Hey everyone.

Recently, a lot of users have been reporting disobedient users to moderators on OldCP, and that's a good thing. The only problem is, they aren't always making it too easy for us.

Basically, I want to help everyone try to report things in a better manner. Now, I'm not saying that there's a wrong or right way of reporting, but there's definitely a way to make reporting things much easier for us moderators.

1.) Get Proof

Let's say a user swore, but no moderators saw it. What you should do is try to take a screenshot it, and send it to a moderator on OldCP or the DSGHQ forums. Having a witness is another great thing. If you and another person saw it, both of you should report it together. If you can't screenshot, I suggest getting Lightshot. It's a great and safe tool that lets you easily screenshot things.

2.) Don't always make everything private

Sometimes users like to talk to moderators in privacy, which is totally fine. But, not everything needs to be so secret. You can easily report things to moderators without having to chat privately. If you make everything private, that means you'd have to take a moderator away from a popular room. Sometimes there'd be only one moderator online, and that would mean an entire room full of users wouldn't be moderated. Honestly, the only times you should report privately is if you think there's someone hacking, majorly bullying, leaking, and things similar to that.

3.) Get straight to the point

Similar to making things private, you don't always need to turn these reports into "books". Just make the reports short and simple, and the moderators can deal with them with ease. If you really believe a report needs more explaining, that's when you should either mail them on the forums, or see if you can report to them in private.

4.) Don't make things difficult

Sometimes the reports I get can become very difficult and stressful. Few users (not all) can accuse moderators of not understanding, but trust me, we understand. Make sure to word your report that's clear and easy to interpret.

5.) Not everything needs reported

This one may seem a little weird, but I personally believe it'd help. A lot of times I get reports about friends betraying each other, or something along those lines. Before reporting to a moderator, PLEASE try to solve problems with your friends first. All you really have to do is sit down and talk about what's wrong, and voila, you solved something without a moderator. It's pretty simple. Always try to solve these kinds of problems by yourself first. If it isn't working, that's when you should start contacting a moderator.

6.) Other tips

• Type clearly
• Try not to use capitalization and keep calm (this one is sort of just a pet peeve for me)
• Don't be afraid to tell a moderator everything
• Don't change up the story when reporting

So that's basically it. I hope this helped some of you, I put a lot of thought into it. And like I said before, if you really think the thing you're reporting is serious, that's when you should contact an administrator or speak privately. Anyway, thanks for reading.

Wow! Great instructions to reporting to Moderators!

Hmm... not sure why the last part of the post disappeared...

Greetings,
Sting lets be honest here this discussion is quite amazing. You explained everything with such precise explanations. I understood what you had to say and you got right to the point. I didn't have to sit here bored reading this huge discussion that went on forever. I agree users should come to us properly as us staff understand a lot, but please, don't and I say don't breakup your words. Some users come to me breaking their words up and it is hard to comprehend them. Come to us staff like you talk to a friend we're here for a reason nicely done Sting.

-Sincerely, Sadie

Fantastic post, Sting. This is very easy for users to follow and comprehend. The reports I get are sometimes among these lines that you mentioned and explained quite precisely I might add, so hopefully users can understand where you're coming from in this and come to their senses to report diligently.

(Glad this was promoted. )

This discussion should be pinned and promoted, truly. I have no other words, you explained it all.

If someone is breaking rules, one thing that helps us, is YOU!

May23 wrote on 6th February 2015 06:15 PM:

This discussion should be pinned and promoted, truly. I have no other words, you explained it all.

If someone is breaking rules, one thing that helps us, is YOU!

I AGREE

Shucks, you guys are all too nice. @Sadie Haha, yeah, breaking up sentences can be pretty confusing. I get lost every time.

Sting wrote on 6th February 2015 06:18 PM:

Shucks, you guys are all too nice. @Sadie Haha, yeah, breaking up sentences can be pretty confusing. I get lost every time.

Like when a user comes to you saying "Sadie I need your help" then you say "yes, what's up?" and they go Ok-- so-- (name here)-- did-- this-- like I sit there like can I just predict the outcome?

I totally agree with this. Each and every part and I'll tell you why:

1.) Well, you need to get proof, because if you don't have it you don't know if the user is falsely accusing the other user, or trying to get them banned before the other user reports them.

2.) I've only talked to moderators for reports in private a couple of times, usually it'll be when they ask me to PM them a link, and that's about it. There was one other time when I asked to talk to someone in private. (As a report to a mod) But of course a Moderator has to Moderate.

3.) I usually have a hard time doing this, though, I mean, I won't say, "We were in the town and the sky was blue. The person next to them was singing Roar by Katy Perry." But, it can be hard for me to keep things simple, because as you can tell, I'm not even keeping things simple in this post.

4.) I've seen this many times, where users will say they don't understand, when it is something that they understand, but simply can't do stuff about. Sometimes Moderators actually don't understand though, when the user isn't using proper grammar, or they haven't heard something described the same way they are describing it.

5.) This happens a lot, where you don't really need a moderator. A lot of times you can work it out.

I know there was a lot of re-stating in this post, but, it was also from my point of view. That's how I thought of it, and I hoped it helped.

Well written post, I fully agree with this. I always like it when people have proof, makes everything so much easier.

Amazing discussion, Sting.

All of the details you described are spot-on, and to be completely truthful, this is one of the best guides relative to moderation I have ever seen or read. You explained with nothing but facts, and I appreciate you also stating the information with precision. By the way you wrote it, I know that users will be able to fully understand all of your reasoning, because you didn't even HAVE to take large words to describe what you wanted to say. This is exactly what any discussion or guide should look like, and there is no doubt that many will find the content helpful.

Please also don't forget that the "ignore" button can and should be used during situations like this. Moderators should only have to take action over more serious matters. If issues arise because of a silly insult, the button works to mute the other player and make their actions less noticeable.

^ Yes, it's too much that my eyes have burnt.