# Flagging a post for moderator attention

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/flagging-a-post-for-moderator-attention/32783
**Category:** Using Discourse
**Tags:** moderation, how-to, interface
**Created:** [September 1, 2015, 1:06pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/flagging-a-post-for-moderator-attention/32783 "2015-09-01T13:06:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 1

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### Author: ![Discourse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/discourse/32/148734_2.png) [@Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Discourse)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2015, 1:06pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/flagging-a-post-for-moderator-attention/32783/1 "2015-09-01T13:06:05Z")

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> 🔖 This guide explains how to flag a post for moderator attention in Discourse, when you should use this feature, and what happens after a post is flagged.
> 
> 🙋 Required user level: Trust Level 1 or higher

Flagging is an important moderation tool in Discourse. It helps maintain a civil and productive discussion environment by allowing users to report inappropriate content without derailing the conversation.

## When to flag a post

Flag a post when you encounter content that:

- Is off-topic or derails the conversation
- Violates the [community guidelines](https://meta.discourse.org/guidelines)
- Contains spam or promotional material
- Is inappropriate or offensive

## How to flag a post

1. Locate the post you want to flag
2. Click the flag icon (🚩) at the bottom of the post
3. Choose one of the following options:
  - Send a personal message to the user
  - Flag as Off-Topic
  - Flag as Inappropriate
  - Flag as Spam
  - Flag as Illegal
  - Flag as Something Else

 ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/1/c/0/1c039d55b94dd5eca9ce9996f987910bf8b3e617.png)

\*Note that your specific forum may have some different options in this screen - flagging options are customizable by forum admins.

## What happens after flagging

- Moderators are notified and can review the flagged post in their review queue
- If no action is taken within 48 hours, all moderators receive an automatic private message
- Posts that accumulate enough flags will be automatically hidden based on the site’s `hide post sensitivity` setting — the required score depends on the number and weight of flags, not a fixed count
- A staff member can use the “Take Action” button to hide a post immediately
- Users whose posts are hidden due to flags receive a private message notification
- After 10 minutes, the user can edit their hidden post to unhide it
- If the post receives enough flags again after editing, it will be hidden again and cannot be unhidden by editing

## Consequences of receiving flags

- New (Trust Level 0) users who receive enough spam flags from enough different users will be automatically silenced, preventing them from posting — this is controlled by the `silence new user sensitivity` and `num users to silence new user` (default 3) settings
- Users with 5 or more flags on their posts cannot reach Trust Level 3
- Only flags from the last 100 days count towards the Trust Level 3 restriction
- Staff-approved flags are the only ones that count towards these limits

## Automatic topic closure

A topic that accumulates enough flag score from at least 5 different users (controlled by `num flaggers to close topic` and `auto close topic sensitivity` settings) will be automatically closed until moderators can review it.

> ℹ Note: The values mentioned in this guide are default settings. Administrators can adjust these in the site settings.

> Last edited by @Moin 2024-07-31T07:14:17Z
> 
> Last checked by @hugh 2024-07-02T05:06:37Z
> 
> > **Check document**
> >
> > Perform check on document:

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