This article discusses the moderation tools and permissions HQ Admins and Group Leaders have for discussion posts.

Creating a Discussion

To initiate a discussion, follow these steps:

1. Either:
   • Access an Event or Chapter page relevant to your interests or
   • Navigate to a specific Category on the Discussions page relevant to your interests
2. Click on the "New Discussion" button to start your own post.
3. Provide a descriptive title and elaborate on your topic Key Concepts in the description field.
4. Once you're satisfied with your post, click "Save" to publish it for others to engage with.

Permissions you need before you can post

Event-related categories:

• You must either be an attendee of the Event to post in its category or,
• You need to be a Chapter Member to post.

Chapter-related categories:

• You must be a Member of the Chapter to post.
• If you're on the Chapter Team, you automatically get permission to post in the Chapter and any related Event categories.
• Chapter Team members not only get posting rights, but also get special roles (like moderator or volunteer) based on their Chapter role. These apply to the Chapter category and its related Event categories, too.

Discussion Admin Tools (Own Post)

HQ Admins and Group Leaders have the following discussion management and moderation tools available to them for their own discussion post(s): 

• Turn on notifications
  • Receive notifications or emails related to this post
• Edit
  • Edit the post after publishing
• Report
  • Flag post for moderation and choose a reason
• Lock
  • Lock the post so that no more replies can take place
• Pin
  • Pin the post to the top of this category
• Delete
  • Delete the post forever

Editing Your Discussion

If you need to make changes to a post you've created, follow these steps:

1. Locate the discussion you wish to edit.
2. Access the 3 dot menu at the bottom of the post and click the Edit button.
3. Make the necessary modifications to the title or content of your post.
4. After completing your edits, save the changes to update your post accordingly.

Reporting a Discussion or Comment

Maintaining a healthy and respectful community environment is crucial. If you encounter inappropriate content or behavior, you can report it by:

1. Click on the "Report" button located in the menu (3 dots) of the offending discussion or comment.
2. Select the appropriate reason for the report from the provided options, and click "Report" to submit.
3. The report will appear in the Discussions Moderation dashboard.
4. You can review it to determine whether to approve or reject the post.

Locking Your Discussion

To prevent further comments or replies on your discussion, you can lock it by:

1. Access the discussion you want to lock.
2. Look for the lock option, available in the 3 dot menu that's below the discussion description/content/post.
3. Click on the lock option to disable further comments.
4. Locked discussions are useful for preserving important announcements or concluded discussions

Deleting Your Discussion

In certain circumstances, you may need to remove a discussion entirely. Here's how:

1. Navigate to the discussion you want to delete.
2. Access the 3 dot menu that's below the discussion description, and click the Delete button.
3. Confirm your decision to delete the post when prompted.
4. Exercise caution when deleting a discussion, as this action is irreversible and will remove all associated comments and replies.

Engaging with Community Discussions

Adding a Comment

Engaging with existing discussions is as simple as:

1. Access the discussion you're interested in by clicking on its title.
2. You'll be directed to the discussion page, where you can read existing comments.
3. To add your own comment, scroll to the comment section found under the original post
4. Type your comment in the provided text box and click "Comment" to share it with the community.
5. You can also reply to other users' comments by clicking the "Reply" button.
6. HOT TIP: Use the "@" sign to mention someone and get them involved in the conversation

Discussion Admin Tools (Users Posts)

HQ Admins and Group Leaders have the same tools for managing their own posts as they do for managing other users' posts in addition to this post moderation tool - but have one extra option, being able to Ban someone.

Ban Users

Admins can ban users by selecting "ban" on the user's post. A modal will open that allows Admins to:

1. Provide a reason for banning the user
2. Set period for the ban
   • 1 day
   • 5 days
   • 15 days
   • 30 days
   • Permanent
3. Where they are banned from
   • This forum (aka this category)
   • All forums (ban from all Categories)
4. Add additional notes 
   • These notes are internal only for other admins

When on the "banned" moderation page, all banned posts will appear in the dashboard. Clicking the three dots on the posts will allow the admin to unban the user.

• If there are no "3 dots" visible, then it means they are no longer banned, and a timestamp of when they were banned and when it ended will be shown.

In the image below, you will see 2 records:

• The first row, shows that user "Fake Mischief" is currently banned
• Send row shows that user "Fake" was banned for 1 day, and it ended 7 days ago

The Banned page not only shows active bans, but is also a audit trail of who was banned, when, why and by whom.

Approved

Discussion posts are put in the approved dashboard when they meet either of the following criteria:

• Post was created by a new user and posted within 1 hour of the account being created
• Post was created by a current user, and it's their first post ever.

Once they have had their first approval, all other posts created will display immediately unless flagged.

Admins can approve the post to display in the discussion forum or reject it. Users are not notified if their post is rejected.

Flagged Content

Discussion posts that are marked as "report" will be flagged for content and appear in the discussions moderation dashboard.

Admins can approve, reject or delete the post.