How to Moderate Answers

Step 1 Open Answer

• Navigate to the question page with the answer that you want to moderate.
• Scroll down to the answer and click the Options link in the top-right corner of the answer box.
• Select Moderate from the drop-down menu.
• This option is only available to users with reputation over 100 points, privileged site users, and the user who posted the Question.
Step 2 Accept as Solution

• Five community user votes are required for the answer to be accepted as the solution to a question.
• This labels the solution as the selected answer for the question.
Step 3 Remove as Spam/Offensive
• Five community user votes are required for the answer to be removed as spam/offensive.
• This deletes the post and docks the author's reputation 100 points.
• This should be used as a last resort. Reputation is too hard to come by to punish someone for a one-time or innocent mistake.
• If you're not sure if something qualifies as spam, post the link in the monthly spam thread on our Meta forum.
Step 4 Remove as Not an Answer
• Five community user votes are required for the answer to be removed as "duplicate or off-topic."
• This deletes the answer and makes it invisible to normal users.
Step 5 Switch to a Comment
• Three community user votes are required for the answer to be "switched to a comment."
• This changes the answer to a comment when someone posts an answer that is not really a solution to the problem.
• This is typically done when someone posts saying they have the same issue, which really contains no helpful solutions.
• Switching the answer to a comment bumps the question to the top of the activity queue, which benefits everyone.
Step 6 Switch to a Question
• Three community user votes are required for the answer to be "switched to a question."
• This changes an answer to a question when a user (who might not understand how things work quite yet) posts another question as an answer on someone else's question.
• This is great because the user now has a chance to receive a response. It also gives users more opportunities to share their knowledge.
• If there is not enough information to answer the question, it is better to remove it so it doesn't clutter the site.
Step 7 Switch to Update to Question
• Three community user votes are required for the answer to be "switched to update to a question."
• This moderation button is only available when you're moderating the original authors content within their Answers Forum thread.
• This turns either a comment or an answer to a question into an update to the original question.
Step 8 Forcing a Vote to Pass
• If you posted the question or have Moderator or Administrator privileges for the site, you will see the Force vote to pass? checkbox under the moderation options.
• Checking this box means that you are using your privileges to bypass the additional votes required to complete your moderation selection.

Author

with 5 other contributors

Amber Taus

Member since: 01/10/22

11 Guides authored

Team

iFixit Member of iFixit

2 Members

66 Guides authored

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