Temporary Moderator Vacancy (updated)

[Jon]

Applications for the Temporary Moderator position are now closed. Thank you to all who have applied, we will be in touch shortly with our decision.

 

 

 

As some of you may be aware, the last couple of weeks have been particularly turbulent. I would like to thank everyone for their support. I have developed the below strategy as an alternative to closing the site over the summer months.

 

One of the problems that I highlighted was my absence over the summer, and the problems this will create in terms of the overall administration of the forums.

 

As a way forward, I have consulted with both Bernie and John, and have decided on the following.

 

- To cover daily administrative tasks and routine member management, Bernie will take on a new role as Assistant Administrator. Bernie has been with the site right from the very start, and has a good technical knowledge of the forums.

 

- To cover in my absence we are looking to recruit a temporary moderator for the summer period.

 

The temporary moderators position

 

We are looking for someone to complete basic moderation duties, intially on a temporary basis over the summer months. Duties will inlude:

 

- Monitoring the content of topics to ensure they comply with the the rules and guidlines

- Moving posts to correct forums

- Bringing to attention of the sitehost if there are any significant problems developing

- Closing topics where appropriate in line with the new topic closure policy (see below)

- Dealing with queries from site members.

 

 

What we are looking for

 

The person we are looking for to take on this role will need to meet the follwing requirements:

 

- Have made a productive, construcitve and reasoned contribution to the site over a sustained period of time

- Has a good general knowledge of inland waterways and the issues surrounding them

- Has experience dealing with members of the public (customer focus)

- Is willing to spent time daily, (on a purely voluntary basis) reading through posts

- Is not spending a significant time away from the site over the summer months (longer then 2 weeks).

- Is willing to work as part of a team.

- Has a good technical ability (able to use all the features of the forum to a competent level)

 

Previous experience is not essential, however any experience dealing with people and making decisons would be a significant bonus.

 

If you are interested in applying, then please send a paragraph (no more than 250 words) stating what you believe you will be able to contribute to the site to myself via Private Message. Bernie, John and I will then review each application based on the paragraph submitted and also look at the overall standard of posts for each applicant before making a decison.

 

Applications are to be made by 12:00pm on Wednesday 1st June 2005.

 

Topic Closure Policy

 

It has been suggested that we clearly outline what will cause a topic to be closed. It has therefore been decided to publish a topic closure policy, detailing when a moderator will close a topic.

 

This will be completed in due course, however I would like to remind all members that the site crew retain every right to close a topic without any justification, and my (site hosts) decison will be final. This will only be used in extreme cases.

 

 

Change to the Forum Rules and Guidelines

 

Some of the problems I have had to contend with over the last few days have stemmed from links posted on the site. From this point onwards

 

- The links directory will be for posting of new links only. The posting of links must be non-biased, and members will not abe able to comment on each link.

 

- Links in members signatures will no longer be permitted. Please use the 'Website' link in your profile to publish links to personal websites. I would ask members who have links posted in their signature to kindly remove them.

 

This does, on the surface, seem very over the top, and I do appreciate that. However it seems that the minority of visitors has spoilt it for the rest of us. The issues above are what has caused a significant amount of grief for me over the last week, and this can not continue into the summer. I am sorry for those who will lose the ability to promote their personal sites, it is not a decision I have taken lightly. This situation will be reviewed once I return at the end of the summer.

 

While on the subject of forum rules and guidelines, the Site Crew have recently started taking a more proactive approach to reducing irrelevant comments and replies, We decided that many threads were being lost in a see of irrelevant and off-topic comments, which was detracting from the purpose of the site. While our approach was not liked by all causing certain members to move elsewhere, we have infact noticed an increase in the quality and quantity of posts. We are therefore going to continue to be proactive about moving or deleting posts which we consider irrelvant or off-topic. We don't mean to spoil anyones fun, but we would appreciate if banter is kept to the Virtual Pub. If your post does get moved or closed, please don't be offended, it is has no reflection on you at all.

 

Also, I would like to remind all members to be considerate of others at all times while using the site. Please remember that behind every post there is a real person, and be considerate about the way in which you post. If you have a genuine complaint about a member then please contact a member of the site crew, rather than publically arguing on the forum. Thanks for your co-operation.

 

 

Finally, some good news to finish!

 

As a write this, we have crossed 500 members and 20,000 posts. This is a great achievement by everyone who has contributed to the site since October. The old system when it was archieved only had 576 members and 9537 posts. The popularity of the site has exceeded my expectations, and I am glad that many people are finding it a useful resource.

 

Those of you who are regular visitors will notice that the site was recently featured in Canal and River Boat Magazine, who gave the site a very positive review. This wouldn't have happenend if it wasn't for you guys posting and replying to messages!

 

Special Thanks

 

I have noticed over the last couple of months, a few members have made significant contributions to the site without any requests from members of the site crew. I'd like to thank the following members for their efforts:

 

- Gary Peacock - Gary has put considerable effort in to his feature 'How to build a barge' See http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=948

 

- dhutch - Dan has put a significant amount of effort into 'how to use tags' See http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...topic=1518&st=0

 

- Bill Kennedy - Bill put in considerable effort into his cruise log of his '12 Weeks on the cut' His installments can be found in the Cruise Diaries section.

 

I'd also like to thank everyone else who has contributed pictures, articles and logs. They are much appreciated.

 

 

Picture Gallery

 

The picture gallery continues to expand. A new category of 'Artistic Pictures' has been added for you to post you to publish your creative masterpieces! I am looking at ways to better integrate the gallery with the main forum - watch this space.

 

 

That's it for now. Thanks for your continued effort and support.

 

Many thanks,

 

Jon

 

Please could any feedback be sent privately to me, rather than posted on the board unless you think there is a need for everyone to view. Thanks

Edited June 2, 2005 by Jon

[Jon]

Following on from my post yesterday, I have updated the forum rules and guidelines to remove any doubt over the moderation of topics. Please take a moment to read through...

 

Forum Rules and Guidelines

Revised May 2005

 

Firstly, thank you for you interest in Canal World Discussion Forums. We aim to be a friendly discussion based community, with focused discussion on any issue relating to inland waterays. Membership is open to anyone and is FREE. The only condition is that you agree to follow the rules below.

 

These policies, while sounding official, are meant as a way to reduce any confusion over what is and isn’t allowed. Please to not be put off by them. Many of the legal aspects are simply to cover myself and the site should there be any challenges. Moderators very rarely have to take any action, a no members have been banned from the site since it was started in 2001.

 

Welcome to the forums and we hope you enjoy participating.

 

Many thanks,

 

Jon Belcher

Site Host.

 

Please take a moment to review the following.

 

Please remember that we are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message.

 

The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of Canal World Discussion Forums. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact a member of the site crew immediately via e-mail to sitecrew@canalworld.net or via the private messaging facility. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary.

 

You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this forum to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law.

 

You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or you have the permission of the copyright owner.

 

The forum is moderated by members chosen by the site host. These members can be identified by the title 'Site Crew' beneath their name. It is their responsibility to make sure, where possible, that discussion remains focused, relevant, on topic and within the rules stated on this page. We reserved the right to edit, change, or delete any post deemed unsuitable, or not within the rules on this page. The site staff reserve the right to prevent access to members, and revoke membership at any time. Site staff do not have to provide a reason for any decision made, but where appropriate a reason should be provided. Topic closure will adhere to the topic closure policy (see below)

 

Any person posting in the forum is legally responsible for what they post. Canal World, the staff and administrators accept no responsibility for anything which is posted, and the consequences of such. Any decision of the site host will be final. If you feel you have grounds to complain over a decision which has been made, please contact sitehost@canalworld.net

 

Subject to the following conditions, no advertising of product, services, or anything else is permitted, either in posting or via private messaging.

- The host may permit advertising to appear at his sole discretion.

- Within the context of discussion, information about the use of, the location of, and the price of products is permitted.

 

Links to commercial and personal websites are welcome to be placed in the Links Directory, under the relevant section. Due to the high volume of complaints that have been received, we ask that members do not place links in their signatures.

 

Our aim is to provide a forum for focused, high quality discussion. We therefore request that with the exception of the Virtual Pub forum, all posts should be kept on topic and banter free. This facilitates quality discussion and is for the benefit of all members.

 

Users may only use this facility if they agree to the above. This site shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales. Anything which may be construed as illegal activity will be reported to authorities, along with any details held regarding the member(s) involved.

 

 

Please note that all content on this site is © Copyright of its respective owners. Permission from the owner should be sought before reproducing any aspect of this site.

 

 

The site crew aim to remain as transparrent as possible. We will ensure that all actions taken are in fair, and in line with the below policies.

 

Topic Closure Policy

 

Moderators (Site Crew) reserve the right to close any topic without justification. However, we will always try to use the following policy. Topics will normally only be closed in the following circumstances

 

· Where the topic is, or has become inappropriate, offensive, derogatory, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law.

· Where the topic is drifiing away from the topic of discussion, or new posts are unconstructive and will add little to the discussion. Moderators will attempt to split/move topics to a more appropriate forum before closing a topic in this case.

· Where a topic reaches a natural conclusion, and by leaving the topic open it is likely that either of the above two points will occur.

· Where a topic is in breach of the forum rules and guidelines as outlined above.

 

Moderators will always look at all available options before closing a topic. When closing a topic, moderators will provide a detailed reason for doing so. The site host will also review closed topics, and will make a final decision. Any objections to the closure of a topic should be sent via private message or e-mail to the site host.

 

Post Editing Policy

 

Moderators (Site Crew) reserve the right to edit any post without justification. However, we will always try to use the following policy. Posts will normally only be edited in the following circumstances:

 

· Where the post is inappropriate, offensive, derogatory, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law.

· Where a post is in breach of the forum rules and guidelines as outlined above.

 

Moderators should always contact the member via private message to let them know that the post has been edited, and the reasons why. In cases where the post offensive, derogatary, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law, the site host will be informed and the member may have post rights revoked until the situation is reviewed. If you feel you have grounds to complain, please contact the site host via e-mail or private message.

Edited May 27, 2005 by Jon

[John Orentas]

Jon.

 

Can't see anything wrong there, I think you have covered everything, just minor spelling.

 

As a general point which I am not suggesting applies to your document. I was advised years ago to always use simple ever day language for such things. Legalistic words and phrases sometimes land people in hot water, there are sometimes meanings set by precedent that were not intended by the writer.

[Jon]

D'oh

 

Got disturbed while writing and posted the draft version to the site instead of the final one. Nothing has changed except spelling mistakes corrected!

 

Sorry!

Edited May 27, 2005 by Jon