by Isabelle Esteves

Created on: June 29, 2009   Last Updated: July 21, 2009

In the process of rating articles on Helium, we have all come across articles that have raised flags in our mind. There are many reasons to flag an article as inappropriate. The Helium Writing Standard is very clear about what is acceptable and what is not. When flagging an article for inappropriate we are letting the staff make the final decision about how to handle the material that we are flagging.

Self Promotion

Self promotion can take several forms. The rating process on Helium is supposed to be anonymous, that is not possible if the writers name is included within their article. In some cases the name of the person has been included, in others it is a link to a personal blog or website. This is the most obvious self promotion. Less obvious are articles that are designed solely to promote a product that the writer is trying to sell. This is also self promotion and is not allowed under the Writing Standards. When you flag an article for self promotion be sure to list the article URL and a good description of why it is self promotion.

Adult

Helium is a family site. Any content that would make your mother blush is probably not appropriate for this site. This can be a hard area to flag since there are things that may seem inappropriate for one person and not for another. If you are in doubt, flag the article and let the people at content decide if it is acceptable. It is always better to err on the side of caution in this area since children do use this site.

Profane

Profanity is also not acceptable on a family friendly site. This however does not mean that the word damn or s..t, can not be included in an article if appropriate. There are however words that all adults know that begin with an f or a c that are never acceptable. If children could not to read an article, then it shouldn't be on Helium.

Illegal

Promoting or encouraging illegal activities is also not acceptable on Helium. Under this category you might see something that would be hate crime related. If someone is promoting hate for a group or individual, flag this article.

Plagiarism

You can flag plagiarism through inappropriate content but there is also a plagiarism button which allows you to not only flag the offending content but to also list the location of the content which has been copied.

Off topic

We have all seen these articles. They may have one line that follows the topic and then the article runs off or rambles off into a topic totally not related to the title. There are times when it is hard to decide if this article is really off topic. If you need to reread the article before flagging for off topic, this is one of the hardest ones to nail down.

Incorrect information

We are all experts in certain areas and have knowledge that may lead us to see when an article gives faulty information. This is where the fact checkers step in. They are however, counting on you to get them started. In the comments area, be as specific as you can about what information you believe is incorrect.

Every member can help to make Helium the best and most accurate site on the Internet for writer. Be sure to give as much information with your flag as possible to help the staff to be able to identify what is wrong, sometimes it isn't obvious. Flagging is an important part of reading and rating on Helium.

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