Moderator Guidelines

The role of the moderator is to keep the forums civil, on track, and useful. In doing so, here are some guidelines for what a moderator does.

• As the forums begin, the more posts that we have in all the different areas, the better. Do what you can to post in your and other areas whenever you have time.
• Sometimes, a post is in the wrong forum, and needs to be moved. If the post needs to be moved, notify the originator of the thread why and where the post was moved, and if you don't know how to move a thread, contact the administrator.
• Questions need to be in their specific forums, if the topic is too broad for a single forum, ask the administrator for guidance.
• If someone posts the same things in multiple forums, one forum should be chosen, and the rest should be deleted. It's best to ask the originator to delete the post (via private message), but if a multiple post is not deleted by the originator, please do so yourself.
• If a post gets out of hand in tone or content, it's the moderators role to stop it. Start with asking people to tone it down. And then ultimately, move to locking the thread so that no further posts can be made. If you do need to do that, make sure that you, as the moderator, get in the last word! Be professional, but be blunt.  Explain why the post is being locked, then lock it!
• Remember, you're not the administrator, you are a moderator. If things get out of control, tell the user to direct all questions or problems to the administrator's email address -- the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the page.
• These rules must apply to EVERYONE, please do not play favorites!!
• You are not paid to do this job, so please don't act like you are...it's a hobby remember!
• Most of all, enjoy the forums! You are the ones that will insure that the Westlake Village Forums remains a great place for our members to meet!