is a required field.
What is the role of moderators?
Initially, the moderators' primary responsibility is to maintain the Debate summaries by undertaking the following tasks:
- Check posts to make sure that they follow the basic rules of structured argumentation (one point per post and located in the correct place);
- When necessary, move posts and threads to connect them to the relevant point in the map, in order to ensure that contents are logically organized;
- Delete clearly inappropriate posts.
Moderators' role is not to pass judgment on the contents of posts.
Their role instead is to make sure the material is structured in a way that maximizes its usefulness for users of the system.
The community as a whole, through its ratings and posting, is charged with distinguishing the quality of posts.
CoLab moderators will also contribute in other ways:
- Adding new content (proposals, debate posts, votes)
- Quality control (removing offensive or damaging content, identifying content that seems inaccurate or not useful and initiating a process to improve it)
- Adding items to the CoLab task list and the Moderator task list.
As the site becomes more populated with content and the community grows, other moderator tasks are likely to become important, including:
- Working with members of the Expert Council to resolve substantive questions in the CoLab, such as:
- how credible are the Models used in Proposals
- how credible are various positions and arguments in the Debates
- Identifying "editor's picks," that is, new content that deserves attention which might otherwise be missed
- Defining how the moderator role should evolve as the CoLab community grows
How are moderators selected?
Moderators are expected to be able to:
- use good judgement in resolving differences of opinion in a fair and objective way
- communicate effectively in writing, and
- interact constructively with other members of the community.
In addition, for many moderator tasks, it will also be useful to:
- be knowledgeable about climate change issues
Currently, moderators are selected by other moderators working with the CoLab project staff and members of the Expert Council as needed.
In the future, other methods of selecting moderators may be used.
Who are the moderators?
The current moderators are listed here.
Can I apply to become a moderator?
If you would like to become a moderator, please send an email to Rob Laubacher rjl@mit.edu.
