What is the moderator timeline?

Overview

The moderator timeline provides a chronological record of activity on a question or answer.

Use the timeline to see what happened to a post, when each event occurred, who performed each action, and how those events changed the post over time.

Open the moderator timeline

To open the timeline from a question or answer:

1. Select Mod below the post.
2. Select Show timeline.
3. Select Submit.

If a post has flags or deleted comments, you can also open the timeline from the shortcut in the left margin.

Understand timeline events

The timeline lists each action as an event. The columns show:

• When: The time of the event.
• What: The action.
• By: The user who performed the action.
• Comment: Details about the action.

The timeline groups related actions into a single entry. For example, a close-vote entry shows when the vote started and when it cleared.

View event times

Select Toggle format in the When column to switch between relative dates and exact timestamps.

Point to a relative timestamp to view the exact time. Events with matching timestamps occurred at the same time. Compare these timestamps to identify related events, such as a review and the resulting closure.

Select a timestamp to open a permanent link to that event.

Filter voting events

Use the event filters to control which voting events the timeline displays.

Select Hide vote summaries, Show vote summaries, or Show all votes.

These filters change the timeline display. They don't change the post or its history.

Timeline event types

Each event includes a badge that identifies its type.

History

History events record direct changes to the post:

• Asking the question.
• Editing or rolling back the post.
• Approving a suggested edit.
• Closing or reopening the question.
• Locking or unlocking the post.
• Adding or removing a post notice.
• Deleting or restoring the post.
• Protecting or unprotecting the question.

The Comment column records details such as the reason for the action, related posts, or edit summaries.

Answer

Answer events record when a contributor posts an answer to a question.

The event includes the answer's current score and a link to the answer's timeline.

Comment

Comment events record the comment text.

The same entry records comment deletions and flag outcomes.

Close and reopen

Close and reopen events record each vote and the reason selected.

The same entry records when the vote clears or changes the question's status.

Review

Review events record when the system creates a review task for the post.

The entry identifies the review queue and links to the review.

Audit

Audit events record when the system uses a post as a review audit.

The entry identifies the review queue and records the audit outcome.

Flag

Flag events record when a contributor flags the post, the type of flag, and the reason for the flag.

The same entry records how a moderator resolved the flag.

Vote

Vote events record answer acceptance.

They also record bounty activity, including when a bounty starts and the bounty amount.

Review history and timeline

The timeline and review history show different information.

• The timeline shows every event that affected the post, including review activity.
• The review history shows when the post entered and left a review queue, why the system added it, how many reviews occurred, and a link to the review task.

If you have questions or issues, reach out to our support team for help.