Review Reporting & Moderation

Keep your community safe and trustworthy with built-in review reporting and moderation tools. Members can flag inappropriate reviews, and administrators have full control over review approval and management.

How Review Reporting Works

Any logged-in member can report a review they find problematic. The reporting system helps you identify and address issues quickly without manual monitoring of every review.

Reporting Flow

Member finds a problematic review on any profile
Clicks “Report this review” link below the review
Selects a reason from predefined options
Submits the report (the review is marked as reported)
Admin receives notification and can take action

Each report increments the review’s report count. When a review reaches your configured threshold, it automatically hides from public view pending admin review.

Report Reasons

The plugin provides four predefined report reasons:

Spam or Fake Review

Review contains advertising or promotional content
Review appears to be fake or fraudulent
Review is completely irrelevant to the member being reviewed

Harassment or Abuse

Review contains personal attacks or insults
Review uses threatening or intimidating language
Review targets the member inappropriately

Inappropriate Content

Review contains offensive language or hate speech
Review includes private or confidential information
Review violates community guidelines

Conflict of Interest

Reviewer has a personal relationship affecting objectivity
Review is from a competitor or rival
Review appears biased or motivated by external factors

These reasons help administrators quickly understand the nature of the report and make informed moderation decisions.

Auto-Hide Threshold

The auto-hide feature automatically removes reviews from public view when they receive multiple reports.

Configuring the Threshold

Go to Settings → Member Reviews (General tab) to set your threshold:

Default: 5 reports – Review hides after 5 members report it
0 = Disabled – Reviews never auto-hide regardless of report count
Custom number – Set any number based on your community size

Small communities (under 100 active members): Use 2-3 reports to respond quickly.

Medium communities (100-1000 members): Use 5-7 reports to filter out genuine issues.

Large communities (1000+ members): Use 10+ reports to avoid false positives.

When a review reaches the threshold, it immediately disappears from the profile but remains in your admin panel for review.

Best Practices for Moderation

Establish Clear Guidelines

Create and publish review guidelines that explain:

What makes a helpful review
What content is prohibited
How the reporting system works
What happens to reported reviews

Link to these guidelines from your review submission form.

Respond Promptly

Check your moderation panel regularly:

Daily for small-medium communities
Multiple times daily for large active communities
Set up email notifications for reported reviews

Quick response times show your community you take moderation seriously.

Be Consistent

Apply the same standards to all reviews regardless of:

Who wrote the review
Who is being reviewed
How popular the members are

Inconsistent moderation damages community trust.

Document Decisions

When taking action on reported reviews:

Add admin notes explaining your decision
Keep records of patterns (e.g., members who file false reports)
Review your decisions periodically to ensure consistency

Communicate with Members

When you take action:

Edit reviews: Leave a note explaining what was removed and why
Delete reviews: Send a private message explaining the violation
Dismiss false reports: Consider messaging the reporting member about proper use

Handle Edge Cases

Negative but honest reviews: Don’t remove reviews just because they’re negative. Honest criticism helps your community.

Personal disputes: If two members are in conflict, evaluate the review content objectively, not the relationship.

Borderline content: When in doubt, edit to remove problematic parts rather than deleting the entire review.

Moderation Workflow Example

Morning check: Review all new pending reviews, approve legitimate ones
Check reports: Sort by report count, review highest first
Investigate: Read the review, check reporter’s history, consider context
Take action: Approve/edit/hide/delete based on guidelines
Document: Add admin notes for significant decisions
Follow up: If needed, message involved members

Preventing Moderation Issues

Enable review approval: Require admin approval for first-time reviewers or all reviews.

Set rating limits: Require members to have interacted before reviewing (e.g., must be connected or in same group).

Educate your community: Regularly remind members of review guidelines through announcements or blog posts.

Monitor patterns: Watch for members who consistently receive reports or file false reports.

Use owner replies: Encourage profile owners to respond to negative reviews professionally, which often resolves disputes without moderation.

Effective moderation keeps your review system trustworthy and valuable. By responding promptly and fairly to reports, you build a community where members feel safe giving and receiving honest feedback.