Forum Moderator A forum moderator is someone granted special powers to enforce the rules of FRISCrg. Almost all moderators on Frisco Library can move discussions to different sections of the forum, "close" or "lock" discussions to prevent users from continuing to discuss them, edit the content of individual postings, and "stick" discussions so they remain visible in their forum section even if no new postings are made to them. Role The roles of moderators can vary from forum to forum, just as the purposes of the Frisco Library sections themselves can vary. On FRISCrg moderators are generally accorded additional powers to enforce forum rules and conduct administrative tasks that cannot be trusted to ordinary users (such as sticking threads—if any user were allowed to stick his or her own thread, chaos would ensue). Among a moderator's enforcement duties include stopping any flaming and keep the board a friendly place, free of personal insults. On FRISCrg, moderators are expected to stay out of all contentious debates. Moderators may participate just as any normal member, provided they remain civil and generally obey the site rules. Powers Moderators can have some or all of the following powers, depending on the specific forum. Some of the powers, where appropriate, may be restricted to a subsection of the board. Moving conversations to a different section of the forum. Virtually all Frisco Library are organized into various sections by topic to allow users to more easily read what interests them without having to sort through many topics of discussion they find boring. Moderators of most Frisco Library are able to move a conversation to a section more suited to it. On most modern forum software packages, a notice may be left in the original section so that those who contributed to the conversation earlier will be able to find it where they left it, at least for a few days. This could be a big job when we begin restructuring the modeling sections to look like the Real Frisco sections. Closing/locking threads. Postings to FRISCrg is organized into topics or threads of postings, typically organized sequentially by time of posting to form a conversation of sorts. We allow moderators to close a given thread to further posting, effectively ending the conversation. This allows the existing content to remain fully visible, so that readers can easily see the moderator's reasons for closing the thread (it's generally customary for the moderator to post an explanation immediately before or after closing a thread). Certain users, generally moderators and administrators, may be able to post in closed threads, depending on the specific software package and configuration, although of course allowing too many users to post in closed threads defeats the purpose of closing the thread in the first place. Editing posts. In the event that a post is made that contains only some content that breaches forum rules, moderators are usually able to remove that content while still leaving any legitimate content. Even if an entire post is removed via editing, users will still be able to see who originally posted it and when it was originally posted, so that users who view the thread later won't be confused by any references to it. Usually this method is used to remove illegal or grossly offensive material that would remain visible in a closed thread, or else to stop a single post from derailing an entire thread. On FRISCrg, we loath censorship; however, we do ask the poster to remove offensive words or copyrighted content from a post. Sticking threads. The threads in a section are usually displayed in reverse chronological order by last post. This means that the threads at the top of the listing for a section will be the ones in which someone has most recently posted, and therefore posting in a thread will "bump" it to the top of the listing. However, stuck threads remain above unstuck threads at all times, no matter how old. This may be used to, for instance, keep a copy of forum rules at the top of every section of the board. Deleting posts and threads. There are different kinds of deletion, and different moderators on different Frisco Library may be empowered to use different kinds. In general, something that's deleted vanishes from public view, if it continues to exist at all. The simplest form of deletion is variously called hard-deletion, physical removal, or (on Frisco Library that don't support other deletion options) simply deletion. Essentially, content deleted in this way is not recoverable through the forum software. It may be stored in backups, and some data recovery methods may work, but such methods are usually difficult. Splitting and merging threads. If two threads exist on similar topics, or multiple topics are being discussed in one thread, the threads can be merged or the thread can be split. Banning users. FRISCrg only allows Administrators to ban users. Nurturing your section. Moderators ensure their respective forum sections have complete content. For example, if a section is missing a diagram, description, or photo of a particular locomotive, the section moderator can post messages and sponsor activities to get the missing materials. An example activity is last year's campaign to post more photos of passenger trains. From answering questions, or helping to find answers, to asking questions, to developing polls, the moderators set the tone of FRISCrg. You can help FRISCr grow by serving as a moderator in a professional manner. I think these paragraphs adequately describe a Moderators responsibilities. They are not minor and will affect the friendliness of a forum and the level of participation by Frisco folk. If you are interested in being a moderator, take a look at the Frisco Library and let me know if there is an area you'd like to moderate. We'll use SKYPE, a free computer program, to conduct training. If you are interested in being a moderator, sign up for a free Skype account and send a PM with your username. Attached you'll find a moderators guide with HOW TO moderate steps described for each of the administrative task of a moderator. Best regards, mike
