Questions tagged [flags]
For questions about the flagging process, how flags are handled, etc. If you have a question about chat flags, use [chat-flags] instead.
2,794
questions
9
votes
1answer
116 views
Change Close Vote to Mod Flag - Bad Questions with Open Bounty
When you first join an SE site, you have the ability to flag a bad question for all of the normal "close vote" reasons. This is handled as a moderator flag. However, once you have close vote ...
5
votes
0answers
61 views
Unable to custom flag an author-deleted post that I previously flagged as spam/abusive, as I can't retract my pending red flag
I just flagged a spam post here as spam. The author later self-deleted the post. Due to my as-of-yet pending spam flag (which remains on the post after the author deletion), I'm unable to cast a ...
297
votes
2answers
952 views
Add optional box for spam flags letting you say why you think it's spam
This came up recently, where a user had taken the time to look at the link on a post and realized that the post wasn't just off-topic, it was actually half-decently-disguised spam. So he flagged it as ...
16
votes
0answers
95 views
Declining spam or rude/abusive flags doesn't trigger recalculation of a post's score
When a spam or rude/abusive flag is raised on a post, a downvote is automatically applied from the Community user. This downvote immediately affects the post's score upon the flag being raised.
When a ...
23
votes
3answers
2k views
The limits to a Very Low Quality answer
I was rereading Jeff Atwood's answer to the question: Is the Very Low Quality flag too ambiguous? mainly because today I wanted to use that flag for the first time. Quoting him, this flag means that:
...
-12
votes
1answer
118 views
Get rid of (or raise) the flag limit for reviewers
First of all, I know I only have 500 reputation points on SO, and I'm new to the reviewers team. Yes. But maybe the best ideas can come when you are new, no?
Anyways, as I said I'm new to reviewing, ...
9
votes
1answer
183 views
Don't dismiss custom flags when a question is closed by a moderator
Back in 2013, the system was changed so that when a question was closed, any custom moderator flags on it would not be automatically dismissed. However, this seems to only work when a question is ...
97
votes
1answer
2k views
Why does flag marking as helpful/declined not always correlate with moderator action?
I flagged a post and (choose one)
my flag was marked as helpful, yet nothing was done
my flag was marked as declined, yet the post was deleted/edited/closed
Why?
Return to FAQ index
-12
votes
1answer
185 views
When I encounter an audit, can I write anything into the custom flag box?
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 ...
1
vote
1answer
176 views
Let moderators know that custom comment flag will not delete the comment
Could we let the moderators know with a brief message that when they flag a comment with the something else flag that it won't be deleted?
I know that all the current moderators will know, but future ...
5
votes
1answer
170 views
Helpful flags considered good, and declined flags considered bad. What about retracted flags?
Helpful flags are usually considered good, and declined flags are usually considered bad. What about retracted flags?
Would a user having many retracted flags make it seem like they are thoughtful, ...
9
votes
0answers
71 views
Could we allow for (custom) flagging of our own comments?
While you can flag your own posts (and its sometimes used as a way to get the attention of a moderator), comment flagging on your own comments is disabled. Taking into account that mods can now flag ...
84
votes
2answers
758 views
Allow moderators to flag comments normally
When a moderator flags a comment, the comment is instantly deleted. For a moderator, the only difference between using the āflagā and the ādeleteā button is that using the āflagā button asks for a ...
-11
votes
1answer
164 views
Flagging “didn't downvote” comments that came with constructive criticism
I was pretty confident that comments with "didn't downvote" statements should be removed. Well, I flagged such a comment as "Didn't downvote statement", but it got declined.
...
7
votes
1answer
93 views
Allow user to flag a question as belonging on a specific site specified by user
If a user wants to flag a question as off-topic and belonging on another site, they most likely follow the path illustrated here to do so. If the site they had in mind is not in the suggested list (...
10
votes
0answers
110 views
Answer in Low Quality Posts review queue without flag
I encountered this Low Quality Posts review queue item on Chess Stack Exchange. I was curious who had flagged it, but to my surprise the mod timeline doesn't show a Very Low Quality / Not An Answer ...
11
votes
2answers
197 views
Why is the option very low quality sometimes hidden in the flag menu?
Why is the option very low quality sometimes hidden in the flag menu?
About a moment ago, I saw a post of very low quality on Stack Overflow, and I wanted to flag it as very low quality but this ...
8
votes
1answer
333 views
My “not an answer” flag is gone and not showing in my history
Some time ago I flagged this as not-an-answer.
For a while, link to this flagged answer has been visible in my flagging history (flag was declined in case if that matters). As far as I remember it ...
7
votes
0answers
72 views
Sentence caps for the flags in your flag history
On Stack Overflow, your flag history shows flags you've raised with proper capitalization:
Whereas on all other sites, like on Meta, the flags aren't capitalized:
That makes it inconsistent, and I ...
8
votes
0answers
36 views
URL text box is no longer autofocused in duplicate flag dialog
Reproduce:
Goto any question
Enable keyboard shortcuts, and press M F 4
(or alternatively just click Flag->a duplicate)
Observe that the text box is not autofocused. (so you have to click on it or ...
94
votes
2answers
5k views
How do I properly use the “Not an Answer” flag?
What is the "Not an Answer" flag and what is its purpose?
When should I use this flag?
When should I not use this flag?
But I'm still not sure if I'm using the flag correctly...
An answer is "Not an ...
3
votes
0answers
101 views
In flagging dialog, IF “too old to migrate” THEN remove the tip “… or belongs on another Stack Exchange site”
I spotted a question which I think clearly belongs on another site. I tried to flag that, and one of the options was "needs improvement", which includes the situation where
"This ...
2
votes
1answer
144 views
On flags to migrate a question, why was the site I selected no longer shown in the flag history?
In a very distant past (before the closing overhaul), I vaguely remember that if I cast a recommend closure flag on a question, it would show in my personal flag history as "off-topic; belongs on ...
10
votes
1answer
85 views
Pattern of plagiarism - one flag or flag-per-instance?
I've read What to do when plagiarism is discovered, which says this about a pattern of plagiarism:
If it looks like there is an egregious pattern of plagiarism, and deletions seem necessary, flag for ...
11
votes
0answers
43 views
Add a filter for custom flags in your flag history
In my flag history, there is no filter to view only the "in need of moderator intervention" flags you've raised. I went to find a specific custom flag that had been declined to review it, ...
6
votes
2answers
589 views
Who raised the most helpful flags on Stack Overflow and Meta?
There is a lot of discussion around meta about how to raise a helpful flag and flags getting declined, but I wonder:
Who raised the largest number of helpful flags on Stack Overflow and Meta?
9
votes
0answers
33 views
Wrong rate limit message when attempting to flag a comment
When clicking the flag link on a comment, I got the following message (emphasis mine):
You may only attempt to flag this comment every 3 seconds.
However, that's incorrect; it was my first attempt ...
53
votes
2answers
597 views
It shouldnāt be possible to flag questions as Very Low Quality
The āvery low qualityā flag, on questions, is vague. It means ādo somethingā, and thatās not helpful. I think itās pretty well covered by the variety of flaggable close reasons/an actual close vote, ...
6
votes
1answer
104 views
Under what circumstances can a user flag a post without them having at least 15 reputation?
I was going through my old posts on HSM Meta and found this one where I was informed about a user getting a Citizen Patrol badge without them even having the minimum requirement of 15 reputation for ...
12
votes
1answer
100 views
Suggestion, change “This Type of Flag” to something less ambiguous
A constant source of confusion is the wording on the menu for flagging a question or answer.
In 2013 it seems it was first changed from this flag to this type of flag (Duplicate flag lists "you ...
292
votes
2answers
29k views
What are the āspamā and ārude or abusiveā (offensive) flags, and how do they work?
When flagging, there are two special case options: spam and rude or abusive.
What is spam, and when should I flag content as such?
What is considered offensive, rude or abusive content?
How does the ...
1
vote
0answers
32 views
Can I use spam and RA flags interchangeably? [duplicate]
If I flag trolling as spam, or flag spam as rude or abusive, will that be a big deal? Sometimes I come across a malicious post but at first glance I can't tell whether it's spam or trolling. In that ...
22
votes
0answers
162 views
<3k users can raise two flags on the same question using keyboard shortcuts
Normally, you can only flag a post once: once you've raised, say, a spam flag on a question, the system will prevent you from casting a recommend closure flag using the mouse.
On one site, I raised a ...
41
votes
4answers
1k views
Should I flag answers consisting only of “No” or “Yes”?
As I hang out on ServerFault more I'm noticing lots of questions that get only "Yes" or "No". I think this is a worthless, rep-grab answer. They are especially worthless when they were able to post "...
22
votes
1answer
198 views
Make “who flagged this” data available to moderators for chat offensive flags
This has been done before, but never got a response. I'm bringing it up again (rather than simply reusing the last post which is effectively dead now) for a number of reasons, including that lack of ...
381
votes
1answer
8k views
What is a disputed flag?
In my flagging summary under the statistics, there is 1 flag listed as "disputed".
This is the first time I've ever seen a disputed flag in my summary, so I'm just curious, what is a disputed flag? ...
13
votes
1answer
120 views
How to “Be precise” without explaining anything
I just flagged a post for custom moderator intervention and I was asked to be precise and detailed in my explanation.
And then the box ended with like two tweets length. Seriously? I should be precise ...
14
votes
2answers
451 views
What is the result of my spam flag?
I flagged a post last week. The post is off-topic and it was answered by another user soon after it got posted. So, I flagged the answer as a spam.
Here is a snap of the answer:
The question and both ...
179
votes
1answer
2k views
Please give us an easy way to flag inappropriate ads
According to a comment on Workplace Meta, the ads experiment will be running for a while:
@DavidK The experiment will last 6 months - so most of the this year. We're planning a recap at the end to ...
5
votes
1answer
99 views
Moderation tools for spam [duplicate]
What kind of moderation tools are available in Stackexchange to delete questions automatically that contain specified keywords or download links?
It's been few weeks that I see someone making new ...
24
votes
2answers
459 views
Are “trigger keywords” matched in mentioned usernames as well?
I have read How does comment voting and flagging work?
Comments containing certain "trigger" keywords are deleted instantly after a single flag, regardless of upvotes. The list of trigger ...
22
votes
1answer
439 views
Is it acceptable to team up with other users to cause flag-based autodeletion of comments and posts?
This may be a controversial question, but I think it is important to know the opinion of the community (and hopefully of SE) on this.
In the comments on a recent answer to another question, I have ...
36
votes
1answer
493 views
Ticket Smash - How is the backlog today?
In We expect some Q3 projects to be delayed "Ticket Smash" was announced:
No tomorrows. No excuses. Ticket Smash on September 8th - September 18th
In total we have almost 600 unhandled CM ...
0
votes
1answer
96 views
I can't see my name in close question tag [duplicate]
I flag questions that are duplicates, no real questions, not useful, etc. I got 90 helpful flags.
I can't see my name below the question I flag to be closed. Why?
6
votes
0answers
52 views
Cannot flag duplicate question if it has the identical title [duplicate]
Why we do not refuel and assemble in orbit? - Space Exploration Meta Stack Exchange
Why we do not refuel and assemble in orbit? - Space Exploration Meta Stack Exchange
are identical posts.
I tried to ...
19
votes
2answers
388 views
Why are mods declining flags to add [featured] to pertinent questions?
I as well as other users have flagged some of the recent questions about ads and tracking users, so people can have some forewarning before their information is all over the internet.
However, the ...
10
votes
0answers
105 views
What's up with the new way of categorizing flags?
I know this is something that's been implemented a few months ago, but I never had the time to seriously look at it, and actually post something on Meta.
I'm completely lost with the way the flags ...
2
votes
1answer
82 views
How to report bad reviewers
I found a bad review and wondered if it should be flagged.
Luckily someone already asked this question. The answer is yes, bad reviewers should be flagged.
In my quest to figure out how to flag said ...
60
votes
2answers
12k views
Why are my questions on Stack Overflow getting downvotes without explanation? [closed]
My questions are continuously being down-voted, and nobody is bothering to leave a comment describing why are they down-voting it. In my point of view, my questions are fairly legitimate. I think it ...
-11
votes
2answers
146 views
Addressing of flagged posts which need moderator intervention [duplicate]
Specifically, when a post is flagged as in need of moderator intervention what does it mean?
A while ago, this happened:
Little backstory:
I asked a question which was related to a question supplied ...