# Reporting Posts: When/How/Why



## Galahad

The Report Button is one of the most important tools for both you and the staff. We rely on our members to let us know when things need to be taken care of. Not just for abusive posts and flame wars, but for anything that requires a mod's ability or attention. Because of this, it's important for our members (new and old) to know when, how and why to report a post or thread, as well as when not to.

*When Do I Report a Thread?*

There are several good reasons to report a thread:
Unacceptable Content: Porn, racism, personal attacks, trolling, poor post quality, etc.
Misplaced Thread: Non-List posts in Army List forums, Rules questions in Tactics, etc.
Technical Issues: Title change, multi-post, duplicate thread.
Spam: Illegal ads, nonsense posts, etc.
Attention Needed: Thread is getting heated, in danger of becoming personal or off topic, etc.

You can report your own posts if you need to as well. Maybe you put it in the wrong place, or accidentally double-posted, or got the title wrong, just report it and someone will come along and fix it.

The most important thing to remember when you need to file a report is to JUST SHUT UP AND REPORT IT!
Good god, seriously, people. Click the botton, fill out the report and then either leave the thread or get back on topic. Don't threaten to report someone if they don't say they're sorry, don't shout "Reported!" when a troll starts looking for a rise, don't tell someone their thread is in the wrong place.

That last one *really* gets on my nerves. Some helpful soul will chime in on a misplaced thread and say "This is in the wrong place! It should go over there!" Congratulations! Now not only have you publically embarassed the person who put their post in the wrong place, and made yourself out to be a condescending twerp but you've done absolutely NOTHING HELPFUL! People cannot move their own posts. Most of the people reading the post cannot move it either. The only people who *can* move the thread are the mods, and the best way to let them know is to (say it with me, class) JUST SHUT UP AND REPORT IT! Not only do you contribute absolutely nothing helpful to the discussion with your brilliant insight, but at worst you could end up causing the person to post a NEW thread in the right place, which then makes the mods job *twice* as hard because now we have to move one thread and merge it into another, prune out redundant posts, etc. Seriously, please just report it, don't comment on it.

*How Do I Report A Thread?*
So, now you know when to report, the How is pretty easy. Located in the upper right of each and every post, next to the Rep button, it's the key to keeping Heresy friendly and tidy.










Just click the button on the particular post you want to report, then you'll be taken to a new screen where you need to enter in a reason for the report. This, along with the reported post, will be sent to the mods so we can see what's going on and act accordingly. It'll take you back to the thread once you fill it out. After you file a report, just move on. Either contribute to the subject of the thread without getting into what was wrong with it, or find another thread to check out. Don't come back just to derail the thread further by playing armchair mod.

*Why Should I Report Anything?*
The why should be obvious, but I thought I should cover it as well. Reporting posts and threads helps keep the mods up to date on what's going on. We can't be everywhere and read every single thread. We do spot most things in the course of our normal browsing, but sometimes things happen when we're not looking. The members of this board have a vested interest in keeping it clean, friendly and well-sorted. It's our job to do the work of maintaining things and dealing with problem members, but if you help us it makes our job easier. 

Getting reports from members also helps us gauge how certain subjects and posts are being received. There have been cases where staff members saw no real problem with something that was said or done, but multiple people complained and let us know that no matter what we thought, it was still a problem and we needed to deal with it. You don;t just keep us informed, you keep us grounded. The more we hear from you the better we know the community we;re here to serve.


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## Bubblematrix

One thing I have never been sure of and I think it is built into the forum coding as it seems to be similar on all forums I have frequented is the little note underneath the input box when you are reporting



report button said:


> Note: This is ONLY to be used to report spam, advertising messages, and problematic (harassment, fighting, or rude) posts.


This could be read to suggest that it is not to be used for post moves etc, which it is of course actually for.

Is there any way to change the note to be less missleading? I have on occasion questioned myself when reporting badly placed or pointless threads using a report button, and your list of reasons to report suggests I shouldnt have been so timid.

Hopefully this will re-assure some members and help the mods in their tiresome job.


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## Galahad

I'll mention it to Jez, maybe he can change that.


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## Bubblematrix

Sounds good, its only an observation and I have always assumed it was hard to change (dont think I have ever seen it varied) but would make a clarification which might help


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## Khorothis

I'm sorry if I'm asking it in the wrong place, but since its relevant to reporting (to some extent) I thought this is the best place to go to.

I've been wondering if I should report threads that are, from my completely subjective point of view, worthy to be stickied. Not threads that are simply entertaining, but those that are helpful to the community for one reason or another. I'm thinking about guides mainly, with Mabrothrax's CSM guide the best example I can come up with right now (shame he didn't continue it, its great). I think this is important because it keeps people from writing too many guides and tacticas, and also the authors of said works would get the credit they very much deserve.

A possible alternative to stickying each and every guide and tactica (only the best of the best, mind you, not all of them) would be to have one sticky thread with links to these guides/tacticas, like this:

Imperial Guard Guides:
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

Imperial Guard Tacticas:
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

Or every army's thread could have one sticky with said links. It really is a matter of conveniance, but it would also help new players find the guides and learn from them, so that when I'm checking out a list I don't have to tell the same thing for the 100000th time. Consequently, the army discussion threads would be more interesting, if a bit fewer in number.

This is only partially a matter of conveniance, however; the most important thing about this is that by providing the link to it you say "Yes folks, this guide/tactica is good enough for everyone to at least consider", and thus help new players get a hold of their chosen army. For instance, I wouldn't have bought that Chaos Predator if I knew it sucked so much.  And again, it would give the authors credit for their hard work and as a side effect it would set up a standard to other new tactica-/guide-writers to keep themselves to. Learning how to spell and punctuate properly would be a nice first step in my opinion. 

The reason why I posted this here is that reporting is a means to attract the attention of the moderators, and for variety's sake, wouldn't it be great if I could report good things, not just bad things? 

Thank you for you time and patience.


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## Galahad

That's a very good question, and a good idea.

Yes, feel free to report good threads if you think there's something the mods could/should do for it. If you think something is great and needs to be stickied, then report it and the mods will decide what to do about it.

If it's just a good thread and you want people to know about it and there's nothing you want the mods to do, then just use the other tools like the 'rate thread' feature, rep, and of course, just posting in it to say what a great thread it is.

As for sticking lots of guides and whatnot, we might create a 'best of the best' sticky in tacticas or other similar areas and have people submit threads to it as links. It's something we'll kick aroound and think about.


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## Khorothis

I'm glad I could be of service. I'll try not to report threads too often. :laugh:


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## Chaplain Gaius

sounds good will do


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