this post was submitted on 13 May 2024
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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.
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 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.
For sure. Responding is the natural thing to do. But, for me at least, I end up reading every response and deciding if I’m safe to just remove the first reported comment, or every child comment, or a mix.
Maybe some mods just delete the parent comment and all children to keep it simple, but I try to weigh each response fairly.
Also depending on what it is responding can just make you into a target for harassment when/if that person comes back on a different account. Best to just avoid it and not make yourself known to them.
I'd add and don't be butt hurt if the Mod does not agree.
I’ve done that before and had mods threaten to ban me if I reported anyone again. Ironically, it was someone that was harassing and being uncivil that I was reporting. Like WAY worse than most comments I’ve seen removed. And this was on a fairly popular community here that is still around.
It’s not always so easy to assume that mods are going to be fair. Reporting people comes with a risk.
If you have that happen to you I recommend reaching out via DM either to your instance's admins or the admins of the server their community is on. Give them the context of the report and also explain how that mod reacted. If a mod acts like that they are very likely an abusive moderator, so make sure to let admins know about that.
If your description of the events is accurate: that's a shitty mod, and a good example of what I wrote in the last paragraph. We should be denouncing this sort of crap, and avoiding comms where it happens.
I'm not assuming that the mods are going to be fair. I'm taking into account that shitty mods do a favour to you when they out themselves, as they're basically showing you which comms to avoid.