User blog:Obi the LEGO Fan/Moderation Practices

As everyone knows, good moderation is key to a fun and safe wiki experience. With this in mind, the admins have decided to post a blog detailing some good moderation techniques and clarifying some things for moderators. When posted, this document will be approved by all the admins. Although it does not have the force of policy, we strongly recommend adhering to these ideas when you are moderating.

(1) The role of a moderator.

What should the task of a moderator be? Well, to put it simply, moderators are supposed to keep chat safe by preventing abusive and disruptive behavior. Moderators are not blind enforcers of the policy, but the policy is designed to prohibit abuse and disruption, and thus moderators should enforce the policy when possible.

Verbal warnings, kicks, and bans are meant to protect users and keep chat peaceful and safe. Keep this in mind—if your warning or ban successfully stops abusive/disruptive behavior, then it has achieved its goal. The goal is not revenge or retribution. If you can stop abusive/disruptive behavior without using bans, that’s great.

(2) A clarification on the Use Common Sense clause.

This rule is intended to prevent moderators from abusing their rights—don’t enforce the rules for the sake of the rules. But the policy does not mean that you should ignore problematic behavior because you don’t want to deal with the stress of enforcing the rules. If a minor infraction of the rules causes no disruption, you are free to ignore the infraction. But blatant rule violations for the fun of it are not okay just because no one speaks up. People may be uncomfortable but are not willing to bring it up since they are afraid of being attacked. Moderators should also encourage people to speak up when they are uncomfortable and should take necessary action to prevent these individuals from being harassed.

(3) Zero-Toleration

There are some actions that are inherently abusive and unsafe, which should not be tolerated. An extreme but unfortunately relevant example is sexual harassment. If you witness this type of harassment, immediate and permanent bans are necessary. Persons willing to engage in sexual harassment are unsafe and must be prevented from accessing our wiki.

Another example is severe personal attacks and/or discrimination, which are forms of abuse. Although you shouldn’t necessarily ban on sight for such behavior, it is never under any circumstances to be tolerated. As a moderator you are required to respond and ensure that such behavior ceases immediately.

(4) Humor

Humor is the most pervasive excuse for violating the rules. In some cases, what looks like a rule violation may not be when light-hearted and joking. For example, as we know sarcastic people like to insult one another in a joking manner (guilty as charged, lol). However, if someone is legitimately insulted by something, then “it’s a joke” is not a good excuse. Racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., are not acceptable even if they are supposed to be humorous.

In other cases, the humor is simply risque and may violate the rules against suggestive comments. In these cases, use your discretion and try to make sure no one is uncomfortable with this sort of joking. Even if you are the only one who appears to be bothered, action is still acceptable. But in these cases, try to redirect the conversation rather than handing out kicks or bans.

(5) Cooperation

Too often, moderators forget that they are part of a team. In challenging situations on chat, it is important for moderators to work together. Mods should refrain from undermining one another and should back each other up if needed (however, action should be taken if one moderator abuses their rights; the situation should be brought to an admin as soon as possible).

It is easy to avoid conflict as a moderator and let other people take care of any problems that arise. However, this is not proper conduct for a moderator. Moderators should be peacemakers who seek to resolve any conflicts that arise while they are active in chat.