It might be a good idea to add a "Reason" or "Why?" button as an option to the "Bad Message" button. It could appear after the "Bad Message" button is clicked.

I recently had reason to use the "Bad Message" button on a reply to one of my posts. I would have liked to explain to the moderator why. I have no problem with someone disagreeing with my ideas. I am not always right. I DO have a problem with someone denigrating my message on one point, saying that the message did not apply to the forum, while ignoring the rest of the message, which explained why that one point made it useful not only for that forum but also for that particular thread. The message sounded like a "quackwatch" type (has picked the information he will believe and slammed any he doesn't believe.)

I would have liked to explain this to the moderator when they see the "Bad Message" button had been activated. In this case, the message I was complaining about was misleading and irritating to me. Looking at the other messages the same person has posted (not many, only 7 or 8), this person appears to be a "quackwatch troll" in the making. I would like to alert the moderators to this possibility.

In addition, in rare cases, some people might hit the "bad message" button by mistake. Having the option to explain why would give them the chance to explain that it was an accidental click. This would save the moderators some time in trying to figure out why a perfectly good message would have attracted a "bad message" complaint.

I think other posters would like this option as well. To keep the messages reasonable, it would be a good idea to have a small character limit, like in twitter.

I realize that the moderators have a big job and are quite busy. I, for one, appreciate the work they do. I hope this idea is reasonable.

pc