As you may be aware, we spend a lot of time behind the scenes deciding on our moderation style. In light of this, we would like to be more open on how we moderate the forum. Please use this as a reference point to help people understand how the forum is moderated. If I have missed anything, please comment below and I will happily add it.
Suspension
We keep it structured using suspension as a last resort. We inform the rest of the moderators before suspending and get their opinions, trying to get a balanced view of if we should suspend or not. Suspension times go as followed:
- 3 days
- 7 days
- 30 days.
Longer suspension times are not be used apart from in specific circumstances. In these situations, we look to seek advice from Philippe or Tyler.
Communication
We like to try and diffuse situations by talking to the person via PM. We look to try to understand the persons situation and give leeway if we feel it is needed. Bear in mind that as a moderator, we always think about the situation and impact on the forum as a whole too. Making the most of the forum FAQs, TOS and privacy pages is something we will look to increase. This is to help members understand the issue present from our point of view.
Warnings:
We always give a pre-warning first using effective communication to work out the situation and try to understand it from the members view point. If the issue persists, we give a formal warning. When giving a warning, we state the clear reasons for it and try to explain them in full. A negative response via PM to a warning is not something we suspend for by itself, however it will not help your cause. Feel free to ask us for more reasoning and feel comfortable to disagree with it in a formal and polite way, however we as moderators do reserve the final judgement.
Deleting or Hiding Threads?
We delete threads that are offensive, racist, sexist and so forth. In these circumstances, skipping the structured suspension method may be something we do. We inform the rest of the moderators and Philippe if there is a situation like this occurring as soon as possible. As moderators, we may also take screenshots of the comments as evidence in case we feel the issue needs to be taken further.
Other threads such as arguments, ATC complaints and so forth will be unlisted and closed if necessary. In ATC complaint threads, please do not comment unless you’re authorised to (if you don’t know if you can, don’t). ATC mods may chose to close the topic at any time as they are now TL4.
‘Self Moderation’
Obviously, we don’t just do as we please as moderators. Sometimes, however, we may notice the moderation style of another moderator is a little different to ours. In this case, we do bring this up between us. Issues such as too much deleting, potential bias or how we respond to comments by members (and many more things) are a good example of recent issues we have discussed.
We also check the logs periodically to see what action we have been taking and whether one moderator is doing all the work (it is more equal than you think). If you have an issue of the moderation style of a specific moderator just let us know via PM and we will happily discuss it.