For starters, since this post will most likely show up as October 1st, even though it's still September 30th... I'm 38. That's right, on October 1st I turn 38. =P So Happy Birthday to myself.
[/shameless self promotion]
Now for the main reason for my post. I've been working on a message to send to all chat moderators and I thought I'd share it with everyone. Those of you who are chat moderators, you will be getting this in a pm so you have a record of it. However, for the regular member base, I think a bit of transparency is in order so I'm also putting that up here.
Chat Moderation Guidelines
I’d like to take a moment to review the moderation guidelines for anyone who is helping out as a chat moderator at theOtaku. Those of you who are also moderators at OtakuBoards will most likely recognize some of these guidelines. Anyway…
1 – One of the most important things to remember is that a lot of the members on theOtaku are young; therefore a tremendous amount of patience is required.
2 – If someone reports a problem or asks general questions about the network, be sure to help them out to the best of your ability. If it’s something you’re not sure about, send them to either SunfallE or Panda. (All chat moderation issues, like a member misbehaving in chat go to SunfallE)
3 – As a moderator, you have several options at your disposal to help you do your job.
- Warn – This is your first option. It’s mainly for letting members know that their behavior is not acceptable, such as swearing or verbally attacking another member.
- Freeze – This gives you the ability to temporarily stop a member from chatting, it only lasts about a minute.
- Kick – This is your final option, if a member has not listened to warnings and continues to behave in a manner that is not acceptable (swearing, harassing others, etc) then you can kick them out of the chat. Like freezing, this too is temporary.
If the member continues to disregard the warnings then at that point, save the chat in question and send SunfallE the information along with a brief description of the problem.
4 – Conversations in the chat must always be PG-rated except for password-protected rooms, which will be private. If members are behaving in a manner that others are uncomfortable with remind them that they have the option to create password-protected rooms or that they can use the private chat feature.
If you have any questions, let me know and we’ll get them addressed.
I’d also like to take a moment to remind everyone that helping out as a moderator at theOtaku is subject to change. We reserve the right to remove or shuffle staff without notice. We have a very large member base and giving members a chance to become a chat moderator is a way to allow people to contribute to the community.
Becoming staff for the chat will work much in the same way that it does over at OtakuBoards. If a member asks how they can become one, let them know that the best avenue to take is “don’t call us, we’ll call you.” Asking for a moderation position, no matter how persistent they are, will not enhance their chances of joining our staff.
Now in closing, it has come to my attention that the warn, freeze and kick function for moderators has been used for joking around. This needs to stop. A small amount of joking around is understandable, however, moderators need to keep in mind that for a member who has no means to stop it if they don’t care for it… it is NOT FUN AT ALL.
I am not pointing fingers at anyone since none of you have been given clarification on this issue, but I have gotten enough complaints from various members that I feel it has become a bit of an issue. So I’m telling anyone who does this as a joke that I expect you to cut way back on this kind of joking around. I am quite serious about this. I don’t want to yank someone’s moderation abilities in the chat over something like this, but if necessary, I will.
Remember, people come into the chat to relax and have a good time and it’s your job to help make sure they can, so let’s keep it friendly for everyone okay? Thanks.
SunfallE
theOtaku Staff
And there you have it. If anyone has questions or concerns, feel free to either pm or ask me directly in the comments here. And since it's still not my birthday yet, I have more work to do around here.
