# Errr.. Reporting an Inappropriate Post
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/errr-reporting-an-inappropriate-post/192420
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [August 1, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/errr-reporting-an-inappropriate-post/192420 "2003-08-01T19:01:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/errr-reporting-an-inappropriate-post/192420/1 "2003-08-01T19:01:29Z")
My apologies if this has been answered before. I did not see it in any of the stickies, or the locked threads on ATMB.
> [@](#):
>
> **help out your friendly moderator!**
> Q: I see something at the message board that I think breaks the rules. What should I do?
> A: E-mail all the moderators for the forum in which the thread occurs and/or which relates to your question. (You can easily do this using the “report post to moderator function” if your question concerns a post in a thread.)
> Since the message board is so active, and the moderators are unpaid volunteers, we appreciate any assistance that our members can give us.
When using the “report this post to a moderator” function, is it either necessary or helpful to cut and paste the possibly inappropriate part of the offending post in the box that pops up? Or do the moderators get the offending post automatically included, or a link to it, in the e-mail that gets sent?
Thanks in advance for your answer.
Regards,
Shodan
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2003, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/errr-reporting-an-inappropriate-post/192420/2 "2003-08-01T19:32:44Z")
We get a link to the offending post. However, it’s always useful to indicate why you think that the post is a violation of rules. For instance, if someone posts an advertisement, many people just note “Spam!” in their report. If the post links to an offensive website, telling the mod that it does so is helpful. Generally, I do not reply to reported posts, but I do take any action that I think is appropriate. If I can’t figure out why the post was reported, I might ask the reporter what s/he thinks is wrong with the post.
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### Author:  [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/errr-reporting-an-inappropriate-post/192420/3 "2003-08-01T19:52:20Z")
Thanks for your response.
Regards,
Shodan