Handbook
InvestorsHub User & Moderator Handbook
Who is This Document For?
This reference is provided for the benefit of all Users of the site and particularly Members acting as board Moderators and Assistant Moderators. It focuses mainly on boards in iHub\’s Investment forums and on stock-specific boards in particular. Moderators of boards in our Premium Zone are allowed a greater degree of latitude in moderating those boards, while boards in the Free Zone are held to a higher standard for
Additional Board Features
I want to create a survey, how is that done? From the "Manage" screen, click on "Surveys" then "Add Survey". Then complete the template provided. Please keep in mind, all surveys are subject to the TOU. Surveys about Posters and Moderators, for example, are not acceptable. I want to delete a survey, how is that done? Surveys cannot be deleted but they can be removed from public viewing. If you\’d like to have a survey "hidden", please send a PM to iHub Admin asking for assistance. I see a link for a "Board Email List". What in the world is this? This is a feature whereby you can send a mass email directly to people who have signed up to receive such emails on your board. Some Moderators use these to give daily wraps-ups or notify people of important information that they may want to come to the site to read and discuss. There are many reasons for sending such emails. The only people who can receive such emails are those who voluntarily enroll in them. As a Moderator, you cannot view the email list. If you are having problems with bouncebacks?, please send a PM to iHubAdmin asking for assistance. Miscellaneous The company\’s name or ticker will be changing tomorrow, how do I make this change? Please click the Board Name/Ticker Change in Manage mode. Don\’t forget to include a link to the PR detailing the change. I think this User is posting under different names. What should I do? First, please do not post this speculation on the board. It just leads to more off topic discussion. The most effective and quickest way to have this reviewed is to use the Report TOS button and indicate in the comments that you feel the poster is using multiple aliases. If you think it is someone specific, please include a link, or at least the other alias you suspect. You can also send a private message to IH Admin. How do I ban someone? Site Admins are the only people that can ban someone on the boards in the Free Zone. If you would like to request a ban, please send a private message to iHub Admin. Please include links. 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 Use. InvestorsHub favors inclusion over exclusion. Stock specific boards are for both positive and negative discussion of the company. If you feel strongly that you would like a board for only "positive" or "negative" information about a company, consider creating a "Bull" or "Bear" board on iHub\’s sister site, <a href=[1]>Silicon Investor</a>, which allows multiple boards per ticker and also allows boards to be treated by their moderators as being specifically for bullish or bearish sentiment. Keep in mind, though, that the most valuable accumulation of information and opinions occurs when both sides have their voice, which is why forced one-sided discussion is not tolerated on iHub. 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 Terms of Use. 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, Mods from other boards and deletions are not appropriate for any board. If someone feels these things need to be addressed, they need to do this 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. This one guy keeps posting that I\’m violating his "Free Speech" whenever I delete his posts that violate the TOU. Am I? No. Constitutional protections regarding "free speech" are an obligation of government, not private enterprise or individuals. Unimpaired speech on message boards is not a right but rather a privilege extended by the owners of the site. iHub welcomes all points of view as long as they are expressed in compliance with our Terms of Use. Any posts failing to do so are eligible for removal. So-called "free speech rights are not a consideraton or factor. 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! The posts regarding the "bet" should\’ve been removed before it 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 attacks. At this point, all you can do is remove the posts discussing this topic and post a message indicating that posts of this nature will be deleted. If this doesn\’t help, please send a PM to Admin asking for their assistance. Shareholder Counts We are having a share holder count on our board and one woman keeps saying it\’s "off topic". Is it? Technically, individual\’s holding in the company could be considered off-topic. However, it has also been argued that the number of shares "controlled by the board" is a key technical indicator. As there is no confirmation that any of the shares posted is accurate, there could be much debate about whether this type of compilation has any benefit to shareholders or is in fact harmful. The precedent has been set that this type of "count" is allowed and it is then up to readers to determine the validity of the information. Extreme caution is urged in relying on any information received over message boards from anonymous Posters as any indicator in trading decisions. We are having a share holder 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 Mods or Admin believe to be "true". First, it\’s too subjective and secondly, it would be impossible to enforce. If you have made the decision to hold a shareholder count on your board, then this would be a biased deletion as you have no "proof" of other\’s holdings either. 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 TOU violations. If the post is a personal attack or off topic (i.e. focusing on the other User), then it should be removed. Sanctions 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 are subject to administrative sanctions on the site. These include:
- Reduction of posting privileges to 3 posts per day
- Banning from a specific board for either a limited amount of time or indefinitely
- Suspension (or "Jail") from posting anywhere on the site except the Jailhouse board
- 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 growing up, "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 TOU, then other Members\’ recourse is to contact Admin to assist. Taking the matter into their own hands only increases their violations/deletions. No other post/Poster gives anyone the right to break the rules. Each person is held responsible 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 or they are removed from the site. Signatures This guy has a link in his signature that says "see my favorite boards" but when you click on it, it gives the guy a membermark. Can I do this, too? No, there should be no links to Membermarks anywhere except iHub\’s link on the Profile page. If you see such a link, please report it by sending a pm to iHubAdmin. I\’m Mod on the board and don\’t understand why I can\’t have the company\’s logo or ticker in my signature? Since this appears in every post you make, it is considered spam when you post on other boards. Feel free to add this to other areas of your profile that are not displayed on each post. This one lady has a political endorsement in her signature. Whenever she posts on the board, someone almost always comments on it and the board devolves into a political discussion. Political or religious sentiments are not appropriate for signatures. People are welcome to place these in other sections of their profile but as indicated here, it often leads to very divergent comments that can quickly create chaos on the stock board. Please alert Admin to signatures of this nature by sending a PM to iHubAdmin. This guy has a very, very scantily clad woman as his sig. Don\’t get me wrong, she\’s hot and I appreciate the picture as much as the next guy. But, any time he posts everyone wants to talk about her and I feel like a real jerk removing these comments. A signature that "crosses the line" is usually apparent when other User\’s can\’t help but comment on it. A good guideline is that it is a picture the User would be comfortable sharing with his Grandmother or Mother-in-Law. Please alert Admin to any pictures that you would like to have reviewed. This woman has a link to a song in her signature. It takes forever to download her posts and really is very annoying – especially since I\’m often quickly checking the board while at work. No sounds should be in a signature. Please send a PM to iHubAdmin. A lady on the board doesn\’t like me and thinks I delete her posts unfairly (I don\’t). But, now she\’s put an attack about me in her sig saying I\’m a biased Mod. Help! Signatures are governed by the TOU. If the signature violates the rules, then it should be removed. Please send a PM to iHubAdmin.
