Frontpager Duties

Editing the front page

The default, or front, page of a community blog is what visitors will see first, thus the content there determines image. This is the frontpagers' first duty. The frontpagers aspire to

• write stories directly to the front page, if possible at least once a week;
• promote good user diaries to the front page,
• refresh the frontpage in the above two ways at least 3 and at most 6 times a day, if possible with about 2 hours between them;
• keep the focus of front page stories on European matters, or global matters affecting Europeans;
• enable community life by posting an Open Thread for random discussions every evening (around 18-19h Central European Time).

However, frontpagers have no fixed schedule, no obligations to cover specific themes, no minute coordination between them, and they have limited time at their hands (no one does this for a living!). Different frontpagers freely choose different themes to cover, and their activity varies from person to person and time to time.

Site mending

Depending on their available free time and expertise in computers and softwares, the frontpagers also try to keep the site in shape: edit the special pages (for example FAQ, New User Guide, or this one), change aspects of appearance (say position and colour of boxes), enable new features (say posting videos).

Frontpagers usually announce such changes in a diary, where users can comment and criticise these, and request modifications. The frontpagers will attempt to implement the requests to the best of their powers. Note though that most frontpagers aren't computer professionals, and have a limited time, so changes might take time.

Frontpagers sometimes also do minor edits to content. In user diaries, they may correct erroneous html, lazy linking, change the above/below fold break and such. In the current build of the site, even frontpagers can't edit comments, but they may delete accidental double postings, or, on request, comments with erroneous html or content which the user wants to re-post.

Community policing

This is the least of the frontpagers' three duties, but the one we'll have to cover in most detail.

European Tribune is meant by default to be policed by the community itself. This means, at a basic level, fellow users making suggestions to those with a problem, posting reminders of ET conventions for those unaware of them, and calling for restraint when there is conflict or other inappropiate behaviour. On a second level, for repeated bad behaviour, all users have the tool of ratings, which trusted users can even use to hide comments. But this should be used restrictively. Also read the ETiquette.

So frontpagers rarely step in as moderators in their function as frontpagers (frontpagers are also normal community members, with the same rights to comment and rate and have opinions). Generally, when a frontpager intervenes with the authority of a frontpager, s/he will indicate so by posting a comment in which s/he will use the moderation tag, which looks like this: [ET Moderation Technology™].

Below are the five main cases of serious misbehaviour that may lead to frontpager intervention. Note in advance: on European Tribune, the listed counter-measures have been applied rarely or never.

Spamming

Spamming means the clogging up of comment threads (or diaries) with irrelevant content. It is the equivalent of littering for internet discussion forums.

Spamming can take different forms: the repeated posting of the same text, image, video in the same comment thread, or in several diaries at the same time; posting a list of links or long verbatim quotes without own commentary, especially if off-topic to the diary or the discussion in its comment thread; and text or links with commercial intent (sometimes posted by automatic programs, so-called spam-bots).

By its nature, spamming calls for action on short order, thus when this kind of misbehaviour appears, frontpagers don't wait with reaction. They will toggle (hide) or delete spam comments and diaries. If the spamming user is persistent, in particular commercial spammers and spam-bots, any frontpager at hand is free to withdraw that user's posting privileges on the spot (e.g. they can still log in, but can't write diaries or comments).

Thus far, spamming has been the only reason that led to banning users on ET with one exception.

Diary deletion

Sometimes users may feel strongly offended by a discussion on ET, or have second thoughts about posting a diary after a controversy developed in its comment threads. It has happened that in the heat of anger, a user has deleted his/her own diary.

However, by deleting a diary, the diarist doesn't just delete her/his own content: the comments of the diary will be lost, too. To prevent the deletion of more diaries along with the respective comment threads, any frontpager at hand can intervene to withdraw that diarist's right to delete own diaries. This measure only intends to protect others' comments, no negative repercussions follow to the diary-deleting user.

For the record, thus far there have been only two users who had to be stopped deleting own diaries.

Ratings abuse

On ET, retaliatory troll ratings, issued without explanation or apparent gross insult/provocation, are considered ratings abuse. If frontpagers see someone repeatedly abusing the ratings system, then they apply the following announced policy: if two or more frontpagers agree and none disagrees,

1. all ratings of the user too loose with troll-ratings will be wiped,
2. the user's capacity to rate comments will be removed for one week,
3. these actions will be announced in a moderation comment on ET and possibly also in private email,
4. if after the one-week ban, the behaviour persists, the user's capacity to rate comments will be removed again, this time permanently.

For the record, until now, this measure has been applied against only four users.

Trolling

Trolls are people who post in internet discussion forums for the sole purpose of picking fights, creating schisms and generally making things unpleasant for everyone else. They may or may not believe what they write, but they aren't interested in serious two-way discussion. Trolls aren't always mis-behaving, especially when collecting friends for the future creation of a schism.

For the case a user misbehaves consistently and grossly, including persistent grossly abusive, racist, sexist, etc. comments or diaries, but especially if s/he keeps getting troll-rated, frontpagers have an announced banning policy. If two or more frontpagers approve and none disagrees,

1. the offender will first be issued a clear warning on the site and to the user's e-mail address;
2. if the offender fails to improve after the first step, s/he will be issued with another clear warning on the site and in e-mail, and the user's posting rights will be suspended for a week;
3. if the misbehaviour doesn't stop or re-appears even after the second step, the user will be banned from the site, a measure that will be reviewed on request after one month.

In practice so far, frontpagers have almost never agreed on the severity (or even presence) of observed mis-behaviour and the course of action to be taken against a persistently and grossly mis-behaving user. (Lacking results, these internal discussions have of course not been made public.)

For the record, only one person has been banned for trolling or other persistent and grossly abusive misbehaviour, and that in a case superseding the above policy.

Sock-puppets

When a user creates a second (or third or fourth...) user ID, and uses it to pretend to be a second (or third or fourth...) person, the fake IDs are called "sock-puppets". On some sites, such behaviour may be tolerated for fun. But on ET, one real person should use one user identity.

Frontpagers can identify a sock-puppet based on user data, or the collection of extensive indirect evidence. The course of action taken depends on the circumstances and the sock-puppet's behaviour:

• a frontpager may opt to only ask the user in public to choose one identity and drop the other;
• a frontpager may expose the sock-puppet's fake-ness in public, with or without naming the puppeteer user;
• a no-rating or similar sentence handed down on the original user may be applied to the sock-puppet too without notice,
• the sock-puppet may be designated a spammer or troll, and banned without banning the original user;
• all accounts of the user behind the sock-puppet may be banned, using the anti-spamming or troll-banning policies outlined above.

For the record, until now, only three users have been found to use sock-puppets, of whom one left before any user privilege restriction would have been applied, another showed remorse, the third was dealt with for other misbehaviour.