Setting up moderators for a Snitz forum

There are many steps to setting up moderators in Snitz forums, which can be a little confusing if you are new to the software. This guide will take you through all of the actions required to setup a forum for moderation, and to allocate moderators to that forum. To follow these instructions, make sure you are logged into the Snitz forum as the "Forum Admin"!

Step 1: Enable moderation in the admin panel.
In the admin panel, open the "Feature Configuration". In the "Moderation Features" section, turn "Allow Topic Moderation" on and submit.

Step 2: Ensure that moderation is enabled for the category to which the forum belongs.
Open the Category options page from the main forum list. (Click on the "Edit Category Name" picture, which will actually allow you to edit the moderation status too). There are 2 choice boxes below the name of the category, make sure that the Moderation one is set to Moderation Allowed In This Category. Save any changes and proceed to....

Step 3: Ensure that moderation is allowed in the forum.
In the forum you want moderated, make sure that moderation is enabled. This can be set from the forum properties page (click the Edit Forum Properties icon on the main forum page). Towards the bottom of the page you will now see a Moderation selection. You can select various levels of moderation here:

• All Posts Moderated - Every post of a topic or a reply will need to be approved by a moderator before it is published to the forum.
• Original Posts Only Moderated - New topics will require approval by a moderator before they can be viewed by members, but any replies to existing topics will appear immediately without moderator approval.
• Replies Only Moderated - Original topics will appear immediately, but any replies to those topics will have to be approved by a moderator before they are published.

Step 4: Ensure the person you want as a moderator is allowed to moderate.
There are two ways to achieve this, from the Admin Options screen or from the member list. I prefer the member list method, which is what I will explain here.Find the member that you wish to make a moderator (from the Members section). Open the member's profile page (click the Edit Member icon on the member list page). At the bottom of the profile screen is an option for Member Level. Set this to Moderator. The person will then be able to moderate posts, but only if you follow the next step.....

Step 5: Set up the member(s) as moderator of your chosen forum
Go back to the forum properties page (see step 2). Towards the middle of the page, under the Message section, there should be a Moderators list. The name of the person you setup as a moderator should now appear in the Available box. Select the name, and move it to the Selected box (by double clicking, or clicking on the arrow between the boxes).

Step 6: Make some test posts
If you are not used to the way in which moderation works, it's worth making some test posts to be sure that everything is as expected. You should post a test message and check that moderator(s) can approve or reject it. Check that replies are not published until moderated if that's how you configured the moderation levels. Note You must test from an account other than Admin, because admin-level accounts can see all un-moderated posts, and will be allowed to post to moderated forums.