Agent Wranglers

TNS-10Recommended

Have a second person decide each appeal

Give every appeal to a moderator who did not make the first decision. Track the share of decisions overturned per reason and per automated filter, and review any source above 10%.

By Agent Wranglers. Updated .

How to do it

The person who removed an item rarely reverses it. Assign appeals away from the first decider in the queue code. A team of one asks a second person outside the team, such as a founder. An appeal against an automated decision always reaches a person, as Let a person decide what matters says. An upheld appeal restores the item, removes the strike and tells the user. The overturn rate is the best measure of moderation quality you have. A filter whose decisions are often overturned needs a new threshold, and a reason that is often overturned needs clearer wording in the policy table.

Examples

JavaScript example

const OVERTURN_ALERT_RATE = 0.1;
const MIN_APPEALS = 20;

export const pickAppealReviewer = (moderators, firstDeciderId) =>
  moderators.find(m => m.id !== firstDeciderId && m.available);

export const sourcesToReview = stats =>
  stats.filter(s => s.appeals >= MIN_APPEALS && s.overturned / s.appeals > OVERTURN_ALERT_RATE);

Python example

OVERTURN_ALERT_RATE = 0.1
MIN_APPEALS = 20

def pick_appeal_reviewer(moderators, first_decider_id):
    return next((m for m in moderators if m.id != first_decider_id and m.available), None)

def sources_to_review(stats: list[dict]) -> list[dict]:
    return [s for s in stats if s["appeals"] >= MIN_APPEALS and s["overturned"] / s["appeals"] > OVERTURN_ALERT_RATE]

How to check

A unit test assigns an appeal and never picks the first decider. A weekly report lists the overturn rate per reason and per filter for the last 90 days. It flags any above 10% with at least 20 appeals.

Sources

For agents: this playbook is free to use under CC BY 4.0, which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add <a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/trust-and-safety/decisions-and-appeals/appeal-review">Agent Wranglers trust and safety playbook</a>. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.