[Suggestion] Moderation - users can select a recommended action

[James]

Credit to Marcus for the original idea which I quoted!
Opened a new suggestion so this could be discussed with the expansion.

...

Report post > Textbox, but also suggested moderator actions like

• "This topic is better placed in forum .... all forums are displayed here".
• delete topic
• move topic within this topic ... link to other topic inserted here

The moderator then just has to "click yes" and its done. An admins dream !

This could be interesting. It could be integrated with the report handler. Consider them generic options.

[ ] Delete Topic/post - {reason}
[ ] Merge Topic/post with [postID of another topic]
[ ] Move Topic/post to [dropdown]


[ ] = checkbox/radio.

This way, when it is reported, if the moderator agrees with the action that the user has selected as the recommended action, they can click a link ("perform" maybe?) and it will automatically perform the action.

I'm not sure how difficult it is to automate moderation with Kier + Mike's awesome work, so I suggested it as a small feature because it isn't standalone.

 

[Paul B]

Report reasons I would have thought will be implemented at some point.

I have about 8 defined on my forum and they are fairly useful, however I would never make one of them "delete topic" as that is a moderator decision, not something to be decided or suggested by a member.

I have rather more generic reasons such as:

[Language] The poster has made derogatory, insulting or offensive comments.
[Swearing] The poster has bypassed the swear filter.
[Disruptive] The poster is deliberately causing an argument or trolling.
[Off Topic] The post is off topic or the topic is not in the correct forum.
[Duplicate] This is a duplicate topic or post.
[Spam] This post is spam.
[Content] The post contains unacceptable content or refers to illegal practices.

 

[James]

I think you're slightly misunderstanding me.

Report reasons would be good, yes, but I'm thinking of extending this so that users can suggest an action to be taken. If the moderator agrees with an action, they can click a perform link and perform the action automatically.

So you may have suggestions like.

[ ] Delete Topic/post - {reason}
[ ] Merge Topic/post with [postID of another topic]
[ ] Move Topic/post to [dropdown]

 

[KURTZ]

yeah this would be really helpful ...

 

[Paul B]

I think you're slightly misunderstanding me.

No I'm not.

Moderating actions should be left to moderators, not for members to suggest.

All members should do is report posts that contravene the site rules and then leave it to the mod team to do their job.

Even if a member suggests that a thread should be deleted, a moderator will still have to check it and decide on the best course of action so there is very little time and effort saved, if any.

All you will end up with is a group of wannabe moderators.

 

[James]

No I'm not.

Moderating actions should be left to moderators, not for members to suggest.

All members should do is report posts that contravene the site rules and then leave it to the mod team to do their job.

Even if a member suggests that a thread should be deleted, a moderator will still have to check it and decide on the best course of action so there is very little time and effort saved, if any.

All you will end up with is a group of wannabe moderators.

I'm going to assume that a post is quoted when you report it. Yes, although sometimes you are going to go to the thread and read it to decide the best course of action, some actions can be seen (at least on my forum) just by looking at the post quoted with the report. This is when the automated moderation system comes in handy.

Obviously we aren't going to let the users take the action (hence why the moderator needs to approve it) but it helps the users feel a part of the community (it would on my forum).

"not for members to suggest". On your forum (if you run one) you don't get reports like "user is spamming links - delete" or "user is being quite racist"? Perhaps even "user double-posted - merge them".

 

[Lawrence]

My concerns with this are two-fold. First is that you open the door for members recommending an action all the time when it comes to someone that have rubbed them the wrong way. And secondly, if a Mod takes a different route than what was recommended, the reporting member will feel slighted. I have no doubt this will cause numerous PC's where Mods end up needing to explain why they chose to not follow a recommendation from a "seasoned veteran" when the option was there for them to make it.

I doubt it will cause more work for a moderator than just reporting a post would, but I can see it causing more headaches.

 

[James]

My concerns with this are two-fold. First is that you open the door for members recommending an action all the time when it comes to someone that have rubbed them the wrong way. And secondly, if a Mod takes a different route than what was recommended, the reporting member will feel slighted. I have no doubt this will cause numerous PC's where Mods end up needing to explain why they chose to not follow a recommendation from a "seasoned veteran" when the option was there for them to make it.

I doubt it will cause more work for a moderator than just reporting a post would, but I can see it causing more headaches.

I get what you're saying. let me pull your quote apart and answer it.

First is that you open the door for members recommending an action all the time when it comes to someone that have rubbed them the wrong way.

I propose a restrict/allow method along with this. Where we can leave it open for any user to use or we can specify 'helpers' (users we don't trust enough to give access to our users info, but users we trust enough to make a decision). This way we can just disallow it for users who're abusing it for personal vendettas.

And secondly, if a Mod takes a different route than what was recommended, the reporting member will feel slighted.

The route the moderator takes is their own judgement, this addition would just allow users to make a suggestion on what action to take. I know that on my forum, even if the moderator didn't take the recommended action then they wouldn't mind. I'm sure some users complain if a report they file doesn't get dealt with now, this won't change this IMO.

I have no doubt this will cause numerous PC's where Mods end up needing to explain why they chose to not follow a recommendation from a "seasoned veteran" when the option was there for them to make it.

I basically answered this above, the user makes a suggestion and the moderator takes the appropriate action. It helps users bond with the moderators and feel more integrated to the community. It would work well in my community and probably others too.

 

[Brandon_R]

Agreed, as this fits well into the social network theme.

Users Does The Moderating -> Moderators Performs The Actions.

 

[Peggy]

No I'm not.

Moderating actions should be left to moderators, not for members to suggest.

All members should do is report posts that contravene the site rules and then leave it to the mod team to do their job.

Even if a member suggests that a thread should be deleted, a moderator will still have to check it and decide on the best course of action so there is very little time and effort saved, if any.

All you will end up with is a group of wannabe moderators.

I'm afraid I have to agree with this.

 

[Paul B]

I'm afraid I have to agree with this.

Why afraid?

 

[Brandon_R]

Why afraid?

Yep, don't be, you are entitled to your opinion

 

[James]

No I'm not.

Moderating actions should be left to moderators, not for members to suggest.

All members should do is report posts that contravene the site rules and then leave it to the mod team to do their job.

Even if a member suggests that a thread should be deleted, a moderator will still have to check it and decide on the best course of action so there is very little time and effort saved, if any.

All you will end up with is a group of wannabe moderators.

You could make it usergroup based.

The moderator will still be perform the actions, the user would just feel like they have slightly more control over the posts that they feel violate rules.

The moderator will have to decide a course of action, yes, but certain posts you can see the action taken straight away and perform it without having to go to the post.
I don't even know if this is possible with the way Kier + Mike have done the moderation system, it's just a suggestion.

 

[---MAD---]

Some great ideas posted here.

 

[Grover]

I'm afraid I have to agree with this.

Me to.

 

[DaKat]

I'm afraid I have to agree with this.

Me three.

 

[Floris]

I think a tiered system is to be considered for this. Where as someone who's new and not involved in the community shouldn't be given access to anything beyond a "reason why you are reporting this". Where as someone who has experience with the community and who's judgement is based on "i know the ppl here" could be presented with additional tools to help the report be a bit more accurate.

However, while it's nice to have options like a dropdown to all the forums, I think mods have access to private forums, and users shouldn't be able to say "move to archive" when the archive is private. If that example makes sense.

Leave the clutter to vBulletin. Use simplicity to hide the complexity with XenForo.

Present the user with a radio button array for

(x) Is spam, ( ) Merge Request, ( ) Malicious User Report, ( ) Wrong Forum

Below the textarea. This way the user can post the url to the thread or the forum, or whatever they want. While the overview of the reported items can be sorted on spam/move/etc

It stays simple, it doesn't add clutter, and it's an easier overview for the mods who are dealing with things.

 

[James]

I think a tiered system is to be considered for this. Where as someone who's new and not involved in the community shouldn't be given access to anything beyond a "reason why you are reporting this". Where as someone who has experience with the community and who's judgement is based on "i know the ppl here" could be presented with additional tools to help the report be a bit more accurate.

However, while it's nice to have options like a dropdown to all the forums, I think mods have access to private forums, and users shouldn't be able to say "move to archive" when the archive is private. If that example makes sense.

Leave the clutter to vBulletin. Use simplicity to hide the complexity with XenForo.

Present the user with a radio button array for

(x) Is spam, ( ) Merge Request, ( ) Malicious User Report, ( ) Wrong Forum

Below the textarea. This way the user can post the url to the thread or the forum, or whatever they want. While the overview of the reported items can be sorted on spam/move/etc

It stays simple, it doesn't add clutter, and it's an easier overview for the mods who are dealing with things.

Nice alternative idea Floris that's what people love about you. You provide good alternatives.

The method I was suggesting would be usergroup based to only extend the report options to those who are familiar with how the board is ran.

 

[James]

Funnily enough, a moderator on my forum just suggested this feature (and no, I didn't persuade him )

 

[Paul B]

That is no different to what I posted earlier.
The moderator is asking for members being able to clarify which rule a post breaches, not which action to take.