Moderator Manual:Pass recruiting welcome
Recruiting - Welcome Letter 1
Depending on your method of communications and training, a series of two letters can be sent to your new mod recruit. The first leans more towards the official capacity and includes links to the National Mod Squad and the State Mod Squad.
This one should be sent as a minimum as it provides a lot of information that will be of great use to your mods. The second is more on a personal level and is optional.
***Replace all XXX references with your local group name***
Example - Welcome Letter 1
Hi XXX and Welcome!
I just made you a moderator and you now have the ability to approve pending messages and members.
This will be a two-week trial period and at the end we can evaluate how that went and you can decide if you want to come on board permanently!
Here's some information that will be helpful as you begin moderating.
Group name: XXX Freecycle(TM)
Group Mod/Trainer: XXX
Group Mod/Trainer email: XXX@XXX.com
The Freecycle Network(TM) now qualifies as an international movement, (lots of good people worldwide) giving stuff away (and getting stuff) like crazy. We've adopted a motto as suggested by Albert in Portland "Changing the world one gift at a time".
We currently estimate that over 40 tons a day are being saved from landfills due to our combined efforts establishing this wonderful "gift economy."
The online [/manual Mod Manual] is an invaluable tool that provides answers to many questions you may have pertaining to daily operations and management of your Freecycle group. From start to finish, it walks you through basic procedures and gradually introduces you to the finer details of being a moderator.
It can be found here: [/manual http://faq.freecycle.org/manual] There is rather large Yahoo group "for moderators of Freecycle only" to trade ideas, successes, failures, media & outreach, press releases, etc.
We do ask that moderators join up at least on special notices so that you are privy to new rules, etc. Here's where you can find it: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclemodsquad/ Please feel free to share your ideas and what not with us all! Most states also have a state moderator group.
While the main modsquad noted is more for policy issues (and is by necessity not chatty due to its large size), the state groups offer a more informal chat forum to discuss issues and the like.
Once you've become a member of the freecyclemodsquad you can access a list of all state groups in that Yahoo group under: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclemodsquad/database There is also a little welcome kit that one of the mods put together for new mods under: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclemodsquad/files/ The Freecycle Network's web site will also continue to grow as a resource for you.
Currently this is where one of the mods saves all the newspaper articles under "newswire" on the right. Also, check out [http://www.freecycle.org www.freecycle.org] for our Freecyclopedia.
Take a look at the [/faq/ FAQ Pages] and you'll find a lot of good information there! Thanks and good luck.
We look forward to working with you! Your Name (Your E-mail Address)
XXX-owner@yahoogroups.com
http://www.freecycle.org
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(C) 2003, The Freecycle Network(TM). All rights reserved. Freecycle and the Freecycle logo are trademarks of The Freecycle Network in the United States and/or other countries.
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Example - Welcome Letter 2
Hello! You should have received an introduction letter to inform you of your status change to Moderator.
My name is _____ and I have been assigned to assist you while you transition in. If there are ANY questions you have, please let me know. No question is too stupid (been there and done that) and no concern too insignificant!
I set you up to approve membership so you can at least get a feel for what to look for and what to do when members ask to join. There are currently no restrictions on who can join and that includes no zip code boundaries.
All new members are moderated so that their first few posts can be checked for content to include format and make sure that the items Offered or Wanted fall within the legal and appropriate category for all ages per Freecycle(TM) rules.
Phone numbers and addresses are not allowed under any circumstance... it's a safety issue we take seriously. Once a member shows they can post according to the rules AND in proper format, you can take them off moderation.
I still monitor messages that come through, because if an inappropriate one slips by, the member will go back to moderated with an informational e-mail to let them know what they did wrong. Unless a whole lot of people are doing the same thing, we prefer to handle things on a single member basis to keep the ADMIN messages down to a dull roar.
Your first step is to carefully read through the Etiquette file and be familiar with the group policy. Policy does vary from group to group so do read carefully. We are concerned with the Subject line of each message and have the following structure set up to keep things uniform across the board.
For example: OFFER: Thingy (location)
TAKEN: Thingy (location) - only used in conjunction with Offer
WANTED: Thingy (location)
RECEIVED: Thingy (location) - only used in conjunction with Wanted
One of several sticklers I have found in most groups is getting them to post their location (cross-street or township) of what they have or want. It's not as big of a deal on the Want as it is on the Offer.
People want to know where they are going to pick up an Offer and many posters will lose a recipient if it's too far out for them. It makes no sense to ask a lot of questions on location if you can make it a point to put in a cross street or a city or portion of the city you are located in on the very first try. We try really hard to enforce that.
If it's not in the subject line then it should at least be in the body of the message. You don't have to reject the post, but do send a friendly reminder to the member if there are mistakes made.
Our primary goal is get the members off moderation which makes our jobs as mods a whole lot easier. Don't be afraid to place members back on moderation for violations of the rules... primarily the big ones, like phone numbers, inappropriate posts and SPAM posts for services... those are big no-no's. Another important thing is Offer goes with Taken and Wanted goes with Received.
Just because you Received an Offer from someone doesn't mean you can post a Received for that item. That is a common mistake you will see. Delete that post from the board if it doesn't match and send a friendly reminder to the member that it doesn't work that way. One of the reasons to do this is for archives purposes.
If you opt to clean up the archives, it's easier to find a match for each post if it's Offer/Taken and Wanted/Received. It's neat and clean that way.
Okay, lastly (because this is probably too long anyway) on the topic of Subject lines and posts in general... posters will deviate all over the board on Subject lines... you can edit if you like as long as they are on moderation. I give them a chance or two and will indicate in the body of the message that it has been edited by moderator. **Edited by Moderator for Subject Line/Removal of Phone number, etc.**
I also put "**" in the Subject line so other members can see we are on top of things and can take note of the **. If I have repeat offenders, I will reject the post and ask them to resubmit. Members learn if they have to take time out and repeat the process.
Again, our primary goal is an efficient board that requires very little of us to edit and moderate message posts once everyone learns the rules for posting. I hope this isn't too overwhelming for you. I am working with XXX so there is another mod available in case you need additional guidance or I'm not quite clear enough on instructions.
We are available for whatever you need and look forward to entertaining any questions you may have!
Welcome aboard! Your Name (Your E-mail Address)
XXX-owner@yahoogroups.com
http://www.freecycle.org
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(C) 2003, The Freecycle Network(TM). All rights reserved. Freecycle and the Freecycle logo are trademarks of The Freecycle Network in the United States and/or other countries.
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