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Users with <15 rep can flag their own posts, but when these flags are handled by moderators, it seems that they do not have access through the GUI to the moderator's response.

That is, instead of seeing a link with "1 helpful flag" on their profiles, they get plain text indicating how close they are to hitting 15 rep:

Unlock flags text for <15 rep users

They can access the flag summary page if they have the direct URL (/users/flag-summary/#####), but otherwise not until they get to 15 rep.

I'd suggest that any user who receives some kind of moderator response to a flag should be able to view it easily and immediately. I see two possibilities; there may be more:

  • Show "0 helpful flags" or "1 helpful flag" as a link on the profile for <15 rep users only if such a user has raised a flag and it has a response
  • Show the flag response in an inbox notification – more visible to a new user, but less consistent with how flag responses are normally communicated
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I don't know if we can reasonably expect a new user to even notice that link on the profile, though I agree it should be there for anybody who has raised flags. But I agree with Kendra in a comment that using inbox notifications and then stopping when the user can raise other flags would be confusing.

Fortunately, we're talking about users who can only flag stuff on their own questions. So instead of an inbox notification, let's find a way to place a clue on that page itself, like we do with duplicate proposals. With this approach we can both alert the user and teach about flag responses. Consider something like this:

mockup with notice at top

This notice only appears when (a) the user has cast flags here and (b) there's something to see (a response). The link goes to the flag-responses page.

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  • That would be great, if this also occurred on other flags, but unless this new UI change applies to all flags, it has the same issue as the 'start with inbox notifications, then stop' suggestion, in that people can get used to this behavior, then have to get used to a different behavior when they start flagging other people's posts.
    – 3D1T0R
    Jul 6, 2018 at 18:20
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    @3D1T0R we could massage the language, I bet. People don't see in-question possible-duplicate notices on questions with dupe votes either; there's got to be a way to convey that you're getting this due to special circumstances.
    – Monica Cellio
    Jul 6, 2018 at 18:26
  • I suppose you could do something like a 'normally you do this differently, but because your rep is so low, here's a special link for you' statement, but I think that if this route to flag responses were to be made available at all, it should be made available (to the flag poster of course) for any flags by any user, regardless of rep.
    – 3D1T0R
    Jul 6, 2018 at 19:00
  • But that's a much more expensive operation. In this case we only need to even check for a flag if the user is <15rep and he's viewing his own question; doing this check for every page a person loads is much more work.
    – Monica Cellio
    Jul 6, 2018 at 19:03
  • If you want to write 'special circumstances' text, then the current system for viewing flag responses should be made available to people <15 rep users who've flagged their own questions, and the 'special circumstances' text should be there, stating that once they reach 15 rep, they won't be restricted to flagging only their own questions anymore. This would also be even less expensive, as the check would only occur for <15 rep users who are looking at their profile.
    – 3D1T0R
    Jul 6, 2018 at 19:04
  • I agree the text can be better, but not enough to redo the mockup. (I did this in MS Paint; I can't just replace a layer or something.)
    – Monica Cellio
    Jul 6, 2018 at 19:06
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    I never said anything about the text being able to be better. I think this solution is fine if it applies to everyone, but not if it's only for <15 rep users. If you want a <15 rep users only solution, it should be a modification of where everyone else goes for this information.
    – 3D1T0R
    Jul 6, 2018 at 19:10
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    Yes, "I agree it should be there for anybody who has raised flags" -- I already said the link should be on the profile; the rest of my answer is about additional guides for new users in specialized circumstances. Perhaps you want to write your own answer to this question (which is about <15rep users)?
    – Monica Cellio
    Jul 6, 2018 at 19:23
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  • Show the flag response in an inbox notification – more visible to a new user, but less consistent with how flag responses are normally communicated.

I agree with this suggestion.

I rarely flag and '< 15' will never apply to me but I still have to remember if/when/where I flagged and then dig through the site's user profile to see if/how it was resolved.

Since, so far, I always accept the outcome a simple single notification after it's resolved would be helpful.

More? - One memorable example of when this would be most helpful:

In one instance a site's moderator closed a question as a dupe of another - where the problem lay was that they had reversed which was a dupe of the other and then went offline.

I raised a flag (after writing them a comment, and waiting) explaining that people were waiting to answer the question rather than post answers to the question that was likely to be closed - and the correct location, being closed as a dupe, wouldn't accept answers since it was closed.

It took a couple of hours for someone with the ability to override the action to become available and deal with the flag. They reversed the duplication link (making the newer question a duplicate of the older one) and migrated the answers from the new question to the old question - Applause.

A notification would have been great since it would have saved me going back to the site and locating the flag to see the outcome. I don't know if a clue on the page would have been as enlightening since if I went there I'd see the deed was done (assuming that they agreed with the flag). Once it's fixed (or not) I don't need to know again (but could scroll my Notification History if I was keen to) and a 'disolving pop-up' on the webpage is sometimes missed when mobile browsing (too quick to hide, and might be offscreen).

It's good to get feedback about your feedback, to know when you're helping (or should be studying the help more carefully). I've had to mention the upper right menu and how the exact rules can differ in word or practice to a few people on several occasions.

Anything that can smooth things and make everything easier and approachable/welcoming is useful - access to the results of one's own flags seems a given (and an oversight), especially if it's rejected and suggests to read something ...

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