The Complete Guide To Moderating Discussions

This guide will take you through how to use moderation tools correctly and effectively. This guide may be updated from time to time, so feel free to check in anytime.

To begin this little tutorial, let's get one thing straight: being a Discussions Moderator is a privilege that is earned through dedication and hard work. These users are trusted on their wiki to make smart decisions and to be respectful to everyone they meet.

While a Discussions Moderator is considered a "position of power," the best moderators do not treat it that way. They treat it as a special right that enables them to have a few extra buttons to help out the community, not themselves. Having these tools may come in handy in tricky situations, but these tools are to be used for the benefit of the users, not the moderator in question.

Moderator Tools
To understand what tools are referred to in this tutorial, here is a list of the tools Discussions Moderators possess:

Locking posts: Enables a moderator to prevent users from replying to a certain thread.

Deleting posts/Blog Comments: Removes a post or thread from the view of regular wiki users. Moderators can still view these posts and undelete them if needed.

Editing Posts: The moderator's ability to edit the content of any post by any user.

Approving/deleting posts: Moderators have the ability to approve and delete reported posts. These can be found in the "Reported Posts" section of the Discussions.

Ability to view Discussions insights: Moderators have access to a dashboard which contains the monthly statistics of a Discussion Board, including categories such as the most posts by a user in the last 30 days, the most moderator actions taken in the last 30 days, and the most Discussions Reports in the last 30 days.

Ability to see the "Reported Posts" feed: This gives moderator's access to a feed that displays all of the reported posts on the wiki.

Ability to Make Announcements: This allows a moderator to make a wiki-wide announcement by sending a notification with a link to a blog/Discussions post to everyone.

Blocking users: This depends if the wiki you moderate has the feature. This allows a moderator to take away a user's right to contribute freely to a wiki for a given amount of time.

Moderating a Wiki's Chat: Moderators can kick and ban users from the chat, as well as enforce the Chat's Guidelines.

These are very simple tools, yet they can have a huge impact (positively or negatively) on a community. These tools are helpful for moderator, but one question that is asked a lot is this: when should I use this tool? At what point do I do this? Well, my friend, you are in for a treat, because this guide will try to give you a basic rundown of when and where to use these tools.

A Basic Review of When to Use These Tools
This is not telling you that this is the only way you should use your rights. Every moderator has a different modding style, and every wiki has different needs. However, these are the "rules" that many people go by to keep themselves in check and are the ones that they have found to be the most helpful to them. Please read carefully, as there will be a lot of information.

Locking/Unlocking Posts
When you should use it:


 * To archive an official post, such as a vote.
 * To leave a friendly reminder for a user who's thread has violated the wiki's guidelines.
 * To defuse an argument and let people cool down. An example of this would be an Off-Topic Thread or a heated debate.
 * To fight constant spamming and necroposting.

When not to use it:


 * To lock a post that is not in direct violation of the guidelines. This kind of goes without saying, but you never know.
 * To lock a post that you disagree with or might offend you in particular. Do keep in mind that you are not the only person on the wiki.
 * To lock a post that was posted by someone you dislike. Being biased is a big no-no when it comes to being a moderator.
 * To lock a post that was locked by another moderator. You should first talk with that moderator about it so that you can both be on the same page.

Deleting Posts/Blog Comments
When you should use it:


 * To delete a post that is obviously in violation of the wiki's guidelines.
 * To delete spam, whether it is excessive posting or links to external websites.
 * To delete profanity, especially on wiki's that are targeting younger audiences.
 * To delete a user's personal information, whether that is their age, address, phone number, or something else.
 * To delete pornographic or inappropriate images.
 * To delete posts containing personal attacks or harassment of a certain user or group of users.
 * To delete death threats and intimidation.
 * To delete any other blockable offenses or Terms of Use violations (read Fandom's Terms of Use and your wiki's policies for more information).

When you shouldn't use it:


 * To delete a post that is not in violation of the guidelines.
 * To delete a post that you disagree with or take personal offense to.
 * To delete a post by a user you don't necessarily like.
 * To undo an action by a fellow moderator. Again, this should be discussed with the moderator in question.

Editing Posts
When you should use it:
 * To remove illegal content from a post.
 * To edit profanity from a post.
 * To remove harmful links from a post.
 * To remove pornography from a post.
 * To remove anything else that may be in violations of your wiki's guidelines.

When to not use it:
 * To remove criticism of the moderators from a post.
 * To remove things you dislike from a post or thread.
 * To remove content to cover something up. As they always say- honesty is the best policy.
 * To remove anything that is not in violation of your guidelines or Fandom's Terms of Use.

Approving Posts
When to approve a reported post:


 * When a post does not clearly violate a wiki's guidelines or Fandom's Terms of Use.

When to delete a reported post:


 * When a post clearly violates a wiki's guidelines or Fandom's Terms of Use.
 * When a post contains content of a blockable offense.

Ability to View Discussions Insights
When to use it:


 * To see what moderator has the majority of the actions in the last 30-60 days in order to reward them.
 * To see what users are the best at catching guidelines violations by checking out the "Reports" section. This could be helpful when looking for potential new moderators.
 * To see what user has contributed the most posts to the Discussion Board in the last 30-60 days.

Ability to Access the "Reported Posts" Feed
When to use it:
 * To easily see and take action on reported posts.

When to not use it:
 * There really isn't a way to misuse this function, unless you don't read the full content of a post or conversation and then delete or approve it.

Ability to Make Annoucements
When you should use this:
 * To announce a Fandom and/or Wiki-Wide update.
 * To announce a competition that is happening.
 * To announce something important, such as a maintenance issue.
 * To hold elections and voting.

When you shouldn't use this:
 * To announce something that doesn't apply to the whole wiki.
 * To promote another wiki/website/service.
 * To promote yourself.
 * To ask for support in an election.
 * To announce something that shouldn't be announced to an entire community.

Blocking Users
Please see the blocking policy for more information on this.

Ability to Moderate a Wiki's Chat
Chat Moderator Rules Coming soon!