Importance of Reporting

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

It's no secret that reporting/sending in support tickets is something around this forum that isn't done as much as it should be. Whether it be laziness, inability to discern whether or not something is worth reporting or not, or you just "don't care." The staff have expressed how important it is to report bad content and send in a support ticket for a technical issue that you see. Yet, it fails to be done in many cases.

 

Reporting is very simple and usually takes no more than 30 seconds. Its simple, easy layout makes it possible to make a report on a post without even touching your keyboard, shown here.

 

There are kinds of posts we all don't like seeing; whether it be NSFW, abusive behavior, whatever it may be. If you look at a post you don't like, don't just ignore it and leave the thread. Report it!

 

Here's a question I asked Feld0:

 

[10:04:30 PM] Chris: If we see something that we don't know if it would be considered bad or not, you still want us to report, right?
[10:05:55 PM] Feld0: Yes.
[10:05:57 PM] Feld0: When in doubt, report.
[10:06:09 PM] Feld0: Worst-case scenario, nothing will be done about it.
[10:06:43 PM] Feld0: Use a report to tell the moderation team to make the call on whether it is bad or not.
[10:07:39 PM | Edited 10:07:54 PM] Feld0: That is actually what all reports are... a request to make the moderation team make a call on a piece of content. Moderators are never to treat reports as instructions, but merely calls to attention.

 

As you can see, there's no harm in reporting anything. You aren't annoying the staff, just notifying them about something which could potentially be a harm. It also helps keep this place clean and also rids the topics of the things you don't want to see.

 

---

 

Now, a question.

 

Is it a possibility that we could somehow put the importance of reporting somewhere where all members can be ensured to see it? Perhaps a topic in Canterlot Castle that isn't buried behind many more topics?

Here's What I said:

 

"It's just that something concerning reports more put up in a spotlight rather than ToS. And, if we are talking completely literal, thirty seconds might not be enough to gather all the member's attention. People are impatient and when they see the words "Terms of Service" they usually infer that it's just generic "don't do this or that" stuff.  Terms of Service, also, usually aren't something that people go and reread after they're done. A bit of the ToS might have been forgotten by the members since, in their excitement and rush to get on the forums, they sort of skim through the rules rather than taking a long time to read through them thoroughly. I was just thinking that, perhaps something much more in the spotlight could remind members that they should report? Also, in the ToS it seems to only explain when you need to report and how. The emphasis in how helpful reports are doesn't seem to be at all in there as much as reporting is really needed."

Edited January 18, 2013 by Scootabloom

[Marcato 2,143]

I could not agree with this post more. I frequently see people making outright claims that should be discussed with staff in private. Many people just go to their status updates before support tickets.

 

In addition I also agree with making the "Please report" more obvious. Unfortunately that's difficult to improve on any more than it already has. The ToS, like you said, is something many people do not read. (Guilty!) There's a thread in Canterlot about reporting, and Canterlot is basically the most important section.

 

What I wonder, is if maybe a rules or reporting thread/link could be made as an announcement; something seen on all boards and forums and sections. It might make it a little easier to find and will show to people that don't really touch Canterlot.

 

I've always tried to report even when I was unsure, no matter how nervous it made me about the staff's disapproval. I realized pretty quickly they appreciated it. (except a certain ex-mod whom I shall not name)

 

Oh, also, something I was told a while back about reporting...

If a user breaks the rules in a place such as a status comment or other location that normally doesn't have a report option... Report the member and point to said violating content. This was something I learned in the days of the chat, and it's a good way to do it.

 

Anyways, that's just my input and a few things i've been told myself about reporting. Hopefully there will be an increase in reports with a little motivation.

[NavelColt 22,877]

If I may be so bold, I believe sometimes people see something of theirs, or something belonging to someone else get posted, and then that post or thing has a moderation action taken upon it. These people then see these other posts that don't get moderated when they believe they should have. These observers then look over these situations and come to the conclusion that it's staff favoritism or bias. I'm not about to endorse that the staff has zero favoritism or bias. We're human. It's going to happen. But at least in my experience, it seems like a lot of people say it's something they see quite frequently or regularly, when I haven't seen any of, back before I was a mod, as well. I think at least some of it is the staff just missing things.

 

The fact is, fifty percent of reports tend to be by the same pool of dedicated regulars. The entirety of the forum's regulars are a long-shot from being even an occasional participant in the reporting system. I feel like if more people reported things, there would be less instances where things would be missed, and thus, there would be less unsure or ill feeling towards the staff, overall. Again, I'm not trying to cover our asses and say we're the perfect staff team and that everyone else is just one crayon short of a package, but I do think staff innocently missing things sometimes, and those things then don't get reported, and they're mistaken as something else entirely.

 

Like Feld0's said in this, reporting is always better than not reporting. At the very worst when something is reported, nothing happens. At the very worst when something isn't reported, it remains and might cause problems further down the line. If you see something that you even think the staff might take interest in glancing over, it's really best to just make two button clicks, maybe a couple words, and boom.

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

I could not agree with this post more. I frequently see people making outright claims that should be discussed with staff in private. Many people just go to their status updates before support tickets.

 

In addition I also agree with making the "Please report" more obvious. Unfortunately that's difficult to improve on any more than it already has. The ToS, like you said, is something many people do not read. (Guilty!) There's a thread in Canterlot about reporting, and Canterlot is basically the most important section.

 

What I wonder, is if maybe a rules or reporting thread/link could be made as an announcement; something seen on all boards and forums and sections. It might make it a little easier to find and will show to people that don't really touch Canterlot.

 

I've always tried to report even when I was unsure, no matter how nervous it made me about the staff's disapproval. I realized pretty quickly they appreciated it. (except a certain ex-mod whom I shall not name)

 

Oh, also, something I was told a while back about reporting...

If a user breaks the rules in a place such as a status comment or other location that normally doesn't have a report option... Report the member and point to said violating content. This was something I learned in the days of the chat, and it's a good way to do it.

 

Anyways, that's just my input and a few things i've been told myself about reporting. Hopefully there will be an increase in reports with a little motivation.

 

 

If I may be so bold, I believe sometimes people see something of theirs, or something belonging to someone else get posted, and then that post or thing has a moderation action taken upon it. These people then see these other posts that don't get moderated when they believe they should have. These observers then look over these situations and come to the conclusion that it's staff favoritism or bias. I'm not about to endorse that the staff has zero favoritism or bias. We're human. It's going to happen. But at least in my experience, it seems like a lot of people say it's something they see quite frequently or regularly, when I haven't seen any of, back before I was a mod, as well. I think at least some of it is the staff just missing things.

 

The fact is, fifty percent of reports tend to be by the same pool of dedicated regulars. The entirety of the forum's regulars are a long-shot from being even an occasional participant in the reporting system. I feel like if more people reported things, there would be less instances where things would be missed, and thus, there would be less unsure or ill feeling towards the staff, overall. Again, I'm not trying to cover our asses and say we're the perfect staff team and that everyone else is just one crayon short of a package, but I do think staff innocently missing things sometimes, and those things then don't get reported, and they're mistaken as something else entirely.

 

Like Feld0's said in this, reporting is always better than not reporting. At the very worst when something is reported, nothing happens. At the very worst when something isn't reported, it remains and might cause problems further down the line. If you see something that you even think the staff might take interest in glancing over, it's really best to just make two button clicks, maybe a couple words, and boom.

Thanks for the thoughts! But my question has yet to be answered.

 

Is it a possibility that we could somehow put the importance of reporting somewhere where all members can be ensured to see it?

 

Here's What I said:

 

"It's just that something concerning reports more put up in a spotlight rather than ToS. And, if we are talking completely literal, thirty seconds might not be enough to gather all the member's attention. People are impatient and when they see the words "Terms of Service" they usually infer that it's just generic "don't do this or that" stuff.  Terms of Service, also, usually aren't something that people go and reread after they're done. A bit of the ToS might have been forgotten by the members since, in their excitement and rush to get on the forums, they sort of skim through the rules rather than taking a long time to read through them thoroughly. I was just thinking that, perhaps something much more in the spotlight could remind members that they should report? Also, in the ToS it seems to only explain when you need to report and how. The emphasis in how helpful reports are doesn't seem to be at all in there as much as reporting is really needed."

[NavelColt 22,877]

Thanks for the thoughts! But my question has yet to be answered.

The report system, like the ticket system, can always use a little more promotion in my opinion.

[Doctor-Whooves 288]

But of course. When I use the report system, I usually get help in under ten minutes.