Help:Admin and Moderator Tools in Discussions

Discussions is a conversation feature that is available for use in both desktop and mobile web browsers, as well as Fandoms mobile apps. Admins, Discussions Moderators, and Global Discussions moderators have specific tools that help them manage Discussions.

Locking posts
Posts can be locked to prevent any new replies from being posted. This can be useful if a discussion has veered off-topic. 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, by clicking or tapping that user's avatar next to one of their contributions. On this list page, Administrators and Moderators have a Delete All option in the menu on the upper right of the user's avatar. This allows for all of a user's Discussions content to be deleted quickly and is useful in case of serial spammers.

In Community Apps, this Delete All option is found on the user's profile, below their avatar and bio. In the Fandom app, admins and moderators don't currently have this option.

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 left side of the page. On mobile displays, this option can be found at the top of Discussions, once the header has been expanded by tapping "MORE".

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 Fandom's apps at this time.

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

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. Fandom's Android community apps and the Fandom app do not currently offer this option.

Discussions and the 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. Desktop users see a link to the guidelines in the module introducing the community on the left, and they can open a popup showing the guidelines when they hover over "Guidelines" in the post creation box. Mobile users can access the guidelines via a link in the community description box at the top.

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. [//starwars.wikia.com/d/g http://starwars.wikia.com/d/g]).

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 in the category filter on web 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 in the category filter dropdown. An + add option will appear. Enter the category name. Click or tap the check mark when you're done, or hit the "X" button to exit the category edit mode.

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 left rail on desktop, and among the other moderation tools at the top of the page 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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