moderator

Become a moderator

Once in a while a bulletin board system draws the attention of unscrupulous individuals hoping to exploit the concentration of a large number people for their own profit. Usually these individuals post messages about various get-rich-quick or multi-level-marketing (Pyramid) schemes. Often they will post the same or similar messages multiple times on one board ("spamming the board") and/or post messages on several boards at once ("cross-posting"). Sometimes these individuals will be more sneaky, especially if they realize that their IP Addresses are being logged and can be used to ban them from access to the board. In such cases one might see an individual posting innocent messages frequently, but his signature includes a questionable statement; an individual might post messages whose entire content is a request that readers visit his scam's site; or an individual might post seemingly benign messages that tend to promote or recommend a little too strongly or too often one particular website, company, or service. And there are other ways these individuals will attempt to get their self-serving messages across. A good Moderator must be on the lookout for such posts and individuals. YaBB is not an outlet for free advertising. It is a forum for free speech and free expression, and, as Abraham Lincoln said, "eternal vigilance is the price of freedom."

Occassionally tempers flare and attacks ("flaming") occur. They can be directed against an individual member, the Moderator, or YaBB as a whole. Attacks can be a few angry posts (minor), spamming the board (moderate), or spamming PM boxes and e-mail addresses (severe). In addition to watching out for get-rich-quick, mlm, and similar attacks, Moderators must be wary of, and quick to put out, temper fires. Most people will use a bulletin board responsibly. It is only the occassional jackass who tends to ruin it for everyone. And it's the job of the Board Moderators and Board Staff to identify, isolate, and expunge posts and/or individuals who do threaten the membership general. If either type of posts do appear the Moderator has several tools at his disposal, depending on the severity and frequency of the problem.

The most important tool a Moderator has is his own judgement. Use it. Often members invite others to visit their websites. This is perfectly acceptible. If the majority of the person's posts, however, are advertisements for his website, then that is not acceptible. Sometimes an otherwise good member of the community will post something questionable. User your best judgement. Consider the content of all the member's posts, then decide what course of action you wish to take: Edit the message yourself, request the member edit his post, remove the message entirely, request a text filter, or request the member be banned. Use your judgement. When in doubt, ask for advice from another Moderator or the Board Staff. If you feel the need after speaking with these people, ask The Administrator, who will take final responsibility on any matter.

Here are the tools available to Moderators in dealing with abusive posts or members, in the order they should be considered:

Request Member Move The Post/Topic

If a member has posted a message that is "off-topic", or not inline with the theme of the board, it can often encourage others to post similar off-topic messages in your board. Naturally this tends to degrade the integrity of the board. If there is a different board on which the post would be on-topic, PM the author and politely request that he remove the post from your board and repost it on the other board. Explain the theme of your board versus the other, and thank him for his help. If there is not another board suited to the post in question, either suggest to the member that he petition the Administrator for the creation of an appropriate board, or that the member repost his message on a general interest board.

Move The Topic

Board Moderators may only move topics to and from boards they moderate. If you are not the Moderator for Board B, you cannot move a topic from your Board A to Board B. Neither can the Moderator for Board B. You must be the Moderator for both boards to move topics between them. As a function of the security programming only Board Staff may move topics between boards with different moderators. If you feel you need to move a topic, PM a request to a Board Staffer or to the Administrator. In the request please include: The title of topic to be moved, it's author, the board to move from, and the board to move to. As a matter of courtesy you may also wish to notify the author(s) of the topic/post(s) in a reply to the topic.

Request Member Edit The Post

For minor problems, especially with regard to angry posts, the best course of action, and the one least likely to further anger anyone, is to politely request via PM that the author modify or remove his post. Explain calmly and friendly why you believe the post shouldn't remain active as it is. You may also wish to suggest that the angry member settle his differences with the opposing member privately. YaBB provides several facilities for private discussion.

Edit The Post

In minor cases such as an objectionable picture being placed inside an otherwise useful message you might wish to simply edit the picture out of the post. The best way to do this is to replace the picture (or other item removed) with a statement such as "[IMAGE REMOVED]" or "[URL EDITED OUT]".

Lock The Topic

If the post or topic does not include an objectionable URL or photo, or is simply a heated argument that has apparently cooled, but which you do not wish to remove, you may wish to lock the topic so no further posts may be added. This allows the post(s) to continue to be read, however, so keep that in mind. If you find the topic very objectionable but have chosen to lock it rather than remove it, leave it locked for a few days then remove it.

Delete The Post

You may delete individual posts simply by clicking the "delete" button toward the top of any post. Occassionally members posting replies hit the "send" button too many times and multiple copies of the message get posted. This is an honest mistake; simply delete the extra copies. It is always a good idea to copy (author information, date and time, and body of the post) any post you delete (other than duplicates), and PM or e-mail it to the Administrator. By doing that you will have fully informed the Administrator in the event your judgement and action on the matter is ever questioned.

Delete The Topic

If an offending topic contains only the opening post, do not delete the post delete the topic. Within the YaBB system a "topic" consists solely of the subject, number of responses, date and time of creation, and author, it does not include the data on the first post, which is stored separately.

Request A Text Filter

YaBB includes a utility accessible only to the Administrator that allows for the automatic substitution of text in posts at display time. The Text Filter utility functions on the same principle as the engine that substitutes emoticon symbol text for emoticon graphics. For example: When one types ":-)" into a post, those three characters are replaced with the

image. The Text Filter functions the same way, allowing for the replacement of "http://www.getrichquick.com" with "(URL removed)". The substitution is done not at post time, when a member writes a post, but at display time, meaning everytime the page containing the post is displayed through a web browser the system performs the substitution. Thus, even days after multiple messages have been posted promoting "http://www.getrichquick.com", a Text Filter can be added that replaces the line in all past, present, and future posts. Additionally the filter can be changed from "(URL removed)" to "(Hey! Look at me! I'm a moron!)" at any time and it will automatically reflect in all past instances of the search term.

The Text Filter applies to any word, phrase, sentence, or combination of alphanumeric characters and punctuation. It also applies inside UBBC code (e.g. "[URL=http://www.getrichquick.com]Hey! Click Here![/URL]" becomes "[URL=(URL removed)]Hey! Click Here![/URL]"). The Text Filter applies to text in any post, signature, and Private Message; even to a topic title (see above for instructions on changing topic titles). Substitution also occurs within the "Print" function of YaBB, which is a separate process that displays a topic in a black and white printable format. In short, once a Text Filter is added, the search string will never be seen by anyone.

As you can see, the Text Filter utility is very powerful. Access to it is restricted solely to board staff. If a Board Moderator feels that a Text Filter is warranted, such as in the case of an individual or group that frequently posts an offending URL despite previous warnings and actions, petition must be made directly to the Administrator, who will then bear final responsibility for the use or non-use of the Text Filter. To request a Text Filter send a PM to username "admin" with the following information: The search string (what should be replaced) enclosed in quotes, your suggested replacement string enclosed in quotes, the board(s) and topic titles on which the offending search string appears, an approximate count of the search string's appearances, and an explanation of why you believe a Text Filter is warranted. If the offending search string appears on multiple boards, or has been noticed by other Moderators or Board Staffers, please also either mention their handles (usernames) or ask them to also PM the Administrator with their comments and recommendations on action. The Board Staff consider the use of a Text Filter to be a serious action, and the more support from Staff and Moderators the better.

Request A Member Be Banned From YaBB

It is the firm and fervent hope of the Board Staff that it will never be necessary to ban anyone from accessing YaBB. YaBB was created to be a place for enjoyment, comraderie, creativity, and freedom of expression. Much effort has been put forth by the Board Staff, the Board Moderators, and the membership general to create and propogate that spirit. Ideally we would all act responsibly and maturely toward each other and YaBB. Unfortunately we do have to face the realistic possibility that that will not be possible considering the opportunity the Internet represents to a very active minority out to separate us from our wallets or whose idea of fun is to ruin the enjoyment of others.

While we still hope very much to never have call to use it, YaBB has, since its creation, been equipped to bar individuals from access. The system can automatically prevent access by any person based on his IP Address, which is the unique number that identifies each person's computer at the point it connects to the Internet, or by a group of IP Addresses (all addresses originating from an entire domain or ISP), and by several other methods we will not discuss in the interest of security. Banning is permanent.

The Board Staff consider the termination of a member's account and the ban of that member to be a very serious action, and it will only be taken in the most extreme cases and when all other options have been exhausted. Before banning a member the Board Staff will thoroughly examine all evidence, interview all relevant parties, consider all circumstances, and attempt any and all possible lesser actions, which may include temporary suspension of account and access.

Realistically we cannot envision a situaton in which banning any member would be necessary.

The following individuals are not considered members, and will summarily and swiftly be banned:

promotion of a website, regardless of content;
promotion of a company, business, method of doing business, investment opportunity, mlm, affiliate program, or other commercial entity or enterprise;
promotion of a mailing list or newsletter;
posting of advertisements, whether of a graphical, textual, or multimedia nature;
posting of adult-oriented material that has little or no relevancy to YaBB, its themes, or other subject matter posted by members;
posting of lists of website or email addresses or other URLs;
posting of multiple messages whose content does not significantly vary ("spamming" or "bombing the board");
sending through Private Messaging multiple messages whose content does not significantly vary ("spamming" or "mail bombing");
sending through Internet e-mail to addresses collected by means of access to YaBB multiple messages whose content does not significantly vary ("spamming" or "mail bombing");
posting of copyright-protected MP3 or other files whose copyrights are not owned by the author of the post(s);
subscribing to mailing lists, clubs, opt-in lists, etc. Internet e-mail addresses collected by means of access to YaBB ("email slamming");
collecting by means of access to YaBB for the future purpose of sale, spamming, slamming, or bombing, Internet e-mail addresses;
collecting by means of access to YaBB for the future purpose of sale, spamming, slamming, bombing, or other unsolicited contact other personal information (names, telephone numbers, mailing addresses, etc.);
using without hand-signed consent from the relevant party or parties any VBR resources, domain names, and/or email addresses related to YaBB, its staff, or any of its members, in such a way as to infer endorsement of, connection to, affiliation with, or ownership of any company, business, method of doing business, investment opportunity, mlm, affiliate program, other commercial entity or enterprise, advertisement, website, e-mail, or other electronic or printed matter;
using any VBR resources, domain names, email addresses, trademarks, copyrighted material, etc. without the hand-signed consent of the Administrator;
sabotaging, or taking action intended to sabotage, YaBB, its systems and properties, or its web, email, and other servers;
sabotaging, or taking action intended to sabotage, the websites of members of YaBB, their systems and properties, or their hosts' web, email, and other servers;
breaching the security of, or taking action intended to breach the security of, including logging in and attempting to log into YaBB through another member's account without that member's permission for the purpose of reading the member's Private Messages and/or impersonating the member on public posts or Private Messaging, YaBB, websites of members of YaBB, their systems and properties, or their hosts' web, email, and other servers;

If a Board Moderator feels that an individual should be banned, such as in the case of an individual or group that engages in one of the activities listed above, take the following steps:

Cease all communication with the offending party; the Board Staff will take it from here.
Do not delete all the posts/PM's/e-mails from the offending individual as Board Staff will need to examine them, and will need to retain them if the action taken is ever challenged.
Inform all other relevant parties, except the offending party, to also retain their copies (in the case of PM or email offenses), and that they should not communicate with the author until the matter has been resolved.
Send via PM to username "admin" or via email to the Administrator's email address the following, please also send a copy to of the initial complaint to another Board Staff member (not a Board Moderator):
- The board(s) and topic titles on which the offending post(s) appears;
- if the offense is not related to public posts, such as PM or e-mail spamming, send representative samples;
- an approximate count of the appearances/instances of the offending post/message;
- the member's username and real name;
- the handles (usernames) of all members, Moderators, and Board Staffers who are aware of or have been victims of the offense; and
- an explanation of why you believe banning the member is warranted.

Though the entire Board Staff will be involved in the decision, the Administrator will bear final responsibility for the decision to ban or not ban the member. Any appeals and protests should be filed with the Administrator. Any involved parties wishing to comment or make recommendation on the matter prior to a decision being rendered should contact the Administrator and/or a Board Staffer.