ELRA. The rules from the Hand Book for posting on the ELRA & other Boards.
Deletion of Posts
While in manage mode, Moderators will see a message that says "Click any message below to view, then remove or restore it." Clicking on a specific post will then show the option to "remove" in a box on the left. Clicking this will then provide the following options as a reason for removal: Personal Attack, Duplicate Post, Spam, Off Topic, Vulgarity, Author Asked to Remove, Violation of Privacy, Threat.
Duplicate
This is an accidental duplicate post by a single Member. This does not mean a similar message posted previously or the same content posted by a different Member.
Personal Attack
This is when someone attacks one or more members personally rather than the content of that Member's message. The post does not have to be addressed to the "target" of the attack to be considered a Personal Attack. If it attacks a messenger rather than the message, it qualifies for deletion and it is expected that Moderators will remove it.
Spam
Posting the same or similar content to more than two (2) boards within a calendar day;
Posting the same or almost identical post more than twice within a calendar day i.e. "where's the PR?", "anyone seen the PR?", "thought there was going to be a pr today?", "geez, is the pr coming out today or not?";
Sending the same or similar unsolicited PM to multiple recipients More on PM spam.
Posting statements that do not add value to the discussion (i.e. "My cat ate my homework" or "Bzinga");
Posting excessively on one or more message board(s). The boards are for discussion not a pulpit for individual Users. If you feel someone is abusing their posting privilege in this manner, please discuss this with a Site Admin without deleting any posts that don't otherwise violate the TOS. Admin will review posting history and may, at their discretion, impose posting restrictions if deemed to be warranted..
Spam that overlaps off-topic are posts containing content promoting other sites.
Spam promoting other stocks/companies on a stock specific board. For example, if your board is about Ford Motor Company, a post or link suggesting someone buy stock in a pharmaceutical company is not relevant to the discussion. This does not apply to industry or trading comparisons/discussion. For example, someone comparing a stock run to a similar run on another stock is fine. It also doesn't apply if someone makes an off hand comment that they took profits on another specific stock and brought them here. The goal is to remove clear, egregious promotion of other stocks ("Get out here and take your money to XXXX", etc.).
Off Topic
Posts about or focusing on other Members or groups of people and their reasons for posting on the board (i.e. "XYZDownDaDrain" is just a basher, ignore him", "XYZToDaMoon" is a pumper", "the naysayers are very loud today", "c'mon, where did all the cheerleaders go?"). The post does not have to be addressed to a specific person. If the post is about other Users then it should be removed.
Posts with religious or political statements should be removed as "off topic". These inevitably create an avalanche of replies that are off topic as well.
Posts about Moderators and/or deletions are also "off topic". Issues of this nature need to be discussed with a Site Admin.
Putting "ot" at the beginning of a post does not make it acceptable. It is still off topic and eligible for removal.
Vulgarity
The PG13 rule is loosely used as a guideline to what is/isn't acceptable when determining whether a comment is vulgar. The theory is that if society has deemed it appropriate for a 13 year old to hear, it is unlikely that it will be offensive to the majority of Users.
Otherwise, profanity (as explained above) is unacceptable on the stock boards, even when punctuation characters are used to "fill in the blanks" or letters are changed (f**k, azzh*le, etc.). Note that there are also "polite versions" for many acronyms and these are assumed to be the case when in doubt (i.e. "wtf?" = "what the freak?" in the polite version).
Any form of vulgarity directed at another User is unacceptable and should be removed (i.e. "you're a sh*thead", "being an a** doesn't help your case").
Author Asked to Remove
When a Member has specifically asked that a post be removed and has cited a valid reason for removal, such as accidentally revealing personal information. This is an occasional accommodation and is not to be used to "mask" the removal of bona fide TOS violations. If you are asked as a Moderator to remove more than 2 messages as Author Request, please send the User to discuss with Admin.
Messages over 48 hours old are not removed, even when requested by the Author, unless there are extreme circumstances (i.e. accidentally revealed an account number).
Violation of Privacy
Posting of what the Member believes to be any personally identifiable information (email, real name, phone, address, etc.) about another User or posting the contents of a private message is a privacy violation. For example, if a Member posts that "XYZDownDaDrain is actually Bob Smith", whether the information is accurate is irrelevant. The Member was trying to disclose personal information. This is a serious violation and can get you suspended or terminated from the site.
Posting or referring to the contents of private messages without the author's prior consent is considered a violation of privacy and can get the User suspended or terminated from the site.
Threat
A Member threatening any other Member in any fashion is to be removed.
Threats or insinuations of violence or physical harm against anyone is a serious infraction and can get you suspended or terminated from the site.
If a post does not fit into any of these categories the post must not be removed.
Some posts fall into a "gray" area and are borderline depending upon the way they are read. As inclusion is favored over exclusion, please err or the side of not removing posts if they are not clear violations. Please use the "Report TOS Violation" button at the bottom of the post with your comments if the post is not egregious in nature and Site Admins will review the message.
Bottom line: Please use your best judgment in removing posts based on the above guidelines and let us know if you have any questions or need any help. And keep in mind that post removal and non-removal have to be given the same emphasis. It is not permissible, for example, to remove a post that calls someone a "pumper" while not also removing a post that calls someone a "basher". Investor sentiment, including your own, can NOT be part of the removal/non-removal decision.
Image:Ra1.gif More guidance about acceptable removal of posts can be found at FAQ:Deletions and Restores.
Posting on the Board as a Moderator
The way a Moderator chooses to post on the board is often perceived to be a guideline for other Users. If the Moderator frequently violates the TOS others are going to feel it is permissible for them to do so also. It is not acceptable for either the Moderator or Members. Moderators who are also Premium members should use PMs to communicate with board Members about their conduct, such as a reminder to "stay on topic." If you are unable to send PMs, please ask a Site Admin to communicate the message to the member. All Users can communicate with the Site Admins via Private Message (PM).
Moderators should never threaten other Users. For example, a public post or a PM stating "Get on topic or your posts will be deleted and you will be banned" is not healthy and usually just inflames the situation.
Deletion of Moderator Posts
Frequent or multiple deletions of a Moderator's own posts is considered abuse of Moderator privileges. Think before you post, and if it's a Terms of Use violation or you would rather it not be in the public domain, please don't post it.
Banning Posters and Requesting Sanctions
Only Site Admins can ban users from stock specific boards for TOS Violations.
Moderators can request bans from Admin on other boards in the Free Zone that are not stock specific. This request is generally honored.
Moderators can only ban users from boards in the Premium Zone. This can be done from the Message List.
Site Administrators are frequently asked by Moderators to "do something" about a poster on a stock specific board. There are many times that a restriction, ban or suspension is the appropriate course of action. However; there are other times that this decision is not appropriate because the board has not been moderated "consistently" and/or based on the Terms of Use. When a request of this nature is received, a Site Admin reviews the Member's posts, then the posts that he/she is replying to and the replies to his/her posts. If there are other Terms of Use violations (personal attacks, etc.) still on the board, it makes it difficult to justify sanctions against one Member and not others. While no other Poster or post gives anyone the right to violate the Terms of Use, it's simply not fair or representative of the spirit of IHub when an inconsistent message is being sent regarding acceptable user conduct.
Moderators must endeavor to consistently moderate based solely upon the Terms of Use.
Deletion Review
All Members have visibility to their recently removed posts and in most cases the ability to request a review of any removed posts they believe were done in error. For logged-in Members, the My Removed Posts page can be accessed from the Settings button at the upper right corner of the page or from My Removed Posts tab. These requests for review and comments go into a queue that can be viewed by individual board Moderators, Mod Squad and Site Admins. If the message is restored it is automatically removed from the queue and the Author's My Removed Posts page. If it is not restored, then an Admin will review and either restore the post or close the request. Mod Squad and Moderators can only restore posts in this queue, they cannot remove the message from being reviewed by Admin. When a post has been deleted and subsequently restored, Restored will appear next to the post in the message list.
At times moderators may receive a private message asking why you made the decision to remove a post. Please don't be offended or defensive when asked. Sometimes the reason chosen i.e. "personal attack" was mistakenly given and it was really supposed to be "duplicate". Or sometimes the post appears to be discussing a public figure of the company, but it's actually a Poster on our site, not affiliated with the company.
A large part of Site Admin's role, with the valuable assistance of our Mod Squad members and Moderators, is to endeavor to have our rules of conduct applied consistently across the site. Users need to be able to move from board to board and have a clear understanding of what is or is not acceptable.
Of course, mistakes are occasionally made and posts are removed in error. When a deleted post is clearly not a Terms of Use violation, most times it will be restored without asking any questions. However; if there are too-frequent deletions made "in error" by the same Moderator, they will receive a private message to address the situation. Moderators who are unable to act within the defined scope of their position will be relieved of their position.
