Forum Discussion
Can we get more guidance and feedback on the moderation being done on the messages
I have been an active poster on the Excel forum but every so often my posts will just disappear. Sometimes our message will be there but an attachment will be missing. Sometimes messages disappear but then show up hours or days later. Can someone PLEASE give us some insight into what is happening. Is this an auto-moderator or actual person? Either way can we please get a message informing us that our message is being held or rejected and why. How are we supposed to learn if we get no feedback. I don't appreciate spending time re-creating a worksheet (because these new posters aren't even allowed to attach their excel file for us to see) and then create a formula solution, write up how it works and then just have it all disappear. Makes me think Microsoft doesn't really care for me to help.
And BTW, can you please revisit the reasoning behind not letting new accounts attach files. Is it a space/size issue? or is it a security issue? if the concern is space/size then make a limit on the file size. Security issue, make a limit on file types. All this tends to do is force members to ask the user to post the file using a file share service like onedrive, but if they use another service it can be a much larger security risk.
3 Replies
hi m_tarler Good to see you are taking the time and effort you put into helping others in the Excel forum. That kind of contribution genuinely matters and it's completely understandable to feel frustrated when that effort seems to disappear without explanation.
To address your questions directly:
The moderation process does involve a combination of automated filters and human review. Certain triggers like attachments, links, or specific keywords can cause posts to be held in a queue for manual review, which explains why some posts show up hours or days later rather than immediately. Hope team will recognize that the lack of notification during this process is a real problem and your feedback will reach them.
On the attachment restriction for new accounts this is primarily a security measure to protect the community from malicious files, but your point about file type and size limits being a smarter middle ground is a valid and practical suggestion. Pushing new users toward third-party file sharing services is arguably a bigger risk, and that's worth revisiting.
Your core ask that contributors receive a clear notification when a post is held or rejected, and why is completely reasonable. Nobody should be left guessing, especially when they've invested real time crafting a detailed answer. Hope this clarify
Your core ask that contributors receive a clear notification when a post is held or rejected, and why is completely reasonable
Yes! See the multiple request from numerous users asking for a Answer or Comment to be restored when it was deleted by the overly eager T&C filter on the Q&A forums.
Surya, Thank you for your reply and especially thank you for passing this feedback to the appropriate teams. I hope to see improvements in the future. Please note that we also see duplicate postings, which I believe are, at least in part, due to people posting something and not seeing their post and therefore trying again since they have no feedback why they don't see their post.
Thank you
