Moderators
This is an overview page for website moderators, who delete spam, ban spam users, etc. to keep our site clean. As time goes on we will likely need more moderators as our community grows; if you are interested please be in touch with organizers@publiclaboratory.org.
Moderators can:
- block users
- spam comments
- unpublish/delete notes and pages
This is a serious responsibility and we have to be careful not to misuse moderator power. Only ban/block/spam if you are sure that it is in fact spam, and please tell the other moderators.
How to moderate
Comment moderation
The simplest moderation task is to look for new comments. If you're subscribed to all new comments, you'll get emails as new ones are posted, and if they look suspicious (i.e. "beautiful jewelry" or "raiders tickets") click through and investigate. If they're obviously spam, you can use the links below the comments to "Submit spam" as shown in the image below. If you're not sure, it's worthwhile to click on the author's name to see if they have other legitimate posts.
#444;" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/6903832613_61a1a1c79d.jpg" width="500" height="228" alt="Spam moderation links">
Approving new comments
Non-PLOTS-users can post comments, but they're held for moderation. Check to see if any new comments are waiting to be approved here: http://publiclaboratory.org/admin/content/comment/approval
We should check that as often as possible so people don't have to wait too long. We should also figure out how to get emailed when comments need to be moderated.
Note and page moderation
Basic moderation: Those with the "moderator" privilege can see a link on pages and notes, below the subscription links, labelled "Report to Mollom". This can be used to quickly submit spam and it also improves our automated spam catching system.
#444;" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8192/8079960431_6c0e56f6d2_o.png" width="228" height="157" alt="report to Mollom">
- New notes and pages can be deleted by moderators by clicking the "Edit" tab and choosing "Delete post". It's worthwhile to first click on the author name to check if they are a spam user; the account can be Blocked following instructions below.
- Revisions on pages can be reverted by clicking on the "Revisions" tab and reverting to a recent clean revision.
- New published content can also be reviewed en-masse at the address http://publiclaboratory.org/admin/content/antispam/nodes/published (only accessible to moderators).
Advanced/batch note/page moderation
If you have the privileges, you can visit this address and batch-delete: http://publiclaboratory.org/admin/content/node
User moderation: "Blocking" users
Spam users can be blocked by visiting their profile pages (click on their author name in a research note or wiki page revision) and checking "Blocked" instead of "Active".