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The question:

Couldn't understand how the command line option "-T" is used in practice

I am aware of:

Can we have the ability to retract a close vote before it closes?

IMO not providing an ability to rescind a "Close as Duplicate" vote, after there's discussion about why it isn't a duplicate, creates unnecessary risk of closure by people not paying attention, particularly since there's a giant "may already have an answer" banner at the top.

The solution of "wait until it's closed to re-open it" is silly: it forces ongoing monitoring for an arbitrary time to make sure a non-dupe doesn't get closed then the rigamarole of re-opening it.

Because of the linked MSE question I'll ask for an alternate solution, since it doesn't seem like that's going to be acted on (although I believe it should).

  • Can we have a flag to request removal of existing "Close as Duplicate" votes?
  • Is that possible on the moderator side w/o going to the DB?
  • Or can this already be handled by a custom flag?

To address Bart's comments:

I don't want to go the flag route. It seems like rescinding is a non-starter considering the linked and declined MSE question. Perhaps it was too broad and my specific vote type is less onerous.

If flagging is the option, then IMO it should be restricted to either (a) users who marked it a dupe, and/or (b) "high" rep users, for various values of "high". Or (c), just me.

To address Animuson's comment:

Animuson's solution seems reasonable, and the core already exists in the system. Please do this.

The original question was updated to reflect the new close-as-dupe behavior which makes dupe votes more likely to result in closure as I note above:

Especially with the new Duplicate close changes and the review queues, it's even more important to be able to remove accidental close votes. Now accidental close votes, or ones no longer relevant due to edits, have the ability to place a banner on the question (for dupes) or put the question into a queue for other users to look over. An easy "undo" button could save a bunch of people some time and grief for these accidental/no longer desired close votes.

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  • Great suggestion. Regarding your second point, I don't know whether mods currently have the tools to remove existing "Close as Duplicate" votes, but I bet they could insta-close and reopen.
    – user200500
    Feb 14, 2013 at 0:40
  • 2
    Why do you want to go the flag route? And who would be able to issue the flag? Any user or only those who did vote to close and now regret it? If it's any user, then I foresee a load of flags on basically any vote to close.
    – Bart
    Feb 14, 2013 at 0:48
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    @Bart Edit to address your valid concern(s).
    – Dave Newton
    Feb 14, 2013 at 1:30
  • The suggestion I just made on the other question would cover all forms of retracting. :) Hoping a real solution rather than just a bunch of "I agree we need this" answers will get some action.
    – animuson StaffMod
    Feb 14, 2013 at 2:15
  • @animuson You just want that new bounty on that question triggered by this one! ;) I'm happy with that solution.
    – Dave Newton
    Feb 14, 2013 at 2:53
  • What MSE question are you referring to? Just cast a flag. There's really no point in trying to address the closure of a question before it's even been closed, and there is now a reopen queue for those closed questions that need improvement and reopening. Keep in mind that the purpose of closure is not to kill a question; it's to give it time to be improved.
    – user102937
    Feb 14, 2013 at 20:20
  • @RobertHarvey The one I linked to. My point is that if (a) people have wrongly voted to close as a dupe, and (b) they realize it's not a dupe, the question is still operating under a handicap of n votes, making it that much more likely it will be closed as a dupe. It's silly there's no way to argue it's not a dupe, win, and provide no mechanism to then remove votes.
    – Dave Newton
    Feb 14, 2013 at 20:24
  • It takes five votes to close a question. I don't really see what the problem is. If you had made a compelling argument, the close votes would have stopped. Failing that, a flag is the usual course of action. I note that you managed to get your answer in anyway, despite the closure.
    – user102937
    Feb 14, 2013 at 20:30
  • @RobertHarvey They didn't stop, that's what I'm saying. Nothing was closed; I'm not sure what you're looking at. I don't see a need to increase the risk of a question being closed, forcing monitoring, when there's a trivial way to avoid the situation altogether. (I guess it was closed, sorry--which is unfortunate. My goal is to remove the need to monitor and flag a moderator when there's zero reason to.)
    – Dave Newton
    Feb 14, 2013 at 20:40
  • But that's why we have flags and meta, to get new eyes on the question. I know you see this as a peril, but there was actually some merit to the question being closed as a duplicate, and closing is not the death of a question. Not everyone agrees with you, all the time.
    – user102937
    Feb 14, 2013 at 20:42
  • Adding a new feature which increases the "see-saw" effect, on the other hand, could be distinctly problematic; there's no way to predict, ahead of time, how the community will react.
    – user102937
    Feb 14, 2013 at 20:44
  • @RobertHarvey I see no merit; the "dupe" didn't address -T at all (even before the editing) let alone its myriad effects beyond tainting. Why involve mods or meta, when a mechanism people seem to want is possible? Yes, questions can be re-opened, with effort beyond saying "ah, not a dupe clicky". SE disagrees; that's fine.
    – Dave Newton
    Feb 14, 2013 at 21:00
  • Just put a bounty on the question. That'll keep it open for a while.
    – Chris Gerken
    Feb 20, 2013 at 23:23
  • @ChrisGerken Why put a bounty on a question just to keep it from being closed as a dupe (if that would even work)? I'd rather just have the ability to change ones mind.
    – Dave Newton
    Feb 20, 2013 at 23:25
  • 1
    @Rory The question was edited yesterday? Dang, now I need to go to back and rescind my close-as-dup vote on it. Doh!
    – Chris Gerken
    Feb 21, 2013 at 1:02

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