Mod Duties, What They Do! Options

[Brian]

I realize that the members at THF may not fully understand the role of a moderator, so I think it’s important to share a little bit about what our moderators do.
The first thing to remember is that ALL THF moderators are volunteers that care enough about the site and the members to donate time and energy to make THF a better place. Suggestions are always welcome, but please be patient and kind, as they, too, are Taylor fans…people just like you with lives, jobs, families, pets, problems and joys
Moderator duties include, but are not limited to:
1. Welcome new members. This is done in two main ways. First, mods monitor all the new posts to try to catch each member’s first post and respond to it with a welcome greeting and offer of assistance. Second, mods send a PM (personal message) to each and every new member, usually within a week or less of the time they join.
2. Review threads:
a. Review posts for “family friendly” content.
b. Review posts to ensure they stay on topic.
c. Review posts to ensure that any disagreement or discussion does not distract from the topic; and to try to stop arguments BEFORE they occur.
d. Review posts for external links and/or email addresses, and other rule violations. The rules are posted at the top of our main forum page, but many people are anxious to get to the meat of the forums and bypass the rules.
e. Sometimes when threads are questionable, mods will make them invisible until they have a chance to discuss with me, so I can make a final decision. When mods do this, they will PM the thread originator to let them know what is going on.
f. Reply to as many threads as possible. Especially with new members, people are hesitant to post and when they do, they want responses. It is our goal that threads keep moving so that none go unnoticed. However, it is not humanly possible to catch every single new post each day, but our team does the best we can.

These tasks involve attempting to read EVERY thread to make sure that THF rules and guidelines are followed. Sometimes this involves gentle nudging, supplying duct tape, or editing posts and PMing members. Please remember that if you get a PM from a moderator, it is not meant as a personal attack. We all type things at times that we may not realize could be offensive to others, or that might not follow the THF guidelines. It doesn’t mean it was intentional, and I, and the mods, understand that. Our team works very hard to make sure rules are followed, feelings aren’t hurt, and we get as much Taylor info and media to you as possible.

3. Start new threads
a. Find and post the latest articles.
b. Think of original ideas for topics of discussion.
c. Think of original ideas for new polls.
4. Find and post new audio/video media
a. Some of the videos posted are member videos. Still others are those that are found on YouTube, GoFish, or other internet sites. The intent is to have all videos available on the THF server, as many times links expire and we don’t want to lose videos forever.
b. Download and upload videos. Anybody ever wonder HOW we get these videos on the THF server? Without going into too much detail, there are two options:
i. If the video is on a site like Megaupload or Sendspace, we download the video to our hard drive, and then upload the videos to the THF server. For an average sized video (20mb) this will take about 20 minutes to download and another 20-30 minutes to upload. Of course, smaller videos take less time and larger videos take more time.
ii. If the video is on YouTube, GoFish, or an external internet site, the process is more complicated. We have to locate the source file, download it to our hard drive, convert it to a suitable format (such as Windows Media), then upload it to the server.
5. “Clean up” threads. Moderators often receive questions about “do you know where I can find….?” In an effort to help you all find things more easily, moderators spend behind the scenes time doing two things.
a. Merge threads. If mods find 2 or more threads on the same subject, they will ensure that the sources are property credited on all threads then merge the multiple threads so that all of the like items are in one place. For instance, recently in the 2007 tour pictures thread, there were 6 individual threads with Jacksonville, FL, pictures. Now you will find one. Many efforts are concentrated in the media forums, and an attempt is made to keep like topics merged in all forums.
b. Organize threads. Mods go through all of the threads and try to make sure that videos are posted in the video forum, pictures are in the picture forum, Sanjaya articles are in the Season 6 forum, and so on. Sometimes this involves splitting topics that have more than one theme in order to keep threads on topic.
6. Respond to member PMs, emails, and questions within threads. When members have how to, where do I find, or any other type of question, mods strive to respond to these questions as quickly as possible.
7. Work on site improvements and suggestions. We often receive suggestions for changes or improvements to THF. I meet with the moderating team to prioritize these suggestions. Right now, we are working on a “How to” thread, so look for that coming soon to THF.

Well, that about covers it. I hope this helps you understand a little better the role of moderators on THF. Please always feel free to let us know if something happens you don’t understand, or you simply have a question or want to say hi.