Pre-moderation in the Hypothesis Web App

Who is this article for?

• Hypothesis users creating annotations in a group that uses Pre-moderation
• Hypothesis users with the “Moderator” role in a group that uses Pre-moderation

If you are looking for an article that explains Hypothesis Moderation in general, click here.

What is Pre-moderation?

Pre-moderation is a system where new annotations in a group are not immediately visible until Moderators in the group have a chance to review the annotation. The annotation’s author and the group Moderators are the only people who can see unreviewed annotations. Once reviewed, annotations are either Approved, and become visible to the group, or Declined, in which case they remain invisible to other group members.

Annotating in a Pre-moderation group

Users annotating in a Pre-moderation group will see a “Pending” label appear on new annotations. Once Moderators review the annotation, your annotation may become Approved (the Pending label is removed, and your annotation is visible to others) or Declined (you will see a “Declined” label, and your annotation is not visible to others).

You may edit a Declined annotation, which will move it back to Pending status for re-review by a Moderator. We recommend reviewing the group’s terms or guidelines to ensure you’re meeting their standards for annotations. You may also receive an email from group moderators with details relating to why your annotation was declined.

Moderating in a Pre-moderation group

When do group owners use Pre-moderation?

Owners of Hypothesis groups use Pre-moderation when they want to ensure discourse in their group meets their group’s guidelines and terms of service related to comments. Pre-moderation requires Owners and Moderators in a group to review every comment posted there before they become visible in the Hypothesis Sidebar.

Before using Pre-moderation

• Pre-moderation must be enabled in the Hypothesis group by our Support team. If you are interested in this feature , please contact us here.
• Once pre-moderation is enabled for a Hypothesis group, all new annotations posted in that group will be automatically labeled as Pending and will not be visible to others until they have been approved by a moderator.
• The group owner will function as the moderator of the group, and other group members can be assigned with the moderator role as well.
• Annotations can be moderated directly in the annotation cards in the Hypothesis Sidebar.
  
• Annotations can also be moderated from the moderation queue. The moderation queue can be accessed by going to the group activity page > Edit Group > Moderation.
  

How do I use Pre-moderation?

1. A user posts an annotation within the group.
   
   
   • The annotation will be marked with a “Pending” label.
   • While in “Pending” status, the annotation will be visible to the author and to moderators.
   • The annotation will also be visible in the moderation queue.
     
     
2. Moderators can either Approve, Decline, or mark the annotation as Spam.

• Approve
  The Annotation becomes visible to all users viewing the group
• Decline
  The Annotation is visible to its author and moderators only
• Spam
  The Annotation is visible to its author and moderators only
• Pending
  The Annotation is visible to the author and to moderators

3. In the event that the author edits an annotation, and if the current status is not “Spam”, the edited annotation will return to the “Pending” status. Once an annotation goes back to the Pending status, it will be subject for approval again by the moderator.
4. If a moderator changes the status of an annotation, and that annotation has been edited or the status has changed since the time that the moderator loaded the annotation, a prompt will be displayed to notify the moderator that the annotation has changed and a reload is needed to view the newest version of the annotation. Only after viewing the latest version of the annotation can a moderator make changes in the status of the annotation.
   
5. The author of the annotation will receive an email notification every time the status of the annotation changes except for the following moderation status changes.

• • From spam to pending
  • From spam to declined
  • From declined to pending
  • From pending to spam
  • From approved to spam