Moderator Guidelines

To help keep Disabilities-R-Us a safe and friendly place, we have appointed certain trusted people to be moderators.  Moderators will have either a blue dot or a % symbol to the left of their name.

What does a moderator do?

A moderator is basically just like any other user.  They talk, play, and sit and watch.  They talk about their computers, their kids, what movies they saw, or any other thing that crosses their mind.  They are most of all humans.

The primary function of a moderator is to come in the room when they have free time and chat as they normally would.  There are no shifts or set hours.  It's not a job.  The only difference between a moderator and anyone else is that a moderator is permitted to temporarily kick out unruly people.

Moderators are required to enjoy themselves which will help make the room more enjoyable for others.

What does a moderator NOT do?

Moderators are not cops.  They do not investigate rumors or act upon things they cannot verify directly.  They will not act on hearsay.  Moderators do not go looking for problems, they only act on problems that cross their path.  Moderators do not control speech, only behavior.

Kicking or Banning people.

Moderators are expected to go above and beyond the call of duty in being polite to users.  Channel moderators may not ever intentionally lead a conversation to the point where it causes another person to be be banned.

The ONLY time it is acceptable to kick someone is when that person is INTENTIONALLY disrupting the room AND continues to do so after politely being asked to stop.  You may ban someone immediately if it is blatantly obvious (beyond a shadow of a doubt) that their sole purpose for entering the room is to disrupt the ongoing conversations. 

• It is NOT acceptable to ban someone because they are not talking.
• It is NOT acceptable to ban someone because you personally don't like that person.
• It is NOT acceptable to ban someone just for using a cuss word.  It's the intent that matters, not the words.
  
• It is NOT acceptable to ban someone because you disagree with something that person says.
• It is NOT acceptable to ban someone because one person of the group feels uncomfortable with that persons presence.
• It is NOT acceptable to ban someone because they have a suspicious looking nick.
• It is NOT acceptable to ban someone because they ask about the bots.
• It is NOT acceptable to ban someone just because you think they might almost kinda semi possibly look like a hacker.
• It is NOT acceptable to show favoritism towards friends.  If your best friend gets out of control, then they are subject to the same rules.
• It is NOT acceptable to use the excuse "Sorry, I'm having a bad day" as an excuse to break any of the above rules.

If you have a suspicion that someone is engaging in criminal activity, report it to me.

Moderator Qualifications

Moderators are selected only when there is a need, and never given based on who is asking for it.  No person who has ever specifically asked to be one has become one.  Moderator selection is based solely on the gut instinct of the administrator.