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Yesterday I flagged a question as not constructive on meta. It was declined by moderators, then I thought that the post was a constructive one.
But I saw now that the same post was closed as not constructive.
I can understand that different moderators had different thoughts or views, but the rules for closing and flagging are same.
Can't we re-handle the declined or disputed flags of a question before intending to close it?
Three options: human error, there was another flag on the post that was not helpful, or the moderator didn't agree with the flag, but community members still closed the post as NC.
In case there was another flag, moderators can only accept both, or reject both. Because things like the review audit system rely on accurate flagging, the moderators are being especially strict with flagging and would have to deny both flags in that case.
On Meta, closing questions as Non-Constructive is not always as straightforward as on regular sites. Your flag could have been declined for the aforementioned reason of only vetting flags for better review quality, after which the community closed the question anyway. The community has a vote on closing questions too, after all.
I declined your flag.
I don't believe the question is 'not constructive'. We know based on meta posts that there are comments that you can't use, and this user wants to leave comments that mean the same thing but aren't auto-deleted or taken the wrong way.
With a simple edit, the question becomes a good question:
How can I let a user know they should put more effort into their question without coming across as dismissive, snarky, or unhelpful?
Another reason I declined it is that there is a wide degree of latitude for discussion on meta. That latitude does not exist on non-meta sites. I'm hesitant to unilaterally close a question on meta unless it's so far out of bounds that it is genuinely hurting meta.
Don't worry about one declined flag. If you get dozens, then start worrying.
This is meta, the "rules" are generally looser...
There are also a lot of highly active people with close votes privileges. Moderators are sometimes, understandably, reluctant to unilaterally impose their will with a close vote; there's no need. By all means continue flagging but I would avoid "too localized" and "not constructive" as close flags. They can be dealt with by the community, which is fairer to everyone.
No, flags can't be re-handled.
