Artists Beware Moderator Code of Conduct
The Duties of a Moderator
All moderators listed on the Staff Page fall into one or more of these categories. Below are the ranks for moderators and what their duties are:
Queue Mods - Review incoming bewares for adherence to the Submission Guidelines. Queue mods may opt out of being Comment Mods.
Comment Mods - Watch the comments and forums for inappropriate activity. Review incoming comments on bewares. Comment mods always double as Queue Mods.
Administrators - Work both comments and the queue. Handle back end and technical work on the website. Are responsible for direction of all other moderator categories. Official owners of Artists Beware.
Special Moderator Categories
The following moderators are special ranks and do not field general user questions:
Forum Mods - Assigned to a specific forum, or may be a general forum mod. They do not have access to the queue, nor have the ability to moderate comments on bewares.
Web Admin - For technical issues only. You may contact an Administrator to forward any problems to the Web Admin, or you may contact @Alex Wright. Please note our web admin also moderates comments when necessary.
Other Staff Categories
Helper - Paid individuals hired to help Artists Beware temporarily. These individuals are not moderators. If you see a Helper working, they cannot help you with site issues. Once their tasks are complete, they will be reverted back to their original status.
Artists Beware opens for Helpers on our Twitter account at a rate of $16.50 USD/hr. We hire in 3 hour shifts.
Code of Conduct
Artists Beware has volunteer staff. Due to the nature of the community we ask that all moderators adhere to the following Code of Conduct.
1. Moderators are to remain professional and polite even when users are not.
We will not tolerate name-calling, cursing, or repeated snarking.
2. What happens in the queue and direct user communication stays private. Always.
We are privy to medical, personal, and private social information sometimes. Leaking of this information to the public will result in an immediate dismissal.
3. Moderators are to be in good business standing with the community.
Moderators are not exempt from bewares. We understand that life happens, and a singular beware is not an automatic dismissal. Yet, if poor business behavior becomes a consistent issue we will ask the moderator step down.
4. Moderators should be able to handle disagreements with fellow moderators gracefully.
Sometimes a beware will not be cut and dry, and will need extensive discussion. Mods who are out-voted must handle themselves with grace.
5. Moderators are expected to be unbiased when moderating the queue.
There will be a time when the bewaree in queue is a friend or someone close. A beware will never be rejected on the basis that the bewaree is a friend, family member, or partner. If a moderator finds they can't be unbiased, they may sit out discussion on the beware without penalty.
Moderators may speak their personal opinions on bewares granted they follow Item 1.
6. A moderator's outside behavior should foster trust in the community.
Artists Beware submissions can have sensitive information. Our users put a lot of trust into team members. Moderators who hold racist, transphobic, and/ or homophobic views are not a good fit for the team and will be let go.