# What happens when you flag a post?
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/what-happens-when-you-flag-a-post/20473
**Category:** Feature
**Created:** [2014年九月25日 19:49 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/what-happens-when-you-flag-a-post/20473 "2014-09-25T19:49:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@AdamCapriola](https://meta.discourse.org/u/AdamCapriola)
#### Post date: [2014年九月25日 19:49 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/what-happens-when-you-flag-a-post/20473/1 "2014-09-25T19:49:55Z")
I’m having trouble understanding what exactly happens or is expected to happen when posts get flagged. I have issues on my forums with users posting unhelpful, spammy content (not spam as in the sense that Discourse terms it – “This post is an advertisement.” – but as in it’s irrelevant drivel that distracts from the discussion at hand).
I flag their posts as “Off-Topic” most of the time and select “Take Action.” What I _think_ happens is their post is hidden and they get a message to revise or delete it. If the user makes any change to their message it seems to be accepted as ok and the flag goes away.
The user will usually delete their post, but sometimes they will only make a slight edit and their post is still worthy of flagging, except I can’t actually flag it again and can only send the user a message.
Am I following this correctly? It’s annoying me because users don’t seem to be understanding that receiving a flag is bad because they get rid of them so easily by making edits to their posts.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [2014年九月25日 20:19 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/what-happens-when-you-flag-a-post/20473/2 "2014-09-25T20:19:06Z")
> [@Understanding post flags in Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/t/so-what-exactly-happens-when-you-flag/275):
>
> bookmark 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. person_raising_hand Required user level: All users (Administrators and Moderators for some actions) Flagging posts is an essential moderation tool in Discourse forums. Flags help …
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### Author:  [@AdamCapriola](https://meta.discourse.org/u/AdamCapriola)
#### Post date: [2014年九月25日 20:45 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/what-happens-when-you-flag-a-post/20473/3 "2014-09-25T20:45:10Z")
Thanks, I’ll post my follow-up query in that topic instead. Feel free to close this.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [2014年九月25日 21:14 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/what-happens-when-you-flag-a-post/20473/4 "2014-09-25T21:14:25Z")