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Moderation actions provide direct moderation controls for managing problematic users in your community. Common scenarios for moderation actions:
  • Block persistent violators identified through trust levels or fraud detection
  • Remove spam accounts posting promotional content repeatedly
  • Suspend users to send clear signals about acceptable behavior
Actions can be executed manually from the user dashboard or programmatically via the Author API. They complement content moderation by addressing the user behind the content, helping you stop persistent abuse and enforce community standards.

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Built-in actions

The system provides three essential moderation actions for comprehensive account management:
Permanently prevents a user from submitting content for moderation.When to use:
  • Spam accounts with no legitimate content
  • Users repeatedly violating major community guidelines
  • Accounts identified as malicious through fraud detection
  • Coordinated attacks or bot networks
Technical behavior:
  • User status set to "blocked"
  • All future content submissions are rejected
  • block.until field set to null (permanent)
  • block.reason stores the reason provided
Temporarily prevents a user from submitting content for a specified period.When to use:
  • First-time serious violations that warrant a cooling-off period
  • Users who might reform with temporary consequences
  • Escalating enforcement before permanent blocks
  • Accounts needing investigation time
Technical behavior:
  • User status set to "suspended"
  • Content submissions rejected until suspension ends
  • block.until field set to suspension end time (timestamp)
  • block.reason stores the reason provided
  • Automatic reinstatement when period expires
Removes existing blocks or suspensions, restoring normal access.When to use:
  • Appeals that have been approved
  • Mistaken blocks that need correction
  • Policy changes requiring user reinstatement
  • Early release from suspensions for good behavior
Technical behavior:
  • User status reset to "enabled"
  • Content submission access restored
  • Block fields cleared from user record

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Action customization

You can customize how actions appear and behave: Value customization:
  • Predefined values: Add custom dropdown options like “Spam”, “Harassment”, “Fraud”, “Policy Violation”
  • Free text option: Enable “Other” option that shows a text input field for custom reasons
  • Combined approach: Mix predefined categories with free text for flexibility

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Adding custom actions

Beyond built-in actions, create custom author-level actions for specialized workflows that show up alongside standard actions. Use cases for custom actions:
  • Warning systems: Formal warnings that don’t restrict access
  • Verification requirements: Require additional account verification
  • Feature restrictions: Limit specific platform features
  • Escalation triggers: Automatically escalate to senior moderators
To create custom actions, choose “Author level action” when creating a new action in the dashboard. These appear alongside built-in actions on user detail pages.

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Executing actions

  • Dashboard
  • Author API
  1. Navigate to the user detail page in the user dashboard
  2. Select the appropriate action (Block, Suspend, or Enable)
  3. Choose from predefined reason options or select “Other” for free text
  4. For suspensions: select duration from dropdown or set custom end time
  5. Confirm the action
Reason field importance:
  • Required for documentation and potential appeals
  • Visible to moderators in user timeline
  • Returned in API responses for application logic
  • Helps identify patterns in violation types
Timeline
User timeline showing content submissions and moderation actions
All moderation actions are automatically tracked in the user’s timeline in the dashboard:
  • Action history: Complete chronological record of all actions taken
  • Moderator attribution: Which team member executed each action
  • Reason logging: Full context for every moderation decision
  • Audit trail: Comprehensive record for compliance and appeals
This timeline helps moderators understand user history and make informed decisions about future actions.

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Technical implementation

Moderation actions modify several fields returned in API responses, allowing seamless integration with your application logic.

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Status fields

Monitor user status through API responses: 
{
  "id": "user123",
  "status": "suspended", // "enabled", "blocked", "suspended"
  "block": {
    "until": 1705320000000, // timestamp in ms, null for permanent blocks
    "reason": "Harassment of other users"
  }
}

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Content submission integration

The system automatically handles blocked/suspended users when content is submitted to moderation endpoints, but you can also check status proactively in your application by querying the user in the Author API.

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Webhooks

Receive real-time notifications when moderation actions are executed through webhook integration: Common webhook use cases:
  • Sync with external systems like customer support platforms
  • Trigger email notifications to affected users
  • Update internal user databases with moderation status
  • Log actions for compliance and audit requirements
  • Alert security teams about fraud-related blocks
Configure webhooks to receive instant notifications whenever blocks, suspensions, or other moderation actions are executed.

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FAQ

Moderation actions only prevent content submission for moderation. They don’t affect content viewing unless you implement additional restrictions in your application using the status fields.
Existing content remains in your system and review queues. moderation actions only prevent new submissions. You may want to review existing content from blocked users separately.
The system provides the suspension information through API responses, but displaying this to users depends on your application implementation. Use the user.block.until and user.block.reason fields to show appropriate messages.
Use the Enable action to reinstate users after successful appeals. The action history timeline maintains a record of the original block and subsequent reinstatement for transparency.
You can use the Enable action to end suspensions early, or apply a new Suspend action to change the period. Each action creates a new timeline entry for full audit tracking.
Yes, moderation actions complement these systems perfectly. High fraud risk scores or low trust levels often indicate when moderation actions are needed. The systems work together to provide comprehensive user management.