Reporting Effectively
Hi everyone,
Today I want to share some helpful tips on reporting effectively! This is primarily for 1 on 1 chats.
Before we know how to do it, we must know what is blocking vs. reporting, and when one should use it. The button for blocking and reporting is the same, but they are different types of actions.
Blocking is a feature that allows you to stop a user from messaging you and generates a copy of the report to the community team to review. We use this feature as a last resort, not the first. If a user is causing discomfort (like requesting/sharing personal information, abusing, or harassing), request that they stop. If they do not stop after a couple of reminders and the behavior persists, you can block them as the last resort.
It's ok to block someone if it's not a good fit or they make you uncomfortable, but aren't necessarily breaking any rules. You can just list that in the block.
Reporting is when we want to report a users behavior.
How to report a user effectively?
When you click the block button at the top of the chat dialog box, a pop-up window will be opened. The first field requires the appropriate reason. Select the closest reason for the suggested reasons. In the second field, explain why you are reporting them. If you have a screenshot of the chat to prove the inappropriate behavior, include that too in support of your reasons to block them. It will help the community team to take appropriate actions against the listener. Screenshots can be submitted via a picture sharing link such as imgur.
The top four things people report with:
Reporting and writing random letters
Writing inappropriate chat
Just read the chat
Blank reports
Writing random letters doesn't give a descriptive view of what happened. A good description of what happened will give the team more details to work with to get a better understanding of what happened.
Writing inappropriate chat - this could have a variety of meanings and is again not very descriptive. What type of inappropriate chat? Was it just that the user didn't like the topic and reported, or was it a topic that was inappropriate to that person, but not actually breaking site rules? Was it an actual inappropriate rule-breaking chat? These are all things to consider.
Just read the chat - A full description is much more beneficial to the safety review process.
Blank Reports - These types of reports are ones with no information at all provided by the reporter. Remember: the more info the better.
What is an effective way to report?
If you report using full details on what happened, including any screenshots, time stamps, etc. A good report looks like this: On Monday at X time, I was chatting to this listener/member and they did Y action. I did Z action in response, and then the resulting thing XYZ happened causing me to have to block as a last resort.
Please do the same when you leave positive feedback for the listener.
Help us help you by doing your part to report effectively using this new knowledge. Thank you!
edit: Going to sneak in here and add an edit to clarify. As several people pointed out, the block/report button are the same, and this is causing a bit of confusion. I think Charlie said it best: "This thread is really about effective reporting. It does not really apply to simple blocking. It's OK to block without reporting, but if your intention is to report, then you need to provide clear information in your report." I have updated the post to reflect this, so hopefully it is less confusing. I apologize for any confusion it may have caused. - Evelynerose
edit 2: i am also going to edit this slighty to clarify; this post is mostly geared toward listeners and how they should block effectively (since we as listeners are here to offer support, we really should not be doing things like blocking right off the bat, there are other options we can try first). That being said, members are more able to block in a variety of situations (your safety and comfort is our number 1, so if blocking a listener helps you feel safer and more comfortable, that is ok, even if they're not necessarily doing something against site guidelines).
Formatting edits by ASilentObserver, 1/17/2020
edit and title change made by EvelyneRose for clarification 1/17/20
@Heather225 @EvelyneRose @Hope @ASilentObserver