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Guide: Moderation Queue Priorities and Statuses
At a glance
An explanation of the various priority and status indicators as used by the moderators and in the moderation queue.
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Introduction
An upload in the moderation queue has 2 tags attached to it; a status, and a priority derived from that status. These ensure that the queue gets processed in order from Extreme priority down to Medium (Low priority is reserved for uploads where the Creator needs to make changes, thus no moderator action is required). Uploads are always shown from left to right, where the left-most is always the oldest (ie has been in the queue the longest) upload, and thus, usually needs to be moderated first.
Due to the way the queue works, and since uploads can go in or out of Review at any point, or a large upload might need multiple staff to work on it, it is not possible to give an "You are X in the queue" figure. However, the staff work with the priority and status lists to process uploads as quickly as possible.
This is derived from a number of metrics. How long ago was an upload uploaded? Has the upload had a CR (Changes Required)? How long ago was the CR? Has the uploader edited the upload after a CR? If so, how long ago? Does the creator have questions? All of these are used the calculate the current "status" of the upload, and from there, the priority.
The primary question that gets checked is: Has the upload had a Changes Required yet?
If yes, then:
If no CR has been done yet, then:
If the creator has left a message on the upload for staff, then the status is CreatorHasQuestions which then overrides any previous statuses. If additional moderation is needed on the upload (the Needs Review and Reviewed priorities) then these override all other statuses, since the faster these happen the better.
The status messages get converted to Priorities, as follows:
An upload while in the moderation queue will always have 1 main priority attached to it. These are priorities for the Moderation staff, and determine to position of the "swimlanes" on the screen during displaying of the moderation queue. These are as follows:
This is always the highest (topmost) visible section in the Queue.
These are uploads that need review from a senior staff member. Usually this happens when there is something unclear about the upload and clarification is needed from more experienced staff members. Sometimes this could be a simple "Are these pictures ok?" when the size is borderline, or a very complicated upload (like a neighbourhood or large set of items). Multiple moderators thus look over an upload to ensure that it meets all the quality guidelines.
The second highest priority, since these uploads where In Review but have been reviewed and need to continue the moderation process. Another (or the original) moderator can read any notes left during the review process.
These uploads have been in the queue the longest. An upload that has been more than 2 days after a saved edit, or has been waiting for moderation for more than 4 days, are both set to Extreme.
These uploads need to be processed after Extreme. An upload that has been edited and submitted within 2 days, or hasn't been moderated at all for up to 4 days, or if the Creator has questions, are all set to Extreme.
The fifth highest priority. Uploads that are uploaded within 12 hours, or an upload has been waiting for the Creator to make changes for more than 7 days, or the Creator has made changes but not submitted are all in Medium priority. If an uploader has not made any changes (and has not communicated to the staff that they need more time) then at this point the staff could potentially reject the upload for not making the changes.
These are marked Low priority (for the moderation staff) because the Creators need to make changes, thus the staff need to wait for these changes. The creator has 7 days to make changes, when it's priority stays in Low, else it'll be bumped up to Medium.