# Report a Bad Post - form instructions.



## El Estudiante

Hello,

I just wanted to point out an inconsistency between the language of the forum rules and the language used on the "Report a Bad Post" form.

Forum Rule #6 states:

Report posts that use inappropriate language or belong in another forum by clicking on the report-a-post feature in the top right corner of each post. This will help to run the forum smoothly.

However, the "Report a Bad Post" form states:

*Note*: This is ONLY to be used to report spam, advertising messages, and problematic (harassment, fighting, or rude) posts.

The language on the form itself excludes reporting mis-placed posts. It is just a minor point, but I think the form instructions should not exclude the reporting of mis-placed posts.

Cheers


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## cuchuflete

Hi El_Estudiante,

Good eye!

Yes, they are inconsistent, and we should fix that.  I'm not sure whether to fix the form or the rule.

The report-a-post is used for all sorts of reasons, some good, and some....well, we are human.  The point of the form 'note' was to discourage people from using the feature to complain that they disagreed with another forero's opinion, and wanted a Mod to come take their side of an argument.  Yes, people have actually done that!

Both report-a-post and PMs to mods are used to advise us of mis-placed posts, and that help is always welcome.  Likewise welcome are corrections to the forms, and questions and suggested improvements to the rules.

Thanks,

Cuchu


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## El Estudiante

Hi Cuchu,

I appreciate your clarification, because I have been reluctant to report mis-placed threads just because of that note on the form. 

Cheers


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## cuchuflete

Hola El_Estudiante,

While we get the disconnect between the note and the rules straightened out, just
think of it this way...If there is anything about a thread or post that needs Mod attention urgently, use the report-a-post. If it's yet another dumb thread title, "translation please" or something like that, please don't. We get around to those in our routine activities. For the in-between priorities...we are happy to trust your judgement.

Once in a while someone gets 'triangle-happy' and reports dozens of posts a day.
They get a thank you note, with a friendly request to be a little less assiduous, and maybe apply for admission to the local police academy.

ciao,
Cuchu


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## fenixpollo

Thanks for changing the wording of the RAP feature!  

New question, same topic:  What kind of description or text is helpful when filling out the report-a-post text box?  Would any moderator like to offer us some guidance or insight?


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## cuchuflete

Most of the reports are just a word or two.  That is good.

We see things like--

duplicate
SPAM
Meaningless title
Wrong forum
Hostile
Personal attack
Obscene

That's enough to tell us what to be looking for when we go to the reported thread.  I'll post a copy of the actual report form, so you may see what we have to work with.


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## natasha2000

I write what I see: wrong forum, contextless, rude, etc. I hope I am doing right...


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## cuchuflete




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## cuchuflete

We do see some more, errrr, ummmm, "spicey" comments, but those are no more helpful than simple facts. When we get any report, we click on the link to the thread or post in question, and quickly see what is going on.

Sometimes it is a problem from the perspective of the person submitting the report, but the mods don't see a need for any action.  We actually try to intervene only when necessary.  If you report a post, and nothing happens for a few hours, it is safe to assume that there is just a difference of opinion.

One nameless forer@ didn't want to give up, and reported the same thing about 20 times over a few days!  You can imagine how the mods reacted to that.

The report threads started to show mod suggestions of this nature:


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## LV4-26

cuchuflete said:


> When we get any report, we click on the* link* to the thread or post in question, and quickly see what is going on.


 (my emphasis) Just to be sure...I assume the link in question is generated automatically. We don't have to add it when we report a post?


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## Jana337

LV4-26 said:


> (my emphasis) Just to be sure...I assume the link in question is generated automatically. We don't have to add it when we report a post?


You are right.  You do not have to include the link, the software is intelligent enough to tell us.

Jana


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## Etcetera

Try to click on the red triangle. 
You'll see that the link contains the post's number.


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## fenixpollo

Thanks, cuchu. This is exactly what I had wanted in the first place. Thanks for reading my mind. 


cuchuflete said:


> screenshot


 So, when you (mods) click on a forum name, the threads that are at the top of the forum are ones that say "Reported: [name of post]", correct?

I have put hyperlinks inside the RAP box when I'm typing. Sometimes I've got both repeated threads open in different tabs/windows, so it's easy to copy and paste one of the two addresses into the RAP box for the post I'm reporting. I figure that it makes it easier for the mod, but I'm not sure about that.


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## cuchuflete

Not quite the way you describe it, but similar.  We see the Reported post sub-forum at the very top of the main menu page for WR.  Inside, the threads all include the forum names, so we can quickly check our assigned area reports.

Your URLs are helpful in the case of duplicates.  Thanks for saving us the time to go hunting for them.

This is a collective effort.  You tell us what needs help, and we
go out with the broom and dustpan or the first aid kit.  It's usually pretty fast and stress free.


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## fenixpollo

Gotcha. So all mods who enter that subforum see all of the reported threads, and can take care of urgent+important issues in forums that are not necessarily their assigned areas.


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## elroy

In theory, yes, but usually we let the moderators assigned to the particular forum take care of it - unless it's a particularly urgent problem or the moderators of that forum are overwhelmed/unavailable for the time being.


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## Jana337

In other words, we usually deal with misplaced threads and serious problems but we do not send PM to foreros from other forums because we don't know them well enough.

Jana


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## elroy

Right.  I forgot to mention that basic tasks like moving threads or deleting duplicates are pretty much done by whoever sees the report first.


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## Philippa

> *Nota:* Esto SOLAMENTE debe usarse para reportar spam, publicidad y posts problemáticos (ej. insultantes, agresivos, que inicien una pelea).


Hello!
Could the Spanish instructions be changed too, please? I hate writing something mundane like 'duplicate thread' with that SOLAMENTE there!!


cuchuflete said:


> ...
> We see things like--
> duplicate
> SPAM
> *Meaningless title*
> Wrong forum
> ...


I see several meaningless titles in Spanish-English every day! Do you mods like them to be reported? (I think I was advised not to report them as mods would look through their own foros and spot them anyway.)

Saludos
Philippa


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## fsabroso

Hola Philippa,

Hace ya varios meses, me paso lo que indicas, me "aconsejaron" que no reportará post fuera de lugar o repetidos, porque era trabajo de moderador, y que ellos se darían cuenta sin necesidad de que nosotros lo informaramos.

Así que no volví a hacerlo.

Saludos!


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## natasha2000

Ah, sí? Pues yo lo hago constantemente... Y hasta ahora, nadie me ha dicho nada...

Así que... ¿Hago mal?


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## geve

natasha2000 said:


> Ah, sí? Pues yo lo hago constantemente... Y hasta ahora, nadie me ha dicho nada...
> 
> Así que... ¿Hago mal?


From what had been said in this previous discussion, and the sentence that appears when you click the button:

*"Please use this to report any post you feel needs moderator attention."*

it seems to me that you're doing things right... of course mods might spot the issue by themselves; on the other hand, they might not! I take it that they won't get upset because of overzealous members.  I hope!!


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## elroy

As long as it's done in moderation, it's all right. In fact, it's especially useful for busy forums such as SP, where threads disappear off the main page in a matter of hours and sometimes even minutes.


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## natasha2000

elroy said:


> As long as it's done in moderation, it's all right. In fact, it's especially useful for busy forums such as SP, where threads disappear off the name page in a matter of hours and sometimes even minutes.


 
That is why I actually do it.


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## maxiogee

elroy said:


> As long as it's done in moderation, it's all right. In fact, it's especially useful for busy forums such as SP, where threads disappear off the main page in a matter of hours and sometimes even minutes.



Are non-moderators allowed to do things in moderation?
I thought that power came with one's receipt of the Certificate of Moderatorness on the occasion of one's Elevation - the ceremony when His Royal Forumness gives out the insignia of office - the knee-britches, the epaulettes and the visored and plumed helmet.


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