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45 votes

Stack Exchange needs its own anti-spam system

I'd argue that it would be very difficult to replicate Charcoal without a fair amount of effort. You can automate flagging and removal. However the 'rules' used to detect spam are manual, community-...
Journeyman Geek's user avatar
36 votes

Stack Exchange needs its own anti-spam system

SpamRam is a system that I designed which works on an account and network level. From what I understand, it has received some upgrades over the years, but it's essentially fed from user and moderator ...
Tim Post's user avatar
  • 181k
19 votes
Accepted

How should I respond to unfriendly comments by moderators?

Flag it anyway! On the sites I moderate, if something posted by a moderator gets flagged, that mod will recuse themself from handling it (and in fact will usually ping the rest in a private chat room ...
Draconis's user avatar
  • 415
18 votes

Let's award the Marshal badge multiple times to encourage ChatGPT flagging

I'm all for it. I had a similar idea and floated it a while ago in the Tavern: floating a feature-request idea: award number of copy editor / marshal badges as a log function of total (Ex. total 500 ...
starball's user avatar
  • 21.4k
16 votes
Accepted

Should any flag on an eventually-deleted post be marked as helpful, even if it was declined by a moderator?

No. Different flags are used for different purposes, and have different effects within the system. For instance, spam flags carry heavy reputation penalties and contribute to spam-blocking systems ...
Mithical's user avatar
  • 75.8k
16 votes

Can custom flags have markdown?

Yes. Proof: Markdown: [does](https://www.example.com) *markdown* **work** `in` flags
user1345541's user avatar
  • 1,077
14 votes
Accepted

What happens if I flag posts as "trash"?

You think you're being funny. Nice try. See, Stack Exchange thought about people like you: As it turns out, "trash" isn't a long enough reason to raise a flag at the system-level. So... ...
Spevacus's user avatar
  • 26.6k
14 votes
Accepted

Why was my flag to close a question declined even though the question was closed for that reason?

As a moderator, I would have chosen a different rejection reason: Using standard flags helps us prioritize problems and resolve them faster. Please familiarize yourself with the list of standard ...
Glorfindel's user avatar
  • 248k
14 votes

New flag for ChatGPT answers

My point is, that if 3 (or whatever number of) standard ChatGPT flags could get a bad answer removed (without needing detailed custom flag messages, or a moderator's attention), it'd be a less taxing ...
Laurel's user avatar
  • 50.2k
14 votes

Does every SE site have different guidelines for "questionable content"?

Generally, jumping into an unfamiliar chatroom and going on a flagging spree is considered unreasonable behavior. Of course, you can and should raise a flag if you see something that shocks the ...
Cody Gray - on strike's user avatar
14 votes
Accepted

Temporarily reduce the 5-second rate limit on flagging posts as spam, to allow for quicker flagging on sites overrun with spam

Yes, but for all flag types, and not just while Smoke Detector is down This limit has always been annoying and does not serve any useful purpose. Users start out with 10 flags per day, which with a ...
Ryan M's user avatar
  • 27.3k
13 votes

What is the SE version of Seven Dirty Words?

I humbly suggest we add php, php, and php to the banned words list. Also php.
Jeff Atwood's user avatar
13 votes
Accepted

What does a good flag for suspected AI (e.g., ChatGPT) content look like?

Related: In an answer to New flag for ChatGPT answers, @Laurel makes the point that: ... your suggestion prevents the user from giving any details about why the answer is AI generated. These details ...
12 votes

Let's award the Marshal badge multiple times to encourage ChatGPT flagging

I am in support of this idea, since it encourages lower-rep users to participate in moderation activities and high-rep users to flag low-quality answers. I would also suggest adding a separate ChatGPT ...
bobeyt6's user avatar
  • 3,641
12 votes
Accepted

What exactly do VoteTypeId=4 (offensive) and VoteTypeId=12 (spam) mean?

It looks like these are just Community's votes to delete posts as spam or abusive, which happens after 1 moderator red flag or N red flags from other users (currently 4 but usually 6). The number ...
Laurel's user avatar
  • 50.2k
10 votes

Are there some public statistics on how long it takes to process flags on each SE site?

There are no public statistics; posts like 2021: a year in moderation contain related statistics but not flag handling time. Shog9 posted a graph once: How long does it take on average for moderator ...
Glorfindel's user avatar
  • 248k
10 votes

Does it matter if a post discloses the author's affiliation if it only exists to promote a product or service?

I think the general view I have is "disclosure is necessary but not sufficient" At the single question level - I'd say a tailored answer showing how to use a product to specifically answer a ...
Journeyman Geek's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

Abusing deleted post edit history as a poor man's version control system?

I can't get into specifics due to the usual confidentiality of moderation issues, however it doesn't necessarily look like this user is intentionally trolling. Though, as you noted, they are ban-...
blackgreen's user avatar
  • 3,404
8 votes

We need a dedicated plagiarism flag

People who want to help out on Stack Overflow should check out the StackAPP Guttenberg: "Guttenberg - A bot searching for plagiarism on Stack Overflow". "What is Guttenberg? Guttenberg ...
Rob's user avatar
  • 17.8k
8 votes
Accepted

Answer marked as solution. If deleted, is questioner free to mark another answer as the solution?

Firstly, you can't delete your own answer if it is accepted so it's not quite that simple. If a moderator or a group of trusted users deleted your answer then, yes the person who asked the question ...
Robert Longson's user avatar
7 votes

Declining spam or rude/abusive flags doesn't trigger recalculation of a post's score

A fix for this has gone live today, Feb 7th, 2023. A recalculation is now triggered after any flag type is cleared that deletes a downvote, which now includes spam and rude/abusive flags.
Connell's user avatar
  • 731
7 votes

New flag for ChatGPT answers

In need of moderator intervention is the best option here. I've usually described the output of chatgpt as 'barely plausible garbage'. It's believable but often incorrect. In some cases unless you try ...
Journeyman Geek's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Is it possible to see the removed content due to my flag in my own question?

If it was a comment, you can only ever see it again by becoming a moderator on the site. If it was an answer or a question, it will be possible to follow the link and see the deleted content once you ...
Tinkeringbell's user avatar
  • 39.3k
6 votes
Accepted

Why does deleting my own question tell me that I have flagged it as "spam or offensive content"?

You can't flag your own post except for moderator attention. This is because of another user's flag. This is what happens when there's even a single spam or rude flag that hasn't been cleared on a ...
Laurel's user avatar
  • 50.2k
6 votes

Hard to understand why adding the answer as an edit isn't possible

I cannot read Russian, so I obviously can't verify your translation, but what I can see in the error message is the number "30000", and that tells me that this definitely is a "convert ...
Cody Gray - on strike's user avatar
6 votes

Is casting R/A flags on blatant, but uncited, LLM-generated content acceptable?

I think you answered your own question in quoting: Do not use this flag if ... The post blatantly violates other site rules. This is what downvotes, close votes, and other flag types are for. If ...
NotTheDr01ds's user avatar
  • 4,264
6 votes

Abusing deleted post edit history as a poor man's version control system?

The main post about auto flags includes this... too many owner edits (auto) So a flag is raised by the system. The moderators will process that flag eventually so there's no need worry too much ...
Robert Longson's user avatar
5 votes
Accepted

What should I do if I want to find out more information as to why an answer was deleted by a moderator?

The reasoning behind a moderator action may be questioned on a site's meta, as explained in the help center page on moderators. You can't comment on deleted posts, and raising flags is unhelpful for ...
Tinkeringbell's user avatar
  • 39.3k
5 votes

Can we have the ability to flag for reopening?

Posting this answer in response to a duplicate of this suggestion asked today. The duplicate points out some reasons that are relevant today, such as a user without close voting privileges being ...
Sonic the Anonymous Hedgehog's user avatar
5 votes
Accepted

The "flag posts" privilege page in the Help Center has outdated info on "rude or abusive" and "spam" flags

The "flag posts" privilege page has been updated network-wide (including on international SOs) to have those sections removed. Thank you for flagging!
SpencerG's user avatar
  • 8,857

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