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Today I flagged an answer because it was not an answer and more like a comment when I flagged that answer. But later the OP updated his question and the answerer also updates accordingly and I think, that time the moderator did not see my flag and later when he saw the answer was okay and he declined my flag.

So where I am wrong? Why did it get declined? Is it my fault if moderator does not see the answer like it was by the time I flagged?

declined - a moderator reviewed your flag, but found no evidence to support it

I know I have to be patient and wait for OP's update but there was no update and I flagged that answer and I could not follow that post to see any more update.

So, my question is, is that really early to flag an answer? When an answer should be flagged? After 2-3 days ?

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    possible duplicate: Moderators should see the post as I flagged it, not the edited version, though of course that's a feature request. Long story short, mods can only see the current version of the post (without looking at the post itself, which they usually don't have time for on SO) and that's not going to be changed AFAIK. Your best bet is to edit to improve posts when you can rather than flagging, though this isn't feasible in all cases.
    – user154510
    Jan 4, 2012 at 17:25
  • @MatthewRead: I generally give such flags the benefit of the doubt, unless it is clear that the flag was improperly used.
    – user102937
    Jan 4, 2012 at 17:26
  • Yeah once I received a declined flag from a question that WAS closed. Not a good denial
    – Gabriel
    Jan 4, 2012 at 17:29
  • @MatthewRead: Then I am really really sorry! According to your comment I don't think there is a benefit of flag feature on SO, Is not like this? I can not every time edit an answer which is really not in actually a editable format. I really have a good score in flagging it was 470 but I got this downvote first time and now it is 460
    – Shakti Singh
    Jan 4, 2012 at 17:33
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    There's tons of benefit to flags, a lot of content is not salvageable. As cdeszaq says, don't worry about one missed flag -- the system still knows you're a good flagger overall. SE is gamified, meaning they show you the flag weight number so that you try to improve it, but it's not something I would care about as much as rep, for example. Just do your best :)
    – user154510
    Jan 4, 2012 at 18:02

2 Answers 2

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You should flag problem posts as soon as you see a problem. Flags that were cast before the post was edited and improved are considered valid.

Mods are supposed to check the edit history when the flag doesn't seem to jibe with the post. But mods are human; they occasionally make mistakes just like the rest of is.

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  • Is that "rest of is" an intentional "moderator mistake", or just irony kicking in? :)
    – Mat
    Jan 4, 2012 at 17:34
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    Couldn't figure out a better way of saying it without tying a Gordian knot.
    – user102937
    Jan 4, 2012 at 17:34
  • @RobertHarvey: Yes and I did the same thing even I waited for 5 minutes to see any update from answerer and then flagged
    – Shakti Singh
    Jan 4, 2012 at 17:40
  • @ShaktiSingh You're still under 500 flag weight. You only need one good flag to get the 10 points back.
    – user102937
    Jan 4, 2012 at 17:40
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    @ShaktiSingh Exactly. I wouldn't worry too much about flag weight at this point, since you only need one helpful flag to get 10 points back. When you get to 750 and miss a single flag, you'll need 92 helpful flags to get the same 10 points back.
    – NullUserException อ_อ
    Jan 4, 2012 at 17:45
  • @NullUserExceptionอ_อ: Ohhh... Okay. Really, I did not know that, Now my question have real power so What you will do when you miss a flag when you are above 750 and your flag is proper according to you?
    – Shakti Singh
    Jan 4, 2012 at 17:50
  • @ShaktiSingh Right now, there's nothing that can be done. Moderators can't reverse flag decisions. This of course is just one of the many problems with the flag weight system: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/112138/…
    – NullUserException อ_อ
    Jan 4, 2012 at 17:52
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    @Shakti - You can't get over 750 flag weight, that's a ceiling. At that level you get 0 points for a correct flag, but still lose 10 for an invalid flag. Tough! :-)
    – Bo Persson
    Jan 4, 2012 at 18:29
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I would say don't worry about it, especially if you generally are flagging correctly. Flag weight isn't particularly important, and you will soon recoup it if you are flagging correctly. Things like this happen from time to time and you were just unlucky.

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