Moderation

The Moderation tab manages a server-side word filter applied to guest comments before they reach the database. Useful for blocking obvious slurs, spam terms, or competitor names without forcing every comment into a manual review queue.

How it works

When a guest submits a comment, the backend runs the comment text through the word-filter service. If any banned word is matched (case-insensitive, whole-word match), the comment is either:

• Held for moderation — visible to the admin in the Feedback Moderation panel, hidden from guests, until the admin approves or deletes it. This is the default when moderate_comments is on for the event.
• Rejected outright — when moderate_comments is off but the global filter still matches, the comment is rejected with a generic “your comment couldn’t be saved” message.

Managing the filter

The tab embeds the Word Filter Manager component:

• Add a word — input field + Add button. Words are case-insensitive.
• Remove a word — trash icon next to each entry.
• Bulk import — paste a newline- or comma-separated list into the import box.

Words are stored in the app_settings table under a single key (a JSON array) and are loaded once per process and cached for performance. Saving updates the cache automatically.

Per-event override

Per-event settings (in the Edit Event → Feedback panel) can layer on additional rules:

• moderate_comments: true — every comment goes to the moderation queue regardless of the filter
• require_name_email: true — comments need a name (or name + email) before they can be posted
• allow_comments: false — comments disabled entirely for this event

What’s not in this tab

This tab is comments-only. To moderate photos (hide individual photos from guests before public access), use the Client Access mode — see Creating Events → Client Access.

To configure email notifications when a comment lands in the moderation queue, see the per-event Feedback panel.