I'm curious, what exactly does reporting do?

for example, lets say someone is trying to bully someone into doing or not doing something and threatens reporting if their victim fails to comply, or they don't like how the person looks or something of some similar nature...

do the powers that be actually look into whether or not the person was justly reported before taking action?

and does the person who did the reporting get punished for doing so trivially and without just provocation?

i'm not sure this is in the right place... perhaps i should have put it in the "help" section...?

Hi, JasmineInglewood

To answer your question, when a post is reported, it alerts the moderators/admins to the questionable post. The thread is examined, and either acted on or dismissed. Either action is logged for reference.

As for bogus reports, forum rule 17 applies.

17) In general, you absolutely should feel free to report a post even if you are unsure if it violates the forum rules. A moderator will review it and determine if a rule has been broken. However, a very small group of members have attempted to abuse the Reporting functions of the site by submitting an excessive number of frivolous abuse reports. Overusing and abusing the Reporting functions in such a manner will be considered a violation of the site rules.

thanks for responding..