This is a repost of the original, posted by Neil on OzBargain.
We have just rolled out a new feature which upgrades some users to Power Users. Queue 3rd person conversation with myself:
What can Power Users do?
Power users can edit deals.
- Change the title.
- Change the description.
- Adjust the expiration date.
- Change the category.
- Add or remove tags.
Why is this useful?
- Users can add additional deals from the store to the deal.
- Deals that need updating regularly.
- Deals that are missing the price or other important information can be edited quickly by users.
- Instead of relying on the OP or a moderator to make changes, the community can make each deal better.
Has something similar been done before?
Yes, not at ChoiceCheapies but at the popular US deal site, Slickdeals. See this Android deal on their site.
They show the original post and a wiki section that's editable by it's members. Our system will differ with the original post being edited instead of a separate wiki section.
Won't it get vandalized?
- At the moment, power users are being hand selected by moderators. All revisions on the deal are accessible by everyone. If there is an issue with an edit anyone can report that issue to a moderator using the report button.
What guidelines should power users follow?
It's quite simple:
- Please edit the description or title in order to make the deal clearer for the community.
- Feel free to add other deals from the store to the deal.
- Do not vandalize the deal.
- Please follow the Commenting Guidelines.
- If the deal should be removed or the link changed, please use the report button.
So are these moderators?
No. These are not moderators. While some of the duties of a moderator are editing deals, power users do not have the ability to remove deals, comments or ban users and domains. These should be left to moderators who have the investigative and reporting tools available to them.
The moderation team gets over 1000 reports per month. This means that there is not always a moderator to fix deals. It's hoped with community editing powers, this will assist in making the site run smoother.
How are power users selected?
- As a start, power users are being hand selected by moderators. Criteria for picking power users are subjective at the moment but we looked at a number of factors including those who reported issues with low or no reported issues against them, and are contributing members of the community. At this point we have only selected 15 users but we intend to add more.
Is this feature set in stone?
- No, and we want feedback. At this point, this feature is in beta. Our hope is that it works the way it is intended but like many things, issues arise. Please give us feedback about anything regarding this new feature.