Reports and moderation

What happens when you press Report, and what a moderator decides.

Anyone signed in can report a post or a comment. Serious reports hide the thing at once. Everything else waits for a moderator, unless three people report it.

What each reason does

You pickWhat happens
Someone's private informationHidden straight away, until a moderator checks it.
A child could be harmedHidden straight away, until a moderator checks it.
A threat, harassment or hateHidden straight away, until a moderator checks it.
Someone may be at risk of harming themselvesStays up for a moderator to see, and you get Lifeline's number: 13 11 14, or text 0477 13 11 14.
False or misleadingWaits for a moderator.
Spam or scamWaits for a moderator.
Something elseWaits for a moderator.

Three people, any reason. When three different people report the same post or comment, it's hidden until a moderator looks. Reporting the same thing twice counts once.

Why hide first and ask later? A wrong hide costs a post a few hours offline. A right one can keep someone's address, a child, or a threatened person out of harm's way. We take the first cost to avoid the second.

What "hidden" means

  • A hidden post answers "That post is not here."
  • A hidden comment shows [removed], with no name on it, so the replies under it still make sense.
  • A picture on a hidden post or comment stops loading too.
  • Nothing is deleted. It stays in our database, out of view, so a moderator can restore it if the report was wrong.

What a moderator sees and decides

Moderators see every open report, newest first: the reported text, how many people reported it, and the reasons and notes they gave. They don't see who reported it.

For each one, a moderator chooses:

  • Keep: the post or comment comes back, and the report closes.
  • Remove: it stays hidden for good, and the report closes.

Moderators can also remove a post, comment or chat message directly, without a report. An account we bar from the site can't sign in here again.

We don't yet message you about the outcome. If something you reported is still up and it shouldn't be, report it to eSafety too.

Limits that slow down floods

You need to sign in to post, comment, chat or report. On top of that, each person gets:

  • 5 posts in ten minutes,
  • 6 comments a minute,
  • 10 chat messages in thirty seconds,
  • 3 new communities a day,
  • 10 pictures an hour, once uploads are on.

Past the limit, the site says so and asks you to wait. Normal use never reaches it; a spam script hits it in seconds.

What isn't built yet

  • A Report button on chat messages. Until then, send the link to the Omxus safety report form.
  • Telling you what happened to your report.
  • Bot checks with Cloudflare Turnstile. What it's for.

Sources. This site's community code (functions/api/[[path]].js and app.js), read 27 September 2026: the report reasons, the three-report rule, the moderator Keep and Remove actions, and the rate limits are quoted from it. Lifeline's numbers from lifeline.org.au.