Hosted Discussions

Each hosted discussion category on the main page will contain sub-categories (called Groups) pertaining to that folder. Each Group will have one or more member "hosts" who are responsible for monitoring all of the threads within their Group, removing posts that violate the site rules or who break the spirit of the Group. Hosts will also have the ability to remove members who continually disrupt the threads or violate forum rules.

Hosting Groups is a gold member feature, however, our blue members are still welcome to create threads within the areas they become "groupies" of. There has been no change to a blue member's abilities to create threads and make posts.

To become a host:
- Click on the category folder that the Group you wish to host would fall under.
- Ensure that your Group does not already exist.
- Click on the button at the top of the page that says "Request to host your own Group in ..."
- Fill out the request form, and your request will be forwarded to Community Support who will review the request and let you know whether your Group has been approved, or if it has been denied for a variety of reasons.
- Once Community Support approves your Group, you will be notified, and you can start hosting your discussions! You can invite members to join, or you can see who just shows up!
- A host can add up to 3 additional co-hosts to help monitor the threads and keep them moving.
- When within the walls of your own hosted Group, you will see links that will let you Manage Hosts and Manage Blocks. (I'll discuss tools and their usage below)
- When within a thread inside your topic, you will see a link on each post to allow you to remove that particular post. Hosts cannot moderate or in any way alter a post, they can only delete it in its entirety.

To join a Hosted Discussion:
- On the main Message Board page, click on a category that interests you.
- Peruse the list of Groups, and click the link to open it up.
- You will find that unless you are a "groupie" of that group, you can only view the thread titles. Clicking on them will alert you that you must become a groupie in order to view or post.
- Click the button that says "Become a groupie of ..."
- One of two things will happen. You will either immediately be granted access based on your site status, or you will be given a message letting you know that we cannot accommodate your request at this time based on a variety of factors. If you receive this type of message, you may contact SingSnap Support who can assist you in the process. *Site status does not indicate blue vs. gold, but rather a variety of account parameters that must be met in order to be considered a validated SingSnap groupie.
- You may now create a thread, or join in on discussions already taking place.

Hosting Tools & Guidelines

Hosting a Group brings with it a certain amount of responsibility towards your "groupies" as well as to the site. Staff will not be monitoring these threads, but will continue to respond to the 'Report' button.

In the event that we determine a host is allowing continued violations, we will work with that host on how to proceed. Staff will also be available to support the hosts and members in the event of any issues that may arise. It is up to each host and co-host to ensure that the forum rules are being met as well as the spirit of the discussion is being maintained. Hosts must represent not only themselves, but their group, co-hosts and SingSnap, and therefore have a larger responsibility for ensuring that their words and actions convey tolerance and patience.

The tools provided to hosts and co-hosts should help maintain the spirit of these discussions by allowing them to refocus the conversation when it breaks down by either deleting inflammatory posts or, if necessary, removing the member from the discussion. Hosts may not remove members or member posts out of simple dislike for one another. If it is determined that this type of abuse is happening, a host will be removed and disallowed hosting responsibilities. All forum blocks will be reviewed by staff.

Members who join discussions simply to disrupt the conversation or to harass another member will be removed from the Group. If a member continually follows another member around to try to inflame or harass or embarrass, they will likely have their board access denied altogether.