Problematic Posts
This is one of the personal crib sheets used by Vee Martin, Mentor, when training new moderators. The views expressed within this and her other two crib sheets are her own. The other two crib sheets are ModTools Functions and Moderating a Post.
List of problematic posts and what to do about them
Freegle only has 2 rules and that is that everything must be free and legal. So in this list items 1,3 and 4 are mandatory. The others may be open to interpretation depending on what your group rules are and how flexible the group wants to be. I teach best practice and this is reflected in the notes. There will undoubtedly be exceptions to these suggestions so make sure when you join your group as a moderator that you find out about them.
We aim to treat people fairly and honestly so try to edit a post if you can rather than reject it. And always tell the person who submitted the post what you’ve done and why.
1. Borrowing/lending
Against Freegle rules. Edit if possible otherwise reject.
2. Charity request
Advertising details of an event should be edited out and poster referred to events section. Need details of charity if looks suspicious - put on hold and request them.
3. Illegal
Eg weapons, medicines, copyright infringements. Against Freegle rules. Either reject or, in case of copyright check if legal and edit if appropriate or reject.
4. Payment offered/wanted
Against Freegle rules. Edit out if possible otherwise reject.
5. Personal details given
For personal safety reasons edit out addresses and/or phone nos which can be given later when negotiating deal. Your local group may be less prescriptive about this so check local rules.
6. Pets and other animals
Most groups ban these so reject if yours does.
7. Potential scam
Anything which looks too good to be true, ie expensive items, probably is. Put on hold, seek more info from poster if necessary, consult with fellow mods. Probably reject
8. Shouting
Using capitals is rude. Edit using standard message.
9. Sob story
Don’t need unnecessary detail. Edit out if possible.
10. Vague request/offer
If too vague unlikely to receive a response. Advise poster to be more specific and invite poster to edit their post if possible.
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