Forumosa

Everything changes, nothing remains without change.
~Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta~

Change in all things is sweet.
~Aristotle~

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
~Charles Darwin~

And with the words of those great men in mind, I’d like to announce a few changes in the Forums:

First, a big thank you to some outgoing mods who have served us with grace and dignity. Irishstu, MJB, Toasty, Truant, you guys will be missed!

Second, animal rescues and adoptions now have their own forum, a sub-forum of Pets & Animals. Many Forumosans put forth some valid reasons for keeping those posts on Forumosa, and we’re glad to be able to accommodate them.

Third, Flounder and Temp are now two separate forums, and they will both be unmoderated. Flounder is still for silliness, but the posts will live FOREVER, while Temp posts are multiple posts, posts that make no sense, etc, and they will still expire after 15 days.

And finally, the politics forums, both International Politics and Taiwan Politics will be unmoderated. The rules however, will still apply. How will this work? Well, basically we’re asking the people who post in these forums to moderate themselves. If someone sees a post that he/she believes to be against the rules, all they have to do is hit the “squeal” button in the top right hand corner, which reports the post to admin. Whichever one of us three admin sees the report first will take a quick look at the suspect post, and if we find it to be in violation of the rules, the post will be deleted on the spot. We are optimistic that this will improve things in the politics forums. It certainly makes things easier for admin, in that the difficult search for politics forum moderators does not have to be sustained.

Dear New Moderator,

Welcome!

And thank you for agreeing to give your time and attention to helping keep Forumosa hip, relevant and (above all) as easy to use as possible.

Moderators have a number of additional functions and responsibilities that you were probably unaware of as a Forumosan Regular. Please refer to (and suggest improvements for!) this document over time so that your moderating is as uneventful as possible.

The Admins
admin @ forumosa.com
January 2006

The Moderator’s FAQ

SOME BASICS
Woah, where did all those extra forums come from?
Where can I access the moderators forum in the Sitemap?

EXTRA FUNCTIONS
Really? I can KILL posts?
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?
What does MERGE mean, and how do I use it?
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”?

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

RE-BOOT 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.

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
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.
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.
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.
Should I have access to SQUEAL reports?
Unfortunately, the software limits access to SQUEAL reports to admin only.
What is the difference between the DELETE and KILL links?
There is no difference.
What does MERGE mean, and how do I use it?
Merge is a great moderating tool. There are two ways to merge: you can merge posts from one thread into another thread, or you can merge one or more entire threads into another. You cannot merge one post into another post. To merge posts into a different thread, scroll down to the bottom of the thread and under the last post on the left-hand side you will see some buttons, one of which is the “merge” button. Press it, and it will display every post in the thread in question on one page, along with a check box. Check the box of every post you want to merge, and then at the top of the page, indicate which forum you want to merge the posts into. Once this has been done, hit “merge selected posts”. You will now proceed to the index page of the forum you wish to have the posts merged into, but every thread will also have a check box next to it. Check the box (actually it’s a circle) of the thread you wish to merge into, and shazam! - you’ve done it! Note: In case the thread that you wish to merge into is past the first page of topics, you will need to enter the thread and post a message to “bump” it up to the first page. I usually just type the word “bump” and then delete that post when I’m finished. The procedure for merging entire threads is similar. At the bottom left of the forum page, and on the bottom right of any topic page, you will see the “moderate” button. Hit this button, and you will be given a list of the first page of topics from your forum with a check box next to them. Check the topic(s) you wish to merge. Hit merge, and you will be asked which forum you would like to merge the topics into. Once this has been done, you will get the first page of that forum’s topics. If the topic you wish to merge into is on the second page or even farther back, again, you’ll need to need to enter the thread and post a message to “bump” it up to the first page.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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 – 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.
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.
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.