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The moderation policies for rec.gardens.ecosystems have a number of
goals. One goal is to eliminate or reduce cross postings. The only
crossposted articles allowed are administrative postings like RFDs and
CFVs. A second goal is to help the discussions stay focused on
ecosystems and organic gardening. A third goal is to discourage
inappropriate postings. The moderation system consists of a
robomoderator supported by human moderators. The planed moderation
program is expected to meet these goals.
The robomoderator is intended as the primary "moderator at
work". It has the ability and is given the authority to perform
three functions during periods in which it is the primary moderator:
Except for forged messages, the moderators will not cancel any
messages. The human moderators may update the robomoderator so as to
reduce the number of off-topic postings. It should be noted that as
the robomoderator is usually the only moderator at work, some amount
of off-topic (see below) posts should be expected.
The responsibilities of the human moderators are to maintain the
robomoderator and to handle those situations that require individual
attention. When the human moderators see a need to shift moderation to
their control, they will first post an advanced notice on
rec.gardens.ecosystems stating the intent to shift to human moderation
(assisted by the robomoderator) and state the reasons for doing so.
The human moderators take over for an unspecified length of time and
will be assisted by the robomoderator checking for cross-posts,
binaries, and approved posters. The human moderators may elect to give
auto-approval status to any number of posters during those periods of
human moderation. All human moderators have the right to accept or
reject articles for rec.gardens.ecosystems.
The reasoning behind the temporary shifting to human moderation is to
provide the human moderators with the means to deal with difficult
situations, these include but are not restricted to flamewars and a
high percentage of off-topic postings. Articles that are blatantly
commercial and have nothing to do with home gardening or articles that
contain foul or offensive language, e.g., flames, are considered
inappropriate for rec.gardens.ecosystems. Articles that are aimed at
demeaning individuals as a result of their age, nationality, race,
religion, gender or sexual orientation are also considered
inappropriate. In the event that such an article should appear, the
human moderator would contact the author, attach a copy of the group
charter as a reference, and request the author's cooperation. In the
event that all efforts to gain cooperation fail, the human moderator
may elect to have all future articles from that author auto-referred
to human moderators for individual consideration. The author would be
notified by the human moderator if the decision was to reject the
article.
Articles advocating the routine application of materials prohibited by
the International Certification Standards, as specified in Appendix A
of the group FAQ, are considered inappropriate as well. The same
general procedures as described above would be followed with the
exception that if such a posting would actually appear in
rec.gardens.ecosystems, the human moderator would also post an article
stating that the application of that material in that particular way
violates the International Certification Standard.
As technology and circumstance change, it will undoubtedly be
necessary to update the moderation policy from time to time. In which case, the
changes would be posted to rec.gardens.ecosystems. The group FAQ will also
contain the most recent version of the moderation policy in Appendix D.
Commercial Postings:
Articles announcing or promoting commercial products, services, or
publications by commercial sources may be posted provided that they
are appropriate in an organic gardening program. The articles must be
approved by the moderator prior to posting. Commercial postings
without pre-post approval will be considered as inappropriate and
treated as above.
Replacement of moderators:
Moderators may be replaced in a vote organized by an independent
vote-counter using the automated UseVote software. The voting period
lasts for a period of 20 to 30 days, stated in advance in the Call For
Votes. The Call For Votes must appear in rec.gardens.ecosystems.
Moderators are replaced when the replacement candidate obtains a 2/3
majority with a minimal difference of 100 votes. The results of the
vote are published in rec.gardens.ecosystems.
The original proponent for a moderator replacement is allowed one
article in the group calling for support. The subject line for that
Call For Support should read: "Moderator replacement, Call For
Support". The formal replacement process requires the support of
at least ten past-posters with the number verified by the moderator
group. A formal discussion on the replacement may then begin. The
subject line for the formal discussion should read: "Moderator
replacement, Request For Discussion". Calls For Support and
Requests For Discussion will only be accepted when at least six months
have passed since the last request for discussion of moderator
replacement.
Resignation of moderators, expansion of office:
Moderators in office may resign or choose to increase their number. In
such case, they may appoint a new moderator without a formal group
vote. Anyone who would like to volunteer to become a moderator should
notify one of the moderators. The moderators may ask the group for
their opinions regarding a candidate moderator. Those who would wish
to reply should do so by sending their comments directly to the
moderators by private e-mail rather than posting in the group. The
acceptance of a new moderator is then posted in
rec.gardens.ecosystems.
Conflicts between moderators:
The moderator team will be supervised by a Moderator Supervisor who is
not engaged in actual moderation. If the moderators have a conflict
that they can not resolve by themselves, the Moderator Supervisor
decides the issue. The proposed moderators propose the first Moderator
Supervisor. The Moderator Supervisor may propose their successors to
the moderating team. The moderating team must agree on the selection
of the follow-up supervisor.
MODERATOR INFO: rec.gardens.ecosystems
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