The four counts, and the live and cleanup split
You can say exactly how many comments arrived, how many were handled and how.
On this page
Before you start
- Live moderation is what happens as comments arrive.
- Cleanups are counted separately, on purpose.
- The counts follow your date range.
Read the four counts.
The counts at the top of Insights
You will see What arrived, what was acted on, what was left.
Switch the source.
Source: All, Live moderation, or Post cleanup
You will see The same counts, for that source alone.
Read the cleanup section.
The Post cleanup section, lower down
You will see One-time work, kept apart from the trend.
If something is off
- Handled is higher than I expected
- Hiding counts as handled; switch the source to see the daily picture.
- Deleted is zero but I deleted comments
- Check the range, and the Post cleanup section.
- Total comments looks lower than my inbox
- It counts comments that arrived in the period.
Common questions
Why are cleanups counted separately from live moderation?
So a big sweep does not flatter the daily numbers. Live moderation is what happens as comments arrive; a cleanup is a sweep you started by hand, and CommentWatchDog keeps them apart so the live trend stays honest.
What is Left visible next to the four counts?
What was left alone in the period. It sits beside Total comments, Comments handled, Hidden and Deleted at the top of Insights.
Which source shows what my rules do day to day?
Live moderation. It is the honest measure of what your rules do every day. Source sits beside the range and offers All, Live moderation, or Post cleanup.
For agents: plain text of this guide · all guides
For agents
Guide: The four counts, and the live and cleanup split
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/insights/the-four-counts-and-the-live-and-cleanup-split
Topic: Insights and exports
Time: about 3 minutes
Who can do it: Anyone on your team
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox/insights
Result when done: You can say exactly how many comments arrived, how many were handled and how.
Context: Four numbers describe a period: how many comments there were, how many your rules handled, how many were hidden and how many deleted. A separate section keeps one-time cleanups apart, so your live trend stays honest.
Before you start
1. Live moderation is what happens as comments arrive; a cleanup is a sweep you started by hand.
2. They are counted separately on purpose, so a big sweep does not flatter the daily numbers.
3. The counts follow your date range.
Steps
Step 1 of 3: Read the four counts.
Where: At the top: Total comments, Comments handled, Hidden and Deleted, with Left visible beside them.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox/insights (Open Insights)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/insights.en.webp (The four counts.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/insights-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: What arrived, what was acted on, and what was left alone.
Step 2 of 3: Switch the source.
Where: Source, beside the range: All, Live moderation, or Post cleanup. Live moderation is the honest measure of what your rules do every day.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/insights.en.webp (Source: all, live moderation, or post cleanup.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/insights-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The same four counts for that source alone.
Step 3 of 3: Read the cleanup section.
Where: Post cleanup, lower down: how many sweeps ran, how many posts were cleaned, and how many comments were hidden and deleted by them.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/insights-sweeps.en.webp (The cleanup section.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/insights-sweeps-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: One-time work kept apart from the daily trend.
If something is off
Problem: Handled is higher than I expected
Fix: A comment counts as handled when a rule acted on it, including hiding. Switch the source to Live moderation to see the daily picture.
Problem: Deleted is zero but I deleted comments
Fix: Deletions you did by hand from the inbox are counted; check the range, and whether a sweep did them, in which case they are under Post cleanup.
Problem: Total comments looks lower than my inbox
Fix: Insights counts comments that arrived in the period, not the whole inbox.
Common questions
Question: Why are cleanups counted separately from live moderation?
Answer: So a big sweep does not flatter the daily numbers. Live moderation is what happens as comments arrive; a cleanup is a sweep you started by hand, and CommentWatchDog keeps them apart so the live trend stays honest.
Question: What is Left visible next to the four counts?
Answer: What was left alone in the period. It sits beside Total comments, Comments handled, Hidden and Deleted at the top of Insights.
Question: Which source shows what my rules do day to day?
Answer: Live moderation. It is the honest measure of what your rules do every day. Source sits beside the range and offers All, Live moderation, or Post cleanup.
Related guides
Choose a date range: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/insights/choose-a-date-range
Cleanup sweeps and Open task: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/insights/cleanup-sweeps-and-open-task
The daily chart: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/insights/the-daily-chart
Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/insights/the-four-counts-and-the-live-and-cleanup-split.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt