From The Otherkin Community

	The Otherkin Community Handbook » Moderation » Account Security
	The Otherkin Community Handbook is a collection of information about The Otherkin Community, Inc. and its services. The Handbook is designed to provide helpful aid to members and visitors of The Otherkin Community, as well as information for staff, employees and volunteers. Categories: Forums, Moderation

The security of moderator accounts is important to ensure that malicious individuals do not gain access to moderator or other staff accounts and negatively impact The Otherkin Community Services through use of moderator or administrator privileges.

Contents 1 Password Requirements 2 Browser Security 3 Account Sharing 4 Liability

Password Requirements

The Otherkin Community moderators are required to adhere to the following password guidelines:

• A 10-character (or larger) password containing both letters and numbers (preferably upper and lowercase letters, as well as symbols).
• The password may not contain your username, name, phone number, address, social security number, or anything that can be affiliated with you.
• The password must be unique to The Otherkin Community (it cannot be used on any other websites/services, as your computer login, etc).
• The password cannot consist of purely dictionary words, meaning the password should have an element of randomness (e.g. no "fluffykitten007").
• The password should be kept in a secure place where nobody else has access (it is recommended that you remember your password) and should not be stored on your computer.

One recommendation for creating random passwords is to use acronyms with upper and lowercase letters. For example:

"iHtIh43gHomh" seems like a completely random password, but it actually means "I hate that I have 43 gray hairs on my head". Pick something that you can remember and that would not be easy to guess. Again, the acronym should be something that people cannot guess about you. Do not use a phrase that you are constantly saying.

Browser Security

Moderators, under no circumstances, are permitted to allow their web browser to remember their password for The Otherkin Community. If set by accident, or if your web browser is set to allow all passwords, you must consult your web browser's documentation to clear the password. This is important, as if your computer is compromised by an individual or virus, there are methods of retrieving stored passwords.

If a moderator wishes to stay logged in, then he/she may use the "remember me" feature of the website. However, if logged on a public computer, or if using a computer shared by other individuals, the moderator must either log out of the website or lock the computer, whichever is more appropriate.

Account Sharing

Moderators should never share their account with anyone. This will result in the immediate removal of his/her moderator status, as well as a possible account suspension.

Liability

Moderators are personally responsible for the security of their accounts. If an account has been compromised, the compromised account will have its moderator status revoked until the solution has been resolved. It will then be up to the staff to, by majority vote, determine if the individual should be allowed to retain their moderator status.

Moderators will not be held liable for any occurrences that are out of their hands (e.g. the website being compromised by an attacker through means other than learning the moderator's password without accessing the database). Do note that, while passwords are hashed within the database (meaning they cannot be retrieved), that does not make the password secure, as there are databases of hashes that can be referenced. Therefore, it is very important to follow the above guidelines when creating your password to ensure the Community remains safe and secure.