What does it mean to unapprove a topic?

[MegaBrutal]

I'm translating Modlog.english.php and encountered strings "Unapproved topic" ($txt['modlog_ac_unapprove_topic']), "Unapproved message" ($txt['modlog_ac_unapprove']), and maybe there are others. I assume it is about pre-moderated forums or members where or whose topics or messages need to be approved individually and there the moderator may choose to "unapprove" a post.

Now, does "unapproving" a message mean that it was previously approved and the moderator chose to revoke this approval, or was it rejected in the first place? If the latter, I think "reject" would be more meaningful in this context even in English. As for my language, I need to use different phrases for "revoked approvals" and "outright rejections", if you get what I mean.

[Illori]

by default all posts are "approved" by being approved they are visible to everyone that can see it. when it is unapproved it is only visible to moderators. for example if i suspected that you were a spammer and wanted to discuss your post with the team i could unapprove it and discuss it then take action in the future.

[MegaBrutal]

So it's more like revoking approval, thanks!

[Burt]

The correct English word would be disapproved. But in the US, English is more relaxed than in Europe

[Kindred]

The correct English word would be disapproved. But in the US, English is more relaxed than in Europe

No, that is not the correct English word.
Removal of approval for some previously approved thing is "unapprove" of the lack of an approved state
(Financial unapproved the salesperson's attempt to charge the company for dinner from the company credit card)
(The charge form the salesperson was still in an unapproved state after three months because finance was unable to confirm the use)

"Disapprove" means to actively give the opposite of approval
(The wife disapproved of her husband's decision to buy a sports car)

[Sesquipedalian]

So it's more like revoking approval, thanks!

Typically, but not always.

In most cases for most forums, posts are given the status approved = true by default, and then moderators might change that status to approved = false if the post is problematic in some way. In this scenario, the change in status can be described as revoking approval.

However, in some cases the forum's permissions might be configured so that posts from some users (such as guests) are given the status approved = false by default and must be approved by a moderator before anyone else can see them. In this scenario, it would not be accurate to say that approval has been revoked, but rather that it has never been granted.

In light of this, you will probably want to choose slightly different translations depending on the context:

• In sentences that use "unapprove" to describe an action that a moderator takes in order to change the post's status from approved = true to approved = false, it would be correct to translate it as "revoking approval." 
• In sentences that merely describe the status of the post without referring to any particular action by a moderator to change that status, it would be best to translate "unapproved" simply as "not approved" or some similarly generic expression.

[Burt]

I think this looks much better:

Removal of approval for some previously approved thing is "disapproving" an approved state 

Look around...

https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the-opposite-of/approved.html

https://www.applied-grammar.com/opposite-of-approved/

https://www.powerthesaurus.org/approved/antonyms

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

The whole thing is only relevant, if you have post moderation in use one way or another, and most commonly I think you would only unapprove a post that was mistakenly approved earlier, or no longer meets criteria that was once used to approve it, or got moved into a board where posts need to be reviewed before approval- In that context, I think "Unapprove" (to withdraw or rescind a previous approval) is actually better, and easier to understand, than "Disapprove".
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unapproved
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unapprove

The whole debate about unapprove not actually even being a word is years old (outside of SMF), lets not get in to that.

[Kindred]

I think this looks much better:

Removal of approval for some previously approved thing is "disapproving" an approved state 

Look around...

https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the-opposite-of/approved.html

https://www.applied-grammar.com/opposite-of-approved/

https://www.powerthesaurus.org/approved/antonyms

Sorry, but no.  As far as American English goes, disapproving a topic is wrong usage.

I'm an English teacher - i would mark your usage as incorrect on any paper that I graded.  😜

[Burt]

I think this looks much better:

Removal of approval for some previously approved thing is "disapproving" an approved state 

Look around...

https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the-opposite-of/approved.html

https://www.applied-grammar.com/opposite-of-approved/

https://www.powerthesaurus.org/approved/antonyms

Sorry, but no.  As far as American English goes, disapproving a topic is wrong usage.

I'm an English teacher - i would mark your usage as incorrect on any paper that I graded.  😜

You mean an "American English" teacher...     

It has always been like that, even before you were born.. Nobody knows why but every country that does use the English language, other than the UK, eventually drift away from the conventional to suit their needs..

Personally, I prefer to stick with the UK version of the English language, possibly because to us (AUS) makes more sense..

We have our different version of English here as well, as you probably already know.. Have you ever driven a ute before? 

[Kindred]

I still disagree.

The opposite of approve is disapprove. Approval/disapproval- absolutely...

However, the corollary to the adjective approved is unapproved, not disapproved, which is a past tense verb, not an adjective--- and hence the action of making something unapproved is to unapprove.

[Burt]

I still disagree.

The opposite of approve is disapprove. Approval/disapproval- absolutely...

However, the corollary to the adjective approved is unapproved, not disapproved, which is a past tense verb, not an adjective--- and hence the action of making something unapproved is to unapprove.

It really makes no difference to me if you agree or unagree  

Is not up to you to decide how we write in English in my country... You can do as you wish in yours...
  

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

Language evolves and context matters. Specifically on the web, to mark something (usually a comment, article or an attachment) as no longer approved, is generally called "to unapprove" and has been for a long time.

[Burt]

Language evolves and context matters. Specifically on the web, to mark something (usually a comment, article or an attachment) as no longer approved, is generally called "to unapprove" and has been for a long time.

The "web" it is not an authority on the subject. Again, no one is debating what you want to use on SMF.

I'm fine either way...

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

The "web" it is not an authority on the subject.

On the contrary, when you are naming an action that primarily exists on the web, I think the web is the authority.

[Burt]

The "web" it is not an authority on the subject.

On the contrary, when you are naming an action that primarily exists on the web, I think the web is the authority.

I'm glad we agree. 

[Sesquipedalian]

The "web" it is not an authority on the subject.

There is no authority on the subject. As any English language lexicographer will tell you, the task of a defining words is descriptive, not prescriptive. If English speakers use "unapprove" as a distinct verb from "disapprove" and are able to successfully communicate with one another by doing so, that is all the authority that matters.

Those who prefer a prescriptivist approach to vocabulary should make friends with l'Académie Français and engage in an endless rearguard war of trying to regulate the living language that people actually speak while being regularly ignored by the people who speak it.