Message Boards: The Role Of The Moderator

Written by Richard Lowe


Continued from page 1

Ensuringrepparttar board remains on-topic. The best message boards stick to one or more specific topics. A major job of a good moderator is to review postings to ensure that they are ofrepparttar 119049 same subject asrepparttar 119050 board. Atrepparttar 119051 very least, off-topic threads should be discouraged quickly or gently moved to other, more appropriate arenas.

Minimize flaming. Flames are critical or derogatory remarks. A flame war is kind of like a shouting match where insults are hurled between people until they all flee, exhausted and battered. Good moderators gently prod people into posting responsibly by discouraging flaming.

Eject troublemakers and spammers. As moderators read through postings, it can become obvious very quickly that there is a troublemaker inrepparttar 119052 group. These troublemakers need to be handled - either by gentle persuasion or more harsh measures if necessary. In fact,repparttar 119053 moderator must be ready to eject severe troublemakers from repparttar 119054 group if these people are continually causing problems.

The best boards are good because they remain on-topic andrepparttar 119055 communications between individuals is civil and useful. A good moderator works to ensure that this remains true so that everyone can benefit fromrepparttar 119056 community as well as contribute torepparttar 119057 discussions in an intelligent manner.

The best moderators work withrepparttar 119058 board members to create an environment which is enjoyable and beneficial to all. A bad moderator can producerepparttar 119059 feeling that one is being watched byrepparttar 119060 Gestapo or secret police, where every word is watched and postings are often deleted without apparent cause or need.

Members ofrepparttar 119061 board need to feel that their comments are desired and valued. Randomly deleting large numbers of postings for no apparent reason other thanrepparttar 119062 moderator disagrees will certainly cause a board to become useless and empty of life. In fact, one ofrepparttar 119063 things that can make a board truly outstanding is lively (not insulting or demeaning but lively) discussions about various topics.

And that's reallyrepparttar 119064 job of a board moderator. To ensure thatrepparttar 119065 board remains viable, active and alive. To promote and ensure that an environment exists where people can post without threat or fear. And to be sure that disagreements do not flare into all-out warfare.



Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge. Web Site Address: http://www.internet-tips.net Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm Daily Tips: mailto:internet-tips@GetResponse.com


Internet Privacy: Is This A Joke or What?

Written by Richard Lowe


Continued from page 1

Inrepparttar company that I work for, it is a serious offense to let other's inrepparttar 119048 company find out how much money you make. In fact, you could be fired if you told another employee your salary. Yet you have to enter that same highly sensitive data to get a free email account!

There have also been quite a few stories inrepparttar 119049 news lately about accidental e-mailings of personal information torepparttar 119050 wrong people. These mailings all seemed to have to do with medical records. I read one case where 5,000 people received other people's medical history in their email box! I don't know about you, but I don't really want my medical records spread all overrepparttar 119051 planet!

What isrepparttar 119052 point of all of this? Well, you just need to be careful about giving out your personal information overrepparttar 119053 internet. You don't really know who is atrepparttar 119054 other end ofrepparttar 119055 telephone line, and you probably don't have a good understanding of how that information is to be kept secure, how it is going to be used and why it is even needed inrepparttar 119056 first place.

So before you type in that personal data ask yourself a few questions.

Do I really need this service? - When I am asked something personal that I would rather not give out, this isrepparttar 119057 first thing that I ask. Is this service really that important? For me, halfrepparttar 119058 timerepparttar 119059 answer is no. If it is important, I usually find that I can pay some small fee forrepparttar 119060 same service without giving any personal data, and that's what I usually wind up doing.

What is this information likely to be used for? - This is obvious when I'm entering information to get a credit card, and not so obvious when I want a free email account. Remember, you never get something for nothing - there is always a price, even if it is well hidden. Find out whatrepparttar 119061 site is going to userepparttar 119062 information for before you enter it.

Do I care if anyone else knows this information? - Ifrepparttar 119063 answer is yes (as it was forrepparttar 119064 amount of money that I make), then think a little harder about entering it into that web form. How embarrassed or damaged would you be if that data wound up posted on a thousand web sites?

Personally, I am least likely to give away personal information that is to be used for marketing purposes, no matter how much benefit I will gain for that data. It is not one of my primary goals in life to make it easier for advertisers to target me for their messages. In fact, I would rather not get their ads at all.

The key is simple. Before you enter that information intorepparttar 119065 web form, do a little research and find out whatrepparttar 119066 data is going to be used for. Think for a moment about how you would feel if everyone knew, then decide for yourself if you still want to enter it.

That's all I've got to say about that.



Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge. Web Site Address: http://www.internet-tips.net Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm Daily Tips: internet-tips@GetResponse.com


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