ModerationTools
General
The openSUSE community has various community channels to discuss openSUSE, Linux and more. Sometimes those discussions escalate and the Moderation Team is there to help.
What helps the Moderation Team are tools on the various platforms. The purpose of this pace is to document some of those tools that are available. Feel free to contribute and correct this page should new tools emerge or other be discontinued.
Social networks
Facebook offers various tools and features to assist moderators in managing groups and pages. Here are some of the key tools available to moderators on the Facebook platform:
Admin and Moderator Roles: Facebook groups and pages allow administrators to assign different roles with varying levels of permissions to members. Admins can assign moderators who can approve posts, manage members, and assist in maintaining the community.
Post Approval and Content Moderation: Moderators can set group or page settings to require that all posts be approved by an admin or moderator before being visible to the entire community. This helps in preventing spam and ensuring that content aligns with community guidelines.
Comment Moderation: Moderators can hide, delete, or block comments that violate community guidelines or are considered inappropriate. They can also turn on comment keyword filters to automatically hide comments containing specific words or phrases.
Member Management Tools: Admins and moderators have the ability to remove members, block users, or approve/reject membership requests. They can also monitor and restrict membership based on certain criteria.
Group Insights and Analytics: Facebook provides insights and analytics tools for admins and moderators to track the performance of the group or page. This includes data on engagement, member demographics, and post reach, which can help moderators understand their community better.
Community Guidelines and Rules: Admins can create and enforce community guidelines or rules that all members must follow. This helps in setting clear expectations and standards for behavior within the community.
Reporting and Reviewing Content: Facebook allows users to report posts, comments, or messages that they find inappropriate. Moderators can review these reports and take necessary actions, such as removing content, issuing warnings, or banning users.
Keyword Filtering and Blacklists: Moderators can set up filters to automatically hide or flag posts or comments containing specific keywords or phrases. This helps in reducing the visibility of potentially harmful content.
Scheduled Posts and Announcements: Moderators can schedule posts and announcements to be published at specific times. This feature allows for better organization and planning of content.
Live Moderation Tools (for Pages): During live broadcasts on Facebook Pages, moderators can manage comments in real-time, including filtering comments and blocking users if necessary.
It's important to note that Facebook regularly updates its features and tools, so there might have been new additions or changes since my last update. For the most current and detailed information on moderation tools and features available on Facebook, it's recommended to refer to Facebook's official documentation or resources.
Matrix
As a moderator on Matrix, there are several tools and features available to help manage and maintain a healthy community:
Moderation APIs and Bot Frameworks: Matrix offers APIs that enable the development of moderation bots or tools. These bots can assist in managing rooms by performing tasks such as banning users, deleting messages, and enforcing community guidelines.
User Roles and Permissions: Moderators can assign different roles and permissions to users within a room. This allows for better control over who can perform certain actions, such as inviting users, kicking or banning users, and moderating content.
Event Log and Audit Trail: Matrix maintains an event log that records all actions and events within a room. Moderators can review this log to track changes, identify issues, and take appropriate actions if violations occur.
Content Filtering and Redaction: Moderators have the ability to redact or delete messages containing offensive content. They can also set up content filtering systems to automatically detect and moderate inappropriate content. Room Settings and Restrictions: Moderators can configure various room settings, such as enabling encryption, setting room visibility (public or private), and establishing rules or guidelines that members must follow.
Reporting and Moderation Tools: Matrix platforms often have reporting tools that allow users to report abusive behavior or content to moderators. Moderators can then review these reports and take necessary actions.
Integration with Other Services: Matrix can integrate with other services, such as bots, spam filters, and content moderation tools, to enhance the moderation capabilities within the platform.
Community Guidelines and Code of Conduct: Having clear and visible community guidelines helps moderators enforce rules consistently. Matrix provides ways to display and communicate these guidelines within rooms.
Moderators on Matrix should familiarize themselves with these tools and functionalities to effectively manage communities and uphold community standards. Additionally, staying updated with the platform's developments and best practices for moderation is crucial for maintaining a healthy and welcoming environment for all users.
Reddit offers various tools and functionalities to assist moderators in managing communities (subreddits) effectively. Here are some key tools available to moderators on the Reddit platform:
Moderator Permissions and Roles: Reddit allows moderators to assign different permissions and roles to other moderators within a subreddit. These roles can include full permissions, post/comment moderation, access to settings, etc.
Post and Comment Moderation Tools: Moderators can remove, approve, or lock posts and comments within their subreddit. They can also distinguish their own posts or comments as official announcements.
AutoModerator: This is a powerful moderation tool that uses customizable rules to automatically perform actions like removing posts or comments containing specific keywords, banning certain domains, or applying post/comment schedules.
Mod Queue and Modmail: The Mod Queue is a list of all posts and comments that require moderator attention, including reports from users. Modmail is an internal messaging system that allows moderators to communicate and discuss issues privately.
User Bans and Restrictions: Moderators can ban users from posting or commenting within a subreddit. They can also set automod rules to automatically remove posts from specific users or accounts with low karma.
Community Settings: Moderators have control over various community settings, including post visibility (public, restricted, or private), post frequency, minimum account age/karma requirements, and more.
Flair Management: Moderators can create and manage flairs (tags) that users can assign to their posts. This helps in categorizing content and making it easier for users to find specific types of posts.
Traffic Stats and Community Insights: Reddit provides traffic stats for moderators to track subreddit growth, daily pageviews, unique visitors, and subscriber counts. This information helps in understanding the community's activity and growth trends.
Wiki Pages and Resources: Moderators can create and maintain wiki pages within a subreddit, providing useful resources, FAQs, or community guidelines for users. Spam and Report Review: Moderators can review reported content and spam-filtered posts/comments. They can approve legitimate content caught by the spam filter and remove/report inappropriate content.
Reddit continually updates its features and tools for moderators, so there might have been new additions or changes since my last update. For the most current and detailed information on moderation tools and features available on Reddit, it's recommended to refer to Reddit's official documentation or resources for moderators.
Telegram
Telegram offers a range of tools and features to assist moderators in managing groups and channels. Here are some key tools available to moderators on the Telegram platform:
Admin and Moderation Roles: Telegram allows administrators to assign specific roles with varying permissions to users within a group or channel. Admins can have different levels of authority, such as the ability to add members, delete messages, or ban users.
Message Deletion and Editing: Moderators can delete individual messages or edit them if necessary. This feature helps in removing inappropriate content or correcting misinformation.
Restricting and Banning Users: Admins can restrict users from sending messages, inviting new members, or changing the group's information. They can also ban users who violate community guidelines.
Reporting and Blocking Users: Telegram provides the option for users to report inappropriate content or abusive behavior. Admins can review these reports and take appropriate action, including blocking or banning the reported users.
Anti-Spam Features: Telegram includes built-in features to prevent spam, such as limits on the number of messages sent within a certain time frame or restrictions on adding members too quickly.
Group and Channel Settings: Admins have control over various settings, including who can send messages, the ability to use media, who can add new members, and whether the group/channel is public or private.
Custom Admin Titles: Admins can set custom titles that appear next to their names, which can help users identify different roles within a group or channel.
Bot Integration: Telegram offers a wide range of bots that can assist moderators in managing communities. These bots can perform tasks such as providing analytics, moderating content, or automating certain actions. The community is using this.
Message Pinning: Admins can pin important messages to the top of the chat for all members to see. This is useful for highlighting rules, announcements, or important discussions.
Group Invitations and Links: Admins can generate invite links with different permissions (temporary or permanent) and control who can add new members to the group.
OpenGM Group Management bot OpenGM is an open source group management bot in use in multiple groups part of the openSUSE project. It has a lot of features, documentation is avaliable at opengm.karatek.net. Most notably, a bot admin can use /gban user to ban from all groups.
Telegram's moderation tools are designed to give administrators the necessary control to maintain a positive and safe environment within groups and channels. Keeping up with these features and understanding how to effectively use them is crucial for moderators to manage communities efficiently and enforce community guidelines effectively. For the most up-to-date information and guidance, it's recommended to refer to Telegram's official documentation or resources.
X / Twitter
X/Twitter platform:
Report and Review System: Users can report tweets, accounts, or specific content that violates Twitter's rules. Moderators review reports and take action, such as issuing warnings, suspending accounts, or removing content.
Mute, Block, and Filter Tools: Moderators can mute or block accounts and set up filters to automatically hide or minimize content containing specific keywords or phrases to maintain a safe environment.
Content Moderation and Removal: Moderators have the ability to hide or delete tweets that violate Twitter's guidelines, ensuring compliance with community standards. Verified Accounts and Labels: Moderators can identify verified accounts, distinguishing credible sources or individuals within the community.
Analytics and Insights: Twitter provides analytics tools for moderators to track engagement metrics, audience demographics, and trends, aiding in understanding the community and adjusting moderation strategies.
Safety Features: Continuous updates include tools to combat harassment, hate speech, and other forms of abuse on the platform, enhancing user and moderator control over their experiences.
Mailing lists
HyperKitty and GNU Mailman v3 are tools that work together to provide a modern web interface for Mailman mailing lists. They offer various features to assist moderators in managing mailing lists effectively. Here's an overview of their capabilities:
GNU Mailman v3
Mailing List Management: Allows creation, configuration, and management of multiple mailing lists, each with its own settings and subscribers.
User Permissions and Moderation: Moderators can set permissions for list subscribers, designate moderators with different privileges, and control who can post to the list (open, moderated, or closed lists).
Message Moderation: Moderators can review messages before they are distributed to the mailing list. Messages can be approved, rejected, held for moderation, or automatically discarded based on predefined criteria.
Subscription Management: Moderators can manage subscriber lists, approve or reject subscription requests, and handle subscription settings for individual users or groups.
Archiving and History: Mailman archives all messages sent to the list, providing a searchable archive accessible to list members or publicly based on the settings. This allows for easy access to past discussions and content.
Customization and Configuration: Admins can customize list settings, including branding, header/footer content, subscription options, and more.
Integration with HyperKitty: Mailman v3 is designed to work with HyperKitty, a web interface that complements Mailman by providing an archive viewer, search capabilities, and a more modern interface.
HyperKitty
Web-based Interface: HyperKitty offers a modern, web-based interface for browsing and interacting with mailing list archives. Users can view and search archived messages easily.
Message Filtering and Search: Users can search through archived messages, filter discussions by topic, date, or author, and navigate threads conveniently.
User Engagement: HyperKitty encourages user engagement by providing a more user-friendly interface compared to traditional mailing list archives, allowing for increased participation and interaction.
Threaded Discussions and Visualization: Messages are organized into threaded discussions, making it easier for users to follow conversations and reply to specific topics within threads.
Integration with GNU Mailman v3: HyperKitty integrates seamlessly with Mailman v3, providing a modern and visually appealing way to interact with the mailing list archives managed by Mailman.
For detailed documentation and guidance on using GNU Mailman v3 and HyperKitty, it's recommended to refer to the official documentation websites:
- GNU Mailman v3 Documentation: Mailman Documentation
- HyperKitty Documentation: HyperKitty Documentation
These resources provide comprehensive information on installation, configuration, and usage of Mailman v3 and HyperKitty, offering guidance for administrators and moderators managing mailing lists and their associated archives.
Instant chat (IRC)
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is an older but still widely used platform for real-time text-based communication. While it doesn't have native features similar to more modern social media platforms, there are several tools and functionalities that can assist moderators in managing IRC channels effectively:
Bot Services: IRC channels often employ bots that assist moderators in performing various tasks. These bots can enforce rules, moderate content by scanning for specific keywords or patterns, provide channel statistics, manage user access, and more.
Channel Modes and Permissions: Moderators can set different channel modes to control various aspects, such as who can speak, join, or invite others to the channel. Modes like +m (moderated) allow only voiced or privileged users to speak.
Kick and Ban Commands: Moderators can use commands to kick users (temporarily remove them from the channel) or ban users (prevent them from rejoining). These commands help maintain order and enforce channel rules.
Log Services: Some IRC networks offer logging services that record channel conversations. Moderators can use these logs for review, to track rule violations, or to gather evidence of inappropriate behavior.
Open Services: IRC networks have oper (operator) privileges for trusted individuals who manage network-wide operations. These operators can assist channel moderators in addressing network-level issues or violations.
Bot Scripts and Customizations: Moderators can develop or use existing bot scripts tailored to their channel's needs. These scripts can perform specific actions, provide automated responses, or assist in moderation tasks.
Channel Topic and Rules: Moderators can set a channel topic that displays at the top of the channel. This area often contains channel rules or important information for users.
User Commands and Information: Moderators can use various commands to obtain information about users, view channel statistics, or check ban lists.
IRC Client Features: Moderators often use IRC clients with additional features for managing multiple channels, customizing notifications, and filtering messages to handle moderation tasks efficiently.
IRC is highly customizable, and many of its features and tools are dependent on the specific IRC network, server software, and services available. For detailed documentation and guidance on moderation tools and commands specific to an IRC network, it's recommended to refer to the documentation provided by the IRC network or server software being used.
Online forums
Discourse is a modern, open-source discussion platform designed for community engagement and forum discussions. It offers several tools and features to assist moderators in managing forums effectively. Here are some key tools available to moderators on the Discourse platform:
Category and Topic Management: Moderators can create categories to organize discussions and set permissions for specific categories. They can move, close, merge, or split topics as needed.
Trust Levels and User Permissions: Discourse has a trust level system that assigns privileges based on user activity and engagement. Moderators can adjust these levels and permissions, controlling who can perform certain actions within the forum.
Flagging and Moderation Queues: Users can flag posts or comments that they find inappropriate. Moderators have access to moderation queues where flagged content is displayed for review. They can take action by editing, deleting, or hiding content.
Post Approval and Pre-Moderation: Moderators can enable post approval settings where new posts need approval before becoming visible to the community. This helps in preventing spam or inappropriate content from being immediately visible.
User Bans and Suspensions: Moderators can suspend or ban users from the forum, restricting their ability to participate in discussions or access certain features.
Customization and Branding: Discourse allows customization of the forum's appearance, including themes, logos, and color schemes, enabling moderators to create a unique look and feel for their community.
Analytics and Reporting: Moderators have access to forum analytics and reporting tools that provide insights into user engagement, traffic, popular topics, and user behavior. This information assists in understanding the community and making informed moderation decisions.
Automated Flagging and Trust Level Promotion: Discourse has automated systems that elevate user trust levels based on their activity and community engagement. It also has features that automatically flag or notify moderators about certain user behaviors.
User Messaging and Notifications: Moderators can communicate with users via private messages or public announcements, ensuring effective communication within the community.
Plugins and Extensions: Discourse offers a range of plugins and extensions that can enhance moderation capabilities. These include tools for content filtering, anti-spam measures, and additional moderation features.
Discourse continues to evolve, introducing new features and enhancements. For detailed documentation and guidance on moderation tools and features available on the Discourse platform, it's recommended to refer to the official Discourse Meta forum, which serves as a resource for administrators and moderators, or the official Discourse documentation website.