Report posts education

**longhairedfairy** · September 6th, 2008, 07:05 AM

Out of curiousity, does it say "reported by" whatever member, then?

**Hue** · September 6th, 2008, 08:43 AM

Thanks for this -- several times I had hesitated to "report post" just because of this very thing. I ended up seeing which moderators were online and sending PMs directly. (though each was most kind about it, doubtless more of a pain than otherwise would have been!)

**Ursula** · September 6th, 2008, 08:51 AM

An FYI for those who have never hit the "R" button to report a post: The "report" function doesn't just send a pre-made message that a post has been reported. It has a dialog box where you can write down what your concern is. So if your concern is mild, or if you aren't completely sure that the post is a problem, but think it might be, you can explain that when you report.

I've had all sorts of results from reporting posts. Everything from no response known to me (I assume the mods discussed the issue, and either it wasn't a problem or they took it to the original poster in PM), to seeing the member who made the reported post banned within five minutes (when it was clearly spam in a new member's first post.) I've never seen a response that I thought was inappropriate to the nature of the problem.

**Raederle** · September 6th, 2008, 09:03 AM

So would you rather missorted threads be treated as reports, or just added to one of the missorted post threads already started here?

**anna1850** · September 6th, 2008, 11:18 AM

Just out of curiosity, if we see double posts/threads in wrong section etc. would the mods prefer us to use the 'report post' thing or start a thread in the site support section? The message does usually put me off using the report feature a bit unless it's a really obvious rule violation.

Also, I've seen a few new members using a bit of text speak, generally nothing over the top but using words like 'ppl' instead of 'people,' should this kind of thing be reported?

**Flaxen** · September 6th, 2008, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by longhairedfairy

Out of curiousity, does it say "reported by" whatever member, then?

Yes, that part is automated by the vBulletin system.

Originally Posted by anna1850

Just out of curiosity, if we see double posts/threads in wrong section etc. would the mods prefer us to use the 'report post' thing or start a thread in the site support section?

Either way. I think there's a "wrong forum" thread here in Site Support somewhere, or reporting is fine, too.

Also, I've seen a few new members using a bit of text speak, generally nothing over the top but using words like 'ppl' instead of 'people,' should this kind of thing be reported?

That kind of thing should be reported rather than be mentioned in Support. Any thread or post that is a problem or that you think breaks a rule should be reported. The moderators do not consider reporting of posts to be tattling in any way. We really do appreciate everyone's eyes on the board, and rest assured that we never ignore anything that's been reported. Seriously, it's all of us working together that makes this community so nice. So, thank you.

**dancingbarefoot** · September 8th, 2008, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by Raederle

So would you rather missorted threads be treated as reports, or just added to one of the missorted post threads already started here?

Whichever you prefer. Thanks!

**Calista** · September 8th, 2008, 01:35 PM

I guess it would be too much trouble to get back to the person reporting a post? (I realize this is somewhat of a rhetorical question...

)

Recently I used the "report" button to report a thread where the OP had deleted their entire post - which I thought was a) against the rules and b) made the whole thread meaningless. But nothing ever happened as far as I could see. So now I´m wondering why that was the case.

I think it would put my mind at rest if - in the instances where no action was taken - I would get a moderator message that explains why the mods refrained from taking action.

**akurah** · September 8th, 2008, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by Calista

I guess it would be too much trouble to get back to the person reporting a post? (I realize this is somewhat of a rhetorical question...

)

Recently I used the "report" button to report a thread where the OP had deleted their entire post - which I thought was a) against the rules and b) made the whole thread meaningless. But nothing ever happened as far as I could see. So now I´m wondering why that was the case.

I think it would put my mind at rest if - in the instances where no action was taken - I would get a moderator message that explains why the mods refrained from taking action.

The problem with that is sometimes the mods DO take action. A post of mine was recently reported, and I got a warning for it because the mods felt it was necessary (and yes, I did deserve the warning quite thoroughly, I won't detail it more than that, I'm just using it as an example). What WASN'T necessary was: deleting the post, closing the thread, OR telling other members I was warned for it. It has always been the policy here that mods will not discuss your warnings with others but you are free to mention them yourself, which I think is a stellar policy.

**Flaxen** · September 8th, 2008, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by Calista

I think it would put my mind at rest if - in the instances where no action was taken - I would get a moderator message that explains why the mods refrained from taking action.

I am sorry that it sometimes seems mysterious, but the moderators won't discuss what action, if any, is taken as a result of a post being reported. Sometimes there will be visible results, and sometimes there won't.