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I came across this question in which unnecessary tags were used. So I suggested an edit to remove them; the OP rejected the suggestion, maybe he/she thought it was wrong.

And he/she did this the times (1, 2, and 3). Six days later I made my fourth suggested edit which was accepted by two reviewers. The next day the question author reverted the edit again, and now it is the fourth time.

I raised a flag for moderators intervention, which was declined:

flags should only be used to make moderators aware of content that requires their intervention

I accept that the flag was inappropriate, but how do I handle this situation?

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  • 2
    What flag did you raise and if it was a custom flag, please share the text.
    – rene Mod
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 13:08
  • 2
    An OP has the option to reject your edits. The system allows that. Did you try a comment to explain why you think the tags are not helping in getting the right users to the question?
    – rene Mod
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 13:11
  • The OP is rejecting my suggest edit even when the post does not contain proper tags Yes, I said the tags are wrong but in another post that OP deleted
    – Rajendran Nadar
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 13:12
  • 3
    Congrats! Your flag about an edit war has been declined. Assuming your proposed edit really adds value to the post, this can be caused by multiple issues: a) your custom flag was not clear enough and the mod didn't recognize the edit war - fell free to test your luck again with a new one. b) the mod that reviewed your post didn't agree this is an edit war in the first place - try your luck again, maybe the next one will!. Either way, you're now one declined flag closer to flag ban. Enjoy:P (TRAD: Yes, our flag system is flawed. Please add further detail as rene sugested and maybe we can help)
    – SPArcheon - on strike
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 13:18
  • 1
    Well, that text isn't clear what you want the mod to do. You should make clear What is wrong, why that is a problem, how you can't do that yourself and the expected action from the mod. Something like The question is wrongly tagged. It isn't about [wrong tag] and this causes [whatever it causes]. I've tried three times to rectify this with edits and comments but all my attempts [lnk to rejected edit] are undone or ignored by the OP. Can you remove tag [wrong tag] and inform the OP this shouldn't be undone
    – rene Mod
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 13:20
  • I accept the flag was wrong I didn't explain the issue properly! My suggested edit was accepted by to users and reject by the OP. I can add the images to prove the suggested edit was accepted.
    – Rajendran Nadar
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 13:22
  • 1
    Getting an edit accepted in the review queue is not really an achievement ...
    – rene Mod
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 13:26
  • @RaajNadar No one was doubting that some users approved your suggested edit. But if you want others to be able to see the specifics for themselves, you should link to the actual question, so that people can see for themselves. What people asked to you add was in fact the details of your flag(s), which you still haven't provided.
    – Servy
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 13:26
  • Question in point: stackoverflow.com/posts/49709248/timeline
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 13:31
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    It was also inappropriate of you to suggest the same edit four times. That was simply abusive of you. If you really felt the edit was appropriate, you should have flagged the post for moderator attention after the first edit, or attempted to explain, in comments, why you felt the edit should have been applied, so that the post author would have been on board with the edit (and ideally have made it themselves).
    – Servy
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 13:33
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    I think trying to remove [api] is maybe OK-ish, specially because it says DO NOT USE but removing [nodejs] doesn't make sense, IMO. Your edit comment isn't really helpful either ...
    – rene Mod
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 13:34
  • @rene I don't actually know enough about the topic to know if that question is actually about nodejs or not, or if that was a red herring. It seems like it might be an appropriate tag, but I don't know if I'm missing something, which is why I haven't answered.
    – Servy
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 13:38
  • @close-voter: while I do feel this would be more appropriate at Meta Stack Overflow, it's generally applicable and can be answered here, and is therefore on topic.
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 14:35
  • I think node.js is not a proper tag for a question in which you have some issue with the npm package right?
    – Rajendran Nadar
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 14:42

1 Answer 1

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3

I think the main problem is your edit summary ('Tags updated'). Nobody not everybody seems to read tag excerpts, so the author of the question might not even know the [api] tag shouldn't be used anymore on Stack Overflow.

Also, React Native uses Node.js underneath, and many people synonymize tag 'npm' with tag 'node.js'. This might be the reason the author (or perhaps the ♦ moderator handling your flag) thinks this tag is appropriate. Even though the tags are (arguably) wrong, it might not be clear to the author why you are removing them. Suggesting the edit a second or third time won't help and might even be perceived as harassment by them.

A solution to this would be either to improve the edit summary, stating why this question shouldn't be tagged this way, or (as @rene suggested) add a comment.

Flagging for moderator attention is usually a last resort, even more so on a site like Stack Overflow where moderators handle thousands of flags each day. The more problems can be handled without their intervention, the better.

Note that if you would have 2k reputation, the edits would apply directly. The author of the question still has the option to rollback to a previous version; if that happens too often on a single post, a rollback war moderator flag is raised, with a similar purpose of your custom flag.

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9
  • Wow, you explained the issue, so clearly! `I think the main problem is your edit summary in the future I will put up a detailed explanation.
    – Rajendran Nadar
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 14:38
  • @rene thanks. I had written something about that but accidentally edited it out while simultaneously rewriting to program a pricing scheme. Bad idea ...
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 14:47
  • Is there any way that you can see deleted posts?
    – Rajendran Nadar
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 14:51
  • @RaajNadar sometimes, yes, but forgive me, I do not understand what that has to do with this question?
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 14:52
  • I think in that question I stated that the tags are wrong!
    – Rajendran Nadar
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 14:53
  • But that question has not been deleted.
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 14:54
  • No the user made a similar post which got -3 and he approved the suggested edit in that question, I did the same this thing in that question
    – Rajendran Nadar
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 15:03
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    Oh, it would be hard to dig that up except for ♦ moderators.
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 15:04
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    @RaajNadar - The ability to see deleted posts comes with a certain level of reputation. // Bottom line, if your edit is rejected by the author of the post you edited, then you can try one more time, with a tactful, explanatory comment. Otherwise, I suggest picking your battles, in other words, if it's not a hugely important edit, let it go. The post author will learn more about how SE works gradually, over time. (Just my personal opinion based on experience.)
    – aparente001
    Commented Apr 13, 2018 at 13:22

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