Comments Moderation for a Django Blog

Comments moderation is a must for every high user activity blog. Unlike in a WordPress blog where you can install a plugin for comments, if you're using a custom system like Django for a blog then you have to build that moderation from scratch. This piece helps you set up comments moderation, filtering vulgar and inappropriate language from comments.

Vulgar words model

Create a model that'll store all the phrases and words you don't want in your comments. You can find plenty of vulgar words online and import them into your database.

class InappropriateWord(models.Model):
    word = models.CharField(_("Word"), max_length=255)

    class Meta:
        verbose_name = _("Inappropriate Word")
        verbose_name_plural = _("Inappropriate Words")

    def __str__(self):
        return self.word

Filter function

This function will help filter every input from the users and clean all inappropriate/vulgar words and replace them with ****.

import re

def clean_inappropriate(body):
    new_body = body
    offensive = InappropriateWord.objects.all()

    for item in offensive.iterator():
        if item.word in new_body:
            pattern = re.compile(item.word, re.IGNORECASE)
            new_body = pattern.sub("****", new_body)
    return new_body

Usage

Now in your comments model, override the save function and filter the body of the comment.

class Comment(models.Model):
    article = models.ForeignKey(
        Article, on_delete=models.CASCADE, related_name='comments')
    user = models.ForeignKey(
        Profile, on_delete=models.CASCADE, related_name='comments')
    parent = models.ForeignKey(
        'self', null=True, related_name='replies', on_delete=models.CASCADE)
    body = models.TextField(_("Your Comment"))
    created_on = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
    active = models.BooleanField(default=True)

    def save(self, *args, **kwargs):
        self.body = clean_inappropriate(self.body)
        super(Comment, self).save(*args, **kwargs)

Now add the words you don't want to see in the comments. Remember to register the InappropriateWord model in the admin.

Happy coding.