Generally, moderators have a threefold responsibility: to foster lively discussion, to ensure that members are following the community rules, and to assist new members.  A good moderator ensures that his/her forum is inviting, active, and an asset to the community as a whole.

Moderators have extended capability to edit, move, delete, or prune posts. However, at this time we ask that you contact the board administrators, Megan Turek or Jeff Steinborn should the need arise to perform these tasks.

Moderator Etiquette
The moderators should always be familiar with the specific rules and regulations of their board, but these are some general guidelines for good moderation.

What do I say on the board?
Begin by greeting new members as they post questions. Participate in the conversations that are taking place on the board, and, if necessary, prepare a topic to keep conversation flowing smoothly. Reach out to your colleagues, students, co-workers, etc. if necessary to help fuel the discussion.

When to edit a message
· Contains profanity
· Contains off-topic content
· Violates the board rules in some other way (contains advertising, etc.)

Editing is always visible to the community; whenever a message is edited, the date/time/edit author are shown within the message (although this can be disabled by the Administrator in UBB™ 6 software).

In general, it is preferable to edit a message rather than delete it entirely.

When to delete a topic or message
· Unacceptable behavior (as determined by the tone of the community; e.g., profanity)
· Completely off-topic discussion
· No part of the topic/message is salvageable by editing
· Illegal/defamatory statements

Basically, whenever there is no value to the community that demands leaving the topic/message in place.  It is good practice to
e-mail the topic initiator to explain why it was deleted, unless the reason is totally obvious. 

When to move a topic
· Off-topic discussion

When you move a topic, you have the choice to either leave a copy of the thread in the original forum, or completely move it to
the new forum location.  It is usually a good idea to leave a copy pointing to the new location so those returning can find it.

When to ban a member
· Repeated violation of the stated board rules or forum rules
· Offensive behavior (e.g., posting offensive material, harassing other members)
· Attempts at hacking or destroying the forum
· Repeated attempts to circumvent moderation or banning

Banning a member means that he/she can no longer post messages on your board (it is not limited to a specific forum). 
Normally, unruly members are given a warning prior to actually being banned, since that is a fairly serious step.  The level of
discipline should correspond to the seriousness of the offense.  (And remember…it is always reversible.)

When to close a topic
· Discussion is heading off-topic, but does not merit deletion
· The initial message and replies contain valuable information, but further discussion is not desired
· The thread is becoming too lengthy

Thanks for your participation!

Megan Turek
Managing Editor
mturek@closingthegap.com