Handling Rule Violations
Not all rule violations are equal. Use graduated responses that match the severity.
The Escalation Ladder
Level 1: Gentle Nudge (most common) Reply publicly with a friendly correction. No mod tools needed.
"Hey, just a heads up — we try to keep discussions on-topic in this forum. You might get better responses if you post this in [other forum]."
Level 2: Verbal Warning A firmer but still friendly message, either public or via DM.
"I need to ask you to tone down the personal attacks. Disagree with ideas, not people. Thanks."
Level 3: Post Deletion Remove the offending post. Use soft delete so it can be restored if needed. Always leave a brief note explaining why.
Level 4: Thread Lock Lock the thread if the entire conversation has gone off the rails. Post a final message explaining why before locking.
Level 5: Forum Ban Ban the user from your forum (temporary or permanent). Use this for repeat offenders or serious violations.
Level 6: Escalation to Admins For anything involving threats, harassment, doxxing, illegal content, or patterns of abuse across multiple forums. Use the Escalate to SysOps feature.
Common Violations and Responses
| Violation | Typical Response | |-----------|-----------------| | Off-topic post | Level 1 — redirect them | | Mild rudeness | Level 1-2 — nudge or warn | | Personal attacks | Level 2-3 — warn, delete if needed | | Spam/advertising | Level 3 — delete immediately | | Repeated rule-breaking | Level 4-5 — lock or forum ban | | Harassment/threats | Level 6 — escalate immediately | | Illegal content | Level 6 — escalate and delete immediately |
Document Everything
Every moderation action is automatically logged in the Mod Log. If you warn someone verbally (DM or public reply), make a note of it. Patterns matter — you need history to justify escalation.