How to handle inappropriate content on Lemmy? ( Or any Fediverse Platform )

Lemmy is a federated platform, which means that it is made up of many different servers (or instances). Each instance has its own rules and policies, and the content you see may vary depending on the instance you are using.

There are 2 categories of inappropriate content that you may encounter:

1. Inappropriate content that is against the rules of the instance you are using: This varies from instance to instance, but generally includes things like hate speech, harassment, and spam.
2. Content that is not against the rules of the instance you are using, but is still makes you uneasy/annoyed: This includes things like graphic violence, (sexual content), posts or comments from other users that you dislike and other content that may be disturbing or offensive to you from other users.

How to handle inappropriate content from the first category?

If you see content that is against the rules of the instance or community you are using, you can report it to the moderators of that instance. To do this, click on the three dots on the right side of a post or comment and select "Create Report", then write in the "Reason" field an appropriate Reason.

Report Post

Report Comment

Note:

It is important to add a valid Reason for the report, as this will help the moderators understand why you are reporting the content. If you do not provide a valid Reason, your report may be ignored or dismissed because of lack of evidence or information. ( The Moderation Tools are not very extensive and the Moderators may not be able to see the whole context of the post or comment without investigating your report manually if you dont provide enough of a reason or evidence )

If you think it is a serious and urgent issue, you can contact the admin / mods most of the time on other messaging platforms like Discord, Matrix, IRC, etc. ( Differences per instance, please inform yourself about the instance you are using and join beforehand such channels, as it is good practice in general as if they want to communicate something out the instance they can contact you over that. )

If you are not sure whether the content is against the rules or not, you can check the rules of the instance or community you are using. You can usually find this information in the sidebar of the community or instance page, or by clicking on the "Legal" ( Most of the time the Instances Rules ) link in the footer or sidebar. If you are still unsure, you can ask the moderators or other users for clarification. ( Most of the time they are friendly and helpful, so dont be afraid to ask )

How to handle inappropriate content from the second category?

If you see content that is not against the rules of the instance or community you are using, but is still makes you uneasy/annoyed, you can take the following steps:

1. Ignore it: If the content is not against the rules, you can simply ignore it and move on. This is often the easiest and most effective solution.
2. Hide the post or comment ( see here )
3. Block the user ( see here )
4. Block the whole community ( see here )
5. Block the whole instance ( see here )
6. Report the user: If the user is harassing you by bypassing the above-mentioned methods, you can report the user to the admins of the instance. ( see here )