The Moderators Toolbox

The Moderators' Toolbox

Moderators have several capabilities:

• Edit iBox/Update Information
• Requesting Board Name and Ticker Changes
• Managing Sticky Posts
• Manage Assistants (Applies to boards that are not stock-specific. Available to Lead Moderator on general trading boards andPremium boards and Admins Only)
• Deletion of Posts
• Banning Users (Premium Boards Only) & Requesting Sanctions

The Moderator's view of a board includes a Manage button between the iBox and the message list. The Manage version of a board listing is used to access the above Moderator functions.

The iBox a/k/a Intro

This is where the Board is introduced to other Users. Updating this information is pretty self-explanatory. Directions for adding charts and images can be found here.

The content of the Intro is subject to the same rules as any other Member posting. For stock-specific boards, the content should be restricted to information that is relevant to that stock or company. Content should not discuss other Members. The only rules that govern the stock specific boards are the Terms of Use. Moderators should not include a set of rules in the iBox that extend, contradict or modify the Terms of Use, i.e. "this board is for those that believe in the company".

Please do not include embedded music in the Intro as it often causes browser problems for Users, places excessive demand on hosting servers, and discourages people from using the site while at work or in other public places. Please be reasonable about placing embedded images such as charts in the Intro since it increases bandwidth demands for both viewing Users and the sites that host the image files. Do not paste images directly into the Intro. Use the Image Link tool to embed the image either from a third-party hosting website, or upload the image to your iHub Image Repository and link to it from there.

No Moderator should be deleting or editing other Moderator's content in the iBox. Feel free to add any information to the Intro that adheres to the rules of this site. However, prior to deleting others' content, it should only be done with all Moderator's approval. New moderators should add their content to the bottom of the Intro; the seniority order for content in the Intro can be seen by clicking on the Moderators tab. We recommend that all moderators group and delineate their content into a section by adding a horizontal line to the top and bottom, and indicating at the top of the section, for example "This section maintained by [alias]".

When a stock specific boards loses all Moderators, then the iBox will be deleted. When a new Mod is added, then they have the option to place their own content in the Intro or to restore previous versions of the iBox. This is accomplished by clicking on Manage/Edit iBox/iBox Version History/Select a Version (click on the date to preview)/Revert to This Version.

Requesting Board Name and/or Ticker Changes

Moderators can request a board name and ticker change by clicking on Manage/Board Name-Ticker Change/Submit. Don't forget to include a link to FINRA detailing the change when it pertains to a stock-specific board.

Managing Sticky Posts

Any message posted within the last 48 hours can be stickied provided it adheres to the TOS.

On non-stock boards, Moderators can add up to six sticky posts to be highlighted at the top of the message list.

On stock-specific boards, each Moderator can add one sticky post and can only remove their own. When a moderator is removed their sticky post is automatically removed.

Posting on the Board as a Moderator

The way a Moderator chooses to post on the board is often perceived to be a guideline for other Users. If the Moderator frequently violates the TOS others are going to feel it is permissible for them to do so also. It is not acceptable for either the Moderator or Members. Moderators who are also Premium members should use PMs to communicate with board Members about their conduct, such as a reminder to "stay on topic." If you are unable to send PMs, please ask a Site Admin to communicate the message to the member. All Users can communicate with the Site Admins via Private Message (PM).

Moderators should never threaten other Users. For example, a public post or a PM stating "Get on topic or your posts will be deleted and you will be banned" is not healthy and usually just inflames the situation.

Moderator Disagreement on Deletions/Restores

Occasionally, Moderator's disagree on whether a message should be removed. Mods do have the ability to "overturn" another Moderator's decision and restore that post. However, if the disagreement continues beyond one or two actions, the Moderators should hit the "More" button on the post and then click on "Report TOS Violation" This will allow Admin will to make the final determination. A "mod-war" of deleting/restoring messages is not acceptable and may result in removal of the Moderators who choose to play this game.

Moderators cannot reverse an action by Mod Squad or Admin. If you are confused about why any action was taken by either of these parties, please send a PM to iHAdmin.

Deletion of Moderator Posts

Frequent or multiple deletions of a Moderator's own posts is considered abuse of Moderator privileges. Think before you post, and if it's a Terms of Use violation or you would rather it not be in the public domain, please don't post it.

Banning Posters and Requesting Sanctions

Only Site Admins can ban users from stock specific boards for TOS Violations.

Moderators can request bans from Admin on other boards in the Free Zone that are not stock specific. This request is generally honored.

Moderators on Premium Zone boards can ban users from those boards. This can be done from the Message List.

Site Administrators are frequently asked by Moderators to "do something" about a poster on a stock specific board. There are many times that a restriction, ban or suspension is the appropriate course of action. However; there are other times that this decision is not appropriate because the board has not been moderated "consistently" and/or based on the Terms of Use. When a request of this nature is received, a Site Admin reviews the Member's posts, then the posts that he/she is replying to and the replies to his/her posts. If there are other Terms of Use violations (personal attacks, etc.) still on the board, it makes it difficult to justify sanctions against one Member and not others. While no other Poster or post gives anyone the right to violate the Terms of Use, it's simply not fair or representative of the spirit of IHub when an inconsistent message is being sent regarding acceptable user conduct.

Moderators must endeavor to consistently moderate based solely upon the Terms of Use.

About Message Boards and the Moderators' Role

The principle objective of the iHub message boards is to maintain a high signal-to-noise ratio while encouraging the exchange of all points of view. Moderators are an important part of making our message boards beneficial to all participants and readers. Moderating a stock-specific board, particularly those which are controversial due to many divergent perspectives or newsworthy events, can be a challenging and time consuming role. The time and effort expended by our Members who volunteer their time to fulfill this valuable role is greatly appreciated and our Moderators should be treated with the respect they deserve for donating their time and efforts to the collective benefit of our community. Company-specific boards are the lifeblood of iHub. The Moderators' role is simple to define for company-specific boards:

To promote the civil exchange of on-topic dialog that complies with the Investors Hub Terms of Service.

It is no accident that neither the above definition nor the Terms of Service makes mention of investment sentiment, shareholder interests, or considerations such as "the good of the company." That is because the TOS are blind to investment sentiment. In order to be a successful Moderator and conduct a board within the scope of iHub's TOS, it is critical that Moderators distinguish their role and privileges as Moderator from their role and privileges as a posting Member. That is often easier said than done, particularly on active boards with both the typical and atypical controversy.

At the same time, Board Moderators are welcome to express their investment views and sentiment in the same manner as any other Member; by participating in the dialog. However; insofar as their Moderator privileges are concerned, it is not the Moderators’ role to dictate bullish or bearish sentiment, command the "tone" of the content be along any particular investment sentiment, or favor one investment sentiment over another when removing or restoring messages. (Please note the bold as this is a vital part of the sentence).

It is also not the Moderators’ role to remove posts on the basis of "truth" or "accuracy". Readers determine the veracity of the posts they read and the credibility of other Users. If a Moderator disagrees with another Member’s post they have the same recourse as any other User; to ignore the post, or to challenge it with a post of their own focusing on the information, not the other Poster.

In short, the role of the Moderator is to help foster an environment that promotes and encourages posting of ALL opinions and information about companies, regardless of the bullish or bearish sentiment of the posts, and to be the site’s first line of defense in ensuring we remain free of spam, vulgarity, and personal attacks on other users.