With recent events hilighting the value of quality moderation, it got me to consider: How can we help you out?

What steps, considerations, encouragements or warnings would you give the userbase regarding best practices for using the report feature (or other interraction with mods)? Reporting less, reporting more, putting more detail in the form, or just leaving it blank?

I was thinking of maybe putting together a psa-style infographic (a la think before you post) if the answers you give are poignant or significantly unknown to the average user.

  • Ada@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    14·
    2 months ago

    So, the things I appreciate as an admin are

    a) Make sure you state whether it’s simply a matter of breaking community rules, or whether it needs an admins attention. As it stands now, admins see all reports made for all communities on our instances, which can be a lot. I leave reports for communities that I don’t moderate, but they then sit around until a moderator actions them. And the large incoming volume, plus the older ones hanging around can make it hard to tell at a glance which ones require an admins eyes.

    b) If it’s not immediately obvious from the reported post, tell us where to find the context we need to see why the post is a problem. “Look at posters history” / “Will make sense if you read the previous post” etc.

  • kersploosh@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    8·
    2 months ago

    Tangentially related: if you see something that needs to be addressed now, like CSAM or gore, notify an instance admin via Matrix. That tool can send push notifications, so you’re more likely to get a prompt response. Some instances also have public Matrix chats you can use.

    You can find the Matrix account info for Lemmy users by clicking the “Send Secure Message” button in a user’s profile.

    • Max-P@lemmy.max-p.meEnglish
      6·
      2 months ago

      Still report as well, it sends emails to the mods and the admins. Just make sure it’s identifiable at a glance, like just type “CSAM” or whatever 1-2 words makes sense. You can add details after to explain but it needs to be obvious at a glance, and also mods/admins can send those to a special priority inbox to address it as fast as possible. Having those reports show up directly in Lemmy makes it quicker to action or do bulk actions when there’s a lot of spam.

      It’s also good to report it directly into the Lemmy admin chat on Matrix as well afterwards, because in case of CSAM, everyone wants to delete it from their instance ASAP in case it takes time for the originating instance to delete it.

  • FireTower@lemmy.world
    English
    8·
    2 months ago

    Here’s a few on reports:

    -If you think it merits a report report it.

    -If you’re unsure if it breaks a rule DM a mod.

    -Idealy on a report write the rule # broken. If you’re typing past three sentences it’s may have unnecessary info.

    -If someone is breaking a “don’t be mean” rule, the answer isn’t for you to break it too.

    Here’s a few non report ways you can help:

    -Set a positive tone.

    -A lot of good posts/comments probably never get heard because people think it’s too lower effort or no one is interested.

    -Crosspost to related communities to help people find related communities.

  • Rimu@piefed.socialEnglish
    7·
    2 months ago

    Report AND downvote. Reports only go to your instance and the originating instance whereas downvotes go everywhere. Highly downvoted content will get noticed by someone, eventually.

    • livus@kbin.social
      1·
      2 months ago

      downvotes go everywhere

      Unless you’re in kbin.social, which doesn’t federate downvotes.

      That said it’s still handy for other kbin users and a good indication that it’s been reported already.

  • Onno (VK6FLAB)@lemmy.radioEnglish
    7·
    2 months ago

    I’ve noticed a sharp increase in spam and I’ve been reporting each one simply as “spam”.

    I then block the user

    Many of these posts have dozens of down votes.

    Several go back months, which I discover when a new variant turns up.

    I’m unsure if what I’m doing is helping or not, and as an ICT professional, I’m not sure why this obvious spam isn’t caught earlier.

    • Ada@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      6·
      2 months ago

      It’s helpful. The issue is the moderation with mass removal of content doesn’t always federate in ways that are obvious. And it was worse with older versions of lemmy.

      Report it, and at least your instance admins can remove it from your instance

  • Lvxferre@mander.xyzEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    If you’re in doubt if some content violates the rules, report it, and let the mods decide if it’s okay or not okay. That is not abuse of the report function.

    Include a short description on why you’re reporting some piece of content. Specially in larger comms, the mod queue can get really large. If reasonable mention the rule being violated; a simple “r1 off topic” goes a long way.

    Context is everything. If what a user said only sounds bad in a certain context, say it. If the user is clearly problematic due to their profile, say it.

    You’re probably better off not interacting with the content that you’re reporting.

    Don’t boss the other users around. It’s fine to be informative; it is not fine to act as a moderator when you are not one. If moderative intervention is necessary, report it.

    Stop giving shitty mods a free pass. Honest mistakes happen; but if the mod in question is assumptive, disingenuous, trigger-happy, or eager to enable certain shitty types of user, spread the word about their comm being poorly moderated. And don’t interact directly with the comm. I think that at least here in the Fediverse we should demand higher standards from our mods.