“Invalid flag” flag in 10k tools creates potential for flag state superposition

Question

In the 10k user tools users now have the ability to mark an existing flag against a post as invalid.

When this happens moderators see this as a combined flag that looks kind of like:

invalid flag  - [user1] 10 mins ago             [No Action Needed (button)]
too localized - [user2] 30 mins ago

Presuming I understand the flagging mechanisms correctly, the problem here is that no matter what action is taken, both users are either given a bump to their flag weight if I dismiss as valid, or both are penalised if the flag is dismissed as unhelpful.

How do I collapse this flag superposition to the correct state?

Answer 1

When you mark flags as valid, or invalid they are all actioned in a batch.

"Invalid flags" have special treatment, think of them as users hedging a bet that you will mark the "group" of flags as "invalid"

So, back to your example above. If the post is not too localized, mark the "group" invalid. If it is, mark it "valid".

If any flags are marked invalid, no users receive any flag weight changes for that entire batch of flags regardless of how they are handled.