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This user is searching for "Thanks & Regards" and removing it on each post he can find.

About serial minor editing: An alert to serial minor edits and Flag a user as "serial minor editor"?

I've been seeing this a lot (searching for "Thanks & Regards," "aglorithm," "javasript," etc.) and it's been happening far too often.

What can the community do for this? (Other than reject his edits; the community is doing a horrible job at that, as you can see from his profile.)

(edit) I left a comment on one of his answers and got a very vague response: link

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  • See my question about him here, and about a different one here. – Linuxios Feb 19 '13 at 14:04
  • I think his reply to your comment means that he is going to stop. If you want to give the user a link to backup why you are asking him to stop, you can use this one: Does Stack Exchange have an official stance on users doing a large number of trivial edits to old questions? – Rachel Feb 19 '13 at 14:05
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    I used up all my rejects for the day rejecting his edit, but the two of us who saw what was going on were no match for the many robo-approvers. – Linuxios Feb 19 '13 at 14:06
  • @Linuxios Yep, me too :( – Doorknob Feb 19 '13 at 14:06
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    @Linuxios Me, too. I was trying to improve his edits and mark as not helpful. They were the definition of "too minor", leaving glaring issues unfixed. – Andrew Barber Feb 19 '13 at 14:07
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    @Linuxios I used all of mine as well or I would have jumped in to reject a few when I saw this. – psubsee2003 Feb 19 '13 at 14:09
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    So a single editor can use up all the reject votes from half a dozen reviewers, and the edits are still approved. Who said this system works?! – Bo Persson Feb 19 '13 at 14:48
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    This user did have the best intentions in mind while editing, and thought he was doing the right thing by removing salutations, and he was. Some users simply don't grasp how collaborative the edit system is because they lack the rep to see the other side of it. I contacted the user, a very amicable fellow and I'm quite certain this won't be an issue going forward. In the future, there's little to be gained by calling out a specific user here on Meta when unfettered access to both the moderation and community team exists. Please, involve us first. – Tim Post♦ Feb 19 '13 at 15:42
  • There is still some problem when getting 50+ reject votes in a short period of time doesn't send a signal to the editor. Some kind of automatic freeze of the edit privilege perhaps could be useful? – Bo Persson Feb 19 '13 at 16:28
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Because of the state in the approval system, it will probably take a while before he gets enough rejects to ban him long enough to slow him down. But judging from his edit comment, I think he believes he is doing the right thing and he is not just gaming the system for rep and badges.

Maybe a quick @user comment in one of the edits that has been approved that directs him to this question or to chat so someone can explain to him why his edits, while helpful, are not necessary the best for the site would be the first course of action.

Now if he continues after being explained the situation, then it is time to ask about what can be done to slow down his minor edits.

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  • I'll go direct him here. – Linuxios Feb 19 '13 at 14:07
  • I left a comment with a very vague response. – Doorknob Feb 19 '13 at 14:07
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    @Doorknob: I left him a link to this and a few other resources. – Linuxios Feb 19 '13 at 14:09
  • Hi @Doorknob I think removing user signature is correct as per stackoverflow. I never leave any vague response to you – Rais Alam Feb 19 '13 at 14:10
  • You said stop editing and i stopped. If you will say i will never edit any post. – Rais Alam Feb 19 '13 at 14:11
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    @RaisAlam It is not appropriate to only remove that when there are so many other issues with a post. That is the definition of the "too minor" edit reject reason. – Andrew Barber Feb 19 '13 at 14:11
  • @RaisAlam But you don't have to actively search for it. Improve more than one thing if you're going to edit a post. – Doorknob Feb 19 '13 at 14:11
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    "I think he believes he is doing the right thing"..well, he is getting confirmation each and every time these edits get accepted. The problem is not so much with this particular user, but with a failing review system. – Bart Feb 19 '13 at 14:11
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    @RaisAlam: Thank you for trying to help the community. In theory, it should be, it is just not a very valid edit reason in it's own right, especially when you just search for it. – Linuxios Feb 19 '13 at 14:14
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    @RaisAlam If that is the only thing you remove, and you leave other problems in place, then yes, that's wrong. – Bart Feb 19 '13 at 14:17
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    @RaisAlam Just searching for, and removing, taglines, is wrong, yes--particularly when there are other things wrong with the post. Those edits should have been rejected as "too trivial". – Dave Newton Feb 19 '13 at 14:18
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    Ok from tomorrow I will try to find out grammar mistakes, formatting, and user signature. That would work or not ? – Rais Alam Feb 19 '13 at 14:19
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    @RaisAlam - lets use this edit as an example. You left "Hai Friends". The lack of real sentences (all of the phrases are just connected with "....". Overuse of the word "Please" (and the "please .. please... please help me please" begging at the end too). This question is a train wreck and needs significant fixing, but you left all of it to just remove the signature line. – psubsee2003 Feb 19 '13 at 14:24
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    Ok I will mind it in future. I accept my mistake. Good night bye – Rais Alam Feb 19 '13 at 14:27
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    @RaisAlam One of the problems with doing a large number of trivial edits, is you end up filling the "Active" question page will a bunch of old inactive questions, which makes it harder on the users who seek active posts to review or answer. From the page explaining the Edit Privilege: "Try to make the post substantively better when you edit, not just change a single character. Tiny, trivial edits are discouraged." – Rachel Feb 19 '13 at 14:28

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