AFAIK, when a post gets flagged by some other player, it gets hidden until a forum mod reviews it. The mod can either unhide it (frivolous flagging), or leave it hidden. If they leave it, you get a notification in your UI that says a flagged message is waiting for you, or something like that.
That gives you the generic warning “Your post was hidden because something was wrong. You may review your post and edit it to bring it in-line with forum regulations” or something like that.
TBH though, it’s rare that any given post is all that important, and many of the active readers in a thread have seen it before it got hidden anyway. So it’s not always worth tracking down and editing it properly anyway.
Yes, CCP did announce a shift toward more open discussion in the forums.
Back in June 2017, during the launch of the new EVE Online forums, CCP Falcon stated that the forum rules and moderation policy had undergone a complete review. The goal was to relax the rules and promote more open, constructive, and community-driven discussions. The number of official rules was reduced from 36 to 9, and a full amnesty was granted to previously banned accounts, giving everyone a fresh start.
The moderation approach was also refined to focus more on user engagement and proactive dialogue rather than immediate punitive action. According to CCP, this new direction was meant to foster “a more open, candid, and less restrictive environment for communication between players and developers.”
(Dev Blog – Introducing the New EVE Online Forums, Reddit discussion)
Where It Partially Succeeded:
Developer Engagement: Developers like CCP Swift and CCP Aurora have participated in specific feedback threads.
Q&A Threads: Occasional AMA-style discussions provide some structured interaction.
Moderation Tone: Compared to the old forums, there’s less immediate harsh action, with more reliance on flagging and community tools.
Ongoing Challenges:
While the intent was commendable, some users have expressed concern that community flagging can sometimes suppress dissenting or unpopular opinions. This can limit the diversity of views seen in discussion threads and make it harder to engage in critical dialogue—especially when posts are hidden before any moderator review.
Final Thought:
The 2017 changes represented a strong step toward greater openness. Continuing to refine how feedback is handled—and how differing viewpoints are preserved—will help the forums live up to that original vision.
Let me know if you want a version tailored for a reply vs. a standalone thread.
I personally think it’s a strength that people can decide not to read posts that aren’t worth reading. In this case because it’s generated with zero effort, so I’m putting in zero effort to read it either!
99% of the time I know beforehand if something I’m about to post is going to end up getting flagged. But does that stop me from posting it? No. No, it does not…
I’ve come to the same conclusion after having done my share of reading through posts that in retrospect I should have skipped on. Now, I just won’t bother with such content anymore. You are what you read.
Where It Partially Succeeded:
Ongoing Challenges:
Final Thought:
