Democratic Underground! ARE! YOU! READY! FOR! HUGE! CHANGES!

EarlG ADMIN

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Fri Oct-29-10 10:58 AM
Original message

Democratic Underground! ARE! YOU! READY! FOR! HUGE! CHANGES!

Okay maybe I'm exaggerating slightly :evilgrin:

But you may have noticed that the Admins are around a lot more these days, and you may have heard us talking recently about potential changes to DU. As part of this process we recently re-opened the Ask The Administrators forum and ran our first annual member survey to take the temperature of the membership and get some feedback on the direction of DU as we move forward.

From the comments that were left on the survey it quickly became clear to us that one of the themes uniting DU members is that they would like to see an increase in civility. We have some good ideas about how to achieve this, and all will be revealed in the not-too-distant future.

One thing that is not going to change, however, is that we will still require a strong team of smart, capable people to serve as moderators. Which brings me to the point of my post.

We are now looking for new volunteers to serve as moderators. The gig is unpaid, and I'm not going to lie, it can be frustrating work at times. But ask any current moderator and they'll tell you that it can also be extremely rewarding - and, yes - even fun. And of course you'll be the first to know about the changes we're planning for DU.

The next moderator term will last three months, from the middle of November 2010 until the middle of February 2011. If you have never served as a moderator before but would like to volunteer some time to help keep Democratic Underground's discussion forum running smoothly, now is a great time to sign up.

Here are some things to bear in mind before you apply:

Your political ideology is not important... We need centrists and leftists and everyone in between to serve as moderators.

We prefer people who have been members for a while, and have made at least a few hundred posts. You must be at least 18 years old. You must have donated at least one time to Democratic Underground using your own name.

You must be able to log on to DU regularly, and should not take any long vacations between now and the end of the term.

We prefer people with a generally positive outlook on life, who can be fair and evenhanded, and who don't get easily frustrated. If you sign up to moderate, we expect you to stay as a moderator for the full term. You must understand that it is perfectly normal for the admins to occasionally overturn your decisions, or to make specific requests regarding the manner in which you participate on DU while you are a moderator.

We prefer that moderators avoid highly controversial topics, or at least moderate their behavior significantly when participating in such discussions. If you have a history of rhetorically hot postings on controversial issues, we may not choose you to serve.

If you know that you aren't very good at controlling your behavior or your emotions, or if you know that you can't be fair to a particular group of people, please do not sign up to be a moderator. There is no obligation to serve as a mod, and we won't hold it against you if you choose not to.

Here's how to volunteer:

STEP 1: FILL OUT, SIGN, AND MAIL THE MODERATOR CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT

The moderator confidentiality agreement is here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/forums/moderator_form.html

Fill it out and send it in to the address provided ASAP. If you prefer, you may scan the completed form and email a digital copy along with your moderator application email (see below). Don't forget to sign the form.

We hope to receive completed forms from all applicants *before* the new moderator term begins. If we do not receive your form before then, you may still be chosen to serve as a moderator, but we may not be able to give you full access to all the moderator tools at the beginning of the moderator term.

We will keep the moderator confidentiality agreement forms on file, so once you mail the form to us you should not have to send it again if you apply to serve in future terms.

STEP 2: SEND US AN APPLICATION EMAIL WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION

Send an email to earlg@democraticunderground.com with the word "moderator" in the subject line. By volunteering to serve as a moderator, you are giving us permission to take all necessary measures to verify your identity. Include the following information:

- Your real name

- Your forum username

- Your address

- Your telephone number

- How much time you spend on Democratic Underground

- A brief statement which generally outlines your political views

- Are you taking any extended vacations during the the next three months?

- Have you read, and do you agree to follow, the Message Board Rules and the Moderator Guidelines?

- Have you filled out, signed, and mailed the Moderator Confidentiality Agreement?

We hope to select a new group of moderators on Wednesday November 10, 2010. There will be a free conference call for new moderators on the following night.

And one last thing -- please kick and recommend this thread so everyone gets a chance to see it. Thanks for reading!

EarlG
DU Admin