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When I review posts and encounter an audit, and I've confirmed that it's an audit that wants me to flag/downvote/close the post (by opening the actual question in another tab), is it a free ticket to write anything into the "in need of moderator intervention" flag box, for example "I had oatmeal for breakfast.", and nobody will ever see it?

Why would I bother writing anything if it will just disappear into cyberspace? I don't know.

I've tested whether I can see the message I put before (I wouldn't be posting this question if I haven't), and I couldn't find it. But that doesn't mean that the staff and/or mods cannot see them.

Again, my question is: Would what I write into the box make an impact at all, or I can write literally anything, and nobody will see it?

Would the custom message be submitted, or would it be deleted on the spot?

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12
  • 4
    Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by the "custom flag box". Which queue are you talking about?
    – Sonic the Anonymous Hedgehog
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 5:02
  • 2
    @Sonic I think they mean: they encounter a "known bad" audit, where raising a flag would be a way to pass it. On that situation, choosing a flag of "in need of moderator intervention", and if whatever you write there is significant, is stored anywhere or whatnot.
    – yivi
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 6:43
  • @SonictheK-DayHedgehog Oh, I'm sorry! I hope my edit clears things up.
    – Red
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 15:51
  • @Glorfindel I believe this applies to close and downvote situations too.
    – Red
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 16:38
  • Not for downvotes (you do pass the audit then, but you can't type anything). Custom close reasons: yes, that would be possible. Since you were talking about 'custom flag box' I assumed it didn't apply to close votes.
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 16:40
  • @Glorfindel I mean, it doesn't matter whether we downvote, close or flag such an audit, they will still say congrats.
    – Red
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 16:41
  • If you downvote to pass the audit, you can't flag it anymore.
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 16:42
  • @Glorfindel and I've confirmed that it's an audit that wants me to flag/downvote/close the post means that I went over to the actual post before taking any action.
    – Red
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 16:43
  • Sure, feel free to roll it back, it's your post after all.
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 16:56
  • I must say, this is the first time I've ever gotten the "Hooray, this question was reopened!" message. I thought it was a comment at first.
    – Red
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 19:33
  • You could write anything, but the only people who will see the full data are the diamond moderators, if that's what you're asking...but I doubt you'll pass ;)
    – Ollie
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 21:09
  • @Ollie Pass? You know, I'd be more interest to find out the someone can see it, rather than it being deleted instantly.
    – Red
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 21:32

1 Answer 1

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Yes, you can. I tested it here, where I flagged the question for moderator attention:

enter image description here

but the flag was nowhere to be found in my flagging history.

Also, voting to close a question with a custom off-topic reason, as I did here, does not produce a comment:

enter image description here

It's the same as for downvoting an audit (or upvoting a positive audit); those votes aren't really cast. I've analyzed the network traffic when you do so; there is no POST call to /flags/.../add which what normally happens when you cast a flag; only a call to /review/task-reviewed/... which happens after finishing every review task. So, yes, everything you type there is safe and nobody will see it.

(In case you're wondering what the teapot is for: see the Mozilla developer documentation.)

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6
  • I tested it too, but that isn't necessarily enough. Perhaps the staff can see them, or they are kept in a cyber garbage can that authorized people can access?
    – Red
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 20:21
  • 1
    Yeah, it might be logged somewhere but nobody is going to pay attention to it.
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 20:24
  • That's my question. Of course it might, but I want to know the exact answer.
    – Red
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 21:33
  • 1
    One definitive check would be if the AJAX call for the close-vote is actually sent to SE. If the data is never sent to SE, then there will be no record of it. If it is sent, then there might be a record of it.
    – Makyen
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 22:28
  • 1
    @Makyen good point, I've just checked it and there's no such call.
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Nov 14, 2020 at 9:18
  • When I did a review (a suggested edit, and not an audit; as it happened) I used a custom close reason and it did show up were we can see it, example: meta.stackexchange.com/review/suggested-edits/76119 --- Ann's question is about reviews in general, and where she has figured out that it's an audit beforehand; ultimately if audits discard the custom reason. If it's not an audit (you guess wrong) the message is definitely visible. -- Having reviews that simply won't be sending the custom reason makes them easier to differentiate from non-audit reviews, and subject to roboreviewing.
    – Rob
    Commented Dec 27, 2020 at 23:02

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