I know we've got the thread
here for reformulating moderator guidelines, but I thought it might also be useful to have an explanation of exactly what's available to moderators and what it can/should be used for. As it is there isn't really any explanation of it all for new moderators, and even long-standing moderators don't seem to be aware of some of the options available to us (I've seen a lot of people ask how we can check if a PM has been sent for example). Anyways, enough of my ramble, I'll get started with a list of some of it:
User Profiles:
These options are accessible from the profile page of any given user:
List this users account activity:
Opens a page displaying the activity of the user in summary form. Each action performed by the user is displayed in a single row which lists:
- The IP used
- The username (this is because you can also get IP activity pages)
- The date/time
- The action:
- Edited Reply
- Edited Topic
- Logged in
- Modified profile
- Posted Reply
- Posted Topic
- Rated User
- Registered Account
- User sent a PM
This list can be searched based on username (if appropriate), IP, IP range, and timeframe. Where appropriate, actions listed are a link (i.e. to the topic a user posted). This list will show you if the user has sent a PM, but doesn't list who it was sent to (and you can't view the message).
List this users IPs:
Opens a page displaying IPs used by the account in question. Each IP is listed in a single row, providing:
- The IP
- Date/Time of first use
- Date/Time of last (most recent) use
- Activity (as above, for either the IP or the Account)
- Posts (for either the IP or the Account)
Also provided on this page are links to:
- List all users that have shared at least one IP with <user>
- List all activity by user
This page can be filtered by IP range and/or date/time.
Show users that have shared at least 1 IP with this user:
Fairly self explanatory. For each user that has shared at least 1 IP with this user you can pull up a list of the actual IPs shared, or a list of IPs used by a given user.
Show how this user ranked other users:
Shows how the user has rated others. Inoformation provided on each rating includes:
- Username of rated user
- The rating as a %
- The actual change in rating generated
- The date/time of the rating
- The IP used
This can be filtered based on nickname, date, IP, rating, change, IP range, or date.
Show how other users have ranked this user:
This is the same page as above, but filtered differently to show how other users have rated the account in question.
Go to this user's discipline page:
Goes to the discipline page for the user. This is covered below.
Discipline Page:
This page is accesible from the users profile, or from the 'warning level' link displayed in forums. It serves both as a method and a record of punishment and warnings. Options available on this page are:
Adjust warning level:
The user's warning level can be incremented or decremented by 10% with the options here. Warning levels decrease by 10% every 14 days. Selecting decrease while the user's warning level is on 0 will allow you to leave a note in thier warning history without affecting the warning level.
Suspend posting ability:
Checking the box here will permenantly ban the user (can only be undone by staff). Typing a number into the box and selecting days or hours from the drop-box will allow you to create a temporary suspension.
Ban user:
As above, but the user will instead be banned. Temporary bans are generally not used, a suspension is more appropriate.
Reason for adjustment:
Explanation of warning or punishment. This is viewable by the user in question, moderators and staff, and will remain permanently listed on the page as a record for future consideration. Posting appropriate links within the explanation is often a good idea. In the case of duplicate accounts a link to the old account as well as the thread in the AAA forum is recommended.
Private Message to <user>:
If you fill this out, the contents will be PMd to the user in question. This can be useful to give them a more lengthy explanation of what you don't want them to do in the case of warnings/suspensions.
Member warning history:
Below the main form a list displays all previous warnings and punishments issued to the user in question. These can be taken into consideration when deciding how to deal with a given user.
In Threads:
Moderators can see deleted threads, and can still see deleted posts within regular threads. In addition, the following additional options are available.
Edit posts:
We can edit other people's posts. When this is appropriate is covered in the existing guidelines document.
Deleting posts:
This is done through the post-editing dialogue. Deleting the OP of a thread deletes the whole thread. Again, see the existing guidelines document.
Warning Level:
The warning level of all users is displayed to moderators, even when it's at 0 (it only shows to other users when it's above 0). This is a link to the discipline page for that particular user.
User's IP:
The IP used to make each post is displayed to moderators. This is a link to an "IP match for users" page listing users who have used that IP.
Administrative Options:
At the bottom of the page, a dropdown box titled 'administrative options' provides the following functionality.
- Open/Close Topic
- Move Topic (to another forum)
- Delete Topic
- Stick/Unstick Topic
and that covers most of the main stuff really. Also of note is the fact that the alert posts in the AAA forum link you to a some of this stuff. So, did I get anything wrong there, or miss anything important that we all need to know about?
