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Locked posts really are locked to most users. To moderators, however, locked posts are substantially less locked. Moderators can edit them, post comments to them, delete comments from them, and even if need be unlock them.

There is a curious gap in moderator powers, however. Moderators cannot rollback a locked post. A not uncommon use of locking (at least on Mathematics, where I rule reside) is when a user is continually defacing their question (because they'd really rather delete it, but cannot due to answers) and you just want to hit pause on that situation.

I have just recently experienced a case where a user re-defaced their question within 20 seconds of my having rolled it back. When faced with a user who is this determined to deface their posts, a much easier workflow would be to first lock the post and then put it into a previous good state. I should now note that there are ways of doing this.

  1. As moderators can edit locked posts, just go to the source of the previous good revision, copy it, and make a good new revision.
  2. Moderators can edit revisions, and simply "editing" and saving an old revision will effectively roll it back. (This I have only recently become aware of.)

But if a moderator attempts to simply rollback a locked post in the usual manner, they are met with a popup declaring

You can not rollback a locked post.

This makes no sense to me: I'm a moderator gosh darn it!

Since there are methods for moderators to effectively rollback locked posts, wouldn't it be easier to just allow us that small additional privilege to actually rollback locked posts?

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  • Just FYI, this is probably going to be a "I'm a bored developer in this code anyway so what the hell" sort of request, since - as you note - there are multiple ways of accomplishing this already, and it's not commonly needed.
    – Shog9
    Feb 25, 2017 at 18:46
  • Why are users who deface their questions not suspended?
    – Ramhound
    Feb 25, 2017 at 22:11
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    @Ramhound For a first infraction on a single post a suspension is probably ramping things up too far too fast. Contacting the user and explaining the SE principles and norms is, IMHO, a better first step, but this in itself doesn't prevent further defacements. (Of course if this is part of a larger pattern of defacements, then stronger action may be necessary.)
    – user642796
    Feb 26, 2017 at 5:47

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