FAQ:Board Management

iBox Content

This board is for "longs" and I want people to understand this board is NOT for bashers. I put this in the iBox so everyone would understand what this board was all about. But, someone has said that I can’t have my own rules for my board. What's this all about?

The only rules that govern boards in the Free Zone are the Terms of Service.

I created a board that was for people to discuss all stocks, not just a specific company. All of a sudden "Free Members" can't post on it. What's going on?

Chances are you weren't moderating the board based on the TOS. If a significant amount of the dialog is discussion of topics other than stocks, the board belongs in the Premium category.

Discussion of other boards, Moderators on other boards and deletions are not appropriate for any board. If someone feels these matters need to be addressed they need to so privately with a Site Admin. While some technical support boards (i.e., computer related) are in the Free Zone, in general, boards not related to stock discussion are the only boards non-subscribers cannot post on. However; anyone can read these boards.

The other Moderator keeps adding content to the iBox calling all these people bashers/pumpers and I don't think that's right.

Content in the iBox should be related to the stock whether current or historical. Opinions (whether positive, neutral or negative) can be included but the subject should be centered around the security and not other Users, this site or this message board. If you see content of this nature, you can report it to Admin along with a link to the board and it will be reviewed.

I was just added as a Mod and I finally got the iBox updated. 5 minutes later all my hard work disappeared! What's going on?

No Moderator should be removing or editing another Moderator's iBox content. You likely added your information to the top of the iBox and it was reverted back to the earlier version of the iBox. This is done when one Moderator edits another Mod's by changing the placement of their information. In the future, new content should go at the bottom of the iBox.

Board Title and Ticker

The company's name or ticker will be changing tomorrow, how do I make this change?

If you are a Moderator, please click the Board Name/Ticker Change while in in Manage mode. Don't forget to include a link to the FINRA's approval of the change.

Otherwise, please send a PM to iHub Admin requesting the change.

About Bans and Other Sanctions

How do I ban someone?

Site Admins are the only people that can ban someone on stock specific boards. If you would like to request a ban, please send a private message to iHub Admin. Please include relevant links and a brief description of the guideline violations they are violating. PLEASE NOTE: that we do not restrict users on the basis of their investment sentiment. InvestorsHub favors inclusion over exclusion. Stock specific boards are for both positive and negative discussion of the company.

If you are a Mod of a Premium board, you should see a link to ban each individual who has posted on the board next to their post on the message list. Please note that Admin reserves the right to overturn any Moderator action on any Premium board including, but not limited to, issuing or releasing bans and deleting or restoring messages.

Two Users made a bet on the board. One agreed that if the 10k was delayed past the due date that he would no longer post on the board. The other agreed not to post again if it was out on time. It was filed on the correct day and the guy has not lived up to his agreement - he should be banned!

The posts regarding the "bet" should have been removed before it ever got to this point. They were off topic (i.e. not discussion of the company) and, at the conclusion, invariably lead to further off-topic and/or personal attack posts.

This one guy keeps posting that I'm violating his "Free Speech" whenever I delete his posts that violate the TOS.

To paraphrase numerous federal courts:

The First Amendment applies only to governmental abridgements of speech, and not to alleged abridgements by private companies [e.g., Facebook, Twitter, InvestorsHub, etc.] A private entity that provides a forum for speech does not engage in an activity that the government has traditionally and exclusively performed, and so does not qualify as a state actor subject to First Amendment constraints.

The U.S. Bill of Rights allows citizens the right to free speech in a public forum without limitations imposed by the State/Government. Internet message boards are private forums open to the public. Private communities have a right to limit what is discussed and how it is discussed, as well as defining what is appropriate behavior for their forums. Freedom of speech is not the right to say something anywhere you want, but the right to say it somewhere. iHub welcomes all points of view as long as they are on-topic and expressed in compliance with our Terms of Service. Freedom of Speech is the right to find another venue where you can speak your mind if you cannot do so in compliance with the rules here.

People say that someone who used to post on my board is now in Jail. What in the world does this mean?!

People who continually violate the rules or do not heed warnings are subject to administrative sanctions. These include:

• Reduction of posting privileges on specific boards;
• Reduction of posting privileges site-wide to 3 posts per day;
• Banning from a specific board for either a pre-determined amount of time or indefinitely;
• Suspension (or "Jail") from posting anywhere on the site except to the Jailhouse board; and
• Termination (or "Boot") from the site

An argument broke out on my board today while I was away. From looking at the deletions, it seems like one guy started it. Why did the other people get banned, too?

Just as your Mother explained to you when you were younger, "it doesn't matter who started it". All who participate in a brawl on the board usually end up with sanctions. If a User is violating the TOS, then other Members' recourse is to report the messages via the Report TOS Violation link at the bottom of each page or if extreme situation, contact Admin to assist. Taking the matter into their own hands only increases their violations/deletions. Nobody's posts give anyone else the right to violate the site rules. Each user is held responsible and accountable for their own messages.

Four people were just banned from our board. 3 of them were banned for 5 days but one was banned for 14 days. His deletions didn't seem any different than anyone else's. Why was he banned longer?

The most likely reason is that the one individual is a repeat offender. Sanctions are used to elicit different behavior. When conduct doesn't change, then sanctions are increased until the Member changes their posting habits.

Shareholder Counts

We are conducting a shareholder count on our board and one woman keeps saying it's off-topic. Is it?

Technically, dialog regarding individuals' holding in the stock could be considered off-topic. However; some have argued that the number of shares "controlled by the board" is a key technical indicator. As there is no confirmation that any of the alleged share ownership claims are accurate, the benefit of any exercise along this line is debatable at best. Even so, we currently allow so-called "shareholder count" dialog and leave it up to readers to determine the validity of the information.

We are having a shareholder count on our board and this guy keeps updating his shares saying now that he owns 95% of the float. It's obviously not true; he's just trying to be a troublemaker. Can I delete these posts?

It's likely that the User is trying to make a point about the authenticity of any of the numbers given by other Posters. He/she makes a very valid point. But, no, the post cannot be removed. Messages are not removed based on what you, other Moderators or Admins believe to be "true". First, it's too subjective and secondly, it would be impossible to enforce.

There was a shareholder count on our board and now we have one Poster who is using this information to make fun of other posters for how many shares they have. He basically says that people's opinions don't count if they have less than a million shares.

This is another great illustration of why this type of tally is discouraged. It just creates too much fodder for other TOS violations. If the post is a personal attack or off-topic (i.e. focusing on the other User), then it should be removed.

Sticky Notes

What are sticky notes and how do they work?

A sticky note is a post that is selected to be featured/stuck at the top of the message list -- it doesn't scroll and is highlighted in yellow until the Mod or Admin removes it.

Stickies are to be used to highlight important announcements about the stock or company, brilliant posts, or in the case of Admin - important board announcements.

They are added/removed by Mods and Admin.

There are up to 6 sticky notes per board; one for each moderator. Each moderator controls one (1) sticky. Admins may add additional stickies (discussing board/site usage) although Admins do not sticky user posts. Admin-issued stickies will also have red font.

To post a sticky, a Moderator needs to click on the red Manage link at the top of the board page, then click on Manage Sticky Posts in the tool bar. Then the Mod enters the post number from the board (not the message number from the URL) in the blank box, then click on "Add Post#" next to the box to enable.

Any post that is more than 48 hours old can no longer be added to the sticky list.

No posts about other Users should be a sticky. Stickies are restricted to information about the security only.

Related Pages

Investors Hub Moderator & User Handbook