Discord is one of the most popular tools for gamers seeking a free text and VoIP service. The platform’s growth has seen the rise and fall of many server-based gaming communities. Discord affords all of its members the opportunity to create their own servers and foster growth based on members’ needs. As you can probably fathom, not all server communities are created equal, and at times, some servers are created for less than legal affairs.
The platform provides users with Community Guidelines, that when disregarded, will have consequences. It’s up to the members of these servers, even those just visiting, to ensure that each one is on the up and up. For those who are not keeping within the parameters of the guidelines (or the law), Discord has a way for you to report them.
Report A Discord Server
The process for reporting servers is essentially the same as if you were to report an individual user or message. You will just need a little bit of extra information. Before you can have Discord’s Trust & Safety team begin an investigation on the issue, there are a few things you’ll have to do.
The Community Guidelines
To avoid running the risk of reporting a server that is still well within the guidelines, you should first give them a once over. Reporting a server that has continued to follow the guidelines could be seen as targeted harassment, and you may actually find yourself in the hot seat. So, do yourself a favor and do a bit of light reading first. You can find the full and updated list of Community Guidelines here.
For a quick rundown of things that Discord’s moderators deem intolerable:
- Harassment
- Spam messages
- Violating IP rights
- Sharing child pornography
- Glorifying or promoting suicide or self-harm
- Distributing viruses
- Threatening another user
- Sharing images of gore or animal cruelty
You should also make sure that this is a server-wide problem rather than an individual user or two. Reporting an entire server for only a few of its members’ indiscretions is a tad extreme. You might even be able to avoid reporting entirely by reaching out to the server’s administrators or owner and informing them of the violations. Of course, if they are okay with it or happen to be participating, then reporting the server seems far more justified.
Anything not covered in the above list, it may be wise to contact any of the moderators before putting in a formal report. Again, an individual should not be the cause for an entire server going down. Those in charge could just as easily speak with, kick, or ban the individual or individuals responsible, thus negating the need for an escalation.
Even with all of that, you could also mute or block the individual causing you stress, so you won’t see their messages anymore. It’d be as if they don’t even exist. However, for an entire server plagued with violations, it’s best that you gather some information first before issuing any blocks.
Evidence is important, so regardless of what you’ve seen, read, or heard on the server, you’ll need to comb through it all. This is so you can collect each ID for the users and messages involved. The more evidence to back up your claims, the better. Be sure that you hold onto all of the messages, images, and IDs until after you’ve added them to your report.
Before you can grab the IDs, you’ll need to turn on Developer Mode.
Enabling Developer Mode
For those who use Discord on an iOS device, you don’t necessarily need to enable Developer Mode in order to report a message. Just simply hold your finger on top of any message you wish to report and tap on the big, red Report option when it pops up on the screen. Select the reason for reporting the message and then hit the Report at the bottom of the window.
However, to report a server, Developer Mode must be turned on. Also, since every bit of evidence helps, you should gather up the IDs for the messages you’d like to report as well.
Before filing a report, the following bit of information will be needed:
- The server IDs for every server you plan on reporting. Each server has its own ID so be sure to document which ID belongs to which server to avoid confusion when presenting it on the report.
- Message links encouraging the activity taking place which violates the community guidelines set forth by Discord. Acquire them from all servers that you’re reporting, similar to the server IDs. Three per server should do the trick but the more the merrier.
- The User IDs of those engaging in the activity. This is not to be confused with the Username+Tag. The User ID is a permanent fixture and can’t be changed, unlike the Username.
- To provide a brief explanation of what the server is up to. This step is technically not mandatory but it couldn’t hurt to point them in the right direction, especially if the issue has been happening over a lengthy period of time.
To enable Developer Mode on PC (Desktop or Web app):
- Head to User Settings by clicking on the gear-shaped icon next to your screen name located at the bottom left-hand corner.
- Then select the “Advanced” tab from the menu on the left.
- Toggle the switch next to Developer Mode.
To enable Developer Mode on iOS devices:
- Tap the Menu icon (three vertically stacked lines) located in the top-left corner of the screen.
- If you can already see the server icons to the left, you’re already on the correct window.
- Tap the gear-shaped icon (User Settings) located to the right of your screen name, toward the bottom of the screen.
- Swipe up to the “App Settings” section and tap on Appearance.
- In the “Advanced” section, tap to toggle Developer Mode on.
- The toggle should show blue when the mode is enabled.
To enable Developer Mode on Android devices:
- Tap the Menu icon (three vertically stacked lines) located in the top-left corner of the screen.
- If you can already see the server icons to the left, you’re already on the correct window.
- Tap your profile icon (User Settings) located to the right of your screen name, toward the bottom of the screen.
- Swipe up to the “App Settings” section and tap on Behavior.
- Tap to toggle Developer Mode on.
Obtaining The Necessary IDs For Reporting
Now that Developer Mode is enabled on your device, it’s time to dig a little deeper and gather up all of the necessary IDs. The process for each ID will vary slightly depending on the ID you need and the app used.
SERVER IDS
To acquire a Server ID using PC (Web or Desktop app):
- You’ll need to right-click the server’s name which can be found above the channel list.
- At the bottom of the list, select Copy ID in order to add it to your clipboard.
- The ID will be a long string of numbers.
- Paste it to Notepad or a Word document and be sure to annotate which ID it is and what server it belongs to.
To acquire a Server ID using the Android app:
- Tap the Menu icon (three vertically stacked lines) located in the top-left corner of the screen.
- If you can already see the server icons to the left, you’re already on the correct window.
- Press and hold the server’s name located above the channel list.
- Click ‘More Options.’
- Copy ID will be the last entry on the list. Tap it to copy the ID to the clipboard.
- You’ll want to paste the ID into either a Document app or into an email you can send to yourself.
To acquire a Server ID using the iOS app:
- Tap the Menu icon (three vertically stacked lines) located in the top-left corner of the screen.
- If you can already see the server icons to the left, you’re already on the correct window.
- Tap the triple-dot icon located next to the server’s name found above the channel list.
- Select Copy ID from the menu to copy the ID to the clipboard.
- You’ll want to paste the ID into either a Document app or into an email you can send to yourself.
MESSAGE LINKS
To acquire a Message Link using PC (Web or Desktop app):
- Hover the mouse cursor over the message and click on the triple-dot icon that pops up to the far right of the message.
- Select Copy Message Link from the menu.
When it comes to mobile devices, only Android has the ability to copy the Message Link. For iOS users, you’ll have to log in to a PC and perform the previous method.
To acquire a Message Link using the Android app:
- Tap and hold the message.
- From the pop-up menu select Share. This will open an additional menu.
- Tap Copy to Clipboard from the second menu.
Now you can paste the link into your report.
“What if the messages have been deleted before I have the time to copy the links?”
Once a message has been deleted, the content is gone, stripped of any record of ever being created. If the messages or content you are trying to report have already been deleted, Discord’s Trust & Safety team will not be able to retrieve it.
You can still submit the report without the message links but the Trust and Safety team will have a significantly more difficult time investigating the issue. This results in the possibility that there will be no action taken for the proposed violation.
USER IDS
To acquire a User ID using PC (Web or Desktop app):
- Find the message that exhibits the violation and right-click on the username who sent it.
- At the bottom of the list, select Copy ID.
- Paste this into a text file or note, and annotate it correctly with User ID’ and the username so as not to confuse you later.
Even if the user changes their name, the User ID will still identify them.
To acquire a User ID using a mobile device (iOS or Android app):
- You’ll need to go to the “User’s Profile”. While on the server, swipe left to pull up a list of members.
- Locate the member and tap on their username. This will open their profile page.
- Scroll to the bottom, under Developer Mode tap on Copy ID.
REPORTING
Once all of the IDs and information has been acquired, you are ready to send the information to Discord’s Trust and Safety team.
The following information you will need for each section:
- What can we help you with? – Just by clicking on the link above, this field should already be populated with Trust & Safety. If it is not, select it from the available options in the drop-down menu.
- Your Email Address – Enter the email address you used to sign up for Discord.
- Report Type – Select which type of violation has occurred from the available options in the drop-down menu.
- Description – Enter in a brief description of the violation and reason for reporting as well as the IDs you’ve acquired as evidence.
- Attachments – If you have added all IDs to a note or word document, you can upload it as an attachment here. It’s also very useful if you decided to screenshot the violations as proof. You can upload them here.
Once you’ve finished the report, click on the Report button located at the bottom. The report will reach the appropriate department and an investigation will ensue.
Retracting A Report
Perhaps you were a bit too eager to report something you thought was a violation but had yet to give Discord’s Community Guidelines a once over. It turns out that what occurred was not, in fact, a violation at all. Sending false reports is against Discord’s Terms of Service, so it would be in your best interest to reach out for support as soon as possible.
On mobile, you can just head on over to Discord’s Twitter page, DM them, and explain the situation. They’ll need you to provide the email associated with your Discord account so that they can go in and delete the report. No harm, no foul.
You can do the same on a desktop as well or just submit a quick request to Discord Support and they should get back to you within a few minutes.
Disclaimer: Some pages on this site may include an affiliate link. This does not effect our editorial in any way.
For more such interesting article like this, app/softwares, games, Gadget Reviews, comparisons, troubleshooting guides, listicles, and tips & tricks related to Windows, Android, iOS, and macOS, follow us on Google News, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.