Community Moderation (Report a Post, Report a Comment, Mute a User) (v6)

Site moderation at Daily Kos is a combination of community moderation and administrative moderation. The administrative moderation team relies on community members to report harmful or problematic content in posts and comments, in accordance with our community guidelines (Rules of the Road).

This resource explains the community moderation functionality available to logged-in Daily Kos site users:

• Reporting a post
• Reporting a comment
• Muting a user

Community Moderation: Report a Post

Logged-in community users have the ability to report a community-authored post (story, diary) for violations of the Rules of the Road, submitting the post for administrative review. When viewing the post, the Report button is located below and to the right of the title of the post.

Clicking the Report button will initiate a pop-up window of reporting reasons.

The reporting user must select from one of the four listed categories for reporting a post in order to activate the Submit Report button:

• Spam (commercial spam content)
• Pornography (inappropriate pornographic content)
• Hateful or violent content (racism, bigotry, graphic depictions of violence or death in the featured title image, advocacy or fantasies of violence or self-harm)
• Community Guidelines Violation (a violation of the Rules of the Road not covered by the first three reporting categories)

Notes:

• Be cautious when selecting the Community Guidelines Violation category and be certain that the violation is substantive and unmistakable; If necessary, ambiguous edge cases can be reported to the Help Desk with a detailed explanation
• Please note that administrative review does not necessarily result in administrative action; any action taken is a matter between site administrators and the reported user, and outcomes may not be visible to third parties
• Reports are reviewed by real people, and each one takes time and attention; misusing the reporting system or repeatedly submitting non-substantive complaints pulls resources away from exigent work; serial abuse of the Report function or Help Desk may result in administrative sanctions
• If another user has already reported the post, the Report button will display the message "This post has already been reported and is currently being reviewed by a moderator"

Click the Submit Report button to queue the post for administrative review. You will then see a confirmation of a "Successfully reported post," which should be closed to return to the post.

Community Moderation: Report a Comment

Logged-in community users also have the ability to report a comment for violations of these Rules of the Road, submitting the comment for administrative review. When viewing the comment, the Report button is located at the far right of the comment box, next to the Share button.

Clicking on the Report button will initiate a confirmation pop-up window. This confirmation pop-up is designed as a brake, to reinforce the seriousness with which a user should approach the notion and process of reporting a comment. If on second consideration you are certain that the content of the comment requires reporting, then click the Start Report button.

Clicking the Start Report button in the confirmation window initiates a pop-up window of reporting reasons.

The reporting user must select from one of the eight listed categories before clicking the Submit button to send the comment for administrative review.

• Targeted Harassment (Degrading someone, repeated unwanted contact, attacking someone based on their identity such as race, gender, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation)
• Spam (Soliciting currency, encouraging interaction with content under false pretences, leading users off the site by misleading links)
• Inappropriate Username or Avatar (User’s name or avatar goes against Community Guidelines)
• Threatening Content (Threats of violence directed at one or more individuals)
• Impersonation (Representing themselves as another individual under false pretences)
• Private Information (Sharing personally-identifying information)
• Mis/Disinformation (False, inaccurate, misleading, or deceptive content)
• Partisan Misalignment (Promotion of an anti-Democratic or right-wing agenda)

Notes:

• When submitting a report, select the category that most closely matches a clear and substantive violation; as noted above, reports should be reserved for unmistakable rule-breaking; if necessary, ambiguous edge cases can be reported to the Help Desk with a more detailed explanation
• Administrative review does not necessarily result in action; any action taken is a matter between site administrators and the reported user, and outcomes may not be visible to others
• Reports are reviewed by real people, and each one requires time and attention; misuse of the reporting system, including reporting content that does not violate site rules, takes resources away from exigent work; serial abuse of the Report function or Help Desk may result in administrative sanctions

Click the Submit button to queue the comment for administrative review. You will then see a confirmation window, with a Return to Comment button.

Community Moderation: Mute a User

Users have the option to mute other users in order to better manage their own experience on the site. When you mute a user, their comments will no longer appear in your view of comment threads, and you will not receive notifications about their activity. Muting only affects your personal experience—other users will continue to see that user’s comments as usual.

Muting is a tool to step away from repetitive interactions that you find unproductive or frustrating. It is intended to give users more control over their own experience without requiring administrative involvement.

Note that muting is designed as an individual tool for managing your own experience. Using site features in a coordinated way to target or single out another user runs counter to community expectations and may be addressed under broader moderation policies.

Muting does not replace reporting. If behavior crosses into harassment or other rule violations, it should be reported so moderators can review and take appropriate action.

To mute a user, click their username in a comment thread to open their commenting Profile, then click the MUTE button in their Profile.

The effect of the Mute option is that the muted user's comments will no longer appear in your view of comment threads, and you will not receive notifications about their activity. Muting only affects your personal experience—other users will continue to see that user’s comments as usual.

This action can be reversed at any time by clicking the Unmute button from the Muted Tab within the Community Tab of your Notification Tray.