Check comments against your rules

For agents

Guide: Check comments against your rules

This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/check-comments-against-your-rules

Topic: Post cleanup and tasks

Time: about 3 minutes

Who can do it: Owner, Administrator or Manager

Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)

Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/tools

Result when done: Every old comment on a post is judged by the same rules that protect you from now on.

Context: Loading a post shows you the comments. Checking runs your moderation rules over all of them and marks what they would catch, so a post with thousands of comments becomes a short list of the ones that matter.

Before you start

1. The check uses the rules of the page that owns the post, exactly as they are saved.

2. The first check counts one comment credit for each comment on the post that was not counted before; comments live moderation already counted are free.

3. Nothing is hidden or deleted by the check itself: it only marks what your rules would catch.

Steps

Step 1 of 3: Press Check comments.

Where: Above the comment list once the post is loaded. It runs the rules over every comment and reply that was fetched.

Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/tools (Open post cleanup)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup-loaded.en.webp (Check comments, on a loaded post.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup-phone-loaded.en.webp (The same on a phone.)

You should see: A progress line while it works, then a count of how many comments were flagged.

Step 2 of 3: Read what it found.

Where: Each flagged comment carries the label of the rule that would catch it, exactly as in the inbox. The filters above the list are All, Flagged, one for each rule that caught something, Clean and, when your page has replied on the post, Your replies.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup-confirm.en.webp (Flagged: what the check found.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup-flagged-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)

You should see: A list you can act on, with the reason attached to every comment.

Step 3 of 3: Re-run it when your rules change.

Where: Once the moderation settings of the page have changed since the last check, the button above the list reads Re-run check, Re-check on a phone, and a line under it says how many credits the re-run will use. The earlier check is kept, so you can compare what changed.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup-rerun.en.webp (Re-run check, and under it the line that says what the re-run will use.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup-rerun-phone.en.webp (On a phone the button reads Re-check.)

You should see: A fresh set of labels, and the earlier check still available from the button beside it that counts the checks.

If something is off

Problem: Nothing was flagged

Fix: Your rules may be off on that page, or the post is clean. Open the page Moderation tab and check, then re-run.

Problem: Only the mechanical filters ran

Fix: AI checks were unavailable at that moment. Re-run the check when the notice is gone.

Problem: Not enough credits for this post

Fix: Checking every comment on that post needs more credits than you have left this period. Upgrade, or pick a post with fewer comments.

Problem: It found things I disagree with

Fix: The check is your rules speaking. Change the rule, then re-run the check.

Common questions

Question: Does checking a post hide or delete anything by itself?

Answer: No. The check only marks what your rules would catch, with the label of the rule on each flagged comment. Hiding or deleting is a separate step you choose afterwards.

Question: How many credits does checking a post use?

Answer: One comment credit for each comment on the post that was not counted before, drawn from the same monthly allowance as live moderation. A comment live moderation already counted is free, and a comment counts once however many rules look at it.

Question: Which rules does the check use, mine or the page's?

Answer: The moderation rules of the page that owns the post, exactly as they are saved at that moment. Change a rule on that page and re-run the check to see the difference.

Question: Are replies checked too, or only top-level comments?

Answer: Both. Check comments runs your rules over every comment and reply that was fetched for the post.

Related guides

Filter what the check found: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/filter-what-the-check-found

Delete or hide comments in bulk: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/delete-or-hide-comments-in-bulk

What a cleanup costs, and the credit paywall: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/what-a-cleanup-costs-and-the-credit-paywall

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/check-comments-against-your-rules.md

All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt