Moderation flags

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:bookmark: This guide explains how to moderate and manage flags within Discourse, including system flags and custom flags, as well as actions required to add, reorder, or disable them.

:person_raising_hand: Required user level: Administrator

Moderating flags in Discourse

Flags are essential for maintaining community standards and managing content within Discourse. This guide outlines the available flags, how to manage them, and the steps to add custom flags for tailored moderation.

Summary

This documentation covers:

  • Overview of system flags
  • Management of custom flags
  • Procedures for moderating flags through the Discourse admin interface

System flags

Discourse provides the following system flags by default:

  1. Send username a message
  2. Off-Topic
  3. Something Else
  4. Illegal
  5. Spam
  6. Inappropriate

You can change position or disable these flags but cannot edit or delete them.

Managing custom flags

Custom flags offer additional flexibility for moderation. To manage flags you have to visit /admin/config/flags

Moderation flag interface
Moderation flag interface2662×1716 431 KB

Adding a custom flag

  1. Click the “Add Flag” button.
  2. Fill in the details:
  • Name: A unique identifier for the flag.
  • Description: (Optional) A brief explanation of the flag’s purpose.
  • Display this flag on: Choose whether the flag is applicable to posts, topics, or chat messages (if the chat plugin is enabled).
  • Prompts users to provide additional reasons: Decide if the user should provide extra details when using this flag.
  • Enable this custom flag after saving: Decide if flag should be active.

create flag form
create flag form1962×1262 134 KB

Change position or destroying custom flags

To change position of the flag or destroy it, you have to click the “…” icon.

additional options for flags
additional options for flags1964×420 37.8 KB

Best practices

  • Clear definitions: Ensure that all flags, especially custom ones, have clear and descriptive names and purposes.
  • Regular review: Periodically review flags to ensure they remain relevant and useful.
  • Disable unused flags: Unused or irrelevant flags should be disabled to avoid clutter.

Common issues and solutions

  • Cannot delete used flags: System and custom flags that have been previously used cannot be deleted. Instead, you can only disable them.
  • Missing custom flag options: Ensure you have appropriate administrative permissions to create or modify custom flags.

Last edited by @hugh 2024-09-09T06:38:35Z

Last checked by @hugh 2024-09-09T06:38:45Z

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8 Likes
2

“auto hide” for a custom moderation flag can be enabled using the rails console:

Flag.find(1001).update!(auto_action_type: true)
3

Has the disabling of flags been tested with the Discobot tutorial? A few years ago we hid some flags with CSS because they were not applicable, however the Discobot tutorial soft locked because of this. At some point the tutorial asked the user to flag a message, but in our instance they couldn’t because we’d hidden that flag. Sadly we had to disable the tutorial.

If Discobot doesn’t soft lock when only the “it’s illegal” flag is enabled, then we might be able to re-enable the tutorial by adopting this version :slight_smile:

4

I think you can use a similar workaround, like when you Disable Likes
So, instead of asking the user to flag the post, you can ask them to reply ‘skip’

2 Likes
5

Ahh you’re right. You even told me that last time :sweat_smile:

I’ll put it on the todo list and give it a try at some point :slight_smile: