GamingFora

• Section Mod: Section mods can manage/move/merge threads and moderate within their assigned forum sections.
• Moderators: Moderators have access to moderator report queue, warning system, manage/move/merge threads in all forum sections.
• Super Moderators: Super moderators have all the same access as moderators, while also having the ability to edit/delete/undelete forum items, and edit user profiles.

The “Active reports” tab (near the upper left-hand corner of the site) will show all open (unresolved) reports. You can tell if the report has been assigned to a moderator if you see a labZXel “Assigned (moderator name)” to the right of the report title. If there is no label, then the report has not been assigned.

You can open a report by clicking on its title. Once opened, at the top, you will see a copy of the reported item with any comments, status, and information beneath it. 

Click to view the actual content and take action if needed. 

If you feel capable of resolving the issue, you can assign it to yourself, changing the status, and/or adding comments as the situation is dealt with. This keeps all staff members informed at all times

Once an issue is resolved, you can mark the report as “Resolved” in the options shown within the report. After the item is set to Resolved it will move from the queue and into the “Closed reports” tab.

Assign: The report is pending. A certain moderator has been asked to or is working on it.

Rejected: The report was removed, but no action was needed.

Resolved: Action has been taken and is completed.

When we have alerts in the approval queue, found near the upper left-hand corner of the site, it is much easier than it looks like at first glance.

You will see "StopForumSpam matched". Beside it, it will give reasons for what caused it to be flagged as possible spam. In this case, it gave us 3 reasons: username, email, and the IP address. With all 3 reasons being flagged, this is very likely spam, and I would likely choose the spam clean option. If it had only said the username was flagged as spam, that is not enough for me to reject this.

You may also see Akismet which scans for posting anomalies. Over time, this tool will learn from the actions we take for specific flagged posts and adjust to adapt to them accordingly.

How do we decide? We use our best judgment at the time. If we choose to approve one, and we are wrong, it isn't a big deal because if they do end up posting spam, we can simply ban them as spam at that time.

Handling A Full Approval Queue Quickly

1. Review and approve those that appear to be blatantly false alerts. 
2. If everything else left on the page appears to be spam, you can now scroll down to the bottom of the queue and bulk remove them by clicking “Choose action” and selecting “Spam Clean” and then click “Save”.

Warnings (also known as infractions with some platforms) can be issued when a member has violated the community rules.

Click on the 3 dots near the timestamp and select Warn.

Alternatively, you can hover over the member’s avatar to the left of the post. Click the 3 vertical dots and scroll down to warn.

If the warning is related to a member’s profile (such as a signature or avatar rule violation) you can access the warning from the member’s profile page. Click on Moderator tools. Select warn from the drop-down menu.

• Add a checkmark to the warning type or select a custom warning.
• Warning points and the expiry time are automated but can be adjusted if needed.
• Add notes regarding why the warning has been issued.

• Scroll down to member notification and add a checkmark to Start a conversation with.
• Add a title to the conversation (private message) that will be sent. 
• Add a message, explaining why the warning has been issued.
• Scroll down to content action. Add a checkmark to “delete the content” if necessary.
• I recommend against posting a public warning.
• Click the warn button at the bottom to send.

Offense	Description	1st Offense	2nd Offense	3rd Offense
Inappropriate Content	Does not follow site rules. E.g. adult content, violent/graphic images	Warning*-  4 points	Warning- 10 points	Warning- up to 100 points
Inappropriate Behavior	Aggression, trolling, rudeness, threats of violence, PM attacks, controversial subjects, bashing, public arguments, or policing against policy	Warning*- 15 point	Warning- 30 points	Warning- up to 100 points
Inappropriate Language	Vulgarity, racism, personal attacks, abusive language, hate speech	Warning*- 4 points	Warning- 10 points	Warning- up to 100 points
Inappropriate Advertising / Spam	External links, commercial posting or company advertising, soliciting without vendor status, recruiting members for other communities, or abusing affiliate links	Warning*-  10 points Escalate	Warning- 30 points	Spam Ban
Personal Information Exploit	Contact info, real names, aka Doxing, harassment of a member, attempts to deplatform and member or the site	Warning- 15 points	Warning- 30 points	Warning- up to 100 points
Disruption -Off-topic / Post Hijacking	User is replying to a thread asking a different question to the original question or suggestion on the first post. Prevalent in marketplace/classifieds and build threads	Warning- 4 points	Warning- 10 points	Warning- 30 points
Repeat Offense	Blatant or excessive disregard and not following previous warning	Warning- 84 points	n/a	n/a
Improper Use of the Post Reporting System	Spamming or overuse of the tool, misusing the forum software features for personal gain at the detriment of usability	Warning- 1 point	Warning- 10 points	Warning- 30 points
Scamming, Phishing	Buying or selling before permitted number of posts, using the classifieds to bypass classified rules, breaking on site classifieds rules, requiring payment as “friends & family”	Warning- 10 points	Warning- up to 100 points	n/a
Illegal Content	Threats of terroism, child pornography, or human trafficking, any activity that violates local or international law	Warning**- 100 points Quarantine & Escalate	n/a	n/a
Moderator Actions:  Warning: Utilize the Warning tool to issue a Warning to the user with the designated point number. (Warning* should be set to expire after 30 days, Warning** should be set to never expire and all other warnings should expire after 1 year). Warnings should also include a private message reminding about the Rules of Conduct, indicating the offense and thread. Spam Ban: Ban a member using the “Spam” button on their profile Quarantine: Move the thread to the quarantine area to preserve as evidence.   Escalation: Immediately contact the Admin via PM. If response is not received within a timely manner, submit a ticket via Contact Us selecting the most appropriate option All point totals should be seen as minimum requirements and in cases of extreme violation, take additional action as appropriate.
Automatic actions based on a member’s points: 5 points or more is a 1 day suspension, 10 points or more is a 3 day suspension, 15 points or more is a 7 day suspension, 30 points or more is a 14 day ban,  100 points or more is a permanent ban
Considerations: Severity: How bad was the infraction? Do they have a history of this behavior? Post Count: How prolific is the poster? Are the majority of their posts in the topical areas of the site, or do they seem to be here just to troll off-topic? Account Age: How long has the user been with us? Does the community consider them a core member?

If a user repeatedly violates forum rules or has committed an offense you feel requires intervention, please post the situation in the staff forum and discuss it with other mods. The team can decide together (as needed) what action to take.

You can access the ban option by hovering over the member’s avatar to the left of the post. Click the 3 vertical dots and scroll down to “ban member”.

Alternatively, you can access the ban option on a member’s profile. Click moderator tools to open the drop-down menu and select ban member from the list.

• Select the ban length and add the date the ban will be lifted, if applicable.
• Add the exact reason why the member was banned.
• Click to save when you are done.

There are multiple ways to remove a spammer, along with their posts.

If you are seeing the spam in a post you can simply click on the 3 dots near the timestamp and select the Spam option from the drop-down menu.

Alternatively, you can hover over the member’s avatar to the left of the post. Click the 3 vertical dots and scroll down to spam in the drop-down menu.

You can also access the spam option on a member’s profile. Click moderator tools to open the drop-down menu and select spam.

With all of the above methods, once you click spam you will see a screen pop up. Click Clean to automatically delete the spammer’s threads, messages, and conversations. The member will automatically be banned at the same time.

There are a few ways a moderator can stick/unstick a discussion thread. 

If a thread already exists: 

1. Open the thread 
2. Click Thread Tools icon (three dots like: ⋮ ) at the top right of the thread. 
3. Then select the “Stick” option from the dialog box.   

The thread will now be a sticky in the forum.  

To unstick, follow steps 1-2, then select the “Unstick” option. 

For a new thread: 

1. Create a new thread. 
2. Beneath the posting area and buttons, you will find an options section. Next to “Set thread status”, ensure the checkbox for “Sticky” is ticked. 
3. Save the thread and options by clicking “Post thread”   

To stick a thread from forum view:

1. Navigate to the threads list within a forum. 
2. Tick the checkbox that is on the right side of the thread you want stick/unstick. 
3. You will see a pop up appear at the bottom of the page with a choose action option. Choose the “Stick thread” option. 
4. Click “Go” to save

If a thread already exists: 

1. Open the thread. 
2. Click Thread Tools icon (three dots like: ⋮ ) at the top left of the thread. 
3. Select the “Edit Thread” option. 
4. To lock a thread from being posted in, remove the tick (this will lock the thread) from the checkbox next to Open. Then click save changes. 

If you wish to reopen a thread that's been locked, simply follow the same steps and tick the checkbox next to Open and save. 

For a new thread: 

1. Create a new thread. 
2. Beneath the posting area and buttons, you will find an options section. To not allow replies to a thread (Lock the thread) ensure the checkbox for Open is not ticked. 
3. Save the thread and options by clicking “Post thread”   

Lock a thread from forum view:

1. Navigate to the threads list within a forum. 
2. Tick the checkbox that is on the left side of the thread you want lock/unlock. 
3. You will see a pop up appear at the bottom of the page with a choose action option. Choose either “Lock Threads” or “Unlock Threads”. 
4. Click “Go” to save.

In the post, add a checkmark in the box near the timestamp. At the bottom of your screen, you will see some options pop up. Click on choose action and select move post(s). Click GO

The next screen will allow you to create a new thread with the post along with a destination or you can add it to an existing thread. You can also notify the user as to why it was moved.

Make sure to click Move when you are done.

Click on the 3 vertical dots near the thread title. Select Move Thread from the drop-down menu. 

On the new screen that opens, select which forum you want to move the thread to, using the drop arrow to select another forum section.

Make sure to click Save when you are done.

Step 1. Make sure the threads are in the same forum.

Step 2. Open the actual forum section. Add a checkmark to the threads that need to be merged. Near the bottom, you will see a place that says "choose action" when you click on it, more options will open. Select "merge threads" and click go.

Step 3. It automatically chooses the oldest thread as the destination. Click to notify the member.

Click to merge.

If you are merging 2 posts in the same thread, add a checkmark in the box next to the timestamp in each post, then follow the same directions.

Near the title of a thread, click on the 3 vertical dots and select “edit thread”.

You can now change the title and save it.

Occasionally you may come across an image that doesn’t necessarily violate the rules but may not be appropriate for all users. You can control this when needed by clicking on moderate images, near the timestamp in the post.

Using the drop-down menu you can select NSFW (Not safe for work.) and click to update.

Once you have done this, if you refresh the page you will see the image has been replaced with a special NSFW notice that members can choose to “show content”.

Sometimes you may notice a few new members who seem to have started at the same time that may appear to be trolls or spammers. When in doubt, you can see it more than one member shares the same IP address.

If you are in a thread, you can hover (or click on a mobile device) over the member’s avatar next to their post. Select shared IPs from the drop-down list.

You can also access this on a member’s profile. Click the moderator tools and select shared IPs from the drop-down list.

This will open a new window that will include any matched users.

Please use caution with this as sometimes matched users can be as simple as 2 members using the same coffee shop WIFI. This is only an added tool for investigating spam.

There may be times when a moderator needs to be able to make minor edits to a member’s profile. Reasons might include an avatar or signature violates community rules.

From the member’s profile page, click moderator tools. Select edit from the drop-down menu.

In most cases, it is best to just remove the content that is a violation of community rules.

When you are reading a thread, you will see a green dot on the avatar of those who are online.

If you want to see everyone who is currently online (depending on their settings) you can find this information on the members page.

On the forum listing page or on any forum sections, you will see a Top Contributors box in the sidebar. Click on View All.

This will bring you to the Members page with options in the left sidebar, including who is online.

You can also search to find a member.

There is also a section that displays the newest members.

In an effort to provide a welcoming and diverse community, we wanted to reach out to you separately to provide an overview of a new visual treatment and account settings for sensitive image content. Different types of members like to engage in a variety of discussions and share opinions. We welcome healthy communication and the development of connections between members & guests with similar interests and beliefs.

However, we also believe that all members should be able to have greater control over the type of content they engage with and try to personalize their experience within the community. We also want to ensure a safer environment for those audience members under the age of 18 years.

Therefore, we are employing the latest in machine learning and AI technology to review images and rank them according to adult, racy, violent and medical content. If an image ranks at the highest for any of these categories, it may get a “click to reveal” cover added to the image. Clicking on “Show Content” will load the image as intended.

Members can also go into their “Account Settings → Preferences” to change their option to always show sensitive and/or mature content. This will provide members with the most flexibility.

Please let us know if you have any questions. We look forward to providing a community platform that works for all types of members.

To change your setting take the following steps

Clicking on your avatar in the upper right corner of any page will bring up quick access to all your user options, select Account Settings.

Once you are in your account settings, located on the left-hand side you will see your account settings navigation go to Preferences.

Once you are in your preference settings you will see the option to Show sensitive and/or mature content. Content not recommended for those under 18 toggle as desired.

Make sure to save your settings at the bottom of the page when you are done.

Please be assured that we are NOT changing your community rules with this. Whatever is unacceptable to post in the community now, will still not be acceptable.

The option is there to protect the site and all types of users who want to be part of the forum. There are many situations that require this function to be available.

This isn't only for registered users, it allows guests & users to view the site without having to view NSFW content. Not everyone highlights that content is NSFW in a thread, so users who may be in a public place or viewing the forum with young children in the room can be assured that content is being monitored and can browse with some assurance.

It also allows the page to be indexed by google as a safe page and will be ranked properly. The internet and how it manages content is changing if you want a site to stay relevant then you need to be part of that change.

NSFW content is not about your age only some people are sensitive to that content, it doesn't just block sexual content, violent and medial content are also blocked, some people don't like to see blood, some people don't want to see violence, everyone is different, but making a forum a safe place for everyone is something that should be in all our best interests.