Would it be possible to have the option in our personal settings to not even see the red 'report a post' icon? I have absolutely no intention to ever use it (I am perfectly capable of unfollowing threads that go sideways or just laugh at the drama). But...in its current location, that is where the thumbs-up used to be and I'm rather taken aback every time I go to give an atta-boy to someone only to have to skirt around the black-ball button. Way too big brother-ish for me (child of the 50s).

I never even thought about hitting it on accident. perhaps a better placement of the button is warranted.
not that I have ever seen anything or anyone around here that I would ever use it on.

It's my understanding that there is an 'are you sure' option when you do hit the button, but I'd just rather not see it at all.

I don't want to use it either, although I pondered it for a spam post the other day. But on a tablet or phone the icons are too small and close, one might end up giving a thumbs up instead of report.

sooby said:I don't want to use it either, although I pondered it for a spam post the other day. But on a tablet or phone the icons are too small and close, one might end up giving a thumbs up instead of report.

That button would not do any good for spam. It only marks the post. It would take a lot of people using the button, then all you would succeed in doing is getting that person banned from that forum. The best option for spam is using the Suggest a Change link beneath the last post in a thread. Click on that link, select delete and give a reason for the suggestion.

Thanks, Jay, I thought I remembered something like that but didn't have time to check in that instance so I left it alone. I have used the suggest a change in the Ask a Question forum to move threads somewhere more appropriate. I wouldn't use the report button anyway, but I do think it is too close to the thumbs up button for mobile devices where one is selecting with a finger or thumb instead of a pointy mouse cursor. But people said they preferred it there rather than the "safer" original location on the left, so majority rules.

I don't like it either. If you are going to add an 'irritated' button down there in the 'gardening is happy' group, I'd rather see the ignore this person button. I have no intention of ever trying to get someone thrown off a forum, but I don't get much wrapped up in other people's drama.

If a thread begins to be taken over by a negative poster, something must be done so that the perpetrator doesn't entirely kill the thread. It's not right for one person to ruin the topic of conversation and enjoyment for everyone else and if that person is doing it on many threads, then it should somehow be addressed.

On a few of the forums we have "Forum Moderators" who can take care of issues when they become aware of them but many forums do not have moderators and it would be sad to allow one poster to kill a friendly, enjoyable thread with constant negativity, so if reporting disruptive activity is the only way to get a thread back on track, I'm all for the "Report a Problem" button.

I know from experience that some folks just thrive on negativity; I have a couple of them in my own family.

edited to add: I think an opt-out button would be fine; just like we can opt out of the emoji's which I know some people don't like at all, especially the animated ones!

I usually follow threads that address a particular plant issue and have not noticed anything untoward. There are often differences of opinion, but for the most part those remain civil and courteous, even when folks are passionate. Perhaps negativity becomes more problematic on the chit-chat threads that I rarely keep up with - too much to slog through, and often not particularly plant related, lots of pet photos. I also note some members are more rigid about staying on topic, while I don't mind a bit of wandering here and there. For me, the option to unwatch a thread is quite enough. Easy-peasy, no recriminations, out of sight out of mind. Done.

I'm rather new to the subject of the reporting button, but I find it's present location troubling as it's too close to the thumbs-up button and too easy to hit accidentally. I know it's already been moved, but could it possibly be moved again - maybe to the far left of the page so that it has to be a really deliberate move to use it?

I'm fine with the new location of the report icon and don't think there's an issue with hitting it by mistake. If we hit the report button by accident, we aren't going to be reporting anything until we complete the transaction by selecting Yes/Report.

plantladylin said:I'm fine with the new location of the report icon and don't think there's an issue with hitting it by mistake. If we hit the report button by accident, we aren't going to be reporting anything until we complete the transaction by selecting Yes/Report.

True, but as far as I know that's not the case with the thumbs up button, you can't retract that? So if someone tries to do a report and accidentally hits thumbs up instead they are then seen to be supporting something they actually wanted to report. It's only a problem that way around. It's easy not to hit the wrong thing on a computer, not so easy on a mobile device.

sooby said:

True, but as far as I know that's not the case with the thumbs up button, you can't retract that? So if someone tries to do a report and accidentally hits thumbs up instead they are then seen to be supporting something they actually wanted to report. It's only a problem that way around. It's easy not to hit the wrong thing on a computer, not so easy on a mobile device.

Actually I think you can retract the thumbs up simple be clicking on it again.

sooby said:

True, but as far as I know that's not the case with the thumbs up button, you can't retract that? So if someone tries to do a report and accidentally hits thumbs up instead they are then seen to be supporting something they actually wanted to report. It's only a problem that way around. It's easy not to hit the wrong thing on a computer, not so easy on a mobile device.

You can retract a thumbs-up. Just hit the greyed-out thumb and you're all set. Just tested it on your post

Horntoad said:
Actually I think you can retract the thumbs up simple be clicking on it again.

Sorry, Horntoad. I cross-posted with you!

You most definitely retract a "thumbs up" by clicking it again. I do it all the time, as I am usually on my phone and my fat thumb clicks the wrong thing all the time.

I believe the best option to satisfy both parties would be to put the word report next to the red warning sign and move it completely to the left side, horizontally opposite of the where the post number is. I'd also suggest that the report button would send a system message to moderators and administrators warning them of the post. A little text box to explain why you flagged the post, or some options you can check such as "Spam", "Inappropriate", or "Other" would be beneficial. Removing some of the features of the "Suggest a Change" may also simplify everything.

bwv998 said:

You can retract a thumbs-up. Just hit the greyed-out thumb and you're all set. Just tested it on your post

Thanks, I didn't know that. But seemingly it only retracts from showing in the post in the thread because I still got a notification that you'd given me a thumbs up.

The system message that you got a thumbs will eventually disappear when the thumbs up is retracted.

Don't know if it would help, but some sites I use have an ignore function for a poster, which allows other to see the message, but if you hit ignore you will not see that individuals post. For the most part if I do not want to see the poster I just disregard that individuals comments.