PM Flagging: A how-to guide
We have a cool feature for your inbox called PM Flagging!
Help us help you: We would like to rid your inbox of spam, scams, adult content like porn and other PMs that don’t abide by our site rules. Now with PM Flagging, you can help us identify senders of such messages and alert us to their presence. By flagging a PM, you’ll be submitting a report about the PM sent by that member. After too many reports, their future PMs to you will be automatically sent to your spam folder.
Here’s how PM Flagging works in the New View
- On top of each message, there is a series buttons that let you take action with your message.
- Clicking the Flag icon on top the message or the “Flag Message” link at the bottom of the message to start the reporting and blocking process.
- The next step is to select the reason why you are flagging the message. There are several options to choose from.
- Once you have selected your flag reasoning, the last step is to share the PM with the moderators so they can properly review the message. Please note that the moderators must have the message to take action if necessary. You can also block the user at this time.
- Once you’ve clicked “send” to flag a message, the message goes into your Spam folder. All flagged messages, regardless of reason for flagging, go to Spam. Once messages are in Spam, you can delete them with the “Trash Selected” button or move them out of Spam to your Inbox or other mail folders.
If for some reason you do not see a Flag icon above your message, simply go to the profile of the person whose message you want to flag, then click Message History. This will take you to all the messages you have with that person, where you should then be able to flag the messages you want from them.
That’s it! It’s a pretty simple feature. Using it will help us catch the bad guys and stop them from abusing Model Mayhem by messaging people.
If you have questions about PM Flagging, feel free to ask the mods in CAM. Thanks!
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December 18, 2012 at 8:21 pm, Beyond Vanilla said:
I think a lot of the posters below failed to understand how this works. If I understand it correctly, it’s merely a tool that members can use to manage the messages they receive by enabling the messages from some senders to go to a “spam folder”. Most internet mail programs like Outlook and Thunderbird, have a similar feature.
November 17, 2012 at 9:30 pm, M said:
At the very least, there should be a review process. eBay, though not perfect, at least offers some semblance of fairness. Bad policy, consider that photographers are generally older than the models whom may lack maturity merely due to the age factor; couple that with the sense of “lookie me, I am so beautiful” and can do no wrong, add the power of PM flagging to equal a wicked combination. Yes, there are photographers on here that are “creepy”, but that is the minority. Short communications may be misinterpreted by either party, block ’em if offensive or even just “because”. Do I flag every retoucher whom offers services, or every model that flakes. Check references, act like an adult and the “professional” you are- that goes a long way. This is clearly a poorly executed concept…… Wait, I am so sorry, please don’t flag me!
November 17, 2012 at 2:28 pm, KP said:
I don’t think this is a good idea though with good intentions behind. There may be people who are bored of scammers. I also receive similar hits to my profile, however I delete or block the person, that’s all. Why giving 3rd persons right to list someone as scammer and why MM does not even like to judge if flagging was made on rightful grounds or not?
MM might argue that a PM is private and they should not monitor the content. This may be right approach, however letting a decent user flagged as scammer and removing his/her rights as a scammer without justifying the situation and more than that without even informing a person that his/her messages were flagged is actually breaking of law itself.
I wouldn’t disagree more
November 13, 2012 at 11:08 pm, Joe said:
I feel like this is going to be instantly abused
November 13, 2012 at 11:01 pm, GeoMall said:
Not a good idea…anyone can flag you because of hate,sabotage, bullying etc…How can you justify what is legitamate and what is not.
How about when models don’t show up for their shoot…and we spend hundereds of dollars pre-production and studio costs…Can we flag them and makeothers aware that they are flakes??
This is not fair..I am moving on to other network…bye bye MM
November 13, 2012 at 9:15 pm, Chris said:
I take it PM means personal message/email. So, if I get flagged by a model, my privileges can be removed, and MM not even looked at the email to see if I am really braking any rules?
I have paid lots of money for a VIP membership so I can email, and you are going to take that right away without any investigation to see if I am really violating the contract. Sounds like a class action law suit to me.
I get wanting to remove spammers, and maybe even creeps (although that is more problematic since one person’s creative genius is another person’s creep). However, this approach seems open to abuse.
I also agree with the comments that models who are no shows, lack the experience they claim, or who look nothing like the photos they post should also be open to sanction. I agree that photographers who don’t pay the model, or try not to pay what was promised, proposition the models, touch the models, or harass the models should face some kind of sanction. However, in most jurisdictions, this kind of behaviour can be addressed by the civil and criminal court systems. Does MM really want to take on the role of daycare teacher and try to make us all play nice in the sandbox? Good luck. Hope you don’t end up on the wrong end of a law suit.
November 13, 2012 at 8:17 pm, bad idea said:
It’s a good intention… but it has lots of potential for abuse. Frivolous flagging has been one of the reasons that Craigslist has become such a toxic environment, where ad get taken down for no reason all the time, with no practical recourse
November 13, 2012 at 8:10 pm, geo louis said:
Hey sounds like a great ideal! I look at Model Mayhem as a Professional Website for hiring professional talent to complete a project! This is a good way to get the flakes off this website and let professional talent work! After all time is money and we all need to be a little more professional in these times! geo
November 13, 2012 at 8:05 pm, RH said:
Terrible idea. Who thought up this childish rubbish. Don’t people have to be over 16 to join the site? Therefore old enough to look after themselves without having to run to daddy to look after them. This site just gets worse and worse. Time for a change….
November 13, 2012 at 7:47 pm, Maja Stina said:
Thank you, thank you! This feature is WELL over due! I couldn’t remember how to CAM something for the longest time! I end up Googling the link these days. xD
November 13, 2012 at 6:38 pm, MM Sucks Now said:
So someone who just doesn’t like me for whatever non-creepy reason can just get a few friends together, “flag” all my messages, until I’m no longer seen as a regular person?
Super dumb.
November 13, 2012 at 4:41 pm, steve said:
just delete the message… some models will do porn and some will do erotic nudes. so if a photog asks you to and you are against it then either delete it or respond with a no. its pretty simple. and I agree with the posts below, if models can flag photogs then photogs should be able to flag models for 1) not looking anything like their photos portray 2) not showing up to a shoot or being less than fashionably late 3) not having experience but lying on their profile saying they’re experienced. I guess it goes both ways.
just dont be creepy and there’s nothing to worry about 🙂
November 13, 2012 at 3:11 pm, karmachrome said:
I’ve scrolled through this entire page just to find out what “PM” means. Is it an abbreviation for something? Can someone explain.
November 13, 2012 at 2:28 pm, Munkiinopants said:
I’m pretty sure they are assuming that we are somewhat intelligent and can make assessments about what is and isn’t spam. In this context it would be safe to assume that spam would be messages that either link you elsewhere or offer product and services that have nothing to do with MM networking.
I don’t see how this singles out photographers for being labeled as abusive, and not models. For anyone that has had a bad experience with a no-show/unprofessional model or photographer would it not be easier to leave a note of it on your profile? Or to make mention of it when someone comes to you for reference (without being unprofessional yourselves in response)?
If you carry yourself in a professional matter this should be of no concern.
November 13, 2012 at 2:29 pm, Munkiinopants said:
manner, not matter.
November 13, 2012 at 1:14 pm, No More Chances said:
the creepy old dude would be 3rd coasdt antiques. he kept asking my girl to take off my panties and ytalk her into doing a porno WITH HIM!
November 13, 2012 at 1:14 pm, No More Chances said:
what if a photographer is a creepy old dude who gives models stds n lies about being married? or the model is a whore like
Lilly Nicole Rose?
November 13, 2012 at 10:58 pm, No said:
Well, first that means the model had sex with him. I don’t think “I had sex with the person who sent me this message and now I have an STD so I’d like to say he’s a creep” counts.
Honestly. If you don’t want to work with someone and they keep messaging you, use the “block” feature. If you worked with someone, you didn’t like how they operated, you should have left the shoot. Either way, afterwards, use the “block” feature.
Is that hard? No.
November 13, 2012 at 12:34 pm, MoreImportantShitToDo said:
Really? Is this what the modeling world been waiting on? Too much time on their hands, lol!
November 13, 2012 at 10:50 am, bodyartbabes said:
Good idea but horrible implementation for all reasons given and more.
it creates an abusive and retaliatory systrm with no checks or balances.
November 13, 2012 at 10:27 am, Farenell Photo said:
Its a nice idea in principle but once again, MM has done a terrible job in executing a new/helpful/whatever feature.
What’s the point of flagging a conversation string if the Mods aren’t able to verify why its being flagged? Because of MM policy where (except in extreme cases), Mods aren’t able to read messages through the backend, the site is relying on the user to make the ADDITIONAL step of making a CAM which in turn gives the user an opportunity to make their own spin to the situation.
I bring this up because some people are perfectly fine w/ unsolicited message (like “hey, I’ll be in your area during XYZ timeframe. If you have any pay assignment opportunites for any of your projects, don’t be shy in letting me know”) because how else am I going to know a person is traveling my way but others see that as spam.
What MM SHOULD have done is that by flagging a particular message string, you’re giving MM management the right to look into the conversation.
November 13, 2012 at 10:23 am, STT Photo said:
If MM was more selective about who they let join the number of spams and disputes would probably be cut in half.
November 13, 2012 at 9:53 am, Revise this!! said:
To be honest this is just going to cause more bad than good! not only will this bring about more problems for clients but this really wont stop anyone from scamming,spamming or creeping – its still going to happen just not from the same person more than twice possibly and it is much easier to just ignore it than to cause a “small time court case over it” – this new feature has the right idea but its being approached in a loose loose resulting way, definitely needs to go back to the drawing board :/
November 13, 2012 at 8:58 am, Smitty said:
YES NOW THIS CAN STOP.
November 13, 2012 at 7:35 am, stupidmm said:
The new tattle tale button on MM….. must have been the brain child of a self absorbed model who is so offended with being solicited for adult work but thinks she should be paid just because she gets naked… soooo ironic
November 13, 2012 at 10:59 pm, model said:
But, I put “I DO NOT SHOOT NUDES, DON’T ASK” on my profile, and then someone asked.
So that means he’s a creep, forcing me to shoot porn.
November 13, 2012 at 6:58 am, Areyousureaboutthis said:
After thinking about this over night, it seems like a really bad idea. If I understand it correctly, any can report anyone else for anything, or nothing. No one actually sees the alleged infraction, but if someone gets too many, they can no longer function as a member. No one knows how many infractions it’d take, no one will know if they’re reported and no one will know why they get punished. What would stop someone from reporting the same person over and over, or picking random people from browse to report for the heck of it? What about paying members. How can you charge someone for a service and withhold parts of that service without notice or proof that they’ve done anything wrong. In addition, there don’t seem to be any actual rules. The reporter can make up any rules he/she want to (or no rules).
This seems like a well meaning person’s idea, but with very little thought into the consequences.
November 13, 2012 at 1:19 pm, Sunseeker said:
What they said x2. I don’t get into disputes and try to be clear and professional, but a PM is a text message and is laden with possibilities for misunderstanding. We have all seen examples of a photographer and model or MUA having a dingbang on here. I provide a tool that punishes the parties with no reference to the actual message is misguided. Rethink. Are you REALLY serious about this
November 13, 2012 at 5:40 am, Roswell Ivory said:
So if I’m travelling to an area and am searching for paid work, if I mail a photographer and politely ask if there is any available, I run the risk of being flagged as a spammer despite always being polite and courteous?
I’m a little worried by this.
November 14, 2012 at 6:34 am, Jeff said:
Yea, I asked the same question above. There is nothing wrong with networking to try and get paid gigs but how many people would report it as spam.
November 13, 2012 at 5:35 am, Sungoddess Studios said:
This will only warn us of potential spam and does not rid us of the scum that plague our industry.
Maybe instead of tagging them as spam you freeze their account!!!!!
November 13, 2012 at 3:48 am, jnphoto said:
I’ve never had those types of PMs.
November 13, 2012 at 2:52 am, facebook_2.0 said:
Great idea on paper, Ive not had a problem with simply blocking a spammer. I fear this will give way to abuse by disgruntled models or photographers who have a bone to pick. After FB instituted something similar it gave power to the wrong person. for instance… When you try to add a new “friend” and the user clicks the “report this user” button. You are automatically sent into a 30 day suspension when all you did was try to add someone. And once you were in suspension, you had to wait. Your right to face the accuser was gone. I pay to be here, and Id hate to see it turn into a cry baby power fest. I think the old way of just reporting it to the mods was best or just block the user. This tattle tale idea is for facebook and myspace not Model Mayhem. Good Luck, I hope it works out and doesn’t get innocent users in MM Jail.
November 13, 2012 at 12:34 am, Brain Fart said:
This is not the best of notions……well intended but, I can seeing this going south.
November 13, 2012 at 12:07 am, Kathy Jean said:
Who has time for this garbage? I avoid all of this ridiculous and unecessary PM bs by conducting business via my business website. By the way, it is a well-writtten article with great diagrams; I do appreciate the work that went into it.
November 12, 2012 at 11:41 pm, Areyousureaboutthis said:
Maybe I’m missing something, but this seems like guilty until not proven, with no evidence and no jury.
November 12, 2012 at 10:16 pm, notagoodidea said:
I understand what you’re trying to do and I guess it logically makes sense to try to find ways to limit spamming. However, I think this is a BAD idea. Instead, I think all complaints should be forwarded to mods directly (CAM or whatever you call it). By having an automated process of flagging people means that people who message multiple photographers or models now have to worry about those who get to “retaliate” by flagging those they are offended…knowing they face NO consequences for improper flagging. And the person getting flagged may be getting flagged unfairly.
November 12, 2012 at 10:05 pm, BLAH BLAH BLAH said:
This protects models… “dings” photographers most likely.
November 12, 2012 at 9:02 pm, Anujin said:
THANK YOU MM!
Tired of the lames -_-
November 12, 2012 at 8:46 pm, CJ said:
Very bad idea. Enough so, I may decide to move-out from MM. When will MM start giving the photographers who provide real, paid opportunities for models the same courtesy they offer to models?
When will we see some tools to REPORT ALL THE NOSHOW MODELS, ALL THE FLAKES, ALL THE MODELS THAT ARE NOT PROFESSIONAL AND CERTAINLY NOT SERIOUS?
This new tool will only be used by stupid models to bash photographers whenever they want.
Please add something for us too so we can report all the models that are conducting themsleves more badly than all photographers…
November 13, 2012 at 2:30 am, Vincent said:
Well said
November 13, 2012 at 7:04 pm, whooleo said:
this is so true, since ive joined mm a couple years ago ive had more flakes and no shows than actual pro models yet now this new tool that lets models use mm just like craigslist…….
November 14, 2012 at 6:44 pm, wolfman said:
NO KIDDING!! The professional level of some of the models leaves a LOT to be desired; and this crap wil just give them more to ding photographers on, when in reality, it is THEY who need to be graded………
November 15, 2012 at 11:48 am, smythers said:
Couldn’t agree with you more
November 12, 2012 at 8:07 pm, Jenny said:
I think this is kinda useful considering I get asked to do porn sometimes and I cant send a message back to them telling them what Id LIKE to tell them because the use of abusive words is not permitted.
November 12, 2012 at 11:10 pm, mmisajoke said:
Here’s an example of retaliation. Do you really need to lower yourself to their level if you’re so offended? How about just block the idiot dear or is that too simple for you?
November 13, 2012 at 10:55 pm, Jim said:
If you don’t want to do porn and someone asks if you want to, the most common response would be either “No” or none at all.
November 12, 2012 at 7:57 pm, More Details Please said:
When someone’s PM is flagged by another person are they given a notice? If not, then there is no way for them to dispute the claim and ask a mod to look at it to see if it was justified or not. While I doubt it would be a huge problem there most definitely are a lot of childish people on this site that would use it as a form of retaliation for nonsense things.
November 12, 2012 at 7:31 pm, WANABEFLAKES said:
HOW ABOUT ONE FOR FLAKES WHO PULL A NO SHOW WITHOUT THE COURTESY OF MESSAGING THAT THE BATTERY IN THEIR ALARM CLOCK DIED 2 WEEKS AGO?????
November 12, 2012 at 7:24 pm, Sterling said:
I agree with the intent of this move but I disagree that a moderator won’t see or look at the content of the flagged messages. I rarely shoot even implied but I had two images reported on facebook even then but never knew which images those were or couldn’t ask for a review of the offending content. Also, people need to be notified if they have a certain number of them prior to being suspended.
To say again, I agree with this move in its intent but IMO the implementation needs to be better. I know quite a few models who have complained about the creepiness of MM and the emails they’ve been sent with “adult” oriented requests. It not only turns them off to MM but to working with all the other photographers out there no matter how good their intentions.
November 12, 2012 at 7:20 pm, NICE said:
DOESN’T SOUND LIKE A GOOD IDEA . . . ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO DEAL WITH A MODEL/PHOTOG WHO IS CONDUCTING THEMSELVES UNPROFESSIONALLY ON THIS SITE. THEY WILL JUST USE THIS TOOL AS A FORM OF PUNISHMENT OR RETALIATION. ALSO . . . NETWORKING AND FOLLOW-UPS WITH MODELS/PHOTOGS COULD ALSO BE CATEGORIZED AS SPAM FOR USERS WHO WOULD PREFER FLAG RATHER THEN COMMUNICATE.
November 12, 2012 at 6:44 pm, Jeff said:
So if a model sends me a message stating that she will be in the area and if i have paid work for her, is that networking or spaming?
November 12, 2012 at 9:34 pm, Farenell Photo said:
Damn good question.
November 12, 2012 at 6:21 pm, [email protected] said:
It is a good idea but to not verify contents of inappropriate messages will allow this to be used as a retaliation tool where there may be a dispute between two parties. We live in a democracy and we are entitled to our day in court anytime we are accused. Do you feel we should be exempt from this right on this site? Your new “Tool” needs refinements before it is implimented.
November 12, 2012 at 5:41 pm, Artemis Hyde said:
I find this very helpful! Wish I could have used this for all those con artists on here…
November 12, 2012 at 5:35 pm, Paolino said:
this sounds like a good idea, but might end up biting back as people with no-brain will just use it as a punishment tool…. so not sure it is really a great idea 🙁
November 12, 2012 at 5:33 pm, acanthustattoos said:
So messages from avatarless/yet unapproved/no avatar available people asking with an offer and within first message asking to contact them directly by email would be categorized as scam? (got 3 so far)
November 12, 2012 at 5:26 pm, mmisajoke said:
can’t wait for the porn vs erotic arguments not to mention giving the mods yet another reason to abuse their “power.” anyone who thinks adding more laws/ regulations/ policing methods is going to fix anything doesn’t understand free open society. a.k.a. people taking care of themselves without the help of big brother. what was wrong with the “block this member” option? idiots…
November 12, 2012 at 4:59 pm, yeahthisisstupid said:
so if a model and photographer have a misunderstanding they can retaliate against the other by flagging their message as against MM policy, knowing that the actual contents will not be read by a moderator. Yeah, doesn’t sound too great to me.
November 12, 2012 at 5:59 pm, CleeIB said:
If a member wants to share the contents of an abusive/scam/spam PM with the mods, he/she can do so in CAM. The mods can also request such contents from the member, i the member feels comfortable sharing it.
This has historically been the procedure with questionable PMs, and the PM flagging feature does not change it.
November 12, 2012 at 6:42 pm, Alice said:
It’s flagged to be “spam” for YOUR inbox, from what I read it doesn’t effect the sender. From what I gather, if you want to try to get someone removed from the site you still have to send a CAM and hope the moderators have received enough negative feedback about that person. Plus I’m pretty sure if someone gets a lot of these “dings” the mods are going to investigate. If the site wasn’t concerned about people trying to report people for ridiculous reasons, then they would allow public outing.