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This is the question: C# XNA - Read .txt file and create 2D array

This is the answer I have flagged: flag

And finally this is an accepted answer: accepted answer

The accepted answer is from 12.03.2012 - the answer I have flagged as copy & paste is from 12.02.2013

My flag was declined with:

declined - flags should not be used to indicate technical inaccuracies, or an altogether wrong answer

Updated
I have flaggd it with "other" and have this text as explanation "It is copy and paste of Jimmys answer from 2012 (s. above)"

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    And what did you flag this with? If you used "not an answer" etc I completely understand the rejection. If you used a custom message explaining that it was a copy and paste of the accepted answer there are many possible reasons for rejection; though it would be interesting to know if mods are more likely to reject this sort of flag or not. Feb 13, 2013 at 8:28
  • I have flaggd it with "other" and have this text as explanation "It is copy and paste of Jimmys answer from 2012 (s. above)"
    – MikroDel
    Feb 13, 2013 at 8:36
  • I have flagged it one more time )
    – MikroDel
    Feb 13, 2013 at 8:39
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    @MikroDel Well, it's not an exact copy and paste. Yes, they are essentially the same answer, but at first glance this might not be obvious. Be very clear in your messages, otherwise you run the risk that your flag is rejected.
    – Bart
    Feb 13, 2013 at 8:49
  • At least they could have bothered to copy it properly, and included the comment by the OP about what actually worked. That way it would have even been a better answer.
    – J. Steen
    Feb 13, 2013 at 8:51
  • @Bart - if the moderator read my message and not simply click some action - it will be clear what I mean
    – MikroDel
    Feb 13, 2013 at 8:53
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    @MikroDel I would disagree. I looked at this "exact copy" and didn't get it at first glance. It's up to you as the flagger to be perfectly clear. Mods have to deal with tons of flags. The more clear you can be, the easier it is for them, and the less of a risk you run.
    – Bart
    Feb 13, 2013 at 8:55
  • @Bart - If I flag something - its some kind "need moderator's attention" but not "need moderator to make quick some clicks"
    – MikroDel
    Feb 13, 2013 at 9:01
  • @MikroDel Suit yourself. All I'm saying is "be as clear as you can be". Do with that whatever you want.
    – Bart
    Feb 13, 2013 at 9:06

2 Answers 2

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You originally flagged this as "not an answer." I agree with the action of declining that flag, because it is indeed an attempt to answer the question, if not a great one. We are being a lot more strict with these flags now, in large part because of how they are used in the audits. "Not an answer" flags generally should not require us to read the entire question for us to process them.

I went ahead and marked your second flag as helpful and deleted the answer, although I still have some issues with that flag. Your flag read "It is copy and paste of Jimmys answer from 2012 (s. above)", but that's not really the case here. The answer you flagged reads

select map.txt --> click Properties, change Build Action is None

where Jimmy's answer is

Change the build action to "None" in the properties window for that file, if you're manually reading it with StreamReader. The message comes from the content pipeline trying to import it for you.

This is clearly not a copy and paste of Jimmy's answer, so we're not talking about plagiarism here. They are merely restating what Jimmy said, but in a slightly different way. We are perfectly fine with multiple people contributing answers that state the same thing in different ways, if they add something to the existing answers.

However, given that Jimmy's answer was provided a year ago, and this adds nothing to what was already there, I removed the answer to clean things up. A clearer flag might have been to say "This new answer just restates what's in the old accepted answer here, so it can be removed", which I think would have gotten the point across the first time.

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  • you are right - if someone post very similiar answer in the same minute as the "correct" answer - its ok ) But if the very similiar answer posted after some period of time its not goog for me - someone wants to use existing answer to earn extra points or doesnt want to read existing answer - both situations are not very good )
    – MikroDel
    Feb 14, 2013 at 7:14
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The flag message is true, this is an answer after all.

As low rep member you can just downvote and post comment (like I did) and 20K+ users can then delete such posts all by themselves without moderator intervention.

In case you see repeated behavior of this kind from the same user, flag as "Other" and explain to the moderator what's going on. When a mod see "Not an answer" flag he just cast a quick glance he won't go and check further.

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    I have flaggd it with "other" and have this text as explanation "It is copy and paste of Jimmys answer from 2012 (s. above)"
    – MikroDel
    Feb 13, 2013 at 8:37
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    Oh, you should mention this in your question. In such case the moderator was wrong, don't take it hard. He probably thought the first part of the answer (which wasn't copied and pasted) added something new. Feb 13, 2013 at 8:45
  • Ok - thats mean I did it right ) If I will become such a situation in the future - should I post it on here on meta?
    – MikroDel
    Feb 13, 2013 at 8:47
  • @MikroDel Declined flags happen - mods are also nearly people, after all. =)
    – J. Steen
    Feb 13, 2013 at 8:54
  • @J. Steen - my question was not about whether mods are people or not
    – MikroDel
    Feb 13, 2013 at 8:55
  • @MikroDel Which is why my comment wasn't an answer. ;) What I meant to write, but didn't - for some reason - was that declines happen. If you feel the decline was wrong, flag it again, with an even better explanation. All you can do, really. =)
    – J. Steen
    Feb 13, 2013 at 9:04
  • @J. Steen - I have done it already. And also post it here as a question )
    – MikroDel
    Feb 13, 2013 at 9:08
  • @MikroDel Yes - I know that. That was the reason I didn't write that part of the comment and kept it as a weakly humorous barb at our wonderful mods. =)
    – J. Steen
    Feb 13, 2013 at 9:09

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