Moderation Guide Pinned

MODERATION QUOTA
Every moderator is expected to try to complete 25 moderation tasks each month. This does not mean once you have reached your 25th task you do not need to moderate the forum for the rest of the month. Also, the tasks have to be genuines tasks, meaning editing and re-editing something just to up your quota is not ok.

THINGS YOU CAN DO IN IPB
1. Warn Members
2. Delete/Move/Edit posts
3. Delete/Move/Close/Merge/Split threads
4. Put users on Moderator Preview / Disable posting
5. Ban specific members for X amount of days
6. Delete comments on profiles
7. Adjust a user's profile settings.
8. Edit/Remove a user's avatar, signature, personal photo etc.

*NOTE*:
1. Admins are the only ones who can do an IP ban
2. Admins are the only ones who can create subforums

HOW TO WARN A MEMBER
On each profile and each post there is a little thing that says WARN: #% with little boxes beside it. To warn a member, click on the RED box. It will ask if you want to increase or decrease the warn level, allow the option of enforcing moderator preview, disabling the posting ability, suspending the account for X amount of hours/days, and then a place for the reason of the warn. THIS LAST BIT MUST BE FILLED OUT. At the bottom is the option to PM or Email the subject on the warn/suspension. We usually select to PM the member, but if you feel the member isn't going to read your PM then you should select Email.

DELETING POSTS
Or what makes a post inappropriate?
1. Does the post contain any type of baiting, bashing or flaming?
2. Is it spam? (The person is posting just to post and up their post count, or is advertising something).

DELETING/MOVING/EDITING POSTS
DELETE: To delete a post, click the DELETE button on any post. It will ask you if you are sure. Click yes and the post will be deleted.

MOVING: To move posts, click the box in the upper right hand corner of the post (it has a little check mark in it). Once you select all the posts you want to move, select "MOVE POSTS" from the drop-down menu on the bottom right hand side, and click the WITH SELECTED button. All you need to do then is paste the URL of the thread you want to move those posts into in the text box on the next page and click the MOVE POSTS button.

EDITING: There is a full edit and quick edit option. When you edit a post make sure you explain why the post was edited, either by typing it in red or completing the Reason for edit box (your choice). Make sure you indicate your name in the edit (Ex: "posted edited by PinkCouture"). In the FULL EDIT option, you can also tick a box so the legend "This post has been edited by so-and-so at time" appears on the post.

DELETING/MOVING/CLOSING THREADS
There are two ways to do each. When you're actually in the thread or when you're viewing the thread in the sub-forum.



OPTIONS IN THE THREAD/TOPIC
DELETE: On the bottom left hand side is a drop-down that says MODERATION OPTIONS. To delete the thread, select DELETE THIS TOPIC and click go.

MOVE: On the bottom left hand side is a drop-down that says MODERATION OPTIONS. To move the thread, select MOVE THIS TOPIC and click go. On the next page, select where you want to move the topic too (do not leave a link to the new topic) and click move this topic.

CLOSE: On the bottom left hand side is a drop-down that says MODERATION OPTIONS. To delete the thread, select CLOSE THIS TOPIC and click go.

*NOTE*: With the same drop-down you can also edit the topic title, pin a thread, or merge a thread (which is like moving posts above).


OPTIONS IN SUB-FORUMS
DELETE: Click the check box to the right of the thread and select DELETE TOPICS from the drop-down menu just below.

MOVE: Click the check box to the right of the thread and select MOVE TOPICS from the drop-down menu just below.

CLOSE: You can use the drop-down as mentioned above, or just click the folder icon to the left of the topic to close it.

*NOTE*: As above you can pin the topic or merge it. You cannot edit the topic title from the sub-forum with the drop-down. You must click and HOLD to edit the topic title. Splitting is just like moving posts, by selecting what you want to split and then selecting the option from the drop down. This is something that needs to be done IN the thread. As we don't really split all that often, this will not be explained unless you guys need it to be.


OTHER THINGS TO NOTE
MODERATOR PREVIEW / DISABLING POSTING
There will probably never be a point where we use this, but it is something worth knowing how to do in case we ever have to. Both of these options can be found in the Warning Panel. Moderator preview means that the staff will see the post, but no members will until we click the approve button for it. The disable posting is turning off their ability to post period.

DELETING COMMENTS ON PROFILES
To delete profile comments you can do one of two things. On their profile you can click the X button beneath the comment (it's a little circle with an X in it). There will be no "are you sure" warning, so be sure to click the right button. The second option is to click the FRIENDS tab on the center profile area, and check the boxes of the comments you want to remove. In the drop-down, select DELETE SELECTED COMMENTS and click go.

ADJUSTING USER PROFILE SETTINGS
This is pretty much setting if they have to approve friends/comments and the like. Instead of clicking the COMMENTS tab, click SETTINGS and edit away.

REMOVING USER'S AVATAR/SIGNATURE/PERSONAL PHOTO
To edit these settings, click on the OPTIONS drop-down found on the left hand side of the user's profile and select EDIT MEMBER. On the next page you can choose to remove the member's avatar or profile photo, edit their location, interests, signature, and chat IDs. When finished, click EDIT MEMBER.


Thanks alessandraambrosio.com & alessandrasbeijos.com

Here is the more official moderation guide from IPB...

Moderation Guide
Moderation of the forum is very simple once you get the hang of it even though the features offered by the software are quite powerful and allow you to manipulate topics and posts in many ways.

Listing
When you enter a forum you are presented with a list of topics which people have created. A variety of information is shown including the topic title, starter, number of replies, creation date etc. If you have moderator privileges, an extra column on the right is added. This column has a small 'tick' icon next to each topic. Click this button and it will turn to a red tick. This indicates that the topic has now been selected. Whatever option you choose, the effects will be applied to this topic. You can select more than one topic too. If you wanted to 'pin' (also referred to as 'sticky') many topics, simply click the tick next to the topic names.

To select the topic, click the tick icon
From the drop-down menu choose what you would like to do with the selected topics. When you have chosen and option, click this button to perform the operation. The number in brackets shows how many topics you have selected.

Options
Now you know how to select topics, we can choose what operation we want to perform on them. There are many options available in the drop-down list

Close Topics: Selecting this will lock the topic so that nobody else can reply to it. This is useful if a topic gets out of hand or when you post certain announcements.

Open Topics: Selecting this option will open topics that have previously been closed with the above option. Any moderator can open a topic that has been closed by someone else.

Pin Topics: This option will move the topic to the top of the listing in this forum. All pinned (stickied) topics are shown in their own "Important Topics" section at the top of the forum. This option is useful if you want to ensure the rules of the forum are always at the top

Unpin Topics: This reverses the above operation, it will place the topic back into the normal topic listing.

Move Topics: This option allows you to move a topic to another forum. This is useful if someone has posted a topic in the incorrect forum. For example, they posted a topic about an actor in the athletes forum.

*NOTE:* You have the options of moving one or several topics. If you decide that you no longer want to move one of the selected topics, untick the box next to the topic's name. Now select the forum to move the topics to and press the submit button, "Move selected topics."

Merge Topics: If there are two topics on the same subject you can combine them into one topic using this option. After you have completed the merge please post an announcement, preferably in red, to inform members.

Delete Topics: If you want to remove a topic completely then you would select this option. All deleted topics are then moved into the Thread Tomb.

In-Topic Options
All of the options here have been covered above, they all perform the same function as described above. The only option not mentioned above is Edit Topic Title. Selecting this will allow you to alter the topic title shown at the top of the page and in the forum. You can only edit the title of the topic on the first post of the topic.

You may also notice that each post has a small tick in the upper right hand corner, the same tick as can be found next to each topic on the forum listing. This works in exactly the same way as selecting multiple topics, simply click the tick to select an individual post. You can then perform a moderation action. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, on the right hand side you will find a drop-down box where you can select which action to perform.

Under each post in a topic you will find two quick moderation options, Edit and Delete. Obviously, selecting edit will allow you to edit the post's content. Deleting a post will remove it from the topic. At the bottom left of each topic you will find a drop-down box to perform some moderation options.

UPDATES (April 2014)

http://www.bellazon.com/main/topic/26476-moderation-guide/?p=3397788

http://www.bellazon.com/main/topic/26476-moderation-guide/?p=3397802

http://www.bellazon.com/main/topic/26476-moderation-guide/?p=3397807

How To Spot Hotlinking

If you have not already, please read the hotlinking thread.

You want to check any images that are embedded---meaning not thumbnailed. Sometimes you can hover over an embedded image and the image's source link will appear on the bottom of your browser. But usually you would need to:

1. Right click on the image

2. Select Properties

3. Locate the source link (on FF it's the "Location" and on IE it's the "Address (URL)" )

If the image is from a host such as Imageshack, Imagehaven, TinyPic, and etc. you know the image is not hotlinked. EXAMPLE (click!) If you followed the steps I gave you, you would notice the source link of the image in that post is Imageshack. So you know that image isn't hotlinked

However if you noticed the source link is not from a host. Like the images from THIS post. They are from megansafox.com, so you know the images are hotlinked. The post needs to be edited:

1. Click on Edit. Select either Full Edit or Quick Edit, whichever you prefer

2. Remove the ""

3. In the post, tell the member why the post was edited either by typing it in red or completing the Reason for edit box (your choice). Make sure you indicate your name in the edit (Ex: "posted edited by PinkCouture")

4. Click on Complete Edit/Submit Modified Post

There will be times you might not be sure whether an image is a hotlinked or not. EXAMPLE (click!) So you go to the source link, radikal.ru, and check is it a hosting site. And it is, so the post is ok. If it is hotlinked then edit it

Editing and Moving A Model's ID Request

Before editing or moving anything, make sure the requester has acknowledged the ID and is satisfied with it. You can tell a requester is satisfied when they responded with a " thank you" or something similar.

Once the requester has acknowledge the ID and etc., you can edit and move the thread:

1. Go to the first post and do a Full Edit

2. Change the name of the title to the name of the model

3. Click on Submit Modified Post

4. Go to the Moderation Options drop-down menu on the bottom of the page, select Close this topic and click on Go

5. You will then be directed back to the Model ID main page

6. Find the thread you just updated and close. Go to the last column and click on the "check mark box " so it turns red

7. Go to the drop-down menu on the bottom of the page and select Move Topics, and click on With Selected (x)

8. You are then directed to another page and it will ask you "Leave a link to the new topic in the source forum?" Select "No"

9. On that same page will also see a Select a destination forum drop-down menu. Select Previously ID'ed Models and click on Move selected topics

That's all!

Topics Needing Bios

If you notice a thread that is all pictures but has no bio, here is what you do:

1. In the thread post in red a bio request. You can post something like, Someone please post a brief bio about [name of celeb/model/althlete], preferably in the first post. Thanks!

2. Send a PM to the thread starter to request for a bio. When you send the PM, make sure you tick "Track this message?" so you can check later did the member read the PM.

3. Go to the Topics Needing Bios thread under Area 51 and let everyone know you have contacted the thread starter.

If after a week or two there is still no bio, then we will post one ourselves

Very good these help alot. Thanks for these. Will definately come back to this if i need help.

^ Feel free to ask questions too!!!

Anyways, another "tutorial" ...

How To Disable A Member's Posting Ability

1. On the warn bar, click on the little "red" square

2. Disable this members posting ability tick on "Disable indefinitely"

3. Reason for this warn adjustment type in the reason (ex. spamming)

4. PM the member explaining the warning

5. Click on Alter Warn Level

6. If applicable, delete the problematic threads/posts

7. Go to the Member Management thread and tell everyone who was warned, why, and does this member need to be banned

I was wondering, when I come across nudity in an attached file, what do I do? Do I have to delete it or is there a way to textlink the image - without having to download and upload it on another server to get an URL ?

I was wondering, when I come across nudity in an attached file, what do I do? Do I have to delete it or is there a way to textlink the image - without having to download and upload it on another server to get an URL ?

Usually don't bother re-uploading attached photos that break the nudity rule. Just edit them out of the post.

If they are thumbnails to a third-party upload site I just edit out the thumbs and leave the link to the picture itself.

Thanks, Hervé!

Moderation Overview (April 2014)
If the administrator of the community has granted you moderator privileges, IPS Community Suite will automatically recognize this and allow you access to powerful features in the Suite. There are a few key areas involved in moderation:

• Inline content moderation
• Member control via Warning System
• Moderator Control Panel

Each of these areas overlap and compliment each other to create a powerful moderation system that is very easy to use.
 
Basic Content Moderation
Most of the actions you will perform as a moderator revolve around dealing with content that members post. Editing, deleting, moving, etc. are all very common actions that happen most every day. You will see a drop down menu at the bottom of a forum topic.

Topic Moderation (for the whole thread/topic). Two locations:

1. Top right


2. Bottom right above Fast Reply textbox
 
 
If you want to edit an individual post or a group of posts, you need to check them off on the box located on the upper right corner of the post(s). Once you check off the post(s),  a menu will pop up:

 
Or you may see inline controls right near the content:

 
Either way the options are very self-explanatory and are right there for your use. No need to go to a separate area: just click and perform the action you need to do. Note that some actions you will see here may be admin-only options.
 

Approve/Hidden Content
A moderator or an admin, through various settings, may require that content posted by a member is not visible to the public until a moderator approves it. This is very useful for spam control, new members, or even troublemakers. Unapproved content looks different depending on the section your are in but they all follow a general trend in which pending items are shown for approval, and allows you to approve (or delete) the items:

You will see an Unapproved icon and if you mouse-over it will show you how many items you have waiting. When you click it the next screen will sort with those items waiting for approval to the top. Just click the item and you will see an approve link and other moderation links. You can also view the ModeratorCP to quickly overview anything waiting for approval.
 
As a moderator you can also hide content. This is a good middle-ground rather than deleting it as it stays in context, only moderators can see it, and you can also leave a note for other moderators. Where supported, you will see a Hide option on moderator controls. Just click it and the content becomes invisible to everyone but moderators.

Moderator Control Panel
The ModeratorCP is a central place that moderators can go to access tools and see activity that may need actions.

 
 
Upon entering the ModeratorCP the first thing you will see is a quick member lookup form. This form of course uses the member look-ahead feature to assist you with finding the member you are looking for, and clicking a result will take you to the screen where you can edit or warn the user, add a note to the user's account, and review past warn logs.
 

Reported Content
The report center is a great tool that lets members report to moderators when objectionable content is posted on the forum. Under most content items a Report link will show that allows members to report that content item along with a note as to why they are reporting it. All of those reports show up in the Report Center.

From the Report Center moderators can collaborate on reports and take appropriate action. When there is an active report a link shows in the admin/mod link bar.
 
 
In the second image here you can see that moderators can review the content, what the member reporting said, and leave comments on the report for other moderators to see. You can also mark it under review or complete:

Announcements
You can use the announcements section to put a special message at the top of all or select forums. It's a useful way to be sure all members sees important information.
 

Manage Members
Normally when you want to perform an action on a member you click that member's name directly. This section in the ModeratorCP lets you see more of a general overview of members that are under a moderator action. From there you can quickly filter for banned, recently warned, restricted, and other member statuses. It's a useful way to quickly see a list of members in a certain moderator status.

IP Address Tools
Check Member's IP address here. It is a great tool to check for suspicious multiple accounts violation and trolling.
 

Removed Content
Think of this area as a sort of recycle bin. Deleted content items are temporarily stored here until they are permanently deleted after a time. From here you can easily restore something that may have been accidentally deleted.

Warning System
The warning system is a powerful feature that allows you to take action on a member. You can do anything from ban them to just temporarily restrict their posting. The administrator can set up many actions from pre-set infractions, point-based thresholds, or they can leave it totally open to moderator judgement. We will assume here that the system is totally open.
 
The powerful features are in the last set of options. This is where you can perform actions such as restrict post ability, require approval of content, or completely suspend a member's access. You can choose to make these actions permanent or on a timed basis. Doing a timed basis is a great alternative to banning where you can allow an otherwise good member to cool down if they got a bit out of hand.

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EXAMPLE: I am going to use MarVS as an example (not really warning him) b/c he has no warning and it is easier that way.
 
1. If you look under a member's post box, below their post count, you would notice "x warning points". If you want to warn, suspend, put member on Mod Watch, and/or ban them, click on that line

 
 
2. You will then be brought to the member's warn page where you could see their past warnings & details. To warn & etc the member click on Warn Member.

 
 
3. On the next page you will see a drop-down menu with various warn reasons.You must select one.

 
 
4. For this example I selected "Posting Nudity Without Warning". You could fill-out the "Note for member" section to further explain to them why they were warned however this part is optional.

 
 
5. If none of the warn reasons applies, select "Other". I usually select this if there are multiple violations like hotlinking nudity without warning. You must also enter a number in the Points field. I usually do it based on number of violations, so in the case of hotlinking nudity without warning it would be 2.

 

6. You could fill-out the "Note for moderators" section to further explain to other staff members why you warned this member, but this part is also optional.

If all you want to do is warn the member click on Warn Member at the bottom and you are done. However if you would like to put the member on Mod Watch, suspend or ban them, click on Change.

7. A new option menu opens up.

Moderate Content (a.k.a. Mod Watch) - The member's posts would need a staff member's approval prior to appearing on the board. We usually check off the box leaving the field next to days blank (note: when you check off the box you are checking for it to be permanent---in BZ's case it more like "until further notice. So if you fill-out the field next to days you do not check off the box). We take the member off of Mod Watch when we feel they are capable of posting within the rules.

Remove ability to create content - You suspend their posting abilities but they could still view the board. We usually do fill-out the field next to days b/c if we are going to permanently take away their posting abilities we might as well  ban them.

Suspend - Self-explanatory. We usually use this for spammers and we check off all the boxes. Sometimes we use it for member we don't want to ban yet. If that is the case we fill-in the field next to days.

Remove Point - Leave it as is

Once you are done click on Warn Member.