A GUIDE TO POST REPORTING - FAQ
What IS a "post report" ?
A post report is an RYL members' way of helping to keep this website safe and welcoming for everyone, by alerting the RYL moderators to posts or threads on the forums that may be breaking the
RYL Rules.
How do I send a post report?
For a post or thread that you want to report to the mods, look for the "report" button that appears underneath the member's avatar of the post that you want to report. It looks like this -> Click on that "report" button, and you will be given a basic report form where you will be asked to include a "reason" for reporting that post / thread.
What happens to my post report?
When you send in a post report, the moderators automatically get a new thread posted in their forum. This thread includes
the link to the post / thread that you reported, as well as
the reason you gave for why you are reporting it.
Depending upon the reason you gave in your post report, and a moderator's initial review of the post/thread, it will be dealt with in one of three ways ->
Firstly, if the post / thread that is reported is
a clear breach of the RYL Rules and definitely needs moderator action (ie - editing, deleting, moving into another forum etc) then it will be dealt with by the first mod who reads the post report
(as long as they have mod abilities in that forum eg - not an ED specialist mod for a non ED forum.) Further action will then be discussed by the moderators to decide if they feel that this particular rule break is serious enough to warrant infraction points given to the member who posted the post / thread.
In the second scenario - if the post / thread that is reported
is borderline with regards to breaking the RYL Rules (ie - the mods arent sure or disagree as to whether it breaks the rules), then the mods will discuss how they feel about the post and what they think should happen to it. Once a majority of the mods can agree to a certain decision, then action will be taken on the post report .... and again if infraction points are required, then these will be issued.
The third possibility is that the mods will read the post report but think that
no action is needed as the post does not break any RYL rules. In this instance, the person who sent us the post report will be sent a PM by one of the mods who has dealt with the post report. This PM from a mod will explain why the post report was not acted upon.
However - if you do receive a PM from a mod to tell you that your post report was not acted upon,
please do not let this discourage you from sending in future post reports, as the moderating team would rather you were over cautious as opposed to not sending in anything at all.
So what should I write in my post report?
The main answer to this is that a post report should include
your reasons for why you think the post breaks the rules of this website and might need reviewing by the moderators.
Please bear in mind that the mods have dealt with lots of post reports in their time at RYL, and are therefore quite familiar with the rules of this website and how they apply to posts / threads / images etc on RYL. For this reason, please try not to tell the mods what needs to be done, but instead nicely explain your reasons for reporting the post and let the mods take it from there. Remember happy mods = a happy forum.
Also, if you think that an entire thread might need to be watched, you can send a post report to the first post in that thread and write in your post report reason that that you think the thread might need to be watched.
What should i do if i see a friend of mine breaking the rules?
The answer to this is simple, you should report them anyway. It is always best to play on the safe side and get the mods to check out the post, as your friend's post/thread could cause more damage to other members if left unchanged for longer.
When you report your friend's post, only the moderators will get notified of this post report and who sent it ... and your friend will not know his/her post was reported unless the moderators take action on it.
And all of the moderators have agreed to always keep confidential the identity of those members who send us post reports, so you don't need to worry about your friend finding out from the mods that you've post reported them.
Even if the mods do take action on your post report and your friend gets his/her post dealt with by the mods or receives a penalty, the mods
still wont reveal the identity of those members who have sent us post reports - even if we are asked specifically. So while your friend may suspect that someone at RYL post reported their post/thread, they will
never find out for certain about this from the only people who really know for sure - that is - the RYL moderators.
I have written a post but I'm not sure if i have broken any rules, what should i do?
If you have written a post that you think breaks the rules, then you can always post report
yourself, tell the mods in your post report reason why you are post reporting yourself, and then a moderator can look over your post and check it for you. Someone from the moderating team will then either reply to you via pm and let you know what the mods think about your post ... or if your post clearly breaks a rule, then the mods will edit it.
Are the mods all Robots?
The answer to this question is a big NO. Please remember that the moderators joined this site for the same sort of reasons that most of you have joined RYL. This means that mods often have their own difficulties and bad days to deal with.
And while the moderators will always do their best to stay calm and treat all members respectfully, RYL mods are only human, and so sometimes they may say the wrong thing and upset another person, or sometimes they may get a bit narky if they feel that someone is trying to tell them what to do .... and try as they may to keep this inside, you may occasionally see this leaking out in a PM or a post from a mod on occasion. Remember the mods are regular people with problems just like you .... and so they do get upset, triggered, and bothered by certain things.
But basically ... treat the mods with respect and courtesy, and the mods will do the same for you.
I think someone's username/avatar/signature breaks the rules, and i cant see a "report" button for these things - what should I do?
If you find someone's username, signature or avatar triggering or you think it goes against the rules, then find a post that this person has posted on RYL and then use the report button in that post. Clearly state in the "reason" section in your post report exactly what it is that you are reporting - eg - the person's username, or their signature image.
If the user has not made any posts that you can report, then you can send a PM (Private Message) to a moderator with a link to their profile and your reasons for reporting them, and the mod team will debate the matter and either ensure that it is changed or get back to you with the reasons why it has not been changed.
Please be patient with the mods, as for matters as personal to members as their username choice or their RYL avatar/signature, these issues can take some time to sort out as the mods may need to contact a number of different people in order to make these changes and to come to an agreeable solution for the member in question.
tl;dr
Anything that you think could be against the rules, just press report and write a quick message about what has bothered you. Then the mods will take a look and decide what, if anything, needs to be done.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many thanks to Liz / [purple_rain] for coming up with the idea to create this Guide to Post Reporting, and for starting the ball rolling with all her ideas for what to be included in this Guide.
Additional thanks go to -
* Kim /bitter_angel for putting all the hard work in and writing up the initial draft of this Guide to Post reporting
* Amaryllis for editing and adding some extra bits in there ...
.... and all the other mods for their input and feedback!
And thanks to you guys for asking your questions about post reports, and for continuing to send the post reports to the mods - they are very helpful thank you!