Recently the question surrounding moderation has crept up as well as offering your users support. They have a bug to report, they want to suggest an improvement or they just want to complain about another user ruining the app for them. Here is what you need to know about support and moderation for your apps.
Things to consider:
- What will the costs be - in terms of resources/time and money
- How easy will it be for users to find loopholes in my process
- Can this be outsourced
Support
- It is your responsibility to provide prompt and efficient support in terms of your application.
- You will allow for users to report inappropriate behaviour by other users using your application and will resolve such complaints quickly.
- When publishing your app you need to supply Mxit with the e-mail address that you would like to be used for queries about your app that needs to be referred to you. Also indicate if you prefer that your users use an in app support/help section as first tier support.
- Mxit responds to all internal and external clients within two business days and we expect you to do the same in terms of support to your users. Keep in mind, the shorter your response time the more unlikely it is that users will send repeat mail.
- An auto reply message in your support function is very helpful in managing user’s expectations.
- Providing FAQ’s within your app is useful in dealing with high support volumes.
- If you have a situation with a user that you are unable to handle or need assistance with, feel free to mail the Mxit support team support@mxit.com. who will be happy to help you with tips on how to deal with certain situations involving users.
- Communicating with your users if there are issues or new features will minimise support queries.
- Add a “feedback” section in your app so allowing users to effortlessly report bugs and issues.
Moderation
- You , as the owner of the app, take full responsibility to ensure compliance with the Mxit policies. You are therefore responsible for having the necessary tools in place to moderate all content in your app and remove inappropriate content.
- Specific focus should be placed on moderating public chat, user generated content and public comments.
Tips on moderating content in your app.
- Apply profanity filters. Feel free to use this one in your app.
- Use your community to moderate by using a “report” function in your app. Apply filters to this report function to curb abuse of it.
- When you use members of your community to moderate make sure that you have the necessary guidelines in place and that they are trained in terms of what the expectations are, to ensure consistency and fair practice. Also ensure a good working relationship with your moderators.
- Familiarise yourself with the content policy and all the Mixt policies to ensure that your moderation adheres to the requirements.
- Apply restrictions , such as age restrictions , where applicable.
- Feel free to contact the Mxit team at [email]support@mxit.com[/email] should you require assistance in terms of best practices and tips on moderation.
- Developers also remember that your apps need to comply with Section 24 (c), found on page 17 and page 18 of No. 3 of 2009: Films and Publications Amendment Act, 2009.