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Tom Macon
Tom Macon ✭
October 18 in General Questions

Is there an explanation of the question/answer format? For example, does "mod" mean moderator? What do the asterisks after names indicate?

0

Answers

  • Áine Ní Donnghaile
    Áine Ní Donnghaile ✭✭✭✭✭
    October 18

    Yes, mod indicates moderator. The stars by user names indicate activity, with 5 being the highest level.

    1
  • dlmelville
    dlmelville ✭✭✭
    October 18

    what's the "criteria" for "earning stars"?

    0
  • MandyShaw1
    MandyShaw1 ✭✭✭✭✭
    October 18

    I have flagged @dlmelville's question for moderator assistance as I don't think these rules are documented anywhere us users have access to

    0
  • JulianBrown38
    JulianBrown38 ✭✭✭
    October 18

    Not all moderators have the 'mod' role attached. Sometimes, responses like "This information has been passed on to the engineers" are the only indication that the poster is, or may be, a moderator.

    0
  • Áine Ní Donnghaile
    Áine Ní Donnghaile ✭✭✭✭✭
    October 18
    https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/comment/609699#Comment_609699

    It is a reflection of activity. More comments = more stars. We used to have a weekly leader board showing that activity.

    3
  • MandyShaw1
    MandyShaw1 ✭✭✭✭✭
    October 18
    https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/comment/609720#Comment_609720

    I think those people are FS staff without Community moderator rights.

    1
  • Gordon Collett
    Gordon Collett ✭✭✭✭✭
    October 18 edited October 18

    Don't quote me because I'm probably wrong, but I think moderators are assigned to specific groups and will only show "mod" when posting in a group for which they are a moderator.

    If you click on a person's name here, you will see when they joined Community, the number of new discussions they have started, the number of comments they have made on posts, the number of badges they have earned for participation (most of which are kind of silly and meaningless), and the last time they made a post.

    For the people who have taken part in this discussion so far you will see, in no particular order:

    Screenshot 2025-10-18 at 7.58.16 AM.png

    I don't know if the number of stars is based on just one of these categories or a combination of them. Looking at this, I think someone deserves seven stars.

    I'm pretty sure 2018 must have been when FamilySearch switched from the getsatisfaction discussion board system to this Community discussion board.

    3
  • Áine Ní Donnghaile
    Áine Ní Donnghaile ✭✭✭✭✭
    October 18

    One point - the number of new discussions also counts some other items. Another member and I did a deep dive on that a few years ago and found the category also logs some items, such as flags, that are not listed either in badges or other categories.

    3
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