EONS Managers and  Moderators Handbook

Table of Contents:

Introduction
Starting a group
Role of the manager
Role of the moderator
Growing your group
Tools to help manage a group
Common problems and solutions
Questions and Answers
General tips
Glossary
Community Guidelines


Introduction

The joy of the internet is that everyone can have a voice, and there’s
always someone out there that wants to hear it. On Eons, the wisdom and
spirit of the Boomer generation is loud and clear! This is truly a community
for people lovin’ life on the flipside of 50! But this community also needs
some structure and guidance. The rules we set and the way we enforce
them will establish an expectation for how our community members
interact. Eons managers and moderators are the people who carry out
the rules and maintain this expectation every day.

There are two major ways that rules are maintained in the Eons
community. First, in order to become a member of Eons, a person must
agree to abide by the Terms of Use (TOU)
[http://www.eons.com/about/terms] . We at Eons take these TOU’s
seriously. We believe they are necessary to create a Web atmosphere in
which Eons users, content providers, and service providers may feel safe
and respected. If we believe someone has breached the TOU, we may,
without notice, suspend or terminate their access to Eons. Group
managers and moderators should be very familiar with the TOU.

The second way we enforce rules in the Eons community is by
empowering our managers and moderators to set rules wisely,
communicate these rules to their group members, and enforce them
fairly. Never underestimate the power of your role! As hosts of Eons, our
managers and moderators create many users’ first impressions and we
want to make sure it’s a good one!

Starting a group

Starting and managing a group on Eons is not for the faint of heart. You
will act as the enforcer of rules, guardian of the gate, helper to those in
need, and role model to the community of how to behave. You are the
human face of your group. You are the person members will come to if
they’ve got a problem or a question.

Before starting your own group, take some time to look around the
community and visit some of the popular groups. Observe the
conversation. Check out the role of the manager and moderators. Copy
those you admire!

The nuts and bolts of starting a group are here: How To Start a Group
[http://www.eons.com/money/feature/careercenter/13758].


There is every kind of group on Eons that you can imagine! Lots of groups
form every day; political forums, 50+ with kids under 18, spiritual seekers,
foodies, coping with illness, learning something new, grandparents, and
more.

You’ll make the purpose of your group known to prospective members by
creating the group’s name and by writing a clear description, or ‘mission’
statement. Before settling on a name, make sure that one like it doesn’t
already exist. You want to make sure it doesn’t even sound close to
another group’s name so that members can’t get them confused. Be
creative. Have fun with the name of your group!

Next, you need a description of the group. This must be stated in about 50
to 60 words. It is this description which will show up when someone
browsing Groups comes upon your group. Write it so that it clearly tells
what the group is all about. It’s this description that will help people
decide if they wish to visit and, perhaps, join your group.

Once you’ve established a group, the fun really begins.

Role of the manager

Being a Group Manager on Eons is like hosting a party. We encourage
Group Managers to make everyone that joins their group feel welcome.
You can do this by writing a welcome announcement that all new
members will see when they join the group, introducing people to each
other, and making sure that the current conversations stay lively and fresh.

The purpose of having Group Managers is ultimately to improve the
overall experience for ALL Eons members. Because Eons does not actively
monitor member content (such as individual postings within groups) we
felt it was important to empower our members. To this end, we provided
Group Managers with the ability to remove inappropriate posts and
photos and when necessary, to block members.

Each group manager has a ‘kit’ of powerful tools to help in managing a
group.

Managers can:

. Set groups to be “public”, “private”, or “public with approval”
. Change the name or description of the group
. Change your group categorization

. Post announcements
. Remove entire threads or individual replies
. Block a member from the group
. Reinstate a member to the group
. Post and control files
. Select and appoint moderators
. Manage members from the “Members” menu. This feature has tabs for
different member statuses: current, requests, invitations, and blocked.
. Check or uncheck a box to prevent any new members from joining
(helps manage “drive by” joiners or spammers)
Best practices suggested by Eons group managers

There is great latitude available to the manager of a group. The following
are recommendations considered helpful by current managers.

. Plan to check in on your group regularly. This depends on your
schedule, the nature of your group and how much help you have
hosting the group.
. Welcome new members either with a ‘Welcome’ Private Message
(PM) or as a reply to the new member’s first post. You can send a
“gift” or post a fun graphic in their first post.
. Set rules or guidelines for the group. Make sure your rules do not
breach any Eons TOU. These can be posted obviously as an
announcement or attached as files. Communicate your rules clearly.
Some sample rules might include; this group is for single people only, no
sniping allowed, respectful posts only. Enforce your rules fairly. Take
appropriate action when a member posts in violation of the rules.
Many managers adapt the Eons Community Guidelines
[http://www.eons.com/money/feature/careercenter/eons-rules-ofthe-road/21110for their group rules].
. Delete spam, offensive postings or postings off topic. Report those that
you think breach the Eons TOU to the Help/Feedback team
[http://www.eons.com/about/contact]
. Block troublesome members. When all else fails to correct a member’s
behavior, blocking will solve the problem.
. Manage fairly without personal involvement towards members of
group.

. Choose your moderators carefully. Coach them and make sure they
are aware of and abide by your rules or guidelines. Be clear about
how you want them to interact on your behalf. Count on them to help
you!
. Managers can make a special request to view a post before added to
group for new members joining for a set period of time.
. Help your members keep topics relative to the purpose of the group.

An announcement or a separate file can serve to provide members with
guidelines. PMs to members can also explain more fully the idea of
keeping posts on topic.

Role of the Moderator

Group managers can enlist help to keep a group running smoothly. Once
the new group has some momentum and you see who your "regulars" are,
you can invite up to three members to become moderators and form a
team with you to help answer member’s questions, stimulate discussions
and act in your absence if the need arises. Your moderators can help in
many ways, although you still have complete control over the group's
name, its description, and privacy levels.

Moderators should be your friends. They can carry on in the event you
cannot be online for whatever reason, which means they should clearly
understand the purpose of your group, what you consider “on topic”
discussions, and generally be a team player with you and the other
moderators. There’s no reason to appoint a moderator too quickly. Some
managers would say you need 50 – 100 members before you need a
moderator. Others would say you might need one moderator right away
to be a backup to the manager. This is at the manager’s discretion.

To get started inviting your new moderators, make sure the person is a
member of your group. Then go to your group's home page, click on
"Manage Group" and you will see a tab called "Moderators." Type in the
member's screen name and an invitation will be sent asking him or her to
be a group moderator with you. You will be informed when a person
accepts your invitation.

Some managers send a PM in order to ‘sound out’ the member’s interest
in becoming a moderator before they send the invitation.


General guidelines for appointment of moderators:

. Each group should have at least one moderator
. Choose moderators who will work well with you toward the group’s
goals
. Pick moderators who fit your personal group’s ‘style’
. The manager has the right to remove and/or replace moderators at
any time
Moderator’s also have a toolkit which is not quite as powerful as the
manager, but still provides very useful functions. These allow a moderator
to ‘sub’ for a manager in many situations.

Moderators can:

. Post announcements
. Change the group categorization
. Remove entire threads or individual replies
. Block a member from the group and reinstate that member later
. Post and control files
. Manage members from the “Members” menu. This feature has tabs for
different member statuses: current, requests, invitations, and blocked.
. Check or uncheck a box to prevent any new members from joining
(helps manage “drive by” joiners or spammers)
What moderators can’t do:

. Change a group’s name or its description.
. Change a group’s Public/Private status.
. Appoint another moderator.
Best practices suggested by Eons managers and moderators

There is great latitude and discretion available to the managers and their
moderators. The following are recommendations considered helpful by
current moderators.

. Have a conversation with the group manager. Make sure you are
both on the same page in terms of your role in the group. Perform
duties and functions as directed by the manager.
. When a group has more than one moderator, you should
communicate freely with each other to ensure that your actions are
coordinated.

. Step in and cover for the manager when manager cannot be online.
. Private message the manager if problems arise. If there’s no response
and the situation is serious, you can contact Eons Help/Feedback
[http://www.eons.com/about/contact] for guidance.
. Contact Eons Help/Feedback [http://www.eons.com/about/contact]
for guidance if there has been no contact with the group manager for
an agreed period of time.
. Welcome new members.
. Reply to posts in the group.
Growing your group.

. Announce your group to the world. Use the "Invite to group" feature
(on the left side of the group home page) to get friends and family to
join your group. Use the screen name of Eons members and the email
addresses of your own friends who are not yet Eons members.
. Get your group featured on the homepage. Eons selects groups based
on unique and engaging content. If you think your group qualifies, PM
CommunityGal or EonsEditor.
. Get your group featured on the "People" page. The "Most active"
groups on Eons appear on the "People" page
[http://community.eons.com/directory]. So encourage your members
to post and reply to messages to increase your group's odds of
showing up!
. Explore other groups that have a common interest. PM the Managers
of other groups and with their permission, post a message and a link to
your group. You might decide to swap links with the other Managers.
Exchange emails with other group managers and build synergy
between your groups.
Tools to help manage a Group

TOU [http://www.eons.com/about/terms]
Community Guidelines attached to this document
FAQ [http://www.eons.com/about/faq]
Help/Feedback [http://www.eons.com/about/contact]



How To [http://www.eons.com/about/how_to]
Advisors Index
[http://community.eons.com/uploads/8/8/88414631_AdvisorIndex.html]

Group Managers & Moderators
[http://community.eons.com/groups/group/eons-group-managers-andmoderators]

Eons Advisors group
[http://community.eons.com/groups/group/eons-advisors]

HTML group
[http://community.eons.com/groups/group/html-workshop]

Getting around on Eons group
[http://community.eons.com/groups/group/getting-around-on-eons]

What’s New on Eons Group
[http://community.eons.com/groups/group/whats-new-on-eons]

Newcomers Club
[http://community.eons.com/groups/group/eons-newcomers-club]

Common problems and solutions

Q: If I am a moderator, what can I do about an inactive manager?
A: Managers who do not post within 30 days can be considered inactive.
There are a number of solutions to this problem.
1. If a moderator is willing to take over the manager position, contact
[http://www.eons.com/about/contact] and the Help/Feedback
team can make the change. They will contact the manager
directly. If they don’t hear back in one week, they will make the
moderator the manager and make the old manager a moderator
in case he/she comes back.
2. Moderators can ask the Help/Feedback team to message the
manager and find out if they are still interested in managing the
group. If not, the Help/Feedback team can ask for
recommendations for a new manager and make the change.
3. Managers who cannot get their group to grow and want to “close”
the group can change the group setting to private and walk away.
It is polite to post a message saying you are getting ready to close

the group and that members should finish up their conversations by

a certain date and then make the group private on that date.

4. Managers who are leaving a group are encouraged to contact
Eons to notify they are leaving and either appoint a new manager
or close the group.
5. If a manager has left and cannot be reached, a moderator or
active member can be made manager and the original manager
will become a moderator. The original manager will remain a
moderator for 90 days. If the original manager is not heard from in
the 90 day period, his/her status will revert to member of the group.
Q: What do I do if a member of the group becomes disruptive, mean-
spirited, or violates the rules of the group?
A: The manager or moderator has the ability to delete any post that a
member makes and also can block the member from the group. The
manager can re-instate the member to the group if desired. This permits
the use of a ‘time out’ or ‘cooling off’ period, providing the manager with
additional flexibility. Often, sending the offending member a PM to
describe the violation and deletion is helpful.
Q: What do I do with members who continually post off-topic or
inappropriate messages and replies?
A: There is a lot of leeway for managers and moderators to respond to
off-topic or inappropriate messages. Each manager will have a personal
preference about this. There are a number of options.
Off-topic or not quite offensive posts: PM the poster, explaining clearly
what is wrong with the post. Sometimes members do not see this in the
same way a manager does and need a clear explanation of your point of
view. You can politely request that the member refrains from posting
similar material. This will often solve the problem.

If the situation warrants a stronger response, you might agree with the
poster to delete the post and the poster can then repost noting that the
previous post was removed by agreement or permission.

Posts or arguments which fall outside permissible group boundaries: PM
the poster(s) noting that the post(s) are not acceptable for the group.
Clearly note any post removals and the reason(s). Do not be ambiguous.
It can lead to further argument. Remove the offending post(s) either
before or preferably after the PM’s are sent. Place the removed material
in a file for future reference. If necessary, caution poster(s) that they may


be blocked. If you think the poster has violated the Eons TOU, contact
Help/Feedback team [http://www.eons.com/about/contact].

General tips for managers and moderators

. Encourage your members to fill out their Profiles fully. This way,
everyone gets to know each other even better.
. Add keywords to your group description so search engines will find
your group.
. Don't tolerate disrespectful behavior in your group. In a simple
message to your group, you can remind them to be upbeat AND
respectful.
. Suggest that members review previous threads for answers before
posting a new question.
. Write an article for Eons! If you have an area of expertise or a great
experience to share, pitch your story at
[http://www.eons.com/about/contact]
. Files are helpful to managing your group. The Eons file function (left
hand menu on your group’s home page) allows members to upload
files from their computer to the file folders attached to their groups. It’s
easy to do and easy to access.
Glossary of terms

Block: To block a member is to deny that member access to a specific
Group. Un-block: To restore access to a group for a ‘blocked’ member.

Bump: To move a thread to the top of the group page 1 by posting a
reply.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions [and answers].

Manager: The individual Eons member in charge of an Eons group.
sometimes called the Owner.

Moderator: An individual Eons member appointed by a group manager to
serve as an assistant in managing the group. Each group can have up to
three (3) moderators.


Page: One screen of a group site. A group site develops new pages as
new posts are made and displace older posts downward.

Post: Any typed message and/or visual entered by a member on a group
page. New posts appear at the top of the first group page.

PM: A private message between two Eons members. These do not appear
on a group page.

Reply: A response to a post on a group page.

Spam: This term originally referred to Spam, a canned meat product sold
by the Hormel Foods Corporation. Since then, many other uses of the term
have emerged, all of which may be traced back to the food.

. Spam (Monty Python), a comedy sketch. The "Spam" in the sketch
refers specifically to the meat. This sketch is considered to be the most
likely source of other, primarily technological, uses of the term.
. Spam (electronic), unsolicited or undesired bulk electronic messages.
There are many types of electronic spam on Eons, including email,
posts in groups, and spam in blogs and advertising. Report all spam on
Eons to Help/Feedback team [http://www.eons.com/about/contact].
Thread: A post on a group page including a topic heading and comment
followed by one or more replies. [See ‘Reply’]

Terms of Use (TOU): As a part of applying for membership, each Eons
member must agree to abide by certain conditions. These form a
‘contract’ between the member and Eons. Violation of the agreement by
a member can result in the member being blocked from the Eons site.
************************************************************************************

The Eons Community Guidelines
[http://www.eons.com/money/feature/careercenter/eons-rules-of-theroad/21110] are a simplified version of the Eons Terms of Use (TOU). If you
haven’t read the TOU yet, please take some time now to review them.
[http://www.eons.com/about/terms]. There are five basic guidelines or
“rules for the road” in the Eons community.

. Put your best face forward
. Treat others as you would like to be treated
. Think before posting
. Obey the TOU

. Report inappropriate content
PUT YOUR BEST FACE FORWARD

Your Eons profile introduces you to the Eons community. Focus on what's
most important to you: job, family, location, hobby or interest, or
worldview. But since any visitor to Eons can view your Profile page by
default, think about the information you include. Avoid disclosing any
personal information such as your real name, residential address, phone
number or email address.

Not only is your Profile public (unless you make it private), your blog and
group posts by default are also within a public space. Don’t post any
information that you would not want the world to know. Remember that
you are developing a presence in the Eons community. Share only things
that you are comfortable disclosing and respect the connections you
make with others while in the Eons community.

TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED

The Eons community is an open forum with a diverse membership so there
is bound to be conflicting ideas, viewpoints, and opinions. At the same
time, the Eons community is intended to be a place where everyone feels
welcome, safe and respected. Jump in to the spirited discussions, but
remember that sniping (to make malicious, underhand remarks or
attacks), threatening or harassing another member, using profane
language can get you kicked off of Eons. If you come across posts, blogs
or a member you don’t agree with, it’s best not to engage in a negative
conversation. Move along - there are plenty of other conversations on
Eons for you.

THINK BEFORE POSTING

If you are posting in a group, check out the description of the group or
any announcements the manager might have made about the group’s
purpose. Keep your posts on-topic and relevant to the discussion. Post
only information you are comfortable with disclosing to the public. Don't
post anything that might embarrass you later. If you find yourself
questioning what you are ready to post, then it’s probably a good
decision not to post it at all. Before posting, check your spelling,
grammar, and capitalization. Typing in all capital letters usually denotes
screaming or yelling and so this should be avoided.

OBEY THE EONS TERMS OF USE


As a member of Eons, you have agreed to follow the Eons Terms of Use
(TOU) [http://www.eons.com/about/terms]. We encourage you to read
the TOU and the following guidelines to make sure you understand what
you cannot do in the community.

. Don’t post explicit content. For example, no nude photos.
. Don’t post hateful content or harass other members or speak badly
of other members by name or Eons screen name.
. Don’t breach another person’s privacy. For example, never post
private messages publicly or disclose private message content in
any way.
. Don’t post your personal information such as your phone number or
email address.
. Don’t advertise your company or product in groups. Unless you
have permission from Eons, all advertising should stay in the <Eons
Marketplace.>
REPORT INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT

If you see something inappropriate that violates these rules and bothers
you, report it to the Eons Help Team. Click on the Help/Feedback link
located on the bottom of every Eons page or click
[http://www.eons.com/about/contact]. We will investigate promptly. Do
not threaten, harass or make journal posts about your suspicions.