Prevent content hidden by flags from being viewed

(Liza Conrad) #1

Is there is a way to customize the feature that allows content hidden by flags to be viewed?

For example, in our forum, I’d like to prevent content that has been hidden by flags from being viewed. We would assume that the post is inappropriate and therefore should not be accessible to users. This content could be made viewable after it is reviewed by a moderator or admin. We have users of many ages, and making sure that harmful content is not visible is super important.

Continuing the discussion from Flagged Contented that is Temporarily Hidden is still visible:

(Jeff Atwood) #2

Probably OK to have a site setting for this, I can see it as useful for some communities.

(eriko) #3

Was something like this ever implemented?
Would it be possible to use something like Spoiler Alert on the titles so that you would have to actively look to see the title?

(Jeff Atwood) #4

Good point eriko there is still a minor loophole around offensive topic titles… as the first post is hidden, but the topic title is not.

The underlying feature request is still valid, but I’d like to hear from @Liza_Conrad how often this problem comes up – that is, a hidden post is so awful that even clicking the

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

View hidden content.

… is an unacceptable risk.

(eriko) #5

We are currently have the “is so awful” issue. That said I do not agree with the people making the assessment that something is so awful that it should not be seen. We are having some push from above that people are being made uncomfortable by seeing things they do not agree with and that flagging should go back to fully hiding things.

(I am trying very hard not to be sarcastic about this and send them off the something awful to get them some context)

(edit: spelling)

(Mittineague) #6

While true that hidden content can be viewed, it requires a “click” to see it.

Seems to me it’s an “If you don’t want to see it, don’t look” thing, no?

(Jeff Atwood) #7

… unless the offensive part is in the topic title. Flagging the topic can’t hide that, it only hides the content of the first post in the topic.

(cpradio) #8

But unlisting it would, wouldn’t it? I thought if the first post was hidden, it auto-unlisted, but maybe it doesn’t?

(Jeff Atwood) #9

No, it doesn’t in my testing on try.discourse.org. It is possible that’s a regression, but I honestly can’t remember.

(cpradio) #10

Seems to be a regression then?

(Jeff Atwood) #11

Nope, read more closely:

created a topic with no replies and flagged the OP to oblivion

(cpradio) #12

Yeah, wasn’t sure what the conditions were for when we started talking about OP. As originally I thought we were talking replies with bad content, and those scenarios are fine.

But if the OP is bad, wouldn’t they flag that instead of replying to it? Anyway, manually unlisting it would sort of stop it from being viewed. But I’m not sure I see much value keeping a derogatory topic title around, why not have a mod edit it (or TL 3 for that matter)? Or Delete it?

(Jeff Atwood) #13

We simply don’t know; maybe there was a single word in the first post that was offensive, and the title is fine. Flagging the topic could be complaining about the first post body or the title, or both…