Hey all,

One of our moderators, Brooke, is stepping down after three years of helping to moderate Kansas City Freecycle. We thank her for all the help she’s given us over the years, and wish her well. Now comes the hard task of finding a replacement. Or two or three! She was that good, really.

So here’s the deal. We’re looking for at least two – preferably three – members to help us moderate the list. If you’re interested, keep reading; below I’ve outlined the “qualifications” we’re looking for in potential moderators, as well as the duties of a moderator.

If you’re not interested, we respectfully ask that you bear with us while we make the transition. We’re already stretched a little thin, and finding and training new moderators will no doubt take up more of our time. Please be patient while we get everything settled.

MODERATOR DUTIES

Moderators must be able to dedicate one day, possibly two, to moderating the board. By this, I mean: reading each message that’s posted to the board; reading and approving pending messages; sending out reminder emails as needed; and dealing with any questions or concerns that arise during the day. We don’t expect moderators to be glued to the computer throughout the day, but we would prefer that each moderator check the board periodically during his or her day – at least three times a day, ideally more.

Each moderator has his or her set day(s), during which s/he is expected to watch the board and answer emails; if a moderator is unable to perform his or her duties during his or her set day, we just ask for some advance notice so we can find someone else to cover that day.

Occasionally, moderators may be asked to pick up extra duties or days, such as when another moderator is busy, on vacation, etc.

Also, we ask that moderators check their email and the special, dedicated Yahoo group for KCF moderators every day or two, in case any issues or questions pop up among the moderators.

QUALIFICATIONS

1- We’re looking for someone to cover one or more of the following days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday. By this, I don’t mean that we need *all* these days filled – it’s just that the current moderators are somewhat flexible in what days they can cover. We need at least one new moderator for the weekdays, and one for the weekends.

2 – Our dream moderator either works at home and/or is a stay-at-home parent and/or is retired. Either way, s/he must have reliable internet access, and be able to check the board throughout the day during his/her day. If you work a 9 to 5 job and would like to moderate on a work day, your work situation must allow you to check the board once or twice throughout the day.

3 – You must be somewhat familiar with the list rules and netiquette, and in agreement with them, at least enough to enforce them equitably and fairly.

4 – You must be somewhat familiar with Yahoo, Yahoo Groups, email, etc. That is, we’re looking for someone who’s moderately internet-savvy already.

5 – We prefer that new moderators set up a @kcfreecycle.org email address for all moderator-related activity.

6 – In this vein, if new moderators would prefer to create a new Yahoo ID solely for moderating purposes, and participate in the group using their old ID, we’re open to this possibility. You just need to be careful to not post any wanteds with your moderator ID (i.e., don’t abuse your double IDs to exceed the limit on wanteds).

If you’d like to volunteer as a moderator, drop me a line at kelly [at] kcfreecycle.org (I’ll forward all the replies to the rest of the moderators.)

Please include the following in your email:

1) Which days you’d be able to moderate the board; if you’re available on multiple days, let me know which day(s) you’d prefer.

2) Any other responsibilities you may have to fulfill during the day(s).

3) Any relevant experience you have (i.e., moderating online groups or forums, tech training/work, etc.)

4) Your internet setup (e.g., access and reliability).

5) Anything else that you think is pertinent.

We’ll leave this open for at least a week, maybe more. Naturally, we’d like to fill the position(s) as soon as possible, so the sooner y’all can get back to us, the better.

Thanks in advance, and happy freecycling!

Kelly G.
KC Freecycle list owner
kelly [at] kcfreecycle.org