SMF2.1:Warnings

Work in progress, expect frequent changes.

Warning System

In a broad sense, the SMF Warning System is an optional tool for helping administrators to manage their forum's users. It can be used for things like sending individual users a message from administrators, adding moderation notes to user profiles, and even for keeping a full history of moderation actions for individual members. For these and other adminstrative purposes, it's possible to issue warnings without any penalties or consequences.

Primarily, it is meant to be used for disciplinary purposes. It allows forum administrators and moderators to penalize users who have not followed the forum's rules. It can automatically remove member rights as their warning level increases. We call the removal of member rights "user limitations", which are created by first enabling these features, and then setting the values for each option.

Settings

First, Members menu > Warnings > Enable user warning system allows administrators to enable this system. Be sure to click Save button at the bottom. To take full advantage of this system, check the box Members menu > Permissions > Post moderation > Enable Post Moderation, then click Save Changes button. If you do not enable post moderation, then the limitation, Moderate all of a member's posts, will not be available.

After enabling the warning system, 6 or 7 more options will appear below, depending on how moderation options are set:

• Warning level for user watch - This is the warning percentage which triggers a user Watch to be put in place. Set on 0 to disable this option.
• Warning level for post moderation - This is the warning percentage which causes all of a member's post to be moderated. Set on 0 to disable this option. This will override other board moderation permissions which may exist.
• Warning level for user muting - If a member acquires this warning level, they will not be able to post any messages. Set on 0 to disable.
• Maximum user warning points per day - This level is the highest percentage which a moderator or administrator can add to or remove from a member in a 24-hour period. Set to 0 to disable this option.
• Warning points that are decreased every 24 hours - This is the amount by which a member's warning level is decreased every 24 hours. It only applies to users not warned within last 24 hours. Set to zero to disable.
• Users who can see any warning status - Click on "Select permissions for each group" to choose which groups will be allowed to see anyone who has been given a warning.
• Users who can see their own warning status - Click on "Select permissions for each group" to choose which groups will be allowed to see their own warning status.

User Limitations

There are three user limitations which the options above can configure. Four, if you count 'no limitations' as the first one.* Note that they stay in effect only as long as the member's warning level is above the set value. Set each value carefully, considering the 24 hour decrease, if you use it.

• In good standing: A member is considered in good standing if their warning level is either 0, or it has not reached high enough to be added to the Watched Members list.

• Watch a member: A member can be officially watched when their name is added to a Watched Members list, which is found at Moderation Center > Members > Watched Members. To become listed here, the adminstrator must have set a non-zero value for Admin Center > Members > Warnings > Warning level for user watch, and the member's warning level must have reached this value.

  If a member is being formally Watched, it will be shown in the member's profile; although certain membergroups might be blocked from seeing it. See Admin Center > Members > Warnings > Users who can see any warning status and Users who can see their own warning status, to set the membergroups.

• Moderate all of a member's posts: This user limitation happens when the administrator has set a non-zero value for Admin Center > Members > Warnings > Warning level for post moderation, and the member's warning level has reached that value. This will override other board moderation permissions which may exist.

• Mute a member: When the adminstrator has set a non-zero value for Admin Center > Members > Warnings > Warning level for user muting, and the member's warning level has reached this value, the member will not be able to post any messages.

* Beyond the Warnings System, which is an automated system, the ultimate user limitation would be banning. However, banning is entirely subjective, and usually only adminstrators have access to it. Find more information about it on the Ban List page.

Issue a Warning

If administrators have enabled this feature, then moderators or administrators can issue warnings by clicking on a member's name, to open their profile. In the Actions menu, click Issue a Warning. Here you will find the following options:

• Warning Level - Use the slidebar to set how strong you want the warning to be. As you slide it, you will see something like "Result: 25% (User will be added to moderator watch list.)" just below the slidebar. This is a calculation according to the values which the administrator set on the Members > Warnings page. It's also possible to issue a warning which carries no user limitations, or 0 warning level. See below for more information.
• Reason for Warning - This is a required field. You could use it to explain the reason for the warning, or you might find some other information to enter. But something must be entered here.
• Send a Notification - Check this box if you want to send a Private Message (PM) either to notify a member about a new warning they have received, or to explain it.
• Notification Subject - You can keep the suggested title "You have received a warning" or type your own title for the message.
• Notification Message - From the dropdown menu, you can choose from three pre-composed message templates: Spamming, Posting Offensive Material, and Insulting Users/Staff. Or if you click "New Template", you can create a custom template of your own. Or you can just type a unique message in the field below the menu.

You can use the Preview button to preview your message. When you have all the options filled in as you like, click the Issue Warning button. Now when you open that member's profile, you'll see the warning and the level.

At the bottom of this page is a table titled Previous Warnings, showing whatever previous warnings a member might have received. It shows who issued each prior warning, when it was issued, and the reason for the warning. The last column, Points, records the net change in the warning status. Remember that in some cases, the warning level is automatically decreased every 24 hours, so the net change value is relative to the previous warning level, not necessarily the previous warning that was issued.

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