Hi everyone, 
Hope you’re all doing well!
Our team is taking turns writing community updates, so you’ll be seeing posts from all of us. This week is my turn, and I wanted to take a moment to talk about an important feature in our community: flagging.
What is flagging?
If you haven’t noticed it yet, you’ll find a little grey flag at the bottom of each post and message. You can use the flag to let the team know if you are concerned about what someone has written. Keep in mind, you’ll need to be at least Trust Level 1 to start flagging posts.
Why is flagging important?
Flagging helps our moderation team ensure the Online Community remains a safe, welcoming, and respectful space for everyone. If you’re ever unsure about a post, it’s okay to err on the side of caution. Some content might feel triggering or concerning, and in an online space, it can sometimes be difficult to know how best to respond.
We’ve put together a brief article covering when to flag, different flagging options, the process we use, and why flagging is important: Flagging on the Online Community.
What happens when you flag?
When you flag a post, our team reviews it carefully and fairly, using our guidelines to assess each case. We take extra care when it involves safeguarding concerns. Below you’ll find our step-by-step process on how we review flagged posts.
Here’s our process on how we review flagged posts:
-
Review: Moderators look at the flagged post to see if it breaks Community rules or our Terms and conditions.
-
Action: The post could be removed, edited, or left as it is. The person who made the post will be told what action was taken and why.
-
Resolution: We aim to resolve flagged posts within 72 hours. The person who flagged the post might not always receive an update about the outcome.
Here’s our process on how we handle potential safeguarding:
-
Flagged posts: If a post raises concerns that someone might be in a difficult or unsafe situation, like struggling to take care of themselves or experiencing any kind of abuse (including physical, mental or financial), we take it very seriously.
-
Content review: Our team looks closely at the post to check for anything worrying. If there might be a safety issue, we’ll temporarily hide the post, so it doesn’t upset others.
-
Reaching out: We’ll privately contact the person who made the post. With their permission, we can help connect them to support services in their area.
-
Informing services: We’ll also let other teams in our organisation know, so the person can get all the help they need.
Thank you
Your help in flagging posts lets us act quickly to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone in our community. Thank you for helping us maintain this safe space for all.
If you have any questions about the flagging process or need to reach us, feel free to contact the team through our Service Desk.
Many thanks,
Alex