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.
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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.
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.
I then block the user
Is this not a slightly selfish action? It solves the problem for you, but doesn’t make the community better for everyone. I feel like blocking users should be reserved for issues like harassment, not spam.
Blocking spam is not selfish, no.
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.
You’re probably better off not interacting with the content that you’re reporting.
I’ll second this. Responding to the problematic content usually just leads to a lot more problematic content that the mods need to sort through.
Okay already glad I made this post as I have definitely erred in this regard several times!
I have definitely erred in this regard several times!
I think that everyone did this at least once, so don’t worry too much. Still, it’s less work for the mods if you don’t do it.
