# How do I report a PM? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 27, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706 "2009-12-27T15:13:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/1 "2009-12-27T15:13:30Z")
I received a private message over the weekend from a newly registered user. This PM is explicitly advertising. I don’t see a “report PM” button like the “report post” button. Who do I forward this PM to? I’m not putting details of who or what in this post, to prevent the guilty from receiving publicity, and just in case I’m wrong. But I will note that the recipients line was: CatInASuit, Hal Briston, Scuba\_Ben, storyteller0910, tiltawhirl ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2009, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/2 "2009-12-27T15:18:47Z")
There’s a “Forward” button at the bottom of the PM. Just choose the Admin or Mod of your choice. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/3 "2009-12-27T15:36:07Z")
Thanks, I’ll send it to Tubadiva and xash as the ATMB mods. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/4 "2009-12-27T17:15:38Z")
yes, please, we’d very much like to see it. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/5 "2009-12-27T17:18:15Z")
I am behind times, this has been dealt with. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/6 "2009-12-28T18:12:46Z")
Thanks to **samclem** and **TubaDiva** for addressing this issue. In your honor, I will now go consume the sacred chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/7 "2009-12-29T01:23:37Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > Thanks to **samclem** and **TubaDiva** for addressing this issue. In your honor, I will now go consume the sacred chocolate. **Tuba** gets the chocolate. Now, about some nice craft-brewed beer… ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/8 "2009-12-29T01:42:00Z")
I’d like to officially cast my vote that we do implement an official report feature for private messages. Blatant advertising/spam in PMs is an easy case of forwarding to admins/mods, but what about abuse? Why should it go unregulated if it gets brought to the attention of an authority figure? And I ask, because we all know forwarding allows for manipulation of the original message, which allows for a forwarded message to not resemble the original in the least. Or to be altered just enough to make the offended party look more warranted in the offense. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/9 "2009-12-29T02:21:29Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > I’d like to officially cast my vote that we do implement an official report feature for private messages. > > Blatant advertising/spam in PMs is an easy case of forwarding to admins/mods, but what about abuse? Why should it go unregulated if it gets brought to the attention of an authority figure? And I ask, because we all know forwarding allows for manipulation of the original message, which allows for a forwarded message to not resemble the original in the least. Or to be altered just enough to make the offended party look more warranted in the offense. From your lips to Og’s ears. vBulletin refuses to implement such a feature. And the hack is somewhat unstable. But we could get around this. If the contents of a PM are contested, all you’d have to do is change your password, and send that password via PM to an admin. The admin would, ASAP, send you a message saying they read it, so you can change your password back. (The admins aren’t bad people, but we need to avoid the appearance of impropriety.) The main problem would be the trust issue, as Dopers as a whole seem more paranoid than average. But surely, if the need was great, you could find a mod or admin you trust enough to give them this power. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/10 "2009-12-29T02:24:29Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > I’d like to officially cast my vote that we do implement an official report feature for private messages. > > Blatant advertising/spam in PMs is an easy case of forwarding to admins/mods, but what about abuse? Why should it go unregulated if it gets brought to the attention of an authority figure? And I ask, because we all know forwarding allows for manipulation of the original message, which allows for a forwarded message to not resemble the original in the least. Or to be altered just enough to make the offended party look more warranted in the offense. I’m not understanding what you’re getting at. The case being delt with here is pretty unique. A person registers on a website. He never posts. He only sends PMs to members. We consider this spam. So did this particular member. Sorry to be dense. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/11 "2009-12-29T02:41:35Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I’m not understanding what you’re getting at. The case being delt with here is pretty unique. A person registers on a website. He never posts. He only sends PMs to members. We consider this spam. So did this particular member. > > Sorry to be dense. I think he’s using it as a springboard into the more general topic of PM moderation. This case being unique is exactly the point. It’s the reason you guys were able to do something about it. But what do we do in a PM moderation case that isn’t so clear cut? My proposed system is above. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/12 "2009-12-29T03:14:25Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > I’d like to officially cast my vote that we do implement an official report feature for private messages. > [@BigT](#): > > From your lips to Og’s ears. vBulletin refuses to implement such a feature. And the hack is somewhat unstable. I don’t think that’s true. On another vBulletin site I post at every once in a while, PMs do have a “report this PM” button. The site is currently running version 3.8.1, so I’m guessing it was added with version 3.8. (The SDMB is still at 3.7.3.) It’s a pretty useful feature, especially when combined with some of the PM throttling features built into vB, as PM spammers are getting more common. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/13 "2009-12-29T04:47:12Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I’m not understanding what you’re getting at. The case being delt with here is pretty unique. A person registers on a website. He never posts. He only sends PMs to members. We consider this spam. So did this particular member. > > Sorry to be dense. > [@BigT](#): > > I think he’s using it as a springboard into the more general topic of PM moderation. This case being unique is exactly the point. It’s the reason you guys were able to do something about it. But what do we do in a PM moderation case that isn’t so clear cut? My proposed system is above. **samclem** , **BigT** summed up my point. I was talking about a topic related to the OP, but not talking directly about the OP. Sorry for any crazy or less than clear wording on my part. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/14 "2009-12-30T18:09:16Z")
I, too, would like to thanks the Mods/Admins, in this case, **twickster** and **xash** for their help with an offensive PM. Their help and reassurance make me happy to be a poster. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/15 "2009-12-31T05:01:43Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > I don’t think that’s true. On another vBulletin site I post at every once in a while, PMs do have a “report this PM” button. The site is currently running version 3.8.1, so I’m guessing it was added with version 3.8. (The SDMB is still at 3.7.3.) > > It’s a pretty useful feature, especially when combined with some of the PM throttling features built into vB, as PM spammers are getting more common. In addition, there is no way to alter the PM if you use the Report Post icon, so it goes to the reported posts section of the board in original form. Altering is possible when quoting a post or forwarding it, but you take that worry away with the report button. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/16 "2009-12-31T05:12:16Z")
A report button on PMs would be very helpful for us. This is the first time we’ve had a PM spammer that I know of, but I’d been expecting it to happen sooner or later. And it would end some of the gray areas about moderation of private messages. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/17 "2009-12-31T05:23:26Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > (The admins aren’t bad people… Cite? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/18 "2010-01-05T00:29:36Z")
Not sure if/how this was resolved (I just came across this on a vanity search), but just to come to the defense of the person who sent the PM, it was a very targeted message. This person runs an annual game of Mafia that plays more or less like an “all-star” game. He culls players from all different sites that play Mafia, and news of this year’s signups is something that…well, I can’t presume to speak for the whole recipient list, but I suspect most of us _want_ to know about. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/19 "2010-01-05T01:07:59Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Not sure if/how this was resolved (I just came across this on a vanity search), but just to come to the defense of the person who sent the PM, it was a very targeted message. This person runs an annual game of Mafia that plays more or less like an “all-star” game. He culls players from all different sites that play Mafia, and news of this year’s signups is something that…well, I can’t presume to speak for the whole recipient list, but I suspect most of us _want_ to know about. It was resolved in that I banned the sender of the private messages. The person who reported this considered it spam. The Board considers it spam, in that the senders of the messages are taking advantage of something they can search online and send targeted messages. Some posters may want to received these mails, much as some people may wish to received Viagra [del]spam[/del] messages in their mailboxes. That’s great, just don’t use the Board for such an enterprise. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-report-a-pm/522706/20 "2010-01-05T02:18:22Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > A report button on PMs would be very helpful for us. This is the first time we’ve had a PM spammer that I know of, but I’d been expecting it to happen sooner or later. And it would end some of the gray areas about moderation of private messages. Unfortunately this is not a feature currently offered to us in this version of vBulletin.