Test and apply word filters

Where: Admin → Moderation → Safety & spam → Word filters

Before you start

A broad regular expression can match legitimate writing. Censor replaces text; Block refuses it; Hold queues review; Flag records the match. Test the narrowest pattern that answers the moderation need.

Step by step

1. Add Word or pattern, matching mode and case sensitivity.
2. Choose Censor, Block, Hold or Flag. Supply replacement text for censorship.
3. Choose the content areas; none selected means every area. Add a private staff note and enable the rule.
4. Use Test a phrase before relying on the rule; inspect the transformed visitor text and matches.
5. Monitor hits and adjust/disable a noisy rule.

Settings and behaviour

A broad regular expression can match legitimate writing. Censor replaces text; Block refuses it; Hold queues review; Flag records the match. Test the narrowest pattern that answers the moderation need.

Check the result

Check an intended match, a near miss and a legitimate phrase in each affected area.

Common questions and troubleshooting

Unexpected global match: nothing selected means everywhere. Text held despite approved member: a word-filter hold is independent of the new-member threshold.