How to moderate on Forumosa.com

SOME BASICS

Woah, where did all those extra forums come from?
Where can I access the moderators forum in the Sitemap?
What are the Moderator Brunches?

EXTRA FUNCTIONS

How to move topic threads
How to split topic threads apart
Really? I can KILL posts?
What is SPLERGE?
Why, there is an EDIT button, like, everywhere!?
What is the IP link for?
Should I have access to SQUEAL reports?
What is the difference between the DELETE and KILL links?
When is the best time to use the LOCK function?
How does SPLIT work?
Why is there an extra MODERATE link?
What is the difference between FLAMING and LINE-ITEM EDITS?

POLICIES & PRACTICES

I need to take a break - what do I do?
I disagree with my co-moderators decision, what should I do?
What did Maoman mean when he said we are subject to a ¡§higher standard¡¨?
Where can I get help?

Woah, where did all those extra forums come from?

You now have access to several private hidden forums that we use to help us discuss issues and make decisions. Please note: even though we aspire to be a highly responsive discussion website, we have found that a phone call or a brief gathering to iron out confusion is much more effective than posting and re-posting. This is why we may ask you for your phone number

THE MOD SQUAD Forum is where most of our discussions happen. It should be obvious that what is discussed here is confidential if only out of respect for some of the Forumosans who we may talk about.

THE STAR CHAMBER Forum is used to discuss problematic Forumosans. Use this area to raise concerns - discussions here are used for future reference. We (the admins) consider your comments and views here very seriously

PHPBB HACKS Forum is used to float some of the modifications that we are thinking of making to the forums. We use it as a map of links to our favorite forum modifications and hacks.

FLAMES Forum is a collection of posts from the public forums that are ¡§beyond the pale¡¨ - we store them as a reference to remind us what is wrong.

CONTROVERSIAL THREADS Forum is used for temporary storage of discussions that you may want to remove from public view until a decision is made on how to handle it.

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Where can I access the moderators forum in the Sitemap?

In the words, ¡§Site Map¡¨, you can click on the M to access The Mod Squad Forum

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What are the Moderator Brunches?

Really? I can KILL posts?

Yes, you can! However, we would prefer it if you limit the slaughter to spam and double posts in the same forum. For people who are cross-posting (Posting the same message in multiple forums), it is sometimes more useful to relabel the post ¡§double post¡¨ and put it in the temporary forum. Double posts made within the same thread are almost always unintentional glitches and can be safely deleted. Feel free to kill anything that looks like ¡§bot-spam¡¨ or mass-mailed spam from Russian porn websites, etc.

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What is SPLERGE? It sounds messy

There are two ways to merge posts: you can split some of the posts off from one thread and merge them into another thread (using what we call the SPLERGE button), or you can merge one or more entire threads into another (using the MERGE TOPICS function from the Moderator Control Panel). You cannot merge one post into another post (we call this 'editing')

SPLERGE: To split some posts out of one thread and merge them into a different thread, use the 'SPLERGE' button (visible at the top right and bottom left of the topic thread tables, next to 'LOCK'). You will see every post in the topic thread in question in a single page, with check boxes to the right of each post. At the top of the page, indicate which forum you want to the posts to be moved into, and then check the box of every post you want to split off and merge (SPLERGE!). Once you have selected all the relevant posts, press 'Merge selected posts'.

You will now proceed to an index of the forum you chose earlier, but on this page every topic thread will also have a check box next to it, actually these are called 'radio buttons' and you can only select one. Choose the radio button of the topic thread you wish to merge your selected posts into, hit Merge to confirm, and - Shazam! - you're done!

Note 1: In case the topic thread that you wish to splerge into is beyond the first page of topics in its forum, you will need to bump it up to the first page by entering the topic thread and posting a message (we like to just use the word 'bump' and then delete that post when we are finished) - this pushes the entire topic thread to the top of the forum (ie. the first page).

Note 2: A variation of this split and merge method (splerge!) involves selecting only one post, and then clicking 'Merge from selected post'. This splits away the selected post and all those that follow it. This allows you to cleanly divide a thread at a certain point. The rest of the procedure for then merging them elsewhere is the same as that described above.

MERGE TOPICS: The procedure for merging entire threads is similar. At the bottom left of the forum page, and on the bottom right of any topic thread page, you will see the Moderator Control Panel link. Click this, and you will be presented with a list of the first page of topics from the forum you were in with check boxes next to them down the right side.

Choose the topic(s) you wish to merge together by ticking the check boxes. Press the 'Merge Topics' button at the bottom of the list. You will then be asked which forum you would like your chosen topics to be sent to. Once this is done, you will see the first page of that forum's topics. If the (target) topic thread you wish to merge into is on the second page (or further back), you will need to bump the topic thread by posting a temporary message to move it to the top of the forum (the first page)

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Why, there is an EDIT button, like, everywhere!?

There should be an edit button on every post made in the forum you moderate. This is useful if a poster with an otherwise useful post writes something objectionable. Editing the message (and hopefully contacting the OP with your reasons for the edit) allows the content with value to stay up, and goes a long way to soothe ruffled feathers.

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What is the IP link for?

The IP link tells us the IP address of the computer making the post. In many cases we can use it to determine if somebody is smurfing, that is, if they¡¦re using two accounts to post on Forumosa. Most people will have legitimate reasons for having two accounts, but some people will use a second account to attack other posters or stir up trouble. We ask any poster wishing two accounts to clear it with admin first. You should also know that in Taiwan, many of the IP addresses are dynamic, not static, which means that they change with great frequency. It would not be unusual to look up an IP address and find a hundred different Forumosans having posted from the same IP address. For these reasons, IP address hunts are limited in their usefulness as moderating tools.

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Should I have access to SQUEAL reports?

Unfortunately, the software limits access to SQUEAL reports to admin only.

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What is the difference between the DELETE and KILL links?

There is no difference.

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When is the best time to use the LOCK function?

Locking a topic isn¡¦t done often, but moderators can do it when they feel a thread has run its course and there isn¡¦t anything worthwhile to add to it, when there is a lot of editing required and the moderator won¡¦t be able to get to it for a while, or when things are starting to get out of hand. Tempers do flare from time to time in some of the forums, and a ¡§time-out¡¨ or cooling off period often helps a lot.

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How does SPLIT work?

Along with ¡§merge¡¨, the split function is one of the more useful moderator tools. If a thread has gone off-topic, a moderator may wish to split it into two or more separate threads. To do this, go to the bottom left-hand side of any thread page, and you will see the ¡§split¡¨ button. When you press it, every post in that thread (except the first one) will have a check box displayed next to it. Check the posts you wish to split, go to the top of the page and give the new split topic a title and indicate the forum you would like the new split topic to be in. When you¡¦re finished, press ¡§split¡¨.

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Why is there an extra MODERATE link?

The extra MODERATE link is useful when you wish to moderate/organize entire threads, not indivdual posts. It¡¦s useful for moving threads to other forums, and for deleting spam threads.

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What is the difference between FLAMING and LINE-ITEM EDITS?

If a post is largely offensive with a scant amount of substance buried inside, then who would object to it being flamed - you guys aren¡¦t paid to edit. On the other hand, if a post is mostly meaningful, but has one naughty bit, then removing the naughty bits will be better for the site in the long run.

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I need to take a break - what do I do?

If you¡¦re just going to be away from the site for a few days, you can tell the co-moderators of your forum, if any. If not, talk to Maoman. If you need to take anything more than a couple of weeks off, please inform Maoman and your co-moderators. If you¡¦re feeling burned-out and sour on the forums, don¡¦t despair ¡V it happens to the best of us. Best thing is to contact Maoman, tell him you need an extended vacation, and he¡¦ll arrange for someone to help out until you¡¦re ready to return. Similarly, if you¡¦re sure that you would like to step down and you¡¦re pretty sure that you won¡¦t be returning, just let us know so that we can make arrangements! Moderating isn¡¦t a lifetime thing - unless maybe you want it to be We¡¦re very happy to have people helping us out for almost any length of time, so don¡¦t worry if you think you¡¦ve just become too busy to do it any longer.

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I disagree with my co-moderators decision, what should I do?

Communication is the key. Talk about it with your co-mod in a reasonable, polite, manner, and you¡¦ll be surprised what how quickly many problems can be resolved. If that¡¦s not working, talk to Maoman.

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What did Maoman mean when he said we are subject to a ¡§higher standard¡¨?

Moderators are expected to behave themselves at all times in a way that reflects positively on Forumosa.com, and complies with all the Rules and Regulations of this website.
Moderators are expected to share and help promote Forumosa.com¡¦s mission of community-building and service to the community.
Moderators may not engage in personal attacks against other members of this board.
It is not appropriate for moderators to threaten to ban someone with whom they do not agree.
Moderators are expected to be fair and evenhanded at all times, especially to those with whom they disagree.
Moderators are forbidden from discussing moderator business anywhere except in the moderators-only discussion forum. If it becomes apparent that a moderator has broken this rule, he/she will be relieved of moderator duties immediately, and may be banned from the discussion board as well.