Difference between revisions of "Editing Rules: Moderators"

Latest revision as of 14:36, 11 May 2020

This page details the steps moderators should take to inform a new user about a possible violation of the rules.

Who Is a Moderator?

Anyone who has been given the "Power User" status is also a moderator. If you aren't a power user, but feel you know the site well enough so that you should be a power user, please contact User:TheAlmightyGuru.

Identify a Problem

If you've found an edit that you believe violates the rules, first check the Editing Rules page to verify that the edit is indeed a violation. If you don't see an obvious violation of the rules, but you think the edit should be a violation, please contact User:TheAlmightyGuru to discuss changing the rules.

Informing the User

Be sure to give new users the benefit of the doubt. Most of them didn't join the site to read a bunch of rules, they joined the site because they love video game music and want to help contribute to the project, and they will probably grow into a valuable editor if given the chance. When you write to their user's discussion page, be sure to encourage them and politely point out their mistake with a specific link to the rule they violated. For example, if a user creates a game page and the description is mostly personal opinion, you could write something like this:

Hello John Doe, we're glad that you joined the Video Game Music Preservation Foundation, and it's great that you took initiative and added your first game page. One thing I wanted to point out though, in the game description you wrote, "I could crap out a better game," which is hilarious, but it goes against the one of our rules on personal opinions which we try to avoid in order to maintain professional content. When you get a chance, could you change it to something more objective? Thanks! --~~~~

Since online interaction eliminates vocal and facial cues, it's very easy for readers to get the wrong impression from you. We want to make everyone feel welcome and a couple kind words go a long way.

If the infraction is minor, just fix it yourself, but leave an explanation in the edit's summary box.

Failure to Comply

If a user hasn't fixed their problem after a couple days, first make sure that they're still active. If they haven't made any edits, they probably haven't logged in yet, so they haven't seen your message. However, if you see several edits from them in the recent logs, you know they're online and should have seen your message. However, they may easily have forgotten it, so just leave them a polite follow up asking them to acknowledge your message. Something like this:

Hello John Doe, I'm checking to make sure the message reporting is working correctly. Could you let me know that you've seen this message about your game page by editing this page and adding "Yes" to the bottom? Thanks! --~~~~

If another day goes by and the user is still making edits, but hasn't acknowledged your message, or if they haven't logged back in for several days, go ahead and make the fix yourself, then leave them a message explaining what you did:

Hi, John Doe. I had to make a change to your game page to be inline with the rules about personal opinions. Hope to see more edits from you, keep up the good work! --~~~~

Don't Pile On

If a moderator has already left the user a message, don't add an additional message to that user. Nobody wants six people nagging them about the cover letters on their TPS reports. If you feel the moderator sent them an incorrect message, talk to the moderator on their discussion page instead.

Repeat Offenders

If a user continues to violate similar rules three or more times, continue to be polite, but get User:TheAlmightyGuru involved so that he can take additional steps to help alleviate the problem.

Illegal Uploads

Recorded video game music is a gray area by itself, but if you notice users uploading obviously illegal material like entire games or official soundtracks, or inappropriate content like pornographic images, you are encouraged to delete the content first, then warn the user afterward.

Spam

Spam posts will not be tolerated. For genuine users (people who have posted actual edits), revert their spam post and politely remind them on their talk page of the rules against spam posting. Perhaps something like:

I noticed you made an edit linking to your home page about politics. I'm glad to see you're updating the site, but I had to revert this edit because off-topic posts violate the rules. However, you are allowed to add personal links on your user talk page for other readers to enjoy. --~~~~

If a new user's first post is spam, they are most likely a bot, so revert their post and add the Suspicious Users category tag to their user's talk page. If you see a new user create an account with a name that looks randomly generated (e.g., JohnWetherby2837847) and they don't make any edits, add the following to their talk page:

Your name looks like it was created by a bot. If you're a real person, please post here that you're human. --~~~~

[[Category: Suspicious Users]]

Users with suspicious names who don't post in a week's time will be deleted.

See Also

• Editing Rules