This page includes rules and guidelines for community members who act as Moderators of the Mozilla Support Forums. For general guidelines on how to use the Mozilla Support Forums please check our Forum rules and guidelines

Editing inappropiate content

The following content is considered inappropiate:

• foul language
• person attacks
• spam links
• sensitive information (personal info, phone numbers etc)
• links to exe files that may contain malware

Posts with inappropriate content should be edited to remove that content. Moderators will post a new comment so that it goes out as an email, to explain that inappropriate content has been removed as per Forum rules and guidelines

Locking and deleting threads

Moderators can lock threads or remove them completely according to the following guidelines:

1. Locking threads

• Off-topic threads need to be locked.

• Duplicate threads should be locked after posting a link to the original thread.

• Threads that have completely degenerated will be reported to moderator. It will be up to the moderator to decide whether to lock the thread or not.

• If a solved thread is getting multiple new replies from other users, moderators should lock the thread and post a new comment to explain that users with similar issues should post a new question (refer to Forum rules and guidelines).

• If an unsolved thread is getting multiple new replies from other users seeking help, and the original poster hasn't replied in the thread for some time, post a new comment and
  • explain that users with similar issues should post a new question (refer to Forum rules and guidelines)
  • ask the OP if he has resolved the issue or if he still needs help.
  • Do NOT lock the thread, since the OP may still need help.

2. Deleting threads

• In general only spam posts should be deleted.

• Moderators should delete posts that are entirely personal attacks or profanity, and deactivate users for multiple such posts (or refer to admin if in doubt).
  • Moderators will post a new reply explaining that an inappropriate post (as defined in Forum rules and guidelines) has been deleted before removing the post/thread, so that it goes out as an email.
  • Moderators should also leave a record in the moderators forum that they removed a particular non-spam post (until a better solution is found).

Moving threads

If a thread has landed in the wrong product or language forum, moderators should move these to the appropriate forum (i.e. a Portuguese question in the English forum or a Firefox OS question in the Firefox Desktop forum). Moderators can move threads by following these steps:

• Click on "Question Details" on the right hand side

• Click on "Edit Details"

• Select the right product or language

• Click "Save Changes"

Marking threads as "Solved"

Moderators can mark threads as solved when the user clearly indicates his problem is solved (such as "thank you, problem fixed now", "ok, it looks like it worked" etc).

• We will not mark as solved threads which appear to be solved and probably are but where the user did not make any comment.

Deactivating spammer accounts

• Moderators can deactivate accounts that are clearly used for spam purposes.
• Moderators should report in the Moderators forum when deactivating an account (topic: "Spammers")

What should I do if..?

Moderators should report in the moderators forum or to Admin any other situation that is not currently covered in these guidelines. This also applies to "grey areas" or when Moderator is in doubt whether a certain action should be taken.

Situations where users or fellow contributors are misbehaving/making bad suggestions should also be reported in the moderators forum or to Admin depending on how delicate/severe the situation is.