Content Moderation

Content Moderation allows the founder, community administrators and content moderators to better control what is displayed to its members. This can be important in communities open to the general public if an organization is sensitive to "undesirable" content being posted.

The content moderation tool, found in the community's administration area, provides an interface that allows for a systematic review of all content yet to be approved by designated moderators.

The tool also allows the community administrators to decide what types of content must first be approved prior to being displayed. By default, all content is displayed prior to formal approval (note that content already shown to members can still be moderated).

Be aware that showing only moderated content can decrease the participation in a community as users will not be able to view new content without first waiting for it to be manually approved.

Moderation Setup

To access the content moderation setup page select "Content Moderation" from the main community administration area.  On the main page, the founder, administrators and moderators  can select the content areas that require approval prior to general availability.

The following tools are available for moderation:

• Articles

• Media

• Polls

• Files

• Note Board

• Calendar Entries

• Discussion Topics & Messages

• Databases & Records

• Mailing Lists & Messages

If a checkbox is activated for a tool (i.e. checked), all unmoderated content will instantly be made inaccessible to ALL membership groups (including founder, administrators and content moderators). Unmoderated content in those areas will then only be accessible during the Content Moderation review process (described below). Once it has been reviewed, it will be displayed (if the content was approved during the moderation process).

Reviewing Content

When there is new content to be approved, an administration box will appear in the upper right hand corner of the “What’s New” page indicating that there is new content to be moderated.  From this area the content moderation page can be accessed by clicking on the "moderated” link.  

If a moderator is not a founder or an administrator,  a moderation button is visible (only to moderators) on the left hand tool bar that will access only the content moderation page in the main community administration area.  

To moderate content, click on the begin "Moderating" link on the Content Moderation page to activate the moderate pop-up window.  The moderate window contains an interface to systematically review all unmoderated content:

1. Select a content type by using the upper-left drop down box. The window will automatically refresh and display only the content items of that type in the order they were posted to the community.

2. Click on an item's name to view details in the main window (beneath the pop-up window)

3. Select one or more content item(s) by using the checkboxes found next to the content titles.

4. After reviewing the content, select a radio button in the upper-right box of the pop-up window. The available options are:

Delete

Permanently remove the content item.  

Approve

Content is considered moderated and should now be made accessible.  

1 Star of Excellence  

Content is considered moderated and given a star to show it is premium content.  

2 Stars of Excellence  

Content is considered moderated and given two stars to show it is premium content.  

3 Stars of Excellence  

Content is considered moderated and given three stars to show it is premium content.  

Note: When approving databases, you may also instantly approve all of its existing records by selecting the "Moderate all sub-items" checkbox (shown only when moderating databases).

Editing Content Moderation Status

If a member is permitted to moderate a content item, a content moderation drop-down box will appear while viewing the content.

An updated content moderation status can be made by selecting it from the drop down box. Note that the delete option will not appear unless the member is part of membership group that has the "delete" right for the content item. If so, the delete button will appear in the top gray toolbar.

Assigning Content Moderators

A default "Moderator" membership group exists in all communities. This group, by default, has the same rights as community administrators (full right to add, edit and delete all content, regardless of ownership). Moderators, however, cannot see or use any of the community administration tools except for Content Moderation.

See the Membership Groups help section for more details and instructions on how to assign members to the Moderator group.