Misinformation

My greatest battles are fought not over something you don't like about the Network, but over misinformation. I want as many of you as possible to have the correct information - because then, if you genuinely hate it, I have valuable feedback for the development team! Of course, some misinformation is more harmful than others.

I have become aware of a couple of situations where a member has posed as a member of staff, or as a soon-to-be member of staff, and used that as leverage over other members. I hope that this does not extend beyond the handful of instances I know have transpired. So what can I do to combat this? The NewsBoiler is a huge community, and try as we might there's just no effective way to get *everyone* to see the information I think they need to see, but here goes…

User roles are visible. If you visit a member's profile you will see at the top whether they are an Admin, Site Manager, Moderator, Contributor, Trainee or Member. You can view staff for the entire network here: http://forums.n4g.com/tm.as...

You know what roles aren't listed there or on member profiles? Possible Future Moderator, Maybe Admin, Someday Staffer. You know why? Because something that hasn't happened yet - and may never happen - is not helpful. Don't pretend to be a Moderator (you will be banned), don't tell people you're "practically" a Moderator (if you're saying that, you probably aren't), and for everyone else - N4G is user-driven, and time and again it has been proven that this means more than users submitting news. It means helpful regulars offering advice, tips and helping less informed members get the info they need and find the people they want to ask a question of. So if you really do want to become a Moderator, be helpful in those ways (and check out http://n4g.com/user/blogpos... ).