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This is the bountied question I am talking about.

I have flagged with flag->other and added the following message to support the flag :

Specific programming problems? - No
Software algorithms? - No
Coding techniques? - No
Software development tools? - No

All those questions I have posted in the flag text are based on Stack Overflow About page.

My flag got rejected with the following reason:

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

Was that correct?

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21
  • Maybe it would be better to vote to close it as "off topic".
    – fedorqui 'SO stop harming'
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:07
  • 5
    @fedorqui - maybe but its not possible for bounty questions
    – MikroDel
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:08
  • @fedorqui - take a look at the discussion here meta.stackexchange.com/questions/199190/…
    – MikroDel
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:08
  • That is strange, as I do see the "close" option.
    – fedorqui 'SO stop harming'
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:08
  • @fedorqui I havent 3k rep and Im not sure you can close it (vote on close)
    – MikroDel
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:09
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    Bounty questions cannot be closed except by moderator, see here. In principle flagging with other is the correct thing to do but presumably the mod disagreed as to if it had to be closed
    – Richard Tingle
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:10
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    @fedorqui - anyway flag with other is allowed
    – MikroDel
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:10
  • @MikroDel good to know, wasn't aware of it.
    – fedorqui 'SO stop harming'
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:13
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    @fedorqui - meta.stackexchange.com/questions/199190/… here "..As it stands, flagging for moderator attention is the right thing to do." – Oded. Oded is moderator
    – MikroDel
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:14
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    Is the quoted text your moderator flag. You need to know that moderators review flags fast, its usually good to explain straight away why you're flagging and what you want the moderator to do. So I would have written "This question has an open bounty and cannot be closed. However it is off topic because..... I wish to request it be closed and the bounty refunded"
    – Richard Tingle
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:17
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    @RichardTingle is correct here. There have been some recent changes in attitudes by Moderators to make their life easier. They expect you to be clear and explain exactly what you want. Just putting a list of off topic reasons with Yes/No answers is not being clear.
    – psubsee2003
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:20
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    @MikroDel Consider changing the title, then. Now it looks like you are asking about flag, not like the question is supposed to be the main focus.
    – Mołot
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:32
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    And having a question beyond "Correct?" which can be interpreted many ways
    – Richard Tingle
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:33
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    @TravisJ A bounty need to be refunded before a question can be closed. A question cannot be closed while a bounty is active. If a mod wants to, they can refund the bounty and then close the question.
    – Servy
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 15:09
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    @Cybȫʁgϟ37 That comment was more to fedorqui to end the "you shouldn't have flagged a moderator, you should have voted/flagged to close debate rather than to the OP themselves
    – Richard Tingle
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 15:36

2 Answers 2

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14

Your flag was:

Specific programming problems? - No Software algorithms? - No Coding techniques? - No Software development tools? - No

The question was indeed asking about a programming-related issue. For iOS applications, you have to bundle icon and other assets properly in order for them to be displayed on the App Store and when installed on user devices. This is something you set up within Xcode (a developer tool) and is done during the process of building an application.

This is indeed a viable, on topic question for Stack Overflow, so there is no pressing need to remove the bounty and close it. Your flag was incorrect, in my opinion, and thus it was declined.

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6
  • Thanks for response - upvote and accept it ) I agree with you
    – MikroDel
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 15:21
  • Try to ask my question more understandable next time on meta )
    – MikroDel
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 15:21
  • Not to mention that moderators are generally not supposed to be burdened with the technical merits of a question. Flagging a moderator should be reserved for very obvious, severe issues (like advertisements for gucci bags or offensive rants). Voting down/closing is how these kinds of questions are usually handled.
    – JDB
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 15:22
  • @Cybȫʁgϟ37 - not agree with you. If flags were introduced with the idea to be used for severe issues like advertisements for gucci bags or offensive rants it would be the only options we could use by flags.
    – MikroDel
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 16:57
  • @MikroDel - Flagging as "other" is only visible to diamond-moderators while most other flags can be reviewed and acted on by 10k mods. Diamond-moderators are encouraged to "do as little as possible" - standard moderation (handling low quality posts, etc) should be handled by the community. Diamond mods are really only there for exceptional circumstances.
    – JDB
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 17:25
  • @MikroDel - According to Oded, "If a question is something that obviously doesn't belong, you should also flag it for moderator attention (using Other and citing bounty abuse)." This language is a bit vague, but I think Oded was probably referring to spam, rants, etc, that the user is trying to keep on the site through the misuse of the bounty system. I don't think Oded meant to apply this technique to maybe slightly off-topic questions like this one.
    – JDB
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 17:32
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(As I understand it) moderator flags are handled at a considerable rate. As such you need to be crystal clear on what you want to say or you will risk a declined flag. At a minimum a moderator flag should include;

  • What you want the moderator to do
  • Why you want them to do it
  • (in some cases) why you can't do it yourself

Your flag didn't have any of these and so didn't get your message across in the couple of seconds a moderator looked at your flag.

Accidently flagging as off topic --> one of the reasons is a reason for declining a flag because a moderator doesn't need to deal with those. Now your flag isn't one of these, but it really looks like one.

Should this be closed

Perhaps, it is outside my area of expertise and so I can't gauge if this is requesting code so as to be at risk of the "minimum understanding". Its certainly within the region of generally on topic questions

Was the moderator right to decline the flag

Yes, because moderator time is precious and the flag was not crystal clear. Completely separately from if the post should be closed

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6
  • My question was - correct or not? =) Do you agree with me it shoul be closed or not? Not "how should I flag it better next time"
    – MikroDel
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:25
  • @MikroDel Should it be closed; yes. was the moderator right to decline your flag; arguably also yes. Similarly to how we reject suggested edits as "too minor" this would be rejected as "cannot be dealt with from orbit"
    – Richard Tingle
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:29
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    @MikroDel You not getting the answer you seemed to want is a result of you asking an incredibly unclear meta question. If you just want that question closed, and don't care why the flag was declined or how to flag properly, then say that in your question. Currently, the actual question is "correct?" which, while highly unclear, seems to be asking if the mod response was correct. This answers that (quite well).
    – Servy
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:35
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    @RichardTingle - As I argue in my answer, I don't believe this should be closed. It is an issue with development of iOS applications, involves developer tools, and there are many other questions like it that have been well received here. For those unfamiliar with the platform, it might not look to be on topic, but I think it is.
    – Brad Larson Mod
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:45
  • @Brad I shall defer to your better judgement, I wouldn't have flagged this myself as its outside of my area
    – Richard Tingle
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 14:57
  • Thaks for post and upvote )
    – MikroDel
    Commented Oct 2, 2013 at 15:22

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