[wp-forums] From today's chat: How to Pick Moderators and some Handbook Cleanup (long, sorry)

[Half-Elf on Tech]

Okay, since no one really had anything to say, I added it. it's open 
source ;) Edit as needed.

I added in this to the faq:

https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/faq/#can-i-link-to-my-own-blogproductservice



Half-Elf on Tech wrote:
> Since this DOES get asked now and then, we banged around an idea to 
> not so much formalize the process, but explain what's going on.
>
> That said, before I get to the new thing I'd like to add, I've fixed 
> the structure of the handbook so we have forum moderation under the 
> 'Contributing to the WP Forums' section. I also cleaned up a lot of 
> the stuff that was in the "I ..." format, since that was from my 
> emails ages ago, and needed updating. I also consolidated some pages 
> and added a couple new ones.
>
> NEW PAGES:
>
> https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/faq/
> https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/contributing-to-the-wordpress-forums/ 
>
> https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/other-support-locations/
>
> EDITED PAGES:
>
> https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/contributing-to-the-wordpress-forums/forum-moderator/ 
>
>
> Added: Rule 6: You’re here to help people, not preach about right and 
> wrong.
>
> https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/contributing-to-the-wordpress-forums/forum-moderator/administration-overview/ 
>
>
> Added: We have guidelines, not rules, for a reason: guidelines should 
> be followed, rules <em>must</em> be followed. Never let the 
> literalness of the guideline override your common sense. After all, 
> we're here to help people, not build a wall to keep people out.
>
> https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/contributing-to-the-wordpress-forums/forum-moderator/bbpress-basics/ 
>
>
> Added a reminder: We don't like to call it bozing in public (even on 
> this list) becuase it's 99.99999% of the time taken the worst way 
> possible. Try to call it b-tagging, and never ever EVER tell them they 
> were bozo'd, tell them their account was set to require moderator 
> approval on posts.
>
> PROPOSED EDIT:
>
> https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/contributing-to-the-wordpress-forums/ 
>
>
> Forum Moderator:
>
> If you're interested in being a forum moderator, that's awesome! We 
> don't have a formalized process for getting new mods, but here's how 
> we handle it:
>
> We're a team. We pick people we feel will work well with the current 
> members, uphold the high level of support and friendliness of the 
> forums, contribute with no adverse ulterior motive, and be a polite 
> member of the forums in the face of raging angor.
>
> What do we mean by 'adverse ulterior motive'? It's actually pretty 
> simple.
>
> * Contributing to the forums to help people while learning more about 
> WordPress is good.
> * Posting replies only to get people to use your 
> plugin/service/product is NOT good.
>
> * Using your moderator powers to determine a poster is hosted by your 
> company, and asking them to contact you/your company is good.
> * Using your moderator powers to get a poster's email address to 
> contact THEM about your product/service is NOT good.
>
> * Asking to be a mod because you've been tagging posts for spam 
> cleanup, email/personal information/passwords removal, and make sticky 
> posts for major issues is good.
> * Asking to be a mod because it will make you contribute more is NOT 
> good.
>
> If you can't tell, the idea here is to do good for the sake of doing 
> good. It's not that we're looking for people who have no higher 
> aspirations, it's that the aspiration we're looking for is very self 
> evident when it exists. And certainly you don't have to be altruistic 
> about WordPress to be a moderator. Some of us are encouraged by our 
> companies to volunteer, in order to help the community. But that's 
> really the point. We're looking for people whose goal matches ours: 
> Make WordPress better for everyone.
>
> Not being asked doesn't mean you lack those qualities, however, nor 
> does it mean we feel you're a bad person. There is no magical 
> combination of actions to be picked as a mod, and many people, even 
> those who ask about being one, are surprised the day that they're 
> asked if they'd like to be one. The reason is that the absolute best 
> moderators are the ones who are just going to do what they do, 
> regardless of formal recognition. They see something that needs doing, 
> and they do it.
>
> And THAT is what we look for.
>

-- 
Mika A Epstein (aka Ipstenu)
http://ipstenu.org | http://halfelf.org