Moderating groups and channels: roles, muting, removing, banning and reporting

In short: In OVOLOOP every conversation has three roles: owner, moderator and member. Moderators can silence a member for an hour, a day or indefinitely, and can remove or ban them from the conversation. Anyone can report a message or a user and can block someone they do not want to hear from. An owner cannot be touched by another owner; the ladder of authority is simple on purpose.

What can each role do?

| Power | Member | Moderator | Owner | |---|---|---|---| | Write messages, react | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Pin a message | No | Yes | Yes | | Silence a member | No | Yes | Yes | | Remove a member | No | Yes | Yes | | Ban a member | No | Yes | Yes | | Appoint a moderator | No | No | Yes | | Write in an announcement channel | No | Yes | Yes |

Roles form a ladder: someone with higher authority can act on someone lower; two people at the same level cannot touch each other. In groups ownership is not handed over, so an owner cannot create a second owner to get around this rule.

What is the difference between silencing, removing and banning?

The three actions carry three different meanings:

• Silencing: The member stays in the conversation and can read, but cannot write. There are three durations: an hour, a day, or indefinitely. Indefinite silence has its own name; there is no hidden indefiniteness like "999999 minutes". When a debate heats up, a short silence is often enough.
• Removing: The member's access ends, but their messages stay. The difference from banning is that removing leaves no ban record.
• Banning: The member is removed and cannot rejoin. The ban list is visible to moderators and a ban can be lifted when needed.

A simple rule: silence if a warning is enough, remove if the relationship is over, ban if there is ill intent.

How is a moderator appointed?

The owner makes a member a moderator or returns them to membership. Ownership cannot be assigned this way and is not transferable in groups. So an owner cannot get around the rules by producing a second owner.

What is pinning a message for?

Moderators can pin an important message: rules, a meeting link or a frequently asked answer. Pinned messages stay in the conversation's pin list and someone new finds the rules there.

How does reporting work?

Anyone can report a message or a user. Reasons: spam, harassment, hate, sexual content, violence, illegal content, impersonation and other. A report reaches not only the conversation's moderators but also the product's operator panel; the operator can dismiss a report or suspend an account. This gives a way out even when the moderator is the problem.

What is blocking?

Blocking is personal: you block someone you do not want to hear from, for your own account. It is not moderation and does not change anyone else's experience. You can see the list of people you blocked and remove a block at any time.

Tips for good moderation

1. Write the rules and pin them. People feel wronged when they break a rule they did not know.
2. Warn first. Most problems end with a warning.
3. Prefer short silences. An hour's silence often calms things down.
4. Keep records. Note for yourself why you made a decision.
5. Appoint more than one moderator. A setup that depends on one person falls apart when that person is away.

Where are the limits of moderation?

In OVOLOOP moderation is a human decision: a moderator or owner decides about a member one by one. Because of the ladder of authority, a moderator cannot act on another moderator or the owner at their own level; if there is such a dispute, the route is a report to the product's operator. Keep important decisions and their reasons in your own records, so when an objection comes you can explain why you decided as you did. Your community's rules must also not conflict with the law or the product's terms of use.

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