Help:Admin and Moderator Tools in Discussions

Discussions is a conversation feature that is available for use in web browsers (desktop and mobile) and in Community Apps. Users in the Administrator and Discussions Moderator user groups have specific tools to moderate Discussions.

Locking posts
Posts can be "locked" to prevent any new replies from being posted. This can be useful if a discussion has run its course, or if an Administrator and Discussions Moderator needs to simply post a notice. The 'Lock Post' and 'Unlock Post' options can be found on the 'More' menu. Locked posts have a notice displayed at the top, and the icon next to the reply count becomes grayed out. Locked posts can still be upvoted.

Delete and undelete
Individual posts and replies can be deleted via the 'More' menu option in the upper right of the post or reply. Once deleted, Moderators and Admins will see the text content grayed out and the post/reply will have a red triangle visible in the upper left corner. General users will no longer see the post.

Posts and replies can be undeleted using the ('Undelete') button or the option available on the 'More' menu.

Delete all posts by a user
Any user can see a list of all posts and replies by a specific user, via the 'More' icon in the upper right corner of a post/reply. On this list page, Administrators and Moderators have a 'Delete All' option in the upper right. This allows for all a user's Discussions content to be deleted quickly.

In Community Apps, this 'Delete All' option is found via the user's profile page.

Handling reported content
Users can 'report' a post or reply, which signals that the content should be reviewed by a Discussions Moderator or Administrator. Reported posts and replies are marked with an orange triangle in the upper left corner and a "Reported by" banner that indicates the user(s) who reported the post or reply. Only Admins, Discussions Moderators and the person who reported the post or reply can see these.

Reported content also has  ('Approve') and ('Delete') options displayed at the top right. Approving a post or reply will clear the orange triangle and banner for all users who can see them.

Discussions Moderators and Administrators can access a view that shows only reported content, allowing for quick review. On desktop displays, this is accessed via a link on the right side of the page. On mobile displays, this option can be found in the ('Filter') tool on the top menu bar.

Blocking
Administrators can use Special:Block on desktop or mobile web to prevent a specific user from posting again with that username. Special:Block is not available in Community Apps at this time.

Editing posts
Administrators and Moderators have the ability to edit the content of a post or reply and to change the category for a post.

On edited posts and replies, regular users will see an indication that the content has been "edited by administrators". For Administrators and Moderators, this indicator will display the username of the individual that made the edit.

Hiding deleted content
Administrators and Moderators can choose to hide already-deleted content from their view. This option is located beneath the category filter selections, in both the desktop and mobile web view. In the iOS Community Apps, this option is found in the Moderation Panel, in the app's settings.

Discussions "Recent Changes" feed
Discussions activity does not appear in your community's Recent Changes. However, you can set up a Special page on your wiki where you can monitor incoming Discussions posts in a Recent-Changes-style feed. To do so, use this user-created script.

Guidelines
In Community Apps, the guidelines are available to view in the app's settings. Web users see a link to guidelines on the right side of the Discussions page layout. Guidelines are also presented to new users before they can create their first post or reply.

General guidelines are provided by default. Admins and Moderators can provide customized guidelines via the web version of Discussions. Guidelines can also be accessed by adding /d/g after the community's main URL (e.g. http://starwars.wikia.com/d/g). Using this URL in posts, replies, and profile text is another way to highlight the link for app users.

Discussion categories
Administrators can create discussion categories, to provide structure and guidance to users posting and reading Discussions.

One default category exists, named 'General'. When this is the only category, all posts are part of it, and it is invisible to regular users. After additional categories are created, 'General' remains and cannot be deleted or renamed.

Administrators can use the 'edit' option above the left-side categories module to: To rename or delete a category, click/tap the specific category name while in 'edit' mode. Use the cursor to edit the name, or click/tap the 'trash can' icon to begin the merge and delete process.
 * create additional categories (there is a limit of 10)
 * reorder categories
 * rename categories (there is a limit of 20 characters)
 * delete categories (this requires that posts first be merged to another category)

Creating categories
To create a new category, click 'EDIT' next to the 'Categories' heading at the top of the filter area. An '+ Add Category' option will appear. Enter the category name. Click '+ Add Category' if you want to add another category or click the green check mark if you're done.

Discussions Insights
Admins and moderators have access to user activity stats. Discussions Insights helps you keep track of what is going on in your community, and is particularly helpful in spotting potential moderators for Discussions. You'll find a link to Discussions Insights in the right rail on desktop, and in the filter menu at the top right on mobile. The data can be displayed for either the last 30 or the last 90 days. The data for Discussions Insights updates every 24 hours.

Active Users shows which users have posted the most and the total number of their posts including replies, sorted by number of posts. This helps identify your most active Discussions users.

Reports lists those users who have reported the most posts in Discussions. The list also shows how many of their reported posts have subsequently been deleted, approved or are still awaiting moderation. You can use this to identify users who care about the community, know the rules well and can tell good posts from inappropriate posts. Someone who reports many posts that then get deleted is likely a good candidate for moderator.

Moderator Actions lists how active admins and moderators have been in Discussions and is sorted by number of most moderation actions taken. Deleting, locking, editing and approving a post, as well as changing a post's category, count as moderation actions. This helps identify candidates for promotion to admin, and shows if a moderator has been inactive. Category management actions by admins are also included in this total.

Further help and feedback
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