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Considering that I'm allowed to approve edits (2k privilege), why aren't I also allowed to view pending edits (10k privilege)?

update: I argued here that it takes an expert to reach 10k, and then someone said it takes mere diligence. Maybe that applies on SO, but it's far harder to reach such a level on a far smaller site like Unix & Linux.

update 2: I see that the bar has been lowered to 5k now :)

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    see also meta.stackexchange.com/questions/80184/stats-on-suggested-edits
    – Ian Ringrose
    Feb 22, 2011 at 9:31
  • On sites like unit.se that don't have many questions the mods may be able to keep up with suggested edits themselfs.
    – Ian Ringrose
    Feb 23, 2011 at 9:15
  • If you participate regularly enough on low-traffic sites like unix.se, you are going to see most of the suggested edits anyway. I know I do. If it was a high traffic site gaining that rep wouldn't be very hard. I asked about this too early on just after earning edit privileges on unix.se, but a little farther down the line I've become convinced that it really makes sense the way it's setup now.
    – Caleb
    Jun 29, 2011 at 21:55

3 Answers 3

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I think 10K is too high to view the pending edits; however we don't wish to have every 2K user going about approving/rejecting everything in sight.

By only letting most users see the edits in questions they choose to look at anyway, I think the results are better.

Only if pending edits take too long to be acted on, do we need to let more people see the pending edit list.

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    I'm not sure what your argument is here. Also, what are you implying about we don't wish to have every 2K user going about approving/rejecting everything in sight. Is approving edits such a sensitive process that even a 2k user isn't trusted enough?
    – tshepang
    Feb 21, 2011 at 22:19
  • @Tshepang, it is better for a user with an interest (and hence maybe knowage) about a quesions to be looking at edits.
    – Ian Ringrose
    Feb 21, 2011 at 22:24
  • Are you suggesting that 2k users generally don't have enough interest and knowledge? I just want to understand you better.
    – tshepang
    Feb 21, 2011 at 22:37
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    @Tshepang, I think 2K users have enough interest and knowledge in some areas of the site, these tent to be the areas they are active in, so in these areas they will tend to see pending edits in "day to day" usage of the site.
    – Ian Ringrose
    Feb 22, 2011 at 9:08
  • How does one see pending edits "day to day"? Do I revisit all questions that have a specific tag continually, just to check if there might be pending edits? The only way I'll bump into such pending edits I can think of is by accident, because AFAIK they don't get bumped on the main page (or do they?). As you can see, I can't make sense of this, but if I'm missing anything, please indicate so... be patient with me.
    – tshepang
    Feb 22, 2011 at 9:33
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    @Tshepang, I think you are looking at it from the wrong way round, we don’t care who approves edits, provided they get approved “fast enough”. So a system is needed that has as low a risk as possible while still getting enough people doing the approvals to keep up with the rate that new suggested edits come in. So letting you approve edits is of no value to the site, unless the edits are not getting approved fast enough. Therefore does each suggested edit get found by two 2k+ users quick enough?
    – Ian Ringrose
    Feb 22, 2011 at 9:53
  • Hm, interesting point you are making.
    – tshepang
    Feb 22, 2011 at 10:00
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    As a frequent edit suggester, I would say they definitely get approved plenty fast.
    – John
    Sep 11, 2011 at 0:29
  • On SO at least, it's becoming increasingly common for the Suggested Edit queue to be full. I've seen several questions over the last few days and weeks asking why edits can't be submitted, or asking for help in working the queue.
    – razlebe
    Jul 6, 2012 at 17:13
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It's also a privilege, meaning, you earn the right to view all pending edits at 10k.

So in that sense, it is a bit of an incentive as well.

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    I thought that if I'm allowed to do edits without approval, I'm trusted enough. And 10k is an excessively high rep level, and achieved only by experts (meaning I'm counted out).
    – tshepang
    Feb 22, 2011 at 7:11
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    @Tshepang: It's hardly fair to say that 10k is only achievable by experts. You could certainly say that it requires due diligence and a lot of time invested in the site, but there are plenty of questions to be answered that don't require a true expert.
    – Cody Gray - on strike
    Feb 22, 2011 at 14:31
  • @cody me updated the question
    – tshepang
    Feb 22, 2011 at 16:58
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    @Cody Gray: Tshepang is referring to the Unix stack overflow site. I'd tend to trust his judgment, since he's active there. I understand some of his frustration. On Meta, I have a 130 reputation. I don't even dream of reaching 1,000, let alone 10,000 reputation. On my most active board, it might be another year or two before I have the chance to reach 10,000 reputation. So, for me, these high value privileges aren't an incentive. For me and many others, they are an impossible dream.
    – Gilbert Le Blanc
    May 10, 2011 at 12:05
  • @Gilbert: Consider that at the time I posted that comment, I had a few hundred rep here on Meta, most of which was the result of the +100 points you get for associating accounts with another site. I now have 2k here on Meta. I obviously can't speak for Unix/Linux, as I'm not a member of that site. But I hardly think it's an unattainable goal. That was the only point I was making, that it doesn't require one to be an "expert". I'm neither an expert on programming, nor an expert on the Stack Exchange network--just an average user. A few good answers net large amounts of rep very quickly.
    – Cody Gray - on strike
    May 10, 2011 at 12:41
  • @Cody Gray: I didn't notice the date of the question or answer, so I apologize for that. Still, I see too many people telling others "try harder" to gain reputation points, when they benefited from being pioneers and having much more land (reputation) to grab.
    – Gilbert Le Blanc
    May 10, 2011 at 13:56
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    @Gilbert: I don't think I was a pioneer. I haven't even earned a "Yearling" badge yet. I've only been a member for about 8 months, and only an active participant for 5-6. I understand the complaint that it's difficult, but that's why only moderator-level privileges are placed at that level. Not things you need for regular, productive use of the site. I was originally only speaking to the claim that you had to be an expert to earn 10k, and I don't think that's true. I know a little bit about Windows programming, and I fake the rest. But thanks, I'll keep your objections in mind.
    – Cody Gray - on strike
    May 10, 2011 at 13:59
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I imagine for exactly the same reason that viewing the list of questions with close votes is a 10k privilege:

  • It means that 10k users (who are more likely to make a good judgement call on whether to reject or approve an edit) will usually get to be among the first to respond to a edit request.
  • It provides an incentive / reward for users earning reputation
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