This guide describes what happens when a post is flagged in a Discourse forum. It covers various flag scenarios, including single and multiple flags, along with their impacts on posts and users. This information is particularly relevant for administrators, moderators, and users with a high trust level.
Required user level: All users (Administrators and Moderators for some actions)
Flagging posts is an essential moderation tool in Discourse forums. Flags help maintain community standards by allowing users to report inappropriate content. When a post is flagged, it enters a review process that involves several possible automatic and manual actions.
Summary
This documentation covers:
- The flagging process
- Actions triggered by single and multiple flags
- Impact on trust level 0 users
- How editing flagged posts works
- Automatic topic closure due to multiple flags
- Additional considerations and best practices
Flagging process
When a user flags a post, several actions can occur:
Single flag actions
When a single user flags a post:
- The post appears in the review queue.
- Staff and category moderators can review the flagged content.
- Actions available to the staff include:
- Agreeing with the flag.
- Disagreeing with the flag.
- Ignoring the flag.
- Hiding the post, triggering an automatic private message (PM) to the user encouraging an edit.
- Silencing the user.
- Suspending the user.
- Deleting the post.
When
high_trust_flaggers_auto_hide_postsis enabled (the default), a single spam flag from a Trust Level 3+ user will automatically hide a Trust Level 0 user’s post.
Multiple flag actions
If a post receives multiple flags before staff handles it:
- The post is automatically hidden when the accumulated flag score exceeds a threshold determined by the
hide_post_sensitivitysite setting. Flag scores are calculated based on the flagger’s trust level and flagging accuracy — higher trust users contribute more score per flag. - Different views:
- The post author sees a message indicating the post was flagged by the community.
- The community sees a message that the post is temporarily hidden.
- Staff sees the actual post dimmed to indicate it is hidden for others.
- A friendly PM is sent to the author explaining the next steps, indicating that editing can un-hide the post.
Editing flagged posts
- Author edits flagged post: The post is immediately un-hidden and remains in the review queue for moderation.
-
Author does not edit flagged post: The post stays hidden indefinitely unless a moderator intervenes. If the
delete_old_hidden_postssetting is enabled (the default), hidden posts are automatically deleted after 30 days.
Re-flagging a post
If a post hidden by flags is flagged again after being edited, the flags require manual handling by a moderator. No further automatic editing opportunities are given to the user.
Automatic topic closure
If the accumulated flag score across a topic exceeds the auto_close_topic_sensitivity threshold, and the flags come from at least num_flaggers_to_close_topic unique users (default: 5), the topic closes automatically for num_hours_to_close_topic hours (default: 4), pending moderator review. This helps prevent heated discussions from escalating.
New users and spam flags
- Users below Trust Level 1 are new and less trusted.
- If a user below Trust Level 1 receives spam flags from at least
num_users_to_silence_new_userunique users (default: 3) and the accumulated spam score exceeds thesilence_new_user_sensitivitythreshold, the user will be automatically silenced, preventing further posting until a moderator reviews the flags.
Best practices
- Encourage users to flag inappropriate content responsibly.
- Regularly review flagged posts to ensure swift and appropriate actions.
- Educate your community about the flagging process to foster a proactive moderation culture.
Common issues and solutions
Q: Do likes affect flags?
A: No, a flagged post will be hidden regardless of the number of likes.
Q: Can users who flag see who else flagged the post?
A: No, only moderators can see who flagged a post. This protects user privacy.
Q: How quickly do flags need to be applied to prevent email notifications?
A: Flags must be applied rapidly to prevent email notifications. This depends on the site’s email notification settings.
FAQs
Q: Can non-moderators retract their flags?
A: Yes, users can retract their own flags within the post_undo_action_window_mins window (default: 10 minutes). After this window expires, only moderators can resolve the flag.
Q: Does editing flagged posts override admin site settings for minimum trust level to edit?
A: No, flagged posts follow specific flag settings regardless of the site-wide edit settings.
Additional resources
- Discourse Moderation Guide
- Notification to flagger(s) when a flagged post is edited?
- How can you undo a flag?
Last edited by @hugh 2024-06-18T02:42:28Z
Last checked by @hugh 2024-06-18T02:42:35Z
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