PoFo: Moderation Policy - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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Please note, no part of this document supersedes any part of the Terms of Use.

Moderation Policy

The moderators and administrators may edit or remove posts to make sure this site's content stays concurrent with the Forum Rules. Minor edits may be made to posts and topics may also be moved in order to facilitate use of the forum, by keeping content organised and presentable.

What can forum members expect of moderators?

When posts are deleted for violation of the forum rules: A warning should be issued to the user, so they know the reason the post was deleted. The warning should cite which forum rule was broken. In case of error, the post should be quoted in the warning to give the member opportunity to appeal.

When posts are deleted for spam or being off-topic: Members should not expect any notification, though one might be given anyway. Spam might include posts consisting of virtually no content (e.g. only emoticons), posts violating forum rule 10 or posts designed to disrupt the forum by trying to flood it with irrelevant or inappropriate content.

When posts are edited for violation of the forum rules: A warning should be issued to the user, so they know the reason the post was edited. The warning should cite which forum rule was broken and include a quote of any material removed in case of error. Moderator's should also make it clear within the post what they have edited by using a coloured font, and should include an "Edit Reason" at the foot of the post.

When posts are edited for minor reasons: The post should have an "Edit Reason" message left by the moderator. Such minor edits might include improving readability (such as a lack of paragraphs or grammar), merging posts by the same author that are made back-to-back or changing inappropriate or misleading thread titles.

Moderator behaviour: One can expect moderators to be polite. Moderators should never violate the forum rules themselves and should never threaten users "or else...".

What if a forum member disagrees with a moderation decision?

Generally speaking, one's first port of call should be to send a polite PM to the moderator who made the edit/deletion/warning and ask them why. If one is unsatisfied with the response then there is a channel for review of the moderator action:

If a forum member disagrees with a moderation decision they are entitled to post in the Appeals forum and ask for it to be reviewed by a different moderator. They should politely state their reasons for their objection to the original decision and can expect a polite response.

If the second moderator also concurs with the original decision then the matter is closed and one should accept that ruling. If they are unsure then they may consult with other moderators to help reach a decision.

If the second moderator disagrees with the decision then an administrator must decide which view is correct and - if possible - restore the post if it is deemed to have been moderated in error.

Please note: It is never appropriate to discuss or debate moderator actions within the topic the action occurred or other topics elsewhere on the forum. Such posts take threads off-topic and as such will be removed. Topics relating to moderation should only be made in Appeals forum

What can forum moderators expect of other members?

Moderators volunteer their time for free to help make the forum a better place for everybody. Their selflessness in this regard should be respected and moderators should never be attacked or ridiculed simply for being moderators.

Moderators can expect other members to be polite even when making complaints. Any member who is rude and/or offensive towards the forum moderators waives any due consideration afforded them by this moderation policy and should expect additional sanction for violation of forum rule two.

Moderators are people too! They have their own opinions and can take part in discussions on this website completely independent of their role as moderators. They can expect to do this without harassment by other members and when moderating can expect other members to put aside any personal opinions of moderators. This includes abstaining from accusations of "bias" when making a complaint because a moderator does not share a particular opinion with any particular forum member. When making any complaint about moderation members should stay on topic - did the post in question violate the forum rules? The personal opinions of any moderator are completely irrelevant to assessing if a post violated the forum rules or not.

A final note:

There are unfortunately some people who would seek to make the forum their own personal playground, where they would be free to ignore the forum rules entirely, and who might attempt to discredit the volunteers who generously give up their time to run the board with disparaging or derogatory remarks and other baseless sniping against the moderator team. People who engage in such non-constructive behaviour should expect appropriate sanction. People don't volunteer their time to help PoFo just to be attacked.
User avatar
By noemon
#14681299
Just taking a moment to remind people the moderation policy of this forum.
Last bumped by noemon on 13 Jun 2016 22:28.

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