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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">I have received several emails in the last few days asking me</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">“</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">what exactly do the Mods do?</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">”</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> So, I thought maybe it would be helpful for everyone to know.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">1. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">Before any posts are posted to the archives or digest, a mod has to check the post. This involves checking the size of the post, reading the post and then acting on the posting.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> If the Mods aren</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">t working, then no posts go through!</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">2. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">Four options are available for</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">“</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">acting</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">”</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> on a post: Accept</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> Reject</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> Defer</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> Discard. Accept is self-explanatory</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> the post complies with the Drool rules and is</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">of appropriate size. Reject</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> the post does not comply with drool rules (the most common cause for rejection is size, often because pictures are attached or an entire digest is included in the</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">post). If a post is rejected, the moderator who rejects it includes the reason for rejecting and usually a suggestion about how to solve the problem.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">The moderator also signs the rejection</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">When someone</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">s account has been hacked, we reject the posts for a week or two, contact the owner of the account and notify them of the pro</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">blem.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">. Discard</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> This option is used when automated</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">“</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">out of the office</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">”</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> notices are sent and when repeated SPAM is sent. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri"> If the SPAM continues the person is De-Drooled (as has recently happened with the latest SPAM issue). </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">Defer</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">–</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> this means a post is left for other Moderators to look at. When a questionable post comes in, the moderators leave the post in</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">“</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">deferred</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">”</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> and send a</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">“</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">red flag</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">”</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> notice to all moderators notifying them that it is a questionable post. After the majority of the mods have read the post, we confer and decide how to handle the post. There are maybe</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">one or two posts a week that require this action. If</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> after consultation, the mods decide the post must be rejected, one of the Moderators is assigned to reject the post and write the explanation. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">Usually that is either Sandy G. or Suz G.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> but it could be any of us.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">3. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">The Drool Rules we follow are at this site: </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN><A HREF="http://www.dailydrool.com/list.html"><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">http://www.dailydrool.com/list.html</FONT></U></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">4. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">When a post</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> is rejected, the moderators frequently are contacted (and often not-too-nicely) and we try to help the poster revise the post so it can be posted.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">While we have all taken a little break over the past few days, it doesn</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">t mean we haven</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">t been here. Remember, if we don</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">’</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">t approve a post, nothing goes through. So for every post you see, know that someone has taken 5 minutes of their time to sign on, sign in, read the posts, and process them. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">What we have been doing over the past few days is checking for size of posts and not content. Obviously, you can see the results of that</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> in the content of the SPAM posts. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri"> Fortunately, the posts over the past few days have been relatively mild and civil, but sometimes they are not. We can catch</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">“</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">flaming</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">”</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> in the posts submitted to the drool, but if someone receives</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">“</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">flames</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">”</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> via personal email as a result of a post on the Drool, we also need to know that. Flaming (on or off list) is cause for De-Drooling</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">…</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> and we do follow through on those complaints when we get them. Again, the recent</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">uproar resulted in person(s) being De-Drooled as a result of off-list flaming.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">I hope this helps folks understand what w</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">e do</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">…</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> and the WE is an important part. No ONE moderator acts alone, it is a collaborative effort to make the Drool safe, pleasurable and informative for everyone. There i</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">s no POWER in being a Moderator</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">…</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> just lots of hours and headaches</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">…</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> but all for the love of bassets.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> We are human, we have feelings, we make mi</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">stakes and we do our best. We have been flamed (heavily) in this last incident and our asbestos suits are a bit char</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">red. As we heal our burns and refresh our spirits, we will each (as individuals) resume our duties</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Calibri">…</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> for the love of the bassets and Drool.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Sandi Wittenberg</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri">Just one of the Moderators</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Calibri"> </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></P>
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