Welcome to Gaia! ::

MAJOR IMPORTANT EDIT: I am no longer a GD helper but I am still keeping this sigged, as helpers are all supposed to do their duties in a uniform fashion (i.e. according to the Terms of Service & Rules and Guidelines). So even though I am no longer a helper, I feel this guide can still be useful to you, John or Jane Q. Gaian.

NOTE: This is how I operate in regards to my helper duties in GD. Since all helpers follow the same rules, the gist of what you read here can apply to the other helpers of General Discussion. However, everyone does things just a little differently. I take no responsibility for the actions of other helpers. This guide is just a starting point for all of you who want to post in GD. Take what you read here to heart, use common sense, and you should be just fine.

I get a lot of questions regarding mod and helper stuff, so I thought I should throw together a short list of questions and answers to help resolve some of the things I'm asked. Here goes.

Are you a mod?

No, I am not, repeat, NOT a moderator. I'm a mod helper. There's a difference.

Okay, so you're a helper. What's the difference?

All I do is deal with misplaced threads. If a thread is better suited to another forum, then that's where I come in. I can handle spam, too, since that kind of thing belongs in the Chatterbox. I also deal with repeated threads, since those are Recycle Bin material.

I do NOT deal with Terms of Service violations. If you see someone posting Tubgirl or something like that, do NOT PM me. If I were to move a topic like that, a moderator would just have to move it again to deal with it.

I also do not deal with signatures. If someone's sig is oversized, PM an online moderator, not me.

I want to be a helper/mod. How do you do it?

There isn't a set course you can undergo to become a mod/helper. Basically, the best way to do it is to be a good user. Report bad topics, DO NOT post in them. Helpfully guide users to other forums, if you'd like. Follow the forum's rules. Be sure to stay caught up on the Rules and Guidelines and the Terms of Service. Just do all that, and hope that someone's watching all the good things you're doing.

My thread belonged in General Discussion! Move it back!

I can't move things back to General Discussion. I'm only a helper for GD, nowhere else. If you feel that I was wrong in moving your topic, you can PM an online mod, include a link to your moved thread, and state your reasons why it shouldn't have been moved. If the mods agrees with you, it'll be moved back. But please, if I do mistakenly move a thread, it'd be nice if you were civil about it. I'm not very likely to respond to PMs that go something like "You're an idiot for moving my thread, and I demand you set things right now."

My topic got moved while there's other bad topics!

I don't deal with misplaced topics in any particular order. I don't have a grudge against any of you, and I do not move threads out of spite for a user. Just because I moved your topic before the one entitled "bump here for gold" does not mean that I am picking on you, it just means I clicked your topic first. Again, nothing personal.

IMPORTANT: These are the topics I move.

Here's a list of some of the kinds of topics I'll be moving if I see them. Keep in mind this isn't definitive, I'm just naming some of the things that spring readily to mind.

• Bump for gold topics. That kind of thing is clear-cut Chatterbox material.
  
  
• Topics for just chatting. Again, Chaterbox material, no doubt about it.
  
  
• Begging/soliciting topics. If you want to ask people for gold, then the Charity/Quests forum is where it's at for you.
  
  
• Spam. If you want to post random nonsense, once again, the Chatterbox, baby.
  
  
• Topics with no discussion. I realize this can be sticky. As a rule of thumb, keep this in mind.
  
  "If the discussion isn't clearly evident WITHOUT the use of discussion tags, it does not belong in GD."
  
  If you post a one-line topic that says nothing more than "I like pie", that's considered spam, and gets moved to the Recycle Bin. If you post a rambling topic about what you did today, that's wonderful, but it really isn't suited for GD, even if you slap on some discussion tags.
  
  
• Repeated topics. I'd rather not get into an agument about semantics on this one. Suffice to say, there are topics that hav been done to death in GD, and we don't need any more of them. They include, but are not limited to:
  
  G.W. Bush (there's a politics forum, just so you know)
  Sex or most anything sex-related (your first time, what do you like about it, do you do it, what are your fetishes about it, etc.)
  Internet popularity ("prominence", these also usually are nothing but ego-stroking with no discussion)
  Your Gaia anniversary
  Your birthday
  God or most any religious topic (there's a subforum for that)
  The state of General Discussion
  Gay marriage
  Abortion
  Large sub-cultures (emos, preps, jocks, goths, chavs. nerds, geeks, etc.)
  
  
  
• Chatting topics. This is different from spam. Sometimes, a perfectly legitimate discussion thread turns into a few people talking about something that in no way relates to the initial discussion, or ANY discussion. When this happens, a thread's considered a chat thread, and chat threads are for the Chatterbox. I realize that it may not be the thread creator's fault, but that's the way it is. If your topic gets chatty, sorry, but it's gotta go.
  
  
• Topics that are better suited somewhere else on Gaia. And that doesn't mean just the forums. Remember, the rule for General Discussion is:
  
  If it doesn't belong anywhere else on Gaia, it belongs here.
  
  That doesn't mean you can twist anything to make it suited for GD. If your topic is about the new Franz Ferdinand CD and you add discussion tags to make it more about what a pain shopping is, sorry, but your discussion is about music, and belongs in the Music forum. Also, and this is VERY important, not everything that goes on in your life is worthy of a topic. If you had a weird day and you want to make a topic about it, ask yourself this question.
  
  "Is this better suited for my journal?"
  
  A lot of the topics in GD are really glorified journal posts. Make sure your topic has something we can talk about before you go making it.

Here's a short list of some of the other things I feel are pertinent.

• Discussion tags do not make a legitimate topic. I can't stress this enough. Just because you make a long-winded post about how your day was and add "discuss: your day", that doesn't mean it's suited for GD. The discussion needs to be evident WITHOUT the aid of discussion tags. Otherwise, you're just cheating, and your topic will be moved/deleted as neccassary.
  
  
• If you have a question about the site, I suppose you can PM me with it. I try to keep the ToS and Rules and Guidelines fresh in mind, so I guess I'm fairly well-read. However, I am NOT a mod, and I can't give you a definitive answer on ToS issues. You'd be better off asking your question to a moderator, since they deal with ToS issues, whereas I do not.
  
  
• Please don't PM me just "to chat". If you're hoping to win me over so that I'll overlook your threads or give you gold or items or whatever, don't waste your time. I find that kind of thing to be extremely slimy and underhanded, so don't bother.
  
  
• Giving me lists of misplaced threads is a HUGE help. Helpers don't get to see the report queue. In case you don't know what that is, I'll explain it.
  
  When a thread is reported with the lovely little "Report this thread" button, it appears in the inbox of all the moderators who deal with that forum. That's the report queue, so that moderators don't have to blindly cruise the forum looking for the bad stuff.
  
  Helpers don't get to see that, since we're basically a tiny step up from a regular user (not to elevate myself above all you fine Gaians). We have to look through the forums for bad topics, and move them as we seem them. By myself, this is a little bit of a chore, as I have to be constantly monitoring the GD when I'm online, without the help of the queue. If you see a misplaced thread that I haven't dealt with, giving me a link to said thread is very handy. I prefer IMs, and all my IM names are in my profile, so fire away.
  
  
• Don't respond to the "Your topic has been moved" PM you get when I shoo your topic out of GD for whatever reason, unless you feel that the thread move was unfair. I appreciate your thanks, to be sure, but it's not needed and it clutters up my inbox. PMing me to tell me what a moron I am is considered being abusive to another user, and that's a reportable offense. So unless you've got something to say about me moving your thread, don't bother with responding to the PM.

More on this as it occurs to me later. For now, I'd encourage all of you to read the Terms of Service, Rules and Guidelines, and the General Discussion stickies to be absolutely sure that your topics are on the level. You can never be too aware of the site's rules. Thanks for reading, and I hope this has been informative.

If you have anything you'd like to add that I may have missed, feel free to comment.

heart

To add to this, what I think a lot of users don't realize is that helpers are supposed to be unbiased in their thread moves.
When one of my friends posted a thread saying that he ate potato salad out of his boyfriends a** and proceeded to describe details of it, I showed the thread to a mod and he ended up being banned. Nice guy, but he should have known better.

It's sad that some of my GAIA friends get pissed at me for moving their threads, but it's my job.
Luckily the really good friends I have totally understand why I move them.




I love the people who respond to me and ask why I moved their topic.
I used to explain -- AGAIN -- why I moved the topic, but now I just reply with "I explained why I moved your thread in the 'Additional Notes' section of your notification PM."


I also find it hilarious how people tend to hate Hawkeye because he's too harsh with his explanations for moving threads, but he uses pretty much the exact same templates that I do xd

Great job on the guide. I'm linking it in my signature.

Can I be a helper? sweatdrop

I feel as if I don't have anything to do in gaia anymore.


I shall help smile

3nodding Very nice Guide.