More features will be coming to Utopian soon than ever! But before we start working on the _very exciting_ upcoming features, we need to make sure we have moderation in shape.

<div class="pull-right">https://steemitimages.com/DQmdwkrPLLkC9pjbjHfNfXEo8Sje56wDLwHaAj4W7C5dF7p/U5dsNZF2ko4b6ohe517Xy3nwSEj8ndP_1680x8400.png</div>

In order to keep the Review stream running smoothly, we need an **abundance** of quality moderators and we need to keep the contribution quality on Utopian as high as possible. 

However, becoming or adding a moderator has been very hard previously. Therefore, I have introduced moderator referrals to Utopian! 

Additionally, another missing feature was the ability to ban users from the platform _temporarily_ or _permanently_. Perma-bans will likely be used for users who are _consistently_ disobeying the Utopian Rules and are spamming posts. Temporary bans will be used as a "warning" to alert users who disobey the Rules and keep post spam to a minimum.

These features are available to select moderators **right now!** 

# The New View
<div class="pull-right">https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1512006212/j147frkdpjgtnvj1a4dh.png</div>

To the right is a depiction of the 'new look' for the sidebar. If you are a regular user or regular moderator, you may not see the bottom two buttons.

However, select moderators will be able to access 'supermoderation' features such as the Moderator Referral or User Ban features.

### Bans
Clicking on `Ban User` brings up this modal below:
<center>![image.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1512006290/pemldbwcpniqasdxekwa.png)
</center>

There are many options for when the user ban can expire. If a user does get banned, _unbanning_ is just as trivial. Click the green "Unban User" button to see this modal:
<center>![image.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1512006344/xbss1drt1sscf3g8fkpl.png)
</center>

Lastly, we have a built in **banned screen** for those who do get banned. Banning simply (temporarily) removes the ability to make contributions. When a banned user attempts to make a contribution, they'll see something like this:
<center>![image.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1512006412/bpvw1tv2mclccme8dzzn.png)
</center>

The Ban Reason is written in purple and is italicized to make sure it catches the user's attention, so they know exactly what they did wrong to cause the ban. A user can never ban himself or unban himself, of course :)

### Moderator Referral
Until now, becoming a Utopian Moderator was not a very easy process and required a lot of external contact and connections. Now, it's much easier for select existing moderators to grow the list of quality Utopian mods using this feature!

<div class="pull-right">https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1512006685/bn5ro7emhvq4xmjnyqyo.png
</div>

Simply go to the user's Profile Page (e.g. `https://utopian.io/@mooncryption`) and click 'Refer Moderator' to refer them as a moderator. 

You'll be greeted with a modal explaining the **responsibilities** and **requirements** of doing this. Once you go over the details and click the big 'Refer Moderator' button, the new user will now have new moderation abilities.

<center>![image.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1512006789/q3tb7srunjer7mzshlhx.png)
</center>

However, you can easily also **remove** moderation abilities if you feel the user did not use them wisely. 

If the user is already a moderator under your control, you'll see this new option rather than 'Refer Moderator':
<center>![image.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1512006898/ipleg1odasf0a5ul79ns.png)
</center>

Clicking on it, you can revoke moderation abilities from that user.

These features are only available to a select number of moderators right now, but hopefully they'll be grown to more moderators in the future!

-----
Thanks for reading,
— @mooncryption

<br /><hr/><em>Posted on <a href="https://utopian.io/utopian-io/@mooncryption/utopian-dev-added-moderator-referral-ban-features">Utopian.io -  Rewarding Open Source Contributors</a></em><hr/>