http://qs1969.pair.com?node_id=88990


in reply to Responsibilities re Unapproved Posts

Well, I ok a node as long as it isn't useless. And as to when to front-page a node, vroom explains his suggestions here.

As for the whole moderation thing though, well it took me a while to figure out what was going on. I tried to search the site on moderating nodes, but found only bits and pieces. I saw the faq node for this subject for the first time after neshura suggested it. I'm still trying to get the hang of it though, take this as an example:

I just suggested a node for moderation, and after seeing every other moderation suggestion as (user-name) reason, I thought I would follow the accepted standard and put my user-name in parentheses--only to find out it was provided automatically. Needless to say, I'm a little embarsed that my first moderation suggestion starts out as: "(srawls) (srawls)." Oh well, I guess it just takes time to learn : )

The 15 year old, freshman programmer,
Stephen Rawls

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
(tye)Re: Responsibilities re Unapproved Posts
by tye (Sage) on Jun 16, 2001 at 09:50 UTC

    I'd like to clear up some terminology. "Moderation" is process whereby one of the moderators (anyone of level 6 and above) has to approve root nodes of certain sections before they appear in that section. This also covers approving root nodes to appear on the front page (Monastery Gates).

    One more note on moderation: If you reply to a root node from AnonyMonk, please make sure that said root node has been approved. AnonyMonk is likely to have a hard time finding their replies to an unapproved root node. Somewhat unfortunately, this means that anonymous root nodes of questionable value should probably be approved. Otherwise, the AnonyMonk is fairly likely to submit a duplicate question, perhaps in a different section, trying to figure out what happened to the first one.

    What you have called "moderation" is submitting a node for "consideration". This is a way to request that one of the janitors cleans up a mess of a node. Use this to:

    • Request a title change (please include an exact suggestion for the new title that is well thought out).
    • Request formatting clean up, usually addition of <code> tags or <readmore> or fixing long lines inside of <pre> tags. If the entire post is inside of such tags, please just /msg the author.
    • Request that a node be deleted. Please only do this for blatant trolls and true duplicates (where "I gave the same answer as some other monk but was slower" is not a duplicate). For useless, stupid, off-topic, and annoying nodes: if it is a root node, then don't approve it for any section; if it is a reply, just ignore it.
    • Request that a node be moved to a different section or unapproved.
      • The best way to do this is to move it before you approve it or not approve it at all. Note: You can't move it and approve it with a single submit; you have to move it, click submit, then approve it, click submit. But the janitors can move or unapprove approved nodes.
      • Note that only the following sections support moving of root nodes to or from them: Seekers of Perl Wisdom, Meditations, Perl Monks Discussion, Craft, Obfuscated Code, Cool Uses for Perl, and Perl Poetry. Also, QandAEditors can convert from Categorized Questions to Seekers of Perl Wisdom (unfortunately a very common need). If you really think a node needs to be moved to/from some other section, then you can ask vroom do it via Editor Requests, or you can post it to the new section and request the previous node be deleted (but please don't do either of these lightly).
      • Don't be too surprised or upset if a really simple (and short) question ends up on the front page; we don't need to "hide" the really basic questions (even if they don't seem "high quality" which is one of the reasons for putting something on the front page). (:
    • Request that a node be obscured. This is for the very rare case of quite graphic material or material with potential legal issues (until a determination can be made on whether to remove the material).
    • Request that a node be moved to a different thread. vroom hasn't announced this feature to the janitors yet but single nodes can be moved between threads by a sufficiently motivated janitor [ Update: Sorry, the tool that does this doesn't get some basic things right (it doesn't update the number of replies, doesn't update the "in thread" link, etc.) so we can't really move nodes between threads yet ]. Plans to improve the tool to allow a whole tree of nodes to be moved have been announced.
    You can also request janitors's assistance with an open call in the chatterbox, especially for one of your own nodes when you aren't level 6 yet. As with all such calls for assistance, please just make your request; don't make the common mistake of asking "Can I ask for help?" hoping one of the "roomfull" of monks will decide to give you permission to speak. If no janitor is available (just because one is listed in "Other Users", doesn't mean one is available), then you can "consider" the node (if you are level 6 or above) or add to Editor Requests. Note that Editor Requests existed before editors and so it really means "vroom requests" (at least for now).

    If someone from the Site Documentation Clan would like to use some or all of this for one of the FAQs, please do so and I would be more than happy to help. (:

    Some may disagree with some things I've said above. I don't claim to speak for all members nor to have any policy-making authority here. YMMV. Engage brain before clicking. :)

            - tye (but my friends call me "Tye")