How moderation works

When a visitor submits an idea, you can let it go straight to the public board, or you can hold it for review first. The review step is called moderation. This page explains how moderation is turned on or off, where pending ideas wait, and what happens when you publish or reject one.

The setting that turns moderation on or off

Go to SimpleBoards > Settings > Submissions in your WordPress admin. You will see a setting called Moderation with a single checkbox: Require admin approval for new submissions.

  • When the box is checked (the default), every new idea from a visitor is held for review. It does not appear on the public board until you approve it.
  • When the box is unchecked, every new idea is published right away. It appears on the Ideas tab the second the visitor sends the form.

Moderation only applies to ideas submitted by visitors. Roadmap items you create yourself in the admin are published when you save them.

The two states: pending and published

Every item is in one of these states:

  • Published. The item is live on the public board.
  • Pending. The item is waiting for your decision. It is not shown on the public board.

When moderation is on, new ideas start as pending. They stay pending until you act on them.

Where pending ideas wait

Go to SimpleBoards > Items in the admin. The list shows every item. At the top of the list you will see the standard WordPress filters, including a link to Pending items if there is at least one. Click that link to see only items waiting for review.

You can also use the Type dropdown above the list to limit the view to Ideas only, and the Board dropdown to limit it to one board.

The new idea has a row in the list. Hover over the row and you will see action links. Two of them are added by SimpleBoards:

  • Publish. Publishes the idea right away. It now shows on the public board.
  • Reject. Marks the idea as rejected. It is removed from the public board and from the pending list.

You can also publish or reject many ideas at once. Tick the checkbox next to each row, pick Publish or Reject in the Bulk actions dropdown at the top, and click Apply.

What happens when you publish

When you publish a pending idea:

  • Its state changes from pending to published.
  • It appears on the Ideas tab of the board, with whatever vote count and category it already had.
  • Visitors can now vote on it, comment on it, and subscribe to it.

If you have Idea approved/published turned on under Settings > Notifications, the visitor who sent the idea gets an email telling them the idea is now live.

What happens when you reject

When you reject a pending idea:

  • Its state changes to draft in WordPress. It is treated as a rejected item.
  • It is not deleted. It is hidden from the public board.
  • The plugin sends an email to the notification address listed under Settings > Notifications, so the admin team has a record. (You can turn this off in the same screen.)
  • If you have Idea was not approved turned on under Settings > Notifications, the visitor who sent the idea gets a short email saying the idea was not approved.

If you change your mind later, open the item under SimpleBoards > Items, switch the filter to Rejected, find the item, and use the Publish action to bring it back.

What moderation does not do

Moderation is one switch with two settings: on or off. It does not:

  • Filter for spam by content. (Use a separate plugin for that if you need it.)
  • Pick which items go to which admin for review. All admins with manage_options can see and act on the pending list.
  • Hold roadmap items you create yourself. Only visitor-submitted ideas go through moderation.

A short example

You have moderation on. A guest named Sam fills in the submission form with the idea "Add CSV export". Sam hits send.

What Sam sees: a thank-you message saying the idea was submitted and is awaiting moderation.

What you see: an email at your notification address telling you a new idea was sent in. You log in to WordPress. You open SimpleBoards > Items and click the Pending filter. Sam's idea is there.

You read it. You decide it is a good fit. You hover the row and click Publish. The idea is now on the public Ideas tab. If notifications are on, Sam gets an email a few minutes later saying the idea is live.

Last updated

2026-05-23 · SimpleBoards 1.0.4