The Mods/Admins often exhort us to use the little ! up in the top right hand corner.
Do you use it? What for and how often? Conversely, If not, why not?
If a passing Mod cares to comment on how often it’s used (or possibly mis-used) that would be interesting, too.
I’m always constantly amazed at how quickly spam vanishes, sock puppets get thrown in the laundry bag of contempt etc.
The only time i have ever reported a post it has been obvious spam - advertisements etc.
I use it to report a post to a mod for any reason I think a mod should be notified. Spam/advertising, illegal activities being discussed or stuff that just generally breaks the board rules. I’ll even use it just to ask a mod to close a duplicate thread, change a title, or move a thread.
I haven’t been told to knock it off, so I assume I’m not using it incorrectly. Of course, I don’t use it that often.
Just curious, but can guests and lurkers use that function?
I use it when I see spam or advertising (see, kids, that’s what you do, instead of posting in the thread and starting a countdown).
I have used it exactly once to report an offensive post – someone was using language that truly offended me in a non-Pit thread. IIRC, a mod was along pretty briskly and told the poster to knock it off.
I used it once in a GQ thread where someone was really being a jerk about motorcyclists. He also admitted to being a sock so I figured he needed it. Other then that I’ve forgotten about it.
I used it once for an obvious abusive thread and was very reluctant to use it again. After hearing the mods say over and over that they would prefer the function be used instead of confronting someone, I have used it maybe ten times total to report perceived infractions. Sometimes a mod will agree with me, sometimes they don’t. I have never been told I have hit the ! incorrectly.
For some reason I have never opened an obvious Spam thread. I guess they are gone too quickly for me to notice.
I’ve reported a couple spam posts with it, and such posts are always summarily dealt with.
I also used it one time to report a link I felt needed to be deleted. The thread was on “worst web site you have ever been to”. The web site linked would spawn jillions of pop-ups that floated all over the screen and could not be clicked on to close them. Each of the pop-ups displayed annoying and obnoxious animations and insulting messages. Equally annoying, obnoxious and insulting sounds played at the same time. The only remedy was to shut the system down and reboot it. IIRC, the mod indicated having received about 20 requests to remove the link.
I’ve reported one post. It was in GQ, and really was the only time I saw a post that I genuinely felt afraid for the poster, who seemed highly disturbed. It was a new user and I haven’t seen a post by the user since. Other than that, I don’t really think about reporting posts. If something bothers me enough, I may disagree and state why, but that’s about it. I’m also amazed at the speed which spam and socks are taken care of.
SlickRoenick, I don’t think guests can report posts, since I didn’t see the option until I logged in.
You know, I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that function even existed. Huh. Learn something new every day, I guess.
I’ve only used it to report spam, which I seem to do a lot lately. 
I’m pretty sure they can. Although its been a while since I was a guest.
Yep, I’ve used it to report spam, or sometimes to just flag a mod to move a thread.
It didn’t occur to me sign out and test for myself until i read cichlidiot’s post. But if you aren’t signed in, then it doesn’t appear at all. Any guests like to help us out?
I used it once, to report a post that included someone’s name and postal adress.
I’ve used it a couple of times, but I never got a response from the mods as to whether it was received. I guess I just thought they received the report and moved on. Now I wonder if I used it correctly.
Do they answer when you guys do it? 
A couple of times. Once to ask a thread to be moved to another forum {perfectly innocuous}, the other {quite recently, but I’m not posting a link: don’t want to encourage him} to call in on a jerk in this forum who posted an illiterate and incomprehensible thread and then abused anyone who replied to it {. I suspect I wasn’t the only one to report it}, and he was swiftly told to knock it off. Haven’t seen him since.
That said, I’ve been called by a Mod in General Questions for posting a flippant and ill-judged comment in a thread: we live and learn.
I actually use it fairly frequently for all the usual reasons: spam, posting in wrong forums, name calling, posting porn etc. I think I’ve got a response two or three times, always in the form of “thanks, that’s one we missed, keep up the good work”. In the vast majority of cases, I neither recieve, nor expect a response. And if my plea seems to go un-noticed, I just shrug and carry on doing what I was doing anyway.
I’ve used it to report two zombie threads. I never seem to catch the trolls in action until a day or so after they emerge from under the bridge, and I figure that by then, the mods are aware of the issue.
I’ve used it twice. Once to report a really odd obscene thread that was a mock-up of the SD Homepage but pornographic. I went back to look later to see what had happened and the thread was gone. The only other time I have used it was to report a thread which was started directily about a poster after the mods had asked everyone to lay off for a bit since it was a sensitive issue. I didn’t think the thread was started maliciously but figured it would spiral out of control if people started posting to it.
I don’t really like using it because I feel like I am 10 years old and “telling on someone” but I do appreciate that these boards aren’t allowed to run amok and figure we all need to try to help.
Unfortunately guests can’t report bad posts, but I did wonder what the term meant, so thanks for clearing that up for me. BTW whilst I’m here, can anyone tell me what “sock puppet” means/is? Is it really obvious that I’m new to this? 