Ok, it seems that this "thing" I've created has grown into its own beast of which I'm losing control. I can only get on once a day and do my best to read all posts and to delete all SPAM. More people have been complaining about what they think is a large amount of SPAM. To me, the 2 to 6 SPAM's I delete on here daily is nothing compared to my e-mail in-box! Of course, most of these SPAM's lately do seem to include explicit porn photos. Blocking all photos wouldn't be a good way to deal with that as no one could then post photos.

Anyway, I'm considering appointing moderators. They would be responsible for a section or sections of the forum. As such, I would ask that they log in to the forum at least once a day and read all the posts in their section. They would delete any SPAM posts (mostly porn, drug ads, other things not related to the forum at all). If there were any question about that (such as blatant ads that are fish/pond related), the moderator could ask me. Don't delete if you're not sure. Most are pretty obvious. The moderator would also make sure that every post that has a question gets an answer even if it is that "I don't know." The moderator would not have to be an expert on the topic but that would be good if they were. The moderator can pin topics that are either very important or filled up with lots of posts. The moderator could write pinned articles about their section if they were an expert in that area. The moderator should also pin a post about themselves in their section. I would still get on daily and do my thing too.

My suggested moderator appointments that come to mind might be something like this:

Ponds and Winter - KK of course!
Pond Maintenance, Building, etc. - Pond Guy since he does it for a living
Pond Plants - Wayne since he has a green thumb
Pond Fish - Sadie May maybe since she's in to fish!
Notices - I would need someone who doesn't mind seeing porn posts (you have to open them to delete them) and deleting them as this is the section where most of the SPAM is dropping these days
Aquariums - not sure, this section used to be the SPAM drop spot but not lately
Other Animals - not sure, this section doesn't get many posts, I could continue to moderate that (and actually all sections but only once a day).

Who would like to volunteer to moderate and which sections?
Any nominations?
I will only consider people who have been on the forum for the while so we know something about them.
I can also have group moderators meaning more than one moderator in each section.
Any ideas?

This is really no longer my forum but yours so let me know what you think!

Robyn I think you have some good choices already picked out if they are interested. I don't see Pond Guy on much though. Maybe he just doesn't sign it??
Adding more than one per section if warranted might be good to.

If I had to vote or nominate it would go something like this:
KK for Ponds and Winter
WW for Pond Plants
Sadie for Fish
The rest I would have to think on it some more. :)

This idea should really improve the overall quality of the forum and might give you back some of your TV time that you have been missing. :)

I'd like to be a backup moderator now I'm back.

I am honoured that you would think of me for winter and ponds and I would enjoy doing it. I have the time to donate to it. Just give me a shout Robyn, anytime, and I could talk with you about it further. Thank you for the consideration, Elaine.

OK, as a test, KoiKrazy is now the moderator of the ponds and winter section. Check it out and see what you can do. Moderation options are at the bottom left of the screen when you have a message open.

Congrats KK!! :)
Make us proud! :)

TLC, what would you like to moderate?

Well Robyn I never thought I knew enough about fishy, ponding stuff to be able to contribute much other than Welcome to the board type stuff. :) That's why I didn't volunteer. Maybe a no brainer section would work like Notices? I would be happy to help out anyplace that you need me too.
Thank you for asking! :) :)

PS I would take great pleasure in deleting those nasty posts!!!

Ok, TLC, you are now moderator of all the notices sections except for Notices from Robyn (since I alone can post there anyway). I hope those posts don't bother you too much! If they do, let me know. I will remove them once a day but you can catch some at other times. That section doesn't require your advice really.

Ohhh Thank you Robyn. I think I handle that. It only requires a little reading and Delete key , both of which I can do :).

Thank you Robyn for doing this. You picked two quality people for moderators.
I'm glad to know that the adult spammer crud will have a better chance of being eliminated, as well as making other things run smoother.

Congratulations to KK & tia!! :)
I want to thank both of you for stepping up for the jobs!

PG

Awwwww thanks! You guys should be safe with me in the ponds and winter section since we will be done with that for awhile now!!! LOl LOl LOl I am just happy to help where I can!

Thanks PG!
Should I make a speech now? :lol:

I promise to delete that spam faster than you can say: Supercalifraglilisticexpialidocious!
:lol: :lol:

Someone is putting Tia to the test on her first day on the job!! :o

Derrick

Holy Cow Tia, hope you used spell check on that one. (Not that anyone would notice.) My congtats to you both. I'm sure you will both do a great job. I nominate Derrick for the comedy section. ;)

They snuck in while I was sleeping the stinky rats! :huh: :o :blink:

I hate those guys!

Good job so far, TLC. I found no SPAM in this section when I came in (and usually do). If it's too much for you, there can be multiple moderators in a section. I don't want you to spend your life deleting porn!

I guess you've figured out how to delete posts, ok, TLC?

Derrick and Pool Guy, would you like to moderate something? Almost all the SPAM is in the notices so the other sections aren't a lot of work but you never know where they might dump next. It's all automated, the SPAM dumps. They have it down to a science. But, at least one of them was paying attention as he disguised his perv posting as something about fish.

Yeah, I figured it out and I hit that delete so fast that they won't know what hit them!
I didn't look at the pic really. It was just a flash. I never looked at them before so I didn't know what you were trying to say until I opened one but it was gone in a second! You know the saying, if you seen one then you seen them all. :)
And yes it did feel good to delete that stinking thing!! B) B)

I was thinking Pool Guy might be good for Aquariums.

As for R3D3, do we have a comedy section? :lol:

Good One Froggy for bringing Tia up on charges for her spelling!!!!!!! I wanted to but, awwww gosh, she's just my dearest friend and all and I mean if she is willing to look at all that nasty porn for us, I could overlook the spelling, LOL LOL.

Oh my, spell check is my best friend. I don't think I could pass grade school classes. Dispised English classes, and it shows. :(

I need a lot more moderators. Is anybody else willing to step forward? We nominated some of you but haven't heard anything. KK and TLC are doing a great job. Perhaps they'd like to moderate more sections, at least for now? They need some help guys! The minimal you'd be doing is deleting a post every day or so so it's not a ton of work. You can do more of course, that's up to you.

Sure, pencil me in if you think I can help anywhere. I am usually on at least once a day, so I can keep an eye out for spam and inappropriate postings if nothing else. :D

Derrick

Robyn you can sign me up for more sections until you get them filled with more knowledgeable people. I think that KK wanted another section too as the Winter section will be slowing down here soon.

Sure, I would love another section! It doesn't matter to me if it is temporary or permanent. Whatever you think Robyn???? I would definately suck at pond animals other than fish, lol, but any other section would be fine for me :-) KK

I will help later if needed. I have so much going on in the next two months getting two ponds built... up and running. My oldest daughter is getting married May 10th so I will be spending two weeks on the outer banks in NC. I had tickets with Skybus :( . they are closing down 4 days before our flights. I don't like to commit to something if i'm not sure I can follow through.

FM3

Robyn. You chose wisely with T and KK.

It will be so nice to come to this site and not see spam.

I will have to decline your offer to be a moderator though as there are times when I get very busy and would not be able to devote the time to the site that it deserves. Thanks to all for our confidence in me.

Hi Robyn,
I'm willing to help in any way I can, that you see fit.
Normally I'm on in the evenings (PST), so I'm not sure if it would help that much.

Let me know! :)

PG

Robyn, I'm more mouth than I am action but I'll help. At least a trial for awhile since I'm on every morning anyway. Glad you didn't pick me for Aquariums...of course unless you changed the title to 'DEATH TANK'. :P Tia should also have the Aquariums, like you said before..it was a big spam target.

Ok, guys, I have wow 10 minutes at work free at the end of the day so I, of course, went to the forum. I will read the other messages tonight but just put in moderators now. If you want to be reassigned in your moderation, etc., let me know!

TLC/Tia has done a great job keeping out the SPAM. Where did it go? Here are the current forum assignments. Remember, your main job is basically to delete SPAM. Don't delete other things without checking with me first. Forum controls are at the bottom left when you have message open. You do not have to reply to all messages if you don't have anything relevant to say. I will still do my best to take care of that part.

KK - ponds in general, ponds in winter, and pond plants
Pool Guy - pond maintenance and pond animals other than fish
Sadie May - pond fish
Route3drummer - aquariums; you may be new to aquariums but all the more reason to read all the posts! I don't expect you to reply to them. If someone else wants to moderate this section with more experience, let us know.
TLC - all the notices and animals. She's got the most SPAM (basically all of it) but the least actual messages to read.

Let me know if you want to change something.

I am cool with all my new duties except for plants, lol, but I will do my best. I know NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING about plants. If someone WANTS plants please let Robyn know!! I will look after it until someone qualified saves me from it, lol, and all the plants out there!! :lol:

Well, I went home, did my chores, and now am back on! I need to eat but somehow the forum is calling. Plus, the baby (3 year old niece) is asleep.

If you guys want to swap out some sections, you can ask each other, and then I'll amend it.

I also wanted to clarify something for the moderators.
To delete, move, etc. an entire topic, you use the controls at the bottom left when the thread it open. To delete or edit a single post (as for double posts or to replace a bad word with *'s) use the controls (delete, edit) to the right and above the specific message within the topic/thread. I don't want anyone to accidently delete an entire thread instead of just a single message within the thread.

KK, don't worry. You don't have to know anything about pond plants. If someone who does know a lot wants to moderate, then we'll swap you out. I don't think there's been a single SPAM in that section but you can keep a look out.

At least you're one up on me..after 3 years of fish I'm still trying to see those little bumpy things at the gills. <_< But I'm getting pretty good at fish poop. :D ;)
Robyn, are you sure about me?? I almost uppted my warning level. :rolleyes: :o

Hey Sadie you are not alone on that warning level thingy! I almost up'ed my own too! :lol:

I just don't want to blow it and delete something I shouldn't.
I'm used to pushing buttons and clicking on everything to see what happens, but this is different.
So I'll go through and read up on instructions, probably tomorrow.

PG

I'd be more than happy to help if you still need it!