The
following are guidelines for moderators of the MS247
Chat Room
The function
of moderators
1.
Welcome new users.
2.
Help users with the chat room, e.g. setting up an
avatar.
3.
Make sure all users are included in chat, obviously
if a user asks to watch to respect that request. Try
not to 'GRILL' new users but let them slowly open
up.
4.
Ensure the chat does not 'die'.
5.
Ensure the site
rules are obeyed, some flexibility is allowed,
it is up to the moderators to gauge the users online
at the time. Some users are more sensitive to swearing,
etc than others.
6.
Discourage racial, ageist, sexist and other similar
comments. Remember, people have no control
over their race, sex or age and to abuse them because
of these is not acceptable.
7.
Stop individual users 'taking' over the chat and causing
other users upset, this is open to debate but will
be left to the discretion of the mods in the chat
room at the time.
8.
Dont allow others to run (take over) or grill chat
when newbies are on as it can be intimidating for
them, try to slow the chat to include them.
Moderators Powers
Normal
moderators have the power to silence users and to
kick them off the chat room, you should have been
shown how to do these functions, if in doubt ask.
Silencing
and kicking off for normal moderators are temporary,
if the user logs off and on again a silencing restriction
will disappear. The function of both of these is to
warn a user, if required several silencing or kicks
may be required, most users are sufficiently shocked
that such a thing has happened that they modify their
behavior.
Please
only use these powers after a user has been warned,
do not just kick a user off for instance without warning
them first.
Super
Moderators have the power to ban users. The site manager
has the power to delete accounts and remove bans and
request chat 'logs'.
ALL
Moderators have the power to 'ghost', that is
to view chat without normal users seeing that they
are logged on, if you see someone ghosting,l please
don't tell normal users that the moderator is ghosting.
Please try to unghost before speaking as it can upset
users to have chat suddenly appearing from nowhere,
although in some instances this can be effective in
causing a user to moderate their behaviour! Before
going into the ghost mode try to make sure it will
not upset users, go into another room to go into ghost
if normal users are there, then go back into the room
when the users are after you have turned into a ghost.
Please
be aware that we are able to get logs of all the chat
(including private chat) that is carried out in the
chat room should it be required to mediate a conflict.
Although
the name of the site is MS247, this does not mean
we expect there to be people in the chat room, moderating
all day, MS247 means the site is left up and running
for 24 hours a day, every day of the week. We are
not an extension of a hospital or CAB office, we are
a collection of people trying to help each other.
YOUR
HEALTH COMES BEFORE THIS CHAT ROOM, if you feel
unwell or have other commitments, you should not moderate,
come online when you feel up to moderating, if possible
try to let other mods know, but because you have agreed
to be a mod, does not mean you have signed your life
over to this site!
DO
NOT WORRY IF THERE ARE NO MODS IN THE CHAT ROOM
We would be really pleased if there were always mods
in the chat room, but we are not a charity, or a professional
organisation, it is not possible for there always to
be a mod available. We do not have the resources of
the MS Society for instance.
If you are unable to help someone, say that, tell them
you too are ill! I am unable to talk to people at times,
sometimes you just do not feel chatty.
Having said that!
Please can mods try to organise cover amonst yourselves
throughout the whole day, we are now getting major sections
of time in the day with no mod cover, and evenings when
all the mods seem to be on!
Finally,
if you as a moderator feel there are better ways of
running the chat room, and or you have any ideas we
can implement to improve the chat, let me, Leon, know.
Thank-you
for agreeing to be a moderator.
