When you first register to the forums, the system sends you a message (from my account) with the subject “Welcome to Dallas Makerspace Talk!”.
This message goes over some of the basics of using the forums (trust levels, posting, notification settings, etc). The “Actions” section has this to say about flags/bookmarks:
If you see a problem with someone’s post, privately let them, or our staff, know about it with the flag button. You can also share a link to a post, or bookmark it for later reference on your user page.
At the end of the welcome PM it has the following link to the FAQ/Guidelines page:
We believe in civilized community behavior at all times.
Additionally, the main page of the forums has a permanently stickied topic: READ FIRST: Welcome to the Dallas Makerspace
I suggest that anyone who hasn’t read the Welcome PM, the sticky and the FAQ/Guidelines do so, as they explain much of the system/processes. As for admin users, there is 1 admin user (myself), and 2 moderator users (@AlexRhodes and @LisaSelk). All moderator/admin actions are logged, and I get alerts for most things.
I fully expect that all users of this forums (including moderators) use the flagging system, as the entire point of the system is to let people know that their post was problematic in some way. The explanation in the “Post hidden due to community flagging” PM changes, based on the options selected when a posted was flagged. Those options are:
- It’s Off-Topic
- This post is not relevant to the current discussion as defined by the title and first post, and should probably be moved elsewhere.
- It’s Inappropriate
- This post contains content that a reasonable person would consider offensive, abusive, or a violation of our community guidelines.
- It’s Spam
- This post is an advertisement. It is not useful or relevant to the current topic, but promotional in nature.
- Message @username
- This post contains something I want to talk to this person directly and privately about. Does not cast a flag.
- Something Else
- This post requires moderator attention for another reason not listed above.
If your post is hidden, you can unhide it (as explained in the PM) simply by editing the post. If it gets hidden a second time, a moderator/admin has to step in if it was hidden incorrectly. Typically we only have to step in and unhide posts that the spam filter mistakenly hides, though even this is rare.
If your post gets flagged, this doesn’t mean you are banned, or you have a black mark on some kind of permanent record. It simply means that you should step back, look at what you posted and think about why others might have viewed it as off-topic, offensive/rude or spam-like. If you disagree, by all means, unhide your post.