Wrong Forum posts

[pdescobar]

What can the casual user do to point out wrong forum posts so they get moved to the appropriate place? The "report" feature has this big unfriendly-looking tag:

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

So aside from making sure they have the Official Zulu Stamp of Disapproval and telling the poster where s/he should have posted it to prevent a future repeat, what should I do?

 

[Duke of Marlbrough]

A quick PM to the Mod will get it fixed. Generally, these items aren't priority items that need to be handled, so they aren't intended for the 'Report Post to Moderator' funsction. This function is meant for priority items that should get attention as soon as possible.

I see most people will post a quick reply stating where a posts should have been made. If they do, the next step should be to PM the Mods about the post and it will be handled. FYI, those people who only post a reply to the thread aren't generally helping and it can usually be considered spam.

 

[pdescobar]

Originally posted by Duke of Marlbrough
A quick PM to the Mod will get it fixed. Generally, these items aren't priority items that need to be handled, so they aren't intended for the 'Report Post to Moderator' funsction. This function is meant for priority items that should get attention as soon as possible.

Ok. On forums where there is more than one mod, which should be PMed, assuming there is either more than one or none online?

I see most people will post a quick reply stating where a posts should have been made. If they do, the next step should be to PM the Mods about the post and it will be handled. FYI, those people who only post a reply to the thread aren't generally helping and it can usually be considered spam.

Ok, what I have been doing before this is stating in my reply where the post belongs but then answering the question anyway. Are you saying I should not answer it until the post has been moved?

 

[WillJ]

Originally posted by pdescobar
Ok. On forums where there is more than one mod, which should be PMed, assuming there is either more than one or none online?

I don't think it really matters which one you PM, although you might be able to decide which one will get online first, based on his/her location. However, IMO wrong forum threads aren't enough of a priority to PM a mod. Of course, if one of the mods says otherwise, just go with what he says. (They would know better than I would.) Edit: Nevermind, DoM is a mod anyway. I guess the mods wouldn't mind being PMed about a wrong forum thread.

Originally posted by pdescobar
Ok, what I have been doing before this is stating in my reply where the post belongs but then answering the question anyway. Are you saying I should not answer it until the post has been moved?

No, I think the Duke is just saying that posts that only say where the thread should go are spam. And I agree (although I admit that I've done it before ).

 

[Padma]

If you do actually answer the posters question, I say

You don't *have* to wait until it's moved to answer.

What DoM is saying is, just saying "Wrong Forum!" doesn't help much, and could be considered a type of spam.

On the first subject, if more than one mod is online, take your choice. If no mod is online, take your choice. FWIW, I check my PMs frequently, and I am sure the other mods do also.

Edit: WillJ, a "Report Post" is for something that *urgently* requires a mod's attention. A PM will do for anything else, like a thread in the wrong forum. We may not notice that particular thread for hours, or even days, otherwise.

 

[Duke of Marlbrough]

Exactly what WillJ and Padma said.