ModTools: Difference between revisions

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'''THIS PAGE NEEDS UPDATING.  Suggest a page is set up for each of the functions in the left hand menu on ModTools, rather than cram it all into one page'''
'''ModTools''' is a website and app that gives volunteers the tools to moderate messages on their local Freegle communities.
__TOC__


==Starting with ModTools==
You can use ModTools from any browser - Chrome, Edge or Firefox. If you don't have a preference, use Chrome: https://modtools.org/modtools


==Starting with Modtools==
If you're using a phone or tablet, get the ModTools app from the Play Store or App Store - it works best, and you'll get notifications when there's work to do. See [[ModTools app]] for more.
If you're using a phone/tablet, then you should get the ModTools app from the Play Store or iTunes. That will work best, and you'll get notifications when there's stuff to do.


If you're not on a phone/tablet, you can use ModTools from a browser, e.g. Chrome, Edge or Firefox.  If you don't have a preference, use Chrome.
Or do both.


==Getting Set Up==
==Getting set up==
Select ''Settings'' from the left hand menu bar.
First things first - set up ModTools for you and your community. Select ''Settings'' from the left-hand menu.


===Personal===
There are four tabs:
These settings are just about you.
*'''Visible Name''' - enter your ''display name'', this is your own name or the name you would like displayed publicly to other users.
*'''Your email address''' - if the ''email address'' you use to moderate is not the one showing, change it here.
*'''Moderation Notifications (Active)''' - choose when or not to receive an email alert for pending moderation tasks for groups on which you are active (you can select whether you are active in the Community>Your Settings section.
*'''Moderation Notifications (Backup)''' - as above but for groups on which you are not an 'active' moderator.
*'''Play Beep''' - select if you wish to get a notification bleep when there is moderation to do.
*'''Show me as a volunteer?''' - choose if you wish members to know your visible name or not.
*'''Email me about ChitChat?''' - choose if you want to be emailed about chitchat posts in your group communities.
*'''Enter send vs newline''' - choose if you wish your 'enter' key to start a new line in a chat with your members, or for the 'enter' key to immediately send the message.


===Community===
* '''Personal''' - ModTools settings just for you.
Choose which community you want to set up for. 
* '''Community''' - ModTools settings for each community you moderate, whether as an active moderator or a backup. The button to switch between actively moderating and backup is under Your Settings in this section. For more on shortlinks, see [[Shortlinks]]. Also see [[How to add a picture to a community home page]].
*'''Community Addresses''' - Contact information for your community
* '''Standard Messages''' - template messages you can use for moderating posts and members on your community. Substitution strings can be used in lots of messages - special terms you put in a standard message which ModTools expands before sending. See [[Substitution Strings]] for a full explanation.
*'''Your Settings''' - Are you an active or backup moderator for this community?  Choose here. Also choose the Standard Message template you wish to use for this community (you will be able to adjust these standard message templates and actions from the Standard Messages tab.)  Choose Default Configuration Freegle Groups if you want a standard set.
* '''Bulk Operations''' - actions you can apply in bulk. Watch this space.
*'''How It Looks''' - Upload a photo to use for your community profile.
*'''Tagline''' - short and snappy one-liner about your group. Have a look at a few pother groups for ideas if you're stuck.
*'''Welcome email''' - email that gets sent to new members of your community. Remember to click 'save' when you enter or edit this.
*'''Description''' - members will see this on your community home page, along with your tagline and photo profile.  Good place to advertise your community social media pages.
*'''Keywords''' - the subject line prefaces for each member post - use all capitals, change OFFER to Offered, or whatever you feel happy with.  


.....
Get going with the basic features first, and come back to customise as you gain confidence or things change. It's also worth reviewing these settings annually, to check everything is still fit for purpose.


Once your settings are sorted, you're ready to go. ModTools should be mostly self-explanatory on each page, but here are some pointers to other sources, in the order they appear in the toolbar.


==Dashboard==
The dashboard shows several useful things:
* A snapshot of current discussions on Discourse (our national discussion forum for volunteers)
* When volunteers on a community last took action in ModTools - select a community and click Update to see this. (To see when they last logged in or accessed Freegle Direct or ModTools, go to Members > Approved and select Moderation Team from the drop-down.)
* Popular posts and active members
* Stats about your community's activity and impact - see [[Statistics]] for more


====Group Settings====
==Messages==
These settings affect how this group behaves for you. If you change them, it'll only affect you.  
For extra message templates, see [[Sample Messages]]. See [[Postcodes]] for how the website handles postcode and location information in posts, and [[Rippling out]] for how posts are shown to more people over time.
#Choose your group from the drop down menu
#Mod Configs allow you to add buttons to choose and send out standard admin messages. ''Mod Config to use for this group'' is set to 'default'.  You can change this later, if you prefer.
#''Push Notifications'' give the option of receiving alerts on a mobile device for pending moderator tasks.
#''Show messages in all groups'' and ''show members in all groups'' only apply if you mod more than one group.
#Save changes.
====Global Settings====
These settings affect how this group behaves for all mods and members. If you change them, it'll affect other people.
#Make your group choices from the drop down boxes.  If you are unsure at this stage, leave as default, you can always change them later.
#Save changes.  


This is all you need to do to get modding with modtools.
===Pending===
There are more features to allow extra personalisation. You may like to get going with the basic features and once you are confident, come back to these later
This is where messages needing moderation arrive, whether they came from the website, email, or [[Trash Nothing]]. The red notification badge shows those for communities where you're lead moderator; blue is for communities where you're backup.


== Possible SPAM Posts and people SPAMMING ==
If messages are left for more than 48 hours, they auto-approve. This means a community can survive a gap in moderation, but it shouldn't be relied on - it's important to look at messages promptly, since both members and scammers will notice problem posts.
=== Modtools Main Menu ===
==== Options when posts are displayed ====
===== Submitting Spammer reports =====
This is available for pending posts, approved posts and approved members.
You may get a post from a new member offering one of the known scammer items. Also you may identify something from Chat or by some other source that the circumstances are highly suspect. e.g. “I have now moved to some_distant_location but courier fess to send it to you would not be expensive”. In that case you would submit a Spammer report using the white button that is part of the Modtools page.
*
[[ File:spam1.jpg ]]
Your report should include as much helpful evidence as possible.
That report would then be reviewed and if it is considered that the person is a real scammer they would be added to the Confirmed Spammer List. Then they would be banned from all Freegle groups and warning messages sent to anyone who has had correspondence with the scammer.
If new facts come to light which show it to be a false alarm then the person can be removed from the Confirmed Spammer List, but they would then have to re-join a Freegle group.
===== Dealing with less suspicious posts =====
Circumstances to use these buttons:
*
[[ File:spam2.jpg ]] or  [[ File:spam3.jpg ]]
*
The coloured Spam button at the bottom of a post is NOT to be used to report a spammer. You may also see a Spam Message button.  Again repeated Spam clicks for a member may result in the member being reported as a spammer. They are purely an option to deal with a doubtful post. Make your own decision depending on the content of the post as it may be a perfectly valid post.
If a member has sent a SPAM post to your group, possibly because their account has been hacked, then you can separately advise them then delete the post using the standard SPAM button above which should be in every group’s Modtools modconfig.
==== Warnings contained in the main Modtools menu at the left ====
===== SpamAssassin Flagging a possible SPAM post =====
This would show in the main Modtools menu at the left:
*
[[ File:menu1.jpg ]]


Example of a post trapped by SpamAssassin:
Messages that aren't otherwise subject to moderation may still be flagged here if they contain [[worry words]].
*
[[ File:warning.jpg ]]
*
[[ File:spam6a.jpg ]] [[ File:spam6b.jpg ]] [[ File:spam6c.jpg ]]
*
Click “Not a spammer” if it is a valid post and the post will be moved to Pending.<br/>
“Report as a spammer” should not be used for isolated incidents on your group. If the post or member is a serious threat nationally then use this button and on the following screen give full reasons for your report. This will then be sent to a team who will review it for validity.
If a trusted member has sent a SPAM post to your group, possibly because their account has been hacked or spoofed, then you can separately advise them then delete the post using the standard SPAM button which should be in every group’s Modtools modconfig.


===== System Flagging a possible SPAM post =====
A red-letter message about crossposting means a message has been identified as very similar to one on another community.
Example of a post trapped due to worrying words:
*
[[ File:spam13.jpg ]]
*
Click “Spam” if it clearly contains spam. The post will just be deleted.<br/>
Click “Not Spam” if some wording has been used innocently. The post will be moved to Pending or Approved depending on the settings for that member.


===== System Flagging a possible SPAMMING member =====
'''Moving a message between communities:''' clicking Edit lets you make various changes, including a drop-down showing the community name. It will also show other communities the member belongs to ''and'' that you moderate, if any - use this to move a pending message to a different community. If you do, the message goes into pending messages on the second community, even if the member's posting status there is "group settings" (not available for TrashNothing members).
This would show in the main Modtools menu at the left:
*
[[ File:menu2.jpg ]]


You will have these three options:  
'''Marking a message as spam:''' you can mark just the message as spam, or also mark the member as a spammer. Under 'Other actions' there's a button to report a member as a spammer - only use this if you're sure the spam message isn't a one-off from someone who's otherwise a sound freegler. A message marked as spam is used behind the scenes to train our spam filters; the Delete button just removes the message.
*
[[ File:spam6a.jpg ]] [[ File:spam6b.jpg ]] [[ File:spam6c.jpg ]]
*
Make your own decision depending whether the person is known on your group as it may be a genuine member. The person may already have been reported for being a spammer, then this fact will be shown on the information that the system displays.<br/>
Clicking “Report as a spammer” should not be used for isolated incidents on your group. If the post or member is a serious threat nationally then use this button and on the following screen give full reasons for your report. This will then be sent to a team who will review it for validity.<br/>
Clicking “Not a spammer” moves them back into Pending or Approved as appropriate.<br/>
Click Whitelist if you are certain that the person is not a spammer. You will then be required to state the reason why this person should be whitelisted – i.e. they will no longer be highlighted as a possible spammer.
===== Possible SPAM Chat Reported by System =====
This will show in the Modtools menu at the left.
*
[[ File:menu5.jpg ]]
*
[[ File:spam9.jpg ]]
*
Actual SPAM messages will be easy to identify e.g. there may only be a link to a website. However there may be some content, such as a phone number or email address, in Chat between members which the system could highlight as suspicious. Look at the conversation then decide what action to take.
Clicking on the Spam button above will let the system learn what constitutes SPAM. It will not issue a report about the sender in the way that the standard SPAM button in every group’s Modtools modconfig does.<br/>
"Not spam" means you don't think they are a spammer.  If they join more groups you may see them again, so that if they actually are a spammer we'll get a chance to spot that, rather than lose the chance because early on someone thought they were OK.<br/>
"Release and whitelist" - the member is just whitelisted in the system so the post is OK to be sent out if they include the same information again.<br/>
The other buttons are self-explanatory.<br/>
If you suddenly get a lot of spam chat messages then they do not have to be flagged as Spam individually. They can all be deleted with the button at the bottom of them all.
*
[[ File:spam10.jpg ]]
==== Spammer details held by the system ====


Again in the Modtools menu at the left:
===Approved===
*
The list of all messages on your community or communities.
[[ File:menu3.jpg ]]
*
Confirmed - These are members who have been reported as spammers. These reports are reviewed before a member appears on this list.
Once someone is on this list, they will automatically be removed from groups.
If you think someone is on this list wrongly, you can request that they be removed using the button below.


Pending Add – These are members who have reported as spammers by a moderator. These reports will be reviewed to decide whether to add them to the spammer list.
===Edits===
Please remember that people may not be spammers even if they are reported. For example:
When moderated members edit their approved posts, you can see the edits here. Edits from unmoderated members may go straight out.
• Members may join many groups because they are over-enthusiastic or have relatives in different places.
• Mail can be spoofed or accounts can be hacked - so a member can appear to send spam but not be a spammer.
For someone to be added to the list they need to have clear intent to deliberately spam/scam, or be a massive multijoiner.
Only a limited number of people have the ability to confirm or reject someone as a spammer.


Pending Remove - These are members who are on the spammer list but someone has asked for them to be removed.
==Members==
[[Member Notes]] has more on moderator and system notes on a member's account.


Whitelisted - These are members who have been exempted from the spammer list. Generally they are people who have legitimate reasons to join many groups.
===Approved===
List of all members in your community or communities. See [[Banning]] for banning and unbanning a member, and [[Trouble unsubscribing]] for help with unsubscribing. See [[Inactive Members]] for members not active for a long time. The default view shows all members, but you can filter to banned, bouncing, with notes, or on the moderating team. You can reactivate [[Bouncing members]] here too.


==Help and other links==
The "View profile" link takes you to the member's profile as seen by other members. You'll see it as if logged in to Freegle if you're using ModTools in a browser, but not if using the ModTools app.
There is a dedicated Yahoo Group open to all modtools users
 
;Moderation status
There are three status settings for members:
* '''Moderated''' - all offers and requests are held in pending until a moderator approves them. Under [[Best Practice Notes#Quick posting|Best Practice]], a member should normally come off moderated status as soon as they post an acceptable offer or request.
* '''Group Settings''' - posts go live straight away without moderation, unless they trigger a worry word, in which case they appear in Messages > Pending for approval.
* '''Can't Post''' - lets a member go through the posting process up to the point where it says 'Freegle it!', then nothing happens, so they know there's an issue. They'll usually contact volunteers or Support when this happens.
 
If you set a member to "Can't post", add a Note recording why. If they leave and rejoin, the "Can't post" setting is lost, but the Note remains, and is shown when their first new post appears in Pending messages.
 
===Member Review===
Flags members with unusual freegling behaviour - see [[Spammers]] for possible spammer behaviours and current measures.
 
There's no national rule on how many communities it's reasonable for one person to join - that's a local decision. Please don't ban a multi-joiner unless you have clear evidence of wrongdoing.
 
Replying to posts a long way apart is also flagged; the threshold distance is set per community in Settings, and this check only looks at posts within the last 90 days.
 
You can find more information via "Go to membership" - for example a green icon showing the number of replies to offers, and [[LoveJunk]] membership if applicable (these aren't always shown on the Member Review page currently).
 
You can choose to ignore a flagged member - they'll reappear if they do something further flagged as a concern, on your community or others.
 
===Chat Review===
Chats between members that include [[Worry Words|worry words]], or might be spam or scams, are sent for moderation - see [[Spammers#Chat_Review]] for more on chat in the context of spam detection, and [[Member Chat]] for the chat facility itself.
 
===Related===
Members who've used the '''same device for different accounts'''. You can merge members you know have ended up with more than one account from Members > Approved; this section automatically detects likely matches and lets you send an auto-message asking if they want to merge. We can't merge TrashNothing memberships with Freegle ones.
 
If you can't see any connection between two members, click Ignore. If they do look connected, click "Ask member what they want" - if they choose to merge, the system completes it without referring back to you.
 
===Stories===
Members are encouraged to submit stories of their freegling experiences. A selection is sent out in a newsletter to members, and posted on Discourse for volunteers to read.
 
Stories submitted in your community are subject to your review in ModTools, so inappropriate ones can be declined at this point. Approved stories should be suitable for publicity - for public view on ChitChat, a community page, and so on. They then go into a pending list to be voted on at https://www.ilovefreegle.org/stories/fornewsletter for selection, and are reviewed and compiled into a newsletter by the Stories Team.
 
To search published stories, see https://www.ilovefreegle.org/stories/summary
 
===Gift Aid===
Only available and visible to the team that checks Gift Aid consent forms.
 
===Feedback===
See [[Feedback]] and [[Member Ratings]] for more.
 
===Microvols===
Members are invited to do some basic moderating tasks, to encourage participation and identify possible new volunteers. See [[Microvolunteering]] for how this facility is developing.
 
===Notes===
Notes added by volunteers for members on your communities, oldest first. Keep the number and content of notes to an absolute minimum, to comply with GDPR. Review these regularly to ensure only genuinely relevant information is kept, and delete redundant notes.
 
==Misc Moderation==
===Events===
Community event posts for your community are reviewed here before publication. Some events are added automatically from the [[Restart|Restart Project]], for Repair Cafes held across the UK.
 
If an approved event needs changing, you may need to contact the [[Geeks Team Remit|Geeks Team]], although a workaround has been reported: https://discourse.ilovefreegle.org/t/help-needed-to-edit-or-delete-an-event/8293
 
Unlike offer/wanted posts, which are shown based on travel time by default, event and volunteering posts are shown and mailed purely by group membership. The weekly email is titled Community Event Roundup.
 
===Volunteering===
Posts asking for volunteers are reviewed here before publication. See [[Reach Volunteering]] for our link with them.
 
===Admins===
The method for sending Admins to your members. Members can't opt out of essential information from you, but can opt out of non-essential Admins - choose which via the first toggle: Essential or Newsletter.
 
There are three tabs when composing Admins: Pending, Create and Previous. Write the Admin in Create and send it; it goes to Pending; once approved, a copy goes to Previous for future use. "Call to Action" fields are explained here: https://discourse.ilovefreegle.org/t/call-to-action-button-in-admins/5240. A pending Admin is erased if left pending for more than 7 days.
 
See [[Admins]] for templates for newsletter or admin messages.
 
===Spammers===
See [[Spammers]] for a full explanation of how the spam system works.
 
==Misc Admin==
===Logs===
See the chronological log of activity on your community - select your community, then messages or members, to see a list, or search for individual messages or members.
 
===Images===
Our system generates AI images for posts that don't include a photo or other image. Any images flagged by volunteers as needing regeneration can be reviewed and replaced here.
 
===Support===
Visible only to those with [[Support Tools]] access - a set of tools giving some national teams and roles more detailed information to help them carry out their role.
 
===SysAdmin===
System administration information about regular background work, and details of emails and digests sent out across the system.
 
===Rippling===
Rippling is how members' posts are gradually shown to more members over time. This section offers an interactive map of how rippling affects each postcode and address across the UK. See [[Rippling out]] for details.
 
===Settings===
See [[ModTools#Getting_set_up|Getting set up]] above. It's good practice to look through these settings regularly to check they're still fit for purpose.
 
There is now (July '26) a search bar at the top of the Settings pages, which makes it easier to find what you are looking for.
 
Guidelines for deciding community geographical areas are in [[Community Mapping]], [[Freegle Affiliated Community Area Guidelines]] and [[Spammers]]. Maps for all communities: https://modtools.org/modtools/map
 
===Teams===
Various teams and groups work nationally on a variety of tasks - this section shows who they are and what they do. If you're interested in volunteering to help with any of these, find out more via the links on [[Getting Involved]], or email volunteers@ilovefreegle.org - it's great to hear from you.
 
===Help===
Brings you here. If you can't find what you need on this page or the linked pages, ask on Discourse (click 'Us' in the top ModTools menu) to ask your question, or request more information be added here.
 
===Log Out===
Self-explanatory. It's probably best to stay logged in, though, to save signing in each time you want to moderate.


[https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ModTools/info https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ModTools/info]
==Top menu==
===Red/orange/green dot===
Different coloured dots appear over the blue home icon at the top left of each page, showing platform status - click one to see what's happening. Green means everything's fine, orange means a problem that's easily resolved, red means a serious problem. If action is needed for an orange or red dot, it will tell you.


Freegle reuse groups can contact [mailto:mentors@ilovefreegle.org mentors @ ilovefreegle.org]
===Us===
Takes you to Discourse, where you'll find all the national discussion groups - see [[Central Groups]] for more. All volunteers registered on ModTools get automatic access to Discourse.


===Chats===
Takes you to the Chats section, where you can access emails between you and your members, and other emails from volunteers who work with you on your communities. Each chat (other than ones you started) can be hidden from your view via the downward chevron at the top right of the chat screen.


Other pages that might help:
If you have a chat with a community you don't moderate, it appears in your personal chat list, not your community chat(s).


*[[Add a Member using Mod Tools]]
A green tick at the bottom of a chat means the message has been read on the site; a small envelope means it's been sent out by email. There's a deliberate short delay before sending a chat message by email, since it would be irritating to get an email for a message you're already reading on the site.
*[[ChitChat]]
*[[Feedback]]
*[[Member Chat]]
*[[Member Notes]]
*[[ModTools History]]
*[[Spammers]]
*[[Substitution Strings]]


Your chat list is pre-populated with the communities you're on, so you can use those to chat with the other volunteers on your team.


If a member replies to volunteers by email, their reply appears in Chats, and you can reply to them there. Their initial message has a "View original email" button for a day or two after being received, which can help you check the context.


See [[Member Chat]] for how this feature works for members.


==Help and other links==
*Questions and help using ModTools: [mailto:support@ilovefreegle.org support@ilovefreegle.org]
*Questions, suggestions and observations about ModTools: https://freegle.in/tech


Other pages that might help:


*[[Freegle_Mobile_app#ModTools_app]]
*[[Add a Member using Mod Tools]]
*[[Photos]]
*[[ChitChat]]
*[[Member Chat]]
*[[Promise Button]]
*[[Housekeeping]]
*[[ModTools History]]
*[[Trash Nothing]]
*[https://wiki.ilovefreegle.org/images/Training_manual_for_modtools_2020.pdf Mentors' Training Manual for ModTools]


[[category:ModTools]]
[[Category:Moderating with ModTools]]

Latest revision as of 11:45, 22 July 2026

ModTools is a website and app that gives volunteers the tools to moderate messages on their local Freegle communities.

Starting with ModTools

You can use ModTools from any browser - Chrome, Edge or Firefox. If you don't have a preference, use Chrome: https://modtools.org/modtools

If you're using a phone or tablet, get the ModTools app from the Play Store or App Store - it works best, and you'll get notifications when there's work to do. See ModTools app for more.

Or do both.

Getting set up

First things first - set up ModTools for you and your community. Select Settings from the left-hand menu.

There are four tabs:

  • Personal - ModTools settings just for you.
  • Community - ModTools settings for each community you moderate, whether as an active moderator or a backup. The button to switch between actively moderating and backup is under Your Settings in this section. For more on shortlinks, see Shortlinks. Also see How to add a picture to a community home page.
  • Standard Messages - template messages you can use for moderating posts and members on your community. Substitution strings can be used in lots of messages - special terms you put in a standard message which ModTools expands before sending. See Substitution Strings for a full explanation.
  • Bulk Operations - actions you can apply in bulk. Watch this space.

Get going with the basic features first, and come back to customise as you gain confidence or things change. It's also worth reviewing these settings annually, to check everything is still fit for purpose.

Once your settings are sorted, you're ready to go. ModTools should be mostly self-explanatory on each page, but here are some pointers to other sources, in the order they appear in the toolbar.

Dashboard

The dashboard shows several useful things:

  • A snapshot of current discussions on Discourse (our national discussion forum for volunteers)
  • When volunteers on a community last took action in ModTools - select a community and click Update to see this. (To see when they last logged in or accessed Freegle Direct or ModTools, go to Members > Approved and select Moderation Team from the drop-down.)
  • Popular posts and active members
  • Stats about your community's activity and impact - see Statistics for more

Messages

For extra message templates, see Sample Messages. See Postcodes for how the website handles postcode and location information in posts, and Rippling out for how posts are shown to more people over time.

Pending

This is where messages needing moderation arrive, whether they came from the website, email, or Trash Nothing. The red notification badge shows those for communities where you're lead moderator; blue is for communities where you're backup.

If messages are left for more than 48 hours, they auto-approve. This means a community can survive a gap in moderation, but it shouldn't be relied on - it's important to look at messages promptly, since both members and scammers will notice problem posts.

Messages that aren't otherwise subject to moderation may still be flagged here if they contain worry words.

A red-letter message about crossposting means a message has been identified as very similar to one on another community.

Moving a message between communities: clicking Edit lets you make various changes, including a drop-down showing the community name. It will also show other communities the member belongs to and that you moderate, if any - use this to move a pending message to a different community. If you do, the message goes into pending messages on the second community, even if the member's posting status there is "group settings" (not available for TrashNothing members).

Marking a message as spam: you can mark just the message as spam, or also mark the member as a spammer. Under 'Other actions' there's a button to report a member as a spammer - only use this if you're sure the spam message isn't a one-off from someone who's otherwise a sound freegler. A message marked as spam is used behind the scenes to train our spam filters; the Delete button just removes the message.

Approved

The list of all messages on your community or communities.

Edits

When moderated members edit their approved posts, you can see the edits here. Edits from unmoderated members may go straight out.

Members

Member Notes has more on moderator and system notes on a member's account.

Approved

List of all members in your community or communities. See Banning for banning and unbanning a member, and Trouble unsubscribing for help with unsubscribing. See Inactive Members for members not active for a long time. The default view shows all members, but you can filter to banned, bouncing, with notes, or on the moderating team. You can reactivate Bouncing members here too.

The "View profile" link takes you to the member's profile as seen by other members. You'll see it as if logged in to Freegle if you're using ModTools in a browser, but not if using the ModTools app.

Moderation status

There are three status settings for members:

  • Moderated - all offers and requests are held in pending until a moderator approves them. Under Best Practice, a member should normally come off moderated status as soon as they post an acceptable offer or request.
  • Group Settings - posts go live straight away without moderation, unless they trigger a worry word, in which case they appear in Messages > Pending for approval.
  • Can't Post - lets a member go through the posting process up to the point where it says 'Freegle it!', then nothing happens, so they know there's an issue. They'll usually contact volunteers or Support when this happens.

If you set a member to "Can't post", add a Note recording why. If they leave and rejoin, the "Can't post" setting is lost, but the Note remains, and is shown when their first new post appears in Pending messages.

Member Review

Flags members with unusual freegling behaviour - see Spammers for possible spammer behaviours and current measures.

There's no national rule on how many communities it's reasonable for one person to join - that's a local decision. Please don't ban a multi-joiner unless you have clear evidence of wrongdoing.

Replying to posts a long way apart is also flagged; the threshold distance is set per community in Settings, and this check only looks at posts within the last 90 days.

You can find more information via "Go to membership" - for example a green icon showing the number of replies to offers, and LoveJunk membership if applicable (these aren't always shown on the Member Review page currently).

You can choose to ignore a flagged member - they'll reappear if they do something further flagged as a concern, on your community or others.

Chat Review

Chats between members that include worry words, or might be spam or scams, are sent for moderation - see Spammers#Chat_Review for more on chat in the context of spam detection, and Member Chat for the chat facility itself.

Related

Members who've used the same device for different accounts. You can merge members you know have ended up with more than one account from Members > Approved; this section automatically detects likely matches and lets you send an auto-message asking if they want to merge. We can't merge TrashNothing memberships with Freegle ones.

If you can't see any connection between two members, click Ignore. If they do look connected, click "Ask member what they want" - if they choose to merge, the system completes it without referring back to you.

Stories

Members are encouraged to submit stories of their freegling experiences. A selection is sent out in a newsletter to members, and posted on Discourse for volunteers to read.

Stories submitted in your community are subject to your review in ModTools, so inappropriate ones can be declined at this point. Approved stories should be suitable for publicity - for public view on ChitChat, a community page, and so on. They then go into a pending list to be voted on at https://www.ilovefreegle.org/stories/fornewsletter for selection, and are reviewed and compiled into a newsletter by the Stories Team.

To search published stories, see https://www.ilovefreegle.org/stories/summary

Gift Aid

Only available and visible to the team that checks Gift Aid consent forms.

Feedback

See Feedback and Member Ratings for more.

Microvols

Members are invited to do some basic moderating tasks, to encourage participation and identify possible new volunteers. See Microvolunteering for how this facility is developing.

Notes

Notes added by volunteers for members on your communities, oldest first. Keep the number and content of notes to an absolute minimum, to comply with GDPR. Review these regularly to ensure only genuinely relevant information is kept, and delete redundant notes.

Misc Moderation

Events

Community event posts for your community are reviewed here before publication. Some events are added automatically from the Restart Project, for Repair Cafes held across the UK.

If an approved event needs changing, you may need to contact the Geeks Team, although a workaround has been reported: https://discourse.ilovefreegle.org/t/help-needed-to-edit-or-delete-an-event/8293

Unlike offer/wanted posts, which are shown based on travel time by default, event and volunteering posts are shown and mailed purely by group membership. The weekly email is titled Community Event Roundup.

Volunteering

Posts asking for volunteers are reviewed here before publication. See Reach Volunteering for our link with them.

Admins

The method for sending Admins to your members. Members can't opt out of essential information from you, but can opt out of non-essential Admins - choose which via the first toggle: Essential or Newsletter.

There are three tabs when composing Admins: Pending, Create and Previous. Write the Admin in Create and send it; it goes to Pending; once approved, a copy goes to Previous for future use. "Call to Action" fields are explained here: https://discourse.ilovefreegle.org/t/call-to-action-button-in-admins/5240. A pending Admin is erased if left pending for more than 7 days.

See Admins for templates for newsletter or admin messages.

Spammers

See Spammers for a full explanation of how the spam system works.

Misc Admin

Logs

See the chronological log of activity on your community - select your community, then messages or members, to see a list, or search for individual messages or members.

Images

Our system generates AI images for posts that don't include a photo or other image. Any images flagged by volunteers as needing regeneration can be reviewed and replaced here.

Support

Visible only to those with Support Tools access - a set of tools giving some national teams and roles more detailed information to help them carry out their role.

SysAdmin

System administration information about regular background work, and details of emails and digests sent out across the system.

Rippling

Rippling is how members' posts are gradually shown to more members over time. This section offers an interactive map of how rippling affects each postcode and address across the UK. See Rippling out for details.

Settings

See Getting set up above. It's good practice to look through these settings regularly to check they're still fit for purpose.

There is now (July '26) a search bar at the top of the Settings pages, which makes it easier to find what you are looking for.

Guidelines for deciding community geographical areas are in Community Mapping, Freegle Affiliated Community Area Guidelines and Spammers. Maps for all communities: https://modtools.org/modtools/map

Teams

Various teams and groups work nationally on a variety of tasks - this section shows who they are and what they do. If you're interested in volunteering to help with any of these, find out more via the links on Getting Involved, or email volunteers@ilovefreegle.org - it's great to hear from you.

Help

Brings you here. If you can't find what you need on this page or the linked pages, ask on Discourse (click 'Us' in the top ModTools menu) to ask your question, or request more information be added here.

Log Out

Self-explanatory. It's probably best to stay logged in, though, to save signing in each time you want to moderate.

Top menu

Red/orange/green dot

Different coloured dots appear over the blue home icon at the top left of each page, showing platform status - click one to see what's happening. Green means everything's fine, orange means a problem that's easily resolved, red means a serious problem. If action is needed for an orange or red dot, it will tell you.

Us

Takes you to Discourse, where you'll find all the national discussion groups - see Central Groups for more. All volunteers registered on ModTools get automatic access to Discourse.

Chats

Takes you to the Chats section, where you can access emails between you and your members, and other emails from volunteers who work with you on your communities. Each chat (other than ones you started) can be hidden from your view via the downward chevron at the top right of the chat screen.

If you have a chat with a community you don't moderate, it appears in your personal chat list, not your community chat(s).

A green tick at the bottom of a chat means the message has been read on the site; a small envelope means it's been sent out by email. There's a deliberate short delay before sending a chat message by email, since it would be irritating to get an email for a message you're already reading on the site.

Your chat list is pre-populated with the communities you're on, so you can use those to chat with the other volunteers on your team.

If a member replies to volunteers by email, their reply appears in Chats, and you can reply to them there. Their initial message has a "View original email" button for a day or two after being received, which can help you check the context.

See Member Chat for how this feature works for members.

Help and other links

Other pages that might help:

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