Having to goto a user profile to evaluate a past action can make it harder to find misses or potential mistakes.
Discourse is a very robust platform with many tools that can be used.
Locking a trust level on it’s own is not as robust as Silence and Suspend that have time based option to have the action complete and restore the user access.
Tools that can be used.in core.
Administrative procedures:
- Private category like Staff or create a special category(tags can also be used).
In the above use a scheduled post to notify an action is required to restore/unlock trust level after the decided time has past. This could be to also re evaluate to determine if the user’s behavior has improved.
Bookmarks can be used by the individual mod as well to remind themselves.
Imho both should be used as internal mechanisms. The first keeps all mods looped into site moderation operations.
Add plugin user notes and you have moderation note attached to the user that mod/admin can see in posts and open to view. This shows any silences, suspensions. And a moderator can add custom notes like warnings. This is a great supplementary feature when combined with a moderator staff category can create a robust system.
Calender aps or plugin can also be used as a reminder system to revisit and review.
The user being locked for what seems an excessive period of time could be simply a miss or may have reasons for it.
A Contribute > Feature request to add options to locking trust level to have a time duration option could be made and/or a Marketplace request to sponsor a Customization > Plugin if ppl want the feature sooner.
Moderator teams need to have regular communication meetings to review actions and procedures to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Using a committee structure is a good idea. A member who has violated rules should be discussed among the mod team and decide for example if a permanent suspension is warranted. Having a tiered system for “discipline” is also good. The tiered system that is outlined to members with static examples to illustrate can help clarity with membership.