These are the guidelines for DIY Drone's moderators, of which there are currently about 30, although we add them all the time (PM me if you'd like to be one). I'm posting them publicly because they also include some tips for posters, especially on what should be a blog post vs. a discussion topic and how to make blog posts effective and good-looking.
FAQ:
How to become a moderator? The best way is to just spend time on the site as a positive member of the community, both contributing your own ideas and helping others. Eventually I or one of the other admins will notice (we watch the leaderboards, too, although that reflects a lot of things beyond simple participation) and we'll invite you to become a moderator. People can also put up their hand and volunteer, at which point we can review their history and approve. If you accept, we'll upgrade your permissions on the site so you can do the following:
What do moderators do? They can approve/reject new member applications, approve/reject/edit blog posts, add/change tags, delete content that violates our site guidelines and ban spammers.
When should a moderator reject a membership request? Typically this is only done when there are pretty clear signs of a spammer. The most obvious is an off-topic subject in the description and link to an off-topic site. (ie, "I sell insurance and love meeting new people! Here's a link to our insurance site"). Also, if the submission has no information (or just random characters) in the required field, that can be seen as a warning sign and justification for rejecting the request.
How to moderate a blog post?
First, ensure that it's appropriate. Blog posts should be informational, and of broad interest to the community. Questions or tech support requests should be posted in the Discussion Forum instead. If someone has posted something as a blog post that should have been in the Forum, copy it and paste it into a Friend Request to the person, asking them to repost in the correct area.
Second, ensure that the post is the correct form. It should have a clear title and begin with an image or video. The image should be set to 500 pixels wide, full width. Often people will include an image or video, but not at the top of the post. If that's the case, feel free to move it to the top of their post before publishing it. This will ensure that the image shows up on the front page of the site and will encourage more people to click through (you're doing the poster a favor!).
Videos should be embedded (not just links to YouTube, forcing people to leave the site to watch). If the user is having trouble embedding video, make sure they're not using the iFrame mode in YouTube. That doesn't work with Ning. [Update: Ning can now support all YouTube embed codes.]
Also, if it's a Vimeo video, they have to use the "old embed code" to work with Ning: [Likewise, all embed codes are now supported]
Common errors include copy-and-paste formatting garbage in front of the image that prevents it from showing up on the front page of the site. If you see this, switch into HTML mode and delete this before publishing. You may also see crazy formatting issues, like huge spaces between paragraphs and funky type sizes. This is almost always due to posts being copy-and-pasted from other sites. Try to clean them up a bit before publishing.
When should a moderator ban someone? This is most often done for spamming (clearly off topic posts with links to off-topic sites). Ban on first offense--no second chances. For cases where you think a user is violating our site polices regarding personal attacks or otherwise behaving uncivilly, you should privately warn them via a PM and tell them that they can be banned if this behavior continues. Let me know if this doesn't solve the problem.
Comments
Hi,
Can someone tell me how to embed youtube video on a post.
I copied the 'embed' code from youtube link and pasted (after clicking the Media Icon in tool bar for the post). When I preview it, it comes out to be blank?
Thanks.
Jason, at the moment only Admins can PM people without adding them as friends. I'm hoping Ning will add that functionality soon, but for now please send the message in a friend request. I know it's weird to ask people you're disciplining to be a "friend" but perhaps it will make the medicine go down easier for them ;-)
How can you PM someone without adding them as a friend? I deleted some profanity this morning and wanted to send the member a note
I like LiPo's energy density and explodability, but NiCl pretty much takes the cake in wattage, durability, and overall efficiency - depends on what it's being used for I suppose.
All good stuff. Shannon makes a nice point about conversation. Especially when trying to diagnose a patient circuit that one cannot see, using a slightly altered configuration, put together by someone with a different skill set. It's a merry chase round and round the mulberry bush.
But when a newbie needs help, and posts a question where it may never be seen, 4 pages into a year old thread, some gentle guidance by the moderator and a comment that, "I have moved your question to its own thread so that it will get a better response" can do a lot of good.
just a thought on 'thread hijacking': a question or comment's degree of relevancy to a specific topic is a matter of perspective. I find the most interesting blog/forum discussions those which mimic natural conversation, meander off topic, introduce new questions, ideas, theories, etc.
Not everyone is adept or has the time to effectively navigate forums and it doesn't make sense to discourage anyone from asking questions - ever - regardless of the context - imho. When off topic questions or comments appear, I like to see moderators who take the time to reroute the conversation via weblink & explanatory response on the thread.
Just a quick one from me, Newbie posts not being in the Newbie section, would be good to have them switched over when they are in the wrong sections of the forum.
I have only been here a few months now, but seems like there are more misplaced postings or not enough searching before new members make a post.
Not sure if it has been discussed before or how hard it would be to change the forum structure to have Newbie on the first page, at the top! Just thinking out aloud!
Highjacking a thread is quite common and I have seen some moderators put a stop to it, but sometimes it's kinda hard to put the brakes to.
(not that I'm admitting to anything you understand)