The reporting function

It would appear that there are currently a small number of people on the AnswerBank who are slightly confused when it comes to using the reporting function. Although it is not difficult to work out when a question/answer is offensive or abusive etc, a number of people are struggling to do this and so if you are one of the users who has taken to reporting as many people as possible for the sake of it, please read and implement the following carefully �

Ok so what constitutes a question/answer worthy of reporting

Now, this type of question/answer should be fairly obvious to identify but for anyone in need clarification here�s an example. If a post contains content which is defamatory, obscene, unlawful, threatening, in breach of copyright or otherwise objectionable OR if links to objectionable websites are posted they are prohibited and so these are all examples of when to report a post. As well as this, any post that constitutes name calling, harassment or abuse will not be tolerated. Discussions can get passionate but users should moderate their language and refrain from personal attacks and profanity.

So how can I report one of these questions then

If you need to report a question firstly you will have needed to have been a user for a minimum of 2 weeks i.e. your username is no longer green, after this time you will have access to the reporting function. Should you stumble upon a post in need of reporting click on the �report this� option, select the reason why you wish to report the post and hey presto it will be bought to the attention of the Ed.

When should I not report a question

When the post is not defamatory, obscene, unlawful, threatening, in breach of copyright or otherwise objectionable. If the links to websites are not objectionable and they are suitable, necessary and relevant to the question. Also there is no need to report a post which does not constitutes name calling, harassment or abuse. As long as the answers are relevant to the question and aids in answering the question, regardless of who has posted it there is no need for you to report that persons post.

And if I ignore all of the above and continue to report users for no valid reason what happens then

The reporting function should only be used when a legitimate breach of the Site Rules has occurred. Please refrain from reporting someone just because they disagree with you. Abuse of our reporting facility will result in your account being terminated

Should you require any further clarification on this matter or any of the site rules they can be found here Site Rules.

Thanks to everyone who is using the reporting function as it should be used, it is most helpful to the Editorial Team when moderating the content on the site.

Thanks again

AB Ed