Frequently asked questions
1. About online communities and groups
2. About The Moderator Community
3. Joining The Moderator Community
4. Using The Moderator Community
5. Using the Resources Centre
6. About groups on the Moderator Community
7. Using the job board
8. Privacy and security
1. About online communities and groups
What are online communities & groups?
Online communities and groups give you the opportunity to share common interests, experience, knowledge and information with like-minded Internet users around the world. They provide a place where you can create, foster and strengthen family ties, business connections, friendships and other relationships.
Each online community or group provides its members with features which can enhance and enrich their online experience, including discussion forums, profile pages, and photo or video sharing.
Members of virtual communities engage in lively discussions on a variety of topics, and help each other by sharing knowledge, contacts, tips and information almost in real time. There are online communities and groups for virtually any topic you can think of.
What is the difference between an online community and a group?
An online community is made up of a group of people who share a common interest or purpose and interact via the Internet. For example, XING is a community for business people; the cooking community All Recipes, for example, is a place where food enthusiasts can share recipes and cooking tips. Most famous are large communities such as MySpace, which has grown out of a community of artists and musicians, or Facebook, which started as a social network for university students.
Within these communities, specific interest groups can be created. Typically, anyone who is registered within a community can create or join online groups in order to share knowledge and experience related to a specific topic. A group lives within a community and provides only its own members with a means to communicate with each other about their specialised interest, typically in the form of a forum or a chat room.
For example, Global Business Women, a group living within the business community XING, is a place where business women can connect and share ideas and opinions with their peers; and Facebook hosts a group ESADE Alumni Students, where all ESADE University alumni members have the chance to meet again online.
A community lives independently on the Web, and a group is always embedded in a community. If you register for a community, you can then dig deeper to see if you want to register for any groups within that community. However, if you register for a group, you automatically register for that group’s host community.
How do people interact in online communities and groups?
Interactions within online communities and groups are almost the same as interactions in real life. The only difference is that an internet connection is needed to make these online interactions possible.
As with real life, members of virtual communities often have lively discussions on a variety of topics. Often, they help each other by sharing knowledge, contacts, tips and information almost in real time. They create and respond to opportunities. They network and meet new people.
What is a community manager?
A community manager is responsible for the overall direction of the community. They are in charge of creating the overall strategy, creating content plans, determining new functionalities, and evolving the community.
What is a community owner?
The community owner is the person who has created the community or is the decision maker of it.
What is a group moderator?
A group moderator moderates a special interest group which lives within a community like Facebook, LinkedIN, My Space or others. Often, a group moderator acts in different roles, so we also refer to it as a group administrator. The moderator focuses on the group on a day to day level. He checks the threads, stimulates the group's activity, deals with spammers, and does other day to day maintenance work.
What is a community expert?
A Community expert has developed expertise around the topic of community and often shares his/her knowledge with others. He/She has extensive knowledge about community management, development, technology or other areas which are related to the world of online communities.
2. About The Moderator Community
What is The Moderator Community?
The Moderator Community is a gateway for community managers, experts, moderators and people who are interested in background information around online communities. You can connect with fellow community managers and moderators like yourself, share know-how and learn from each other’s experience.
What can I do with The Moderator Community?
Currently, you can find the following features on The Moderator Community. Have a look and give us feedback what you like and what you don’t like. We will continuously improve and develop new features.
Forums and Groups:
Post questions, share experience and discuss with other experts, community managers and moderators.
Job Board:
Access and post job offerings in the online community sector.
Resource Centre:
Read, discuss and share the latest news, developments, and trends in public and corporate social media (blog and news articles, white papers, videos, presentations etc).
Events:
Find an overview of all events relating to online communities.
Social Network:
Connect with other moderators, community managers or potential partners.
Who can enjoy The Moderator Community?
Everyone who is interested in the world of online communities.
3. Joining The Moderator Community
Why register to The Moderator Community?
By joining The Moderator Community, you can easily connect with other moderators, community managers and experts who have the same interests as you. You can share information and upload content to the resource section. Moreover, you can upload a job offer or apply for one via our job board. You can add events to our event calender or suggest new groups and participate in discussions within existing groups. As a member you are able to rate or comment on all existing resources.
How do I join The Moderator Community?
Everyone can join. It is very simple.
1. Click the Login/Register button which appears at the upper right on top of your screen.
2. Fill out the information and click Submit. You must be of legal age or have permission by your parent’s to join this service. You must have a valid email address.
3. After you click Submit, a confirmation link will immediately be sent to your email address. If you do not see it in your inbox, check your bulk mail folder.
4. Verify your account of The Moderator Community by confirming your email address.
5. Upon confirming your email address, you will be taken to your Moderator Community Homepage with a message confirming that your account has been verified. Or, you will be asked to log in to your account before you are directed to your account and the confirmation message.
6. Introduce yourself and get to know the other members in the Community Lounge.
Why is The Moderator Community asking for my email address?
The Moderator Community needs it to verify and activate your account. Your email address and other personal identifying information will be kept private.
How do I verify my account?
When you complete your registration, we will automatically send you a special link which you have to click on to verify your account. Until you click this verification link, you will not be able to use most of the features The Moderator Community has to offer.
When the email with the verification message arrives in your inbox, click the verification link, or copy and paste it into your browser. When you do this, you will either be taken to The Moderator Community Homepage with a message confirming that your account has been verified, or you will be asked to log in to your Moderator Community account before you are directed to The Moderator Community account and the confirmation message.
How is my personal information displayed?
You can control the information you want to submit in your profile. By clicking on the link "View" on your profile page, you can see your personal information as others see it.
Who can see my profile?
Your profile is visible only to registered members. You can configure many of the profile modules to remove information which you do not want to be seen by others.
Is The Moderator Community free?
Yes, The Moderator Community is free. With a free membership you can use most of the features of The Moderator Community.
After our beta phase we will be introducing a Premium Membership offer which will help you to explore The Moderator Community to the fullest.
As a member, what can I do on The Moderator Community?
As a member you can connect with other experts, community managers and moderators. You can post content, ratings, comments, requests and you can participate in our group discussions.
What can I do on The Moderator Community if I choose not to become a member?
You can still read content posted on The Moderator Community. Non-members are not able to participate in discussions or post anything.
The Moderator Community is most useful when you connect with other members and participate in discussions to share and learn from each other’s experience and Know-How.
4. Using The Moderator Community
What can I do if I have forgotten my username or password?
If you forget your password or your username, simply click on "Request a new password" under the login area on the start page. After you enter your email address (or your username), we will send you a link to a password reset page. You can use this to create a new password. After that, you can immediately login to the site.
How can I change my basic profile information?
You have the option of changing your data at any time. Click on the link "Edit" on your profile page. To save your changes, you must scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "Save" button.
How is my name displayed?
The nickname you choose.
How do I change the name which appears on my profile?
To change your username associated with your profile, just click on "Edit" on your profile page and edit the username. After you've edited your username, click "save" and your updated name will appear immediately in your profile.
How do I change my email address?
To change your email address associated with your profile, just click on "Edit" on your profile page and edit the email. Please be aware that for security reasons, you must re-confirm the contents of your profile once you have made your changes. You will then receive an email to your new email address. Please click on the link in the email to confirm the changes.
5. Using the Resources Centre
What can I find in the Resources Centre?
In our content repository you can find white papers, blog articles, news articles, presentations, videos and podcasts of different categories relating to online communities.
Who can upload content?
Every registered member can upload content to our Resources Centre.
How can I upload content?
Just click on “Submit a new Resource” on top left of the Resources Centre and fill out the form.
What kind of content can I upload?
You can either link to the pages where the content is sitting or you can upload the files to our website. We support all sorts of files: ppt, pps, pdf, Word, Videos, Podcasts with a maximum size of 4 MB.
Please make sure you respect copyrights and the intellectual property of others. If you are unsure whether it’s okay to post something, it’s better not to post it and to ask for permission by the owner first. When in doubt, it’s better to link to the source rather than upload it.
Who can upload events?
Every registered member can upload upcoming events to the event calender.
6. About groups on The Moderator Community
Would you like to create a new group?
We encourage you to take action if you feel that a group is missing. Please suggest a new group via our contact page. Perhaps you would like to become its moderator?
What is a group moderator?
Each group will have one or more group moderators. The creator of the group will automatically be a moderator and this creator can also grant admin privileges to other group members. A moderator of the group has complete control and responsibility for this group. The moderator will be able to invite or remove users, add or remove links, events, messages etc.
Who can suggest a group?
Every registered member can suggest a new group.
How do I join a group?
Many groups allow anyone to join. If you go to a group's homepage and that group is open to the public, you can click on the "Join!" link near the top. For invitation only groups, you will have to be invited by either the group moderator or another member of the group. You can request an invitation from the group's moderator by going to the group's homepage and clicking the request link near the top of the page.
How do I leave a group?
To leave a group please go to "My Membership" and then click on "Leave this group " link.
7. Using the job board
What is the job board?
The Job Board provides you with an extended overview on current job offers in the online community sector. We are not trying to replace common job platforms, we are just channeling relevant job offers of the community space to one central place.
Who can upload a job post?
Every registered member can upload job offers to the Job Board.
What kind of job posts can I upload?
All job posts should be related to the community sector. You can either upload a full job description if you are a company looking for staff or place a link to a job offer listed on another site.
How can I post a job offer in the name of my company?
Posting a job offer is very easy. You just need to register or login and click on “Submit a New Job”. Then you are directed to the upload form where you can specify all criteria.
When you post a job, please bear some basic rules in mind:
Application Processing: Decide if you would like to enable the job application processing for this job posting via The Moderator Community. If you choose this, applicants can submit their application, including uploaded documents, directly through The Moderator Community.
Description: Please provide details in your job descriptions. It helps the candidate understand what you are looking for, and you won’t receive an overload of applications.
Community Related: Please only post community related jobs (e.g. community management, community moderation, community building, social media)
Remove the post when the candidate has been selected: Please close your job opening when you have found the right person for you.
How can I apply for a job?
If the job post shows the button “Submit an Application”, just click on it to fill out the cover letter and attach your CV.
8. Privacy and security
What does The Moderator Community do with my information?
The Moderator Community respects your privacy. We do not distribute your user information to marketers or spammers. You can read more about this in our Privacy Policy.
What do I do if another member of The Moderator Community is bothering me?
Please write a message using our contact form and state the following information:
1. Details of the incident
2. User name of the person bothering you
Our team will investigate this report and take appropriate measures. All abuse reports on The Moderator Community are confidential.
Any question not answered?
Do you have any additional questions which we have not answered here? Please reach out to us via our contact page.
