This needs highlighting.
If you use the flag function to alert us to a problem, we all get a big red alert sign showing us something has been flagged and needs to be dealt with.
Once the issue has been dealt with the flag disappears. That means if it’s something quickly resolved, then just one moderator looks at it, deals with the issue, and the rest of the moderators don’t need to be bothered.
If you want to chat to us about the reasons for flagging something, then use the ‘other reason’ option which will allow you to send in a message with your flag. We usually read and respond to the messages. (There’s a record of all these kept in a special moderator inbox too.)
If you use @moderators it shows up just as normally tagging our name would. (Shows as a blue alert for me). But it doesn’t clear once we resolve the issue, unless we manually edit your post and remove the tag. There’s also no record the way flags record issues.
You can use @moderators to message us, especially if it’s an issue you don’t think warrants a flag.
Just don’t use it in posts instead of flagging.
Incidentally, if you’re curious what flags look like to us, I flagged this post briefly to show you.
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That red 1 in the top right says there’s currently 1 active flag in the forum. When it’s clicked, it takes us moderators to the flags page. If you write in “other reason” for your flag, we’ll see that message here also.
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