Give us User Report API when somebody reports using Roblox Menu

This is a re-categorised feature request for a new engine feature:

User Report API
Roblox currently “handles” reports behind the scenes without any intervention from the game’s developers and/or moderation team.

When going into Roblox’s main menu, you can report anybody for a number of reasons. Currently Roblox doesn’t provide us much to work with in order to take some weight from the moderation into our own hands.

How it would work
I suggest an API, when a report is filed - the server receives the event with the Sender (Who reported), Subject (Who got reported), and Reason (Why). Upon receiving this event the server can capture the conversation from chat between the two parties.

Upon capturing the conversation, the server can connect to a webhook and send over that information wether it being Discord, Guilded or even your own Website.

This can then be reviewed by your game’s moderation team without having the hassle of creating your own tools for reporting when Roblox already has the tools built in. We already have the Ban API, the User Report API is what is needed next.

Why this would work
Ease of moderating your own player base without relying on Roblox’s moderation system. This results in quicker moderation times, keeping your community friendly.

TD:DR
Give us an User Report API that tells us when a user gets reported so we can handle our own moderation without developing our own report systems.

FAQ
“What if somebody posts sensitive information inside the report?” :
Roblox already advises against posting private information inside reports, we can give a solution for this with a “Share with game publisher” checkbox as suggested by @corniidog.

“Can this be done with HTTP Service?” :
Technically yes but it would require creating your own report system, the goal is to unify the report systems by using Roblox’s end one. You would still be required to use HTTP Service to post these reports to your moderation point e.g. Website, Discord, Guilded. etc.

12 Likes

It would be good if the roblox allowed us to see at the result of the report.

Allowing players to share their reports with creators (eg using an “Also share with creator” checkbox) would be really helpful to understand & act upon abuse in-game.

Currently, if I want to handle reports myself, I would create a new interface to report violations to my moderators. This would skip Roblox’ Report Abuse flow, making it harder for Roblox to identify abuse cross-experiences.

Vice versa, players may be used to reporting through the menu instead of a custom interface. This would keep us in the dark, and we can’t act on behavior that disturbs our playerbase.

I think it’s best when we (Roblox & creators) work together on violations in our own experience.

This does not only help with reactive approaches, but also gives more insight on the impact of updates on reports:

  • Did a new feature cause a spike in “inappropriate content”?
  • Did reports of “cheating” decrease after rebalancing rewards?
  • Did a spike in downvotes happen at the same time as a spike in reports?

In short: Letting players share their reports helps both Roblox and creators take action on abuse, while also giving creators valuable insights to reduce negative experiences through game design.

5 Likes