Flagging System

I think I disagree.  If something is flagged, I agree with hiding it from everyone but the user who posted it until it has been looked at.  What if it was personal information doxxing another user? What are the disadvantages to hiding a flagged post or program from other users that are worse than the disadvantages to not hiding it?
Are you having problems with people flagging things to troll you?  Have you asked Khan Academy if they track whether a user abuses the flagging system?

(I do wish they would go through the flagged queue more quickly; some posts I have flagged are still flagged at least 2 weeks later.  I don't know how long it takes for them to deal with flagged programs.)

Do programs get hidden when they get flagged? 
As far as I can tell, posts in the discussion section of the courses do not get hidden when they are flagged -- they continue to get new comments.

There are two main reasons to this. First, when a program is hidden and you fill out an appeal, it can take weeks for them to get back to you. On top of the long waiting time, some people report the guardians not making professional decisions when looking at the appeal. Second, Khan Academy uses anonymous flagging systems that not even they can trace, which means that they can't stop the troller in the future. Some programs that promote good things could be wrongfully flagged by a troll and when the person fills out an appeal, they have to wait weeks before a response that might not even be professional. That is why I have proposed this. The flagging system is flawed and the system to get an appeal is flawed as well. At any time someone can wrongfully flag up to hundreds of programs and most of the programs won't be allowed back. This need to be fixed.

You did not answer my question about who a flagged program is hidden from.  Is a flagged program hidden from the user who wrote the program as well?

I'm interested in what is going on with guardians not making professional opinions about appeals to removed programs.  How are people reporting that?  Are there avenues within Khan Academy for reporting unprofessional behavior by Guardians?  (Though I shudder to think how those systems could also be trolled.)

edit: If they were true, You made some good points.  edit: If your claims were true, It sounds like there are good reasons for Khan Academy to revise their entire flagging system.  If someone is trolling by repeatedly flagging things with no justification, Khan Academy should have a way to track that. [Edit: Apparently KA can and does track that.]

As someone who frequently flags posts in the 6th grade math discussion area, I wish I could get some feedback on the results of my flags: were most of them reasonable?  are there some things I flag that are not considered against guidelines?

Hi IHaveNoName,

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts about the flagging and appeals process. I understand how frustrating it can feel when a program is hidden unexpectedly, and I appreciate your concern about fairness and transparency in the system.

I want to clarify a few important things:

• Programs are not automatically hidden just because they are flagged. All flagged projects are reviewed by a member of our team before any action is taken. If the program follows our Project Guidelines, we’ll simply remove the flag and leave the program visible.
• Appeals are typically reviewed within a few days, not weeks. I personally review and respond to every project appeal, and I always base decisions on our published guidelines. If a program was mistakenly hidden, it will absolutely be restored. Additionally, programs are also restored if the author updates the program to fix whatever issue caused it to be hidden and it now fully complies with the guidelines.
• Flags are not anonymous. We can see which user flagged each piece of content, and if someone repeatedly misuses the flagging system, we remove their ability to flag.

That said, we do not share who flagged a project or why it was flagged with users, for privacy and safety reasons. Publicly revealing this information would likely lead to arguments or retaliation, and that’s something we want to avoid. If a project does get hidden, our moderators are instructed to contact the author to explain why it was hidden and how they can correct the issue and submit an appeal (if applicable).

I investigated some recent moderation activity and found a couple of points of confusion that may have led to some projects being incorrectly hidden. I’ve already addressed this with the team to prevent recurrences.

We really appreciate users like you who care about the community and want to help improve it. If you ever feel a project was wrongly flagged or hidden, please continue to use the appeal form---that remains the best and fastest way for us to take a second look.

Thank you for clearing that up for me.