I want to report a post. What should I do?

Each post has a flag icon in the menu under it. This icon will notify Moderators of an issue relating to the post.

You can categorise your report using the buttons as follows:

  • It’s Off-Topic.
    Use this button when you think a discussion has branched in a way that makes it difficult to keep track of the conversation. Moderators will usually shift different discussions into their own threads. Don’t get too hung up on asides or remarks in passing though. The object here is to enable someone reading the thread to be able to make sense of it.

  • It’s Inappropriate
    Use this button when you think a post is outside the Community Guidelines. Moderators may delete part or all of posts outside the Guidelines. We aim to keep the discussion on track, rather than have it spiral into personal argument.

  • It’s Spam
    Use this button if someone is inappropriately posting in a repetitive way to different sections or engaging in a naked advertising campaign.

Don’t be too fussed about manufacturers or suppliers appropriately talking about their products or experience. We like to see people with a commercial or proprietary interest in a product or service transparently disclose that association and will be pleased to arrange a title or flair to that effect. We have quite a few members from the Audio industry and their participation and assistance on the Forum is welcomed.

  • Something Else
    Use this button if something doesn’t neatly fit into the above categories or you want to bring further information to our attention.

Once you’ve reported a post, the best thing to do is move on and let the Mods deal with it. Posting about the issue in the thread itself can easily create or exacerbate the very issue you are wanting to avoid. If you find a post outside the guidelines is upsetting you, report it and come back in a day or so.

The Mods are distributed around the world, so there’s generally one or more of us about at any given time. We try to deal with flags quickly, but we also like to confer, so there can be a delay until the flag is resolved.

Most of the time you’ll get a message saying that Mods are looking into the issue. This means at least one of us has seen the flag. Sometimes a Mod may act unilaterally, other times we will confer.

Sometimes you might report a post but find we don’t take action. Don’t be upset if that occurs. It is possible for people to have different views about what is and what isn’t outside the guidelines. Keep on calling posts as you see them.

If you are concerned about how a flag has been resolved raise it with @moderators in a PM rather than in a thread. We will usually try to explain how we saw the issue. Ultimately if you think the Moderators are doing the wrong thing then Mike or Kevin are the Admins to contact.

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