What do the moderators do if they think a posting is wrong?
The fact that the moderator disagrees does not generally stop them approving a posting, though if there is an obvious mistake or typographical error they may correct it (or ask the contributor to do so); very occasionally they may ask a contributor if he or she wants to think again.
Advertisements
The moderators won’t approve something that strikes them as only in the nature of an advertisement, e.g.: ‘this problem is too complex to discuss here but give me a ring’. If a posting makes some useful point we don’t at all mind if it concludes along the lines of ‘I have dealt with a lot of these types of problems so if you have any further queries then please get in touch’.
There is no objection to posters referring to discussion in their own books, which is often the easiest way to comment on a point.
The moderators will not approve announcements of job vacancies, forthcoming seminars, etc.
Recommendations
You can post asking for recommendations of practitioners in certain areas, however please note you can search for STEP members using the online [Member Directory][1].
The moderators will not generally approve emails recommending someone at the same firm as the sender.
Questions from the general public
The Forums are for practitioners’ discussion so the moderators won’t approve questions from the general public.
If You See a Problem, Flag It
Moderators have special authority; they are responsible for this forum. But so are you. With your help, moderators can be community facilitators, not just janitors or police.
When you see bad behavior, don’t reply. It encourages the bad behavior by acknowledging it, consumes your energy, and wastes everyone’s time. Just flag it. If enough flags accrue, action will be taken, either automatically or by moderator intervention.
In order to maintain our community, moderators reserve the right to remove any content and any user account for any reason at any time. Moderators do not preview new posts in any way; the moderators and site operators take no responsibility for any content posted by the community.
Multiple Questions
One problem in real life often raises multiple questions. For the sake of orderly debate it is essential to break complex questions down so far as possible and to identify issues singly. Less is more.
Why hasn’t my email been forwarded?
Because the forum is moderated, there will usually be a delay between sending messages to the forum and messages going out.
We usually acknowledge email questions that are not approved.
[1]: http://www.step.org/online-directory
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