What if I see someone doing something bad?

Our site moderators actively moderate the community, but they need your help to do so. If you see behavior that is rude, offensive, unproductive, or otherwise inappropriate for the site, let us know. If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, speak up. The site moderators review each post and comment flagged by community members. Posts that receive enough spam or offensive flags from the community may be automatically deleted without moderator intervention.

Please remember: replying to abusive, off-topic, or inappropriate content may inadvertently encourage it! Wherever possible, please flag content instead, as it allows removal without providing undue attention.

Flagging a question, answer, or comment

To flag a question or answer, click the "Flag" link at the bottom of the post. To flag a comment, click the flag icon next to the comment.

In the dialog box that appears, you may then select the reason for the flag. There are several standard flag options to choose from, though the options vary depending on the type of content you’re flagging. If you do not see an option that fits the situation (or the flag requires further explanation), you can select the custom option at the bottom of the list. You’ll be provided some space in which to explain the issue – try to be as specific as possible.

For more information about flagging, please see the flagging privilege page.

Contacting a site moderator

The usual way to contact a moderator is to flag problematic content. If the content or behavior is not in a place where you can conveniently flag it directly, please flag any post by the user in question and provide a custom reason explaining what you think should be investigated.

If the issue is too complicated to explain in a custom flag reason and you have sufficient reputation, you can try contacting the moderators in chat.

Contacting Stack Exchange staff

If you feel that there is an issue that urgently needs attention from Stack Exchange staff, you can also contact us directly.