# What Do SPN Administrators, Mentors And Forum Leaders Really Do?



## sunmukh (Nov 6, 2010)

*Moved from Introducing Myself*


Ek Onkaar Sat Naam

I am quite new to this site. I am really pleased that this site allows a wide range of views to be posted. However I am noticing many of the posts are being made by same respondents, and am wondering if the posters have actual interests in the site. 


I would be pleased to know the user names of administrators and/or moderators (is there a section of the site that lists them?).

Also can general non-admin and non-moderator users, such as myself,  expect moderators and/or administrators to regularly interject their own views - ie are they active participants or do they only intervene when there is concern over posts meeting guidelines? 

Are a substantial number of threads started by, and posts made by moderators and/or administrators? 

Thanks to anybody who replies 

Please forgive me if this post is made in the wrong section of the site.

Sat Sri Akal


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## spnadmin (Nov 6, 2010)

*Re: Introducing Myself*

The user names of moderators and administrators are always in red (admin) yellow (forum leaders) or purple (mentors) in the upper corner of a post.

Mentors are selected for their special life experiences as adherents to Sikhi. They can be expected to interact on a regular basis whenever they feel they can give guidance in an area of personal interest or expertise, as per gurbani and the Sikh Rehat Maryada. We do not want to put a burden on them as this is completely their seva to SPN. Therefore, they should feel they can pick and choose when and how much to say as fits their time and energy.

Forum leaders have been selected because of their expertise in one or more areas, to include Sikh history, scriptures, or Sri Guru Gtanth Sahib ji, and gurmat interpretation of the shabad.  Naturally, their expertise is to be shared, to prevent discussions from going off course and thus risk the impression that Sikh Philosophy Network is not first and foremost a Sikh site. They are also empowered to enforce Terms of Service, which includes warnings, infractions, and redirection of threads that have gone off course. Forum leaders also help members privately, and they post new content, according to the time they can give to the forum.  They have responsibility on all threads. Their seva is without any sort of compensation. 

Administrators (Aman Singh and spnadmin) fulfill a number of different roles. Our duties include posting new content every day; helping members with many different kinds of problems, including technical problems; deleting spam and banning spammers; and fixing any technical problems we spot on threads related to formatting, images, and url's. We take a daily and more systematic hand in managing threads (deleting, moving, sticking, bumping, opening and closing, editing, etc.). Administrators also lead discussions among mentors and forum leaders about problem threads and problematic members, new ideas for forum themes, the selection of new mentors and leaders, and maintaining search engine rankings. This is a short list. Administrators do participate in thread discussions in one of 3 ways:

1) to warn members when they are closing in on frank Terms of Service violations;

2) to comment in ways that will either get a wandering discussion back on topic, or extend a conversation that is fixated, and has yet to look at a new angle; and 

3) to contribute their understanding from a gurmat perspective. This last point is important because Sikhs who are versed in their religion do expect intervention to occur when Sri Guru Granth Sahib is misinterpreted. And because Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike should not be left with the notion that any and all opinions are consistent with Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

Administrators are not compensated. 

All mentors, leaders and administrators are encouraged to welcome new members.

Let me add: All revenue from donations and sponsors barely covers the cost of server rental and software licensing and upgrades. 

Finally we would like to see an increase in the number of members who actively comment in the threads. Research has shown us however than on any forum the percentage of active members who actually do post tends to be small.

I hope that clears up your questions.


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## sunmukh (Nov 6, 2010)

*Re: What do SPN Administrators, Mentors and Forum Leaders Do?*

Ek OnKaar Sat Naam



> I hope that clears up your questions. I hope that clears up your questions.


 
SPNadmin ji, the answer is far more than sufficient and I thank you for clarifying. 

I am quite sorry to hear you and Aman Singh ji are not being compensated for the obvious time you give to the site. I hope situation improves soon so you do get some recompense. 

Sat Sri Akal


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## spnadmin (Nov 6, 2010)

*Re: What do SPN Administrators, Mentors and Forum Leaders Do?*

sunmukh ji

Thank you for your gracious reply.


Actually (not speaking for any other member of the team, only for myself) - If I were paid, I would quit. Money would ruin everything.


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## spnadmin (Oct 25, 2013)

*Re: What do SPN Administrators, Mentors and Forum Leaders Do?*

Sangat ji

You may have noticed that SPN now has a new category of forum Leaders. Their account names are colored a ruddy sienna red. These new leaders are our Task Masters.

harry haller ji now keeps an eye on spam and bot activity throughout the forum and in the Member Blogs. Located in UK harry ji makes it possible for us to have nearly 24/7 oversight of a very annoying problem: the anonymous spammer who fills threads with nonsense out of greed for attention or from financial motives through posting endless links for electronics, medical supplies and Lambourtin shoes, just to mention a few irritants. The second type of spammer is also a security risk to our site, and damages search engine rankings too! 

ishna ji has joined as someone who will on a regular basis post questions related to the understanding of Gurbani. She brings fresh eyes to traditional content. Her astute questions have ignited spirited discussions more than once in the past months. SPN is primarily dedicated to the study of Skhi and Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. That is why ishna ji's role is vital: it is too easy to drift away into popular culture's interpretations of Sikhi and away from our core inspiration.

Both harry ji and ishna ji have been steadfast, almost daily commentators, on many threads over time. What about you? We would like the blessing of more member participation. 

If you have been a regular and active member here at SPN and you have an idea - a lightbulb just lit up - there is a very specific type of task that you think you can oversee,  let me or Admin Singh know by private message. Maybe you would like to increase our connections with quality blogs about Sikhi, or you have an idea about keeping our video content fresh. Your Punjabi is excellent and you might be wiling to translate comments posted by members who struggle with English. You could contribute in very important ways. You would not be managing content; you would be keeping threads in apple pie order. But remember this is a commitment, and one that would bring you to SPN almost every day. Thanks


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