior staff. If its UA'd, it is out of sight for members and will be dealt with once a member of sr staff sees the report. Usually a spammer will only make a couple of posts and move on, and usually they are caught quickly and banned, so there is no need to warn or infract them. However, sometimes a spammer will spam the board very quickly with a lot of posts, if that happens and it doesnt look like they are going to quit, you may issue infractions until they are temp banned, then sr staff will go ahead with a perma-ban once they see it. Again under most circumstances infracting will not be necessary.
Archiving and pruning
An important part of being a moderator is to keep your forum organized. Bluelight has an incredible amount of posts and eventually the sheer volume of material can become overwhelming. Although the servers are in good shape and the technical side is well maintained, there are some practical reasons why we should not try to keep such a large amount of information online. “Archiving” is just the act of transferring above average or excellent threads from the active forum to your forum’s archive. “Pruning” is the act of deleting threads older than a certain date that were not selected for the archive.
The time between prunes for a given forum is dependent upon the forum traffic and the server load it induces. An administrator may contact a group of moderators to request that their forum be pruned. Since sorting out threads may be a very difficult and time consuming task, it might be wise to set aside a little time each week or month to move some good threads to the archives. Many forums have an “Archive” and if not you are free to request one from the administrators.
When it is time to prune a forum, the group of moderators should have a discussion amongst themselves in order to get organized. A prominent announcement must be made to the forum at least one week in advance to let the posters know a prune will happen on a certain date. Explain that all threads older than a certain specified date will be deleted and invite the posters to suggest threads for archiving. Moderators should try to archive as many good threads as they can, but ultimately posters are responsible for making their own archive requests. Nearly all of the threads can be moved to the archive in low traffic forums but perhaps only a small percentage will be saved for very high traffic forums. No one will be held accountable when someone’s favorite thread gets pruned.
After the archiving process is complete and the deadline has passed, please contact the administrators to let them know your forum is ready to be pruned. Specify how far back the prune should go. An administrator will create an emergency backup copy of the forum and then conduct the prune. No thread is ever completely destroyed, but the backup files are difficult to access and it will be next to impossible to retrieve a specific thread later.
6. Changes To Your Moderator Team
Retirement
Being a moderator is a challenging and time-consuming task. At some point you might realize your interest is waning and the forum you used to love has turned into a chore. You might have other real life obligations that need your attention. Maybe you have accomplished your initial goals and feel like it is time to let someone else have a chance to be moderator. If you realize it is time to retire, notify your fellow moderators and post a thread inside the staff forum announcing your intentions. Do not automatically start a thread in your forum announcing a vacancy. It is up to the remaining moderators to decide how to proceed with the forum. You will have an opportunity to request being given a 'Bluelight Crew' title when the admin remove you from your position.
Inactive moderators
A forum cannot work efficiently if it is understaffed. If a fellow moderator has become inactive and disappears for long periods of time without explanation, send an email asking them what is happening or why they have not been posting. If you do not receive a response and do not know their plans, contact your active co-workers and see what they think of the inactive person. If you all agree that a replacement is in order, contact the administrators and explain the situation. The administrators will investigate the situation and remove the inactive moderator if necessary.
Adding new moderators
When a moderator retires, the remaining moderators in that forum have the option of finding a replacement. Moderators are free to decide that another moderator is not needed and sometimes administrators will suggest that a vacancy not be filled. If you decide another person would help your forum, then you can collaborate with your co-workers and select a new moderator.
The first step is to start a thread inside the forum announcing a vacancy. This allows members from within the forum to submit their applications for consideration. In low-traffic forums, there may not be an obvious candidate, so it may be appropriate to ‘nudge’ candidates that you feel are particularly qualified to apply. Simply sending them a PM letting them know that the forum is looking to add a moderator and encouraging them to submit an application is an excellent way to do this.
In the “help wanted” thread, include a description of responsibilities and list some questions that you want an applicant to answer. You can ask applicants why they want the position, how they will contribute to the forum or anything else you think is important. Also give a cut-off date as to when applications will be closed, allowing at least a week for people to reply. Most importantly, ask people to apply by sending a private message to the entire moderator team.
(Footnote: Asking people to apply by private message instead of posting to the announcement thread serves several purposes. It protects the privacy of applicants and allows them to speak more freely about their background/qualifications, while also removing any stigma if they are ultimately not selected for the vacancy. If a public process was used, someone might be discouraged from applying because of the apparent popularity/seniority of other applicants or because of the sheer volume of people who have already responded. Conducting the process by private message also eliminates the possibility that other people will interfere by trying to “vote” or adding comments to support certain candidates. Another advantage of private messages is that subsequent applicants cannot view the “answers” given by earlier people and attempt to “improve” on what has already been said.)
Picking a new co-worker is a very important decision and you should spend some time making sure you get the right person. There are so many qualities that make someone a suitable moderator it almost defies description, but basically you need to evaluate all the evidence and pick the most promising candidate. It is fair to consider someone’s commitment or posting history in the forum (and at Bluelight in general) in addition to his or her motivations for wanting the position. In the event of several strong candidates, it might be good to favor someone who has qualities that compliments the existing team or will add a new perspective to the forum. Consider whether people will stick around and become long-term contributors. It is reasonable to avoid people who have a poor track record in your forum, appear to have ulterior motives or have conducted themselves inappropriately in the past. The desired traits of moderators might vary between different forums, so you have a lot of discretion in which criteria are most appropriate for your team.
Whenever possible, the decision to select a new moderator should be made by the existing team of moderators. You can include the outgoing moderator in your discussions and also have the option for asking the administrators for help if necessary. Although discussion is important, a final decision should be made in a reasonable amount of time as a courtesy to all the people being considered. Once a candidate is chosen, contact an administrator and request that the new moderator be added to your team. The candidate will then be reviewed by the senior mods and administrators before being given the position. This should generally take only a few days once the senior staff is given the name of the preferred candidate.
7. The Plugging Hole (aka the Staff Forum)
The Plugging Hole is a 'hidden' forum that is reserved for the staff of Bluelight. Its remit is pretty broad. It's generally used by staff members to raise questions or issues that relate to Bluelight policy. Perhaps a discussion has arisen from the Reported Posts section that would benefit from the input of other staff members? Perhaps you've seen an emerging trend or pattern in the forums that you'd like to raise as an issue? The forum is also used to inform staff members of expected server downtime, provide a method of making staff announcements, and also to welcome new staff members to their modships.
Structure
Alongside The Plugging Hole, there are three other forums that make up the staff forums. They include: "Reported Posts", "Warnings/Alerts" and "Worst of Bluelight".
- Reported Posts: This section is a collection of reports made by Bluelight members. Should someone consider a post to have contravened the Bluelight User Agreement, this is where the report will end up. You will also find reported posts that are simply flagging something for staff attention such as a request to add a poll or fix a thread title. The titles of each report contain the original thread title and originating forum, making it simple to identify which reports will require your priority attention. The text of the reported post will be copied into this report, and a link will be included to for quick access to the flagged thread.
- Warnings/Alerts: This section is a collection of automated warnings that are issue every time a Bluelight member is issued a warning. The titles of each warning contain the name of the warned member, the moderator who issued the warning, and the time it was issued.
- Worst of Bluelight: Bluelight's Room 101. Basically, Worst of Bluelight (WoB) is where the rubbish goes that requires a record. While you can delete unwanted threads, duplicated threads, copies of offending threads, etc. from within your forum. If there is something which you feel needs to be kept for staff record, move it here. This information is also pruned on occasion.
Bluelight requires that its moderators take an active role in the site. As an effective moderator, you should try to monitor the staff forums and keep an eye out for topics that impact your forum. This applies not only to the general discussions in The Plugging Hole, but also to the "Reported Posts" section and the "Warnings/Alerts" section. Checking these sections regularly and acing on the contents will allow the forums to run more smoothly. You're also encouraged to contribute to reports and threads that might not directly effect your small corner of Bluelight. You were probably chosen as a moderator for your ability to express yourself constructively... so
let's hear your opinion.
Confidentiality
Please be aware that the contents of these forums are confidential and the contents of all staff forums should not be made public. The staff forums can only operate effectively if there is an implicit assurance of trust between all staff members. If people cannot speak their mind on subjects of policy (due to the fear that their opinion may be made public, taken out of context and inevitably misconstrued), there is little chance of effective moderation or a positive staff atmosphere.
Contributing
Got an idea about how Bluelight could change or improve? Feel free to share it! However, a suggestion that either solves an existing problem or benefits the furthering of our mission will probably be given more serious consideration. As with most things in life, additional weight is also given to suggestions when you are personally committed to doing the actual work to make your idea a reality.
Fingering Assholes while in The Plugging Hole
Someone annoying you? Join the club.
How can this be best explained? Dealing with troublesome users is part of the job of a moderator, and that inevitably means that there'll be times when your forum is disrupted by their actions, and times when you take the brunt of their attitude. It's generally accepted that the correct way to deal with this is to remain calm, identify the troublesome user through the "Report" feature and rise above any provocative behaviour. It's important to remember that fingering an asshole in this manner can be a rewarding experience if done correctly - by documenting a rational case against a member professionally - but it can be an incredibly painful experience if it isn't done with care and due diligence.
You're entitled to express your opinion of troublesome users when appropriate (such as when a post is reported), but it generally isn't considered helpful to overtly badmouth, engage in vendettas or fisticuffs against other people.
Most importantly, pointless squabbling amongst staff is completely unacceptable. If a dispute arises, please make your points in a civilized manner and use specific examples to present your side of the story.
And Finally...
Access to the staff forums gives you an excellent opportunity to become more involved with Bluelight. Your opinions and actions will help to shape the direction of Bluelight and its mission. Sometimes your opinion will be overlooked, argued, and disagreed with. But it does not mean that your opinions are not wanted or sought - quite the opposite. Bluelight thrives on an active and interested staff roster, and it's through discussion and a trading of ideas that we can improve. You should feel free to share your advice or suggest a solution in whichever thread or forum you see fit, while also respecting the position of other moderators and the administrators. As a moderator of a single forum, you may not always be aware of the history of some situations.
Good luck!
