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 Frequently Asked Questions: Forum Moderation
This is a guide for both veteran and new posters provided in an effort to relay FlopTurnRiver forum moderation policies to our posting members.
Q: Who are the moderators?
A: The moderators are listed for each respective forum when clicking on the Poker Forum tab near the top-left of most FTR pages.
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Q: Are FTR moderators paid employees?
A: No, they are not. In the vast majority of cases, moderators have earned their privileges via consistent contributions combined with specialty knowledge that make them a natural fit for their respective forum(s). Our moderators here at FlopTurnRiver are volunteers who are interested in assisting the community.
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Q: What is FTR's stance on Moderator censorship?
A: In regards to forum management, FTR moderators have a broad scope of authority which has been earned by their contributions. WE DO NOT CENSOR OUR MODERATORS, NOR DOES THE OPINION OF ANY GIVEN MODERATOR NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OPINIONS OF THE FTR ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF OR BRAND NAME. FTR Moderators are welcome to express their opinions on any topic and members are welcome to agree/disagree with that opinion provided disagreements don't become personal/result in flaming.
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Q: What is FTR's stance on Administrative censorship?
A: Administrative members of FlopTurnRiver form part of our staff. While at times their opinions will indeed reflect an official company stance, they are still welcome to express their views on a wide variety of forum topics, which members are in turn welcome to agree/disagree with provided disagreements don't become personal/result in flaming.
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Q: What is your stance on financial disputes and/or scammers? When are bans implemented and why/why not?
A: Financial transactions that take place on the FlopTurnRiver boards are ultimately the sole responsibility of those who engage in such arrangements. Although staking is permitted, the FTR staff and brand name are not responsible for any transactions that take place on these forums. Trading is done at your own risk!
The difference between a financial dispute and an outright scam is important in these cases, and the Moderation team handles them on a case-by-case basis. Outright scammers are obviously not welcome on the FTR boards.
Whenever a financial dispute hits the public boards, our main concern from a moderation viewpoint is that all parties are able to communicate their grievances/opinions publicly. If it later becomes evident that one member owes another member money, we take the following steps:
(A) If the posting member in debt maintains an open line of communication with the person he/she owes and takes reasonable steps to settle in a fair and equitable manner, we do not implement a ban. The reason for this is because priority and consideration from a moderation standpoint goes to the person who is owed. Outright banning a member in these situations often achieves nothing except to give the person in debt an excuse not to communicate. However, we place an "undertitle" in a player's profile, linking to the thread in question, if there is a dispute that the community at large should be aware of (i.e. "Trade with Caution," "Scammer," etc). These undertitles are rarely removed even when a debt is paid in full, as it is valuable information for those who regularly participate in our Staking Forum.
(B) If the posting member in debt does not maintain an open line of communication (or shows no reasonable intention to make good on the debt), then we normally ban this member outright (with undertitle) unless we are specifically asked not to do so by the person who is owed funds. A judgement call (which will include feedback from the person who is owed) will then be made on whether to label that user as an outright scammer.
(C) If it is not evident who is owed funds, or whether a debt exists, the moderation team does not get involved in banning (unless there are personal flames being posted, in which case we might issue a temporary ban). The reason for not outright banning in these cases is that our responsibility lies within allowing all concerned parties to openly communicate their views.
(D) Outright scammers are banned with undertitle.
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Q: What is the moderation team's stance on other forums?
A: In a nutshell, all poker forums serve a purpose to the community. Each may have its own "style," but I personally am not a fan of "forum wars." There are valuable, quality, mindful posters on all of the well known forums who are a benefit to the poker community as a whole. In fact, many posters split their time between two or more forums. As a general rule, don't create inflammatory, general posts flaming another forum. All forums (even those that are non-poker related) have their share of great and not-so-great posters, but out of respect for those who do contribute, it makes little sense to encompass an entire forum's reputation on trolls, moderation policies, and other topics that do little or nothing to benefit the poker community.
Also, it is in our best interest to maintain an open line of communication with certain moderators/representatives of other forums when it comes to sharing information on outright scammers.
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Q: I got banned by x-poker-forum and want to post about it. Can I?
A: No thank you. These types of threads/posts will be deleted. The FTR moderation team has enough on its plate dealing with in-house tasks. If you are banned by another forum, you will need to take it up with the representatives of that forum.
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Q: I am a troll (i.e. my posts are generally abusive, unhelpful, inflammatory and contribute little or nothing to the topic being discussed). What is your stance on this?
A: If it's attention you're after, you'll be far better served by finding a subject that interests you, and providing relevant information by posting in the corresponding thread. However, we don't take kindly to posters who dump on our boards. A temporary to permanent ban will likely be issued in short order if you're a troll.
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Q: How do you deal with spammers?
A: Aside from outright scammers, this is probably the least-desired group for any forum. If you spam our website, chances are the forum manager will personally edit your post to "ima pos spammer." You'll know I've done this when you see an "edited by dhubermex" message at the bottom of your spam post, which you won't be able to see once you're banned. Don't spam our boards!
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Q: Why aren't passwords to FTR exclusive events released ahead of time to all members?
A: We release passwords early to our Qualified Members who have displayed a consistent posting history on FlopTurnRiver. If you would like to become a Qualified Member, read the following thread: How to Achieve Qualified Member Status
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Q: Why don't you respond to Private Messages from new members concerning exclusive event passwords?
A: It simply isn't an efficient use of our time to reply to dozens of PMs requesting passwords on the day of exclusive events just to link to our How to Achieve Qualified Member Status thread.
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Q: How does community perception of individual posters work?
A: It's very simple... the more helpful, relevant, insightful posts you have on the FTR boards, the more "clout" or "rep" you wield. This extends all the way from brand new posters to the forum manager. The more you contribute, the more likely it is that the community as a whole will engage in discussion with you.
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Q: Are these all the rules?
A: No. Although these FAQs cover a large portion of common issues, the administrative staff and moderators at FlopTurnRiver reserve the right to prohibit access to any member, at any time, as we deem necessary. Generally speaking, don't do anything that you would not want a poster to do on a forum you are responsible for.
If you have any questions/concerns regarding moderation, you are welcome to contact me or a corresponding forum moderator via Private Message.
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