28
votes
Please follow your own policies on making new policies
On the topic of "policies" on policies, answer posts to What is the network policy regarding AI Generated content? got deleted with a staff comment saying:
Deleting this because we don't ...
- 9,230
24
votes
Can we construct a voting model for SE so that moderators aren't necessary?
No, impossible.
Moderators are exception handlers. Moderators handle cases normal users can't.
For example, Cleaning up spammers, sockpuppets, abusive accounts and harassment.
Normal users vote on ...
- 6,315
24
votes
What about the introduction of a new feature which raises the requirement for moderators to close questions from experienced users?
You—or the people whom you quote—are confusing experience in software development (or perhaps life in general?) with experience in Stack Overflow's Q&A system. They are not the same thing. Stack ...
- 62.3k
22
votes
Accepted
Are there some ways to prevent abuse from moderators?
I voted for myself from a different account
It's at this point that an alt account stops being "for privacy" and starts being "for cheating". There are no exceptions to this — ...
- 41.6k
21
votes
Is it acceptable for moderators to legislate new policies?
I know you want a general answer, but I don't think it's particularly fair to ask for one.
It's clear this is a bit of a special case, with a recent and extreme uptick in a particular type of answer. ...
- 7,498
21
votes
Please don't allow computer-generated content
I can only speak for myself, one moderator on one site.
If Stack Overflow Inc. wants to allow AI-generated posts (which is essentially what the new policy does), then in the long run there's nothing ...
- 12.2k
19
votes
Feedback request: Proposed new flagging and moderation workflow for plagiarism
Multiple Sources
As someone who has spent a fair amount of time looking through posts of frequent plagiarists (as well as coordinating cleanup efforts of plagiarised posts) I have frequently run into ...
- 3,992
17
votes
Are there some ways to prevent abuse from moderators?
Well, you did something wrong and there were consequences.
Such is life.
I don't know why, but I got my account suspended for 1 month for allegedly voting myself, but I don't remember doing that in ...
- 152k
15
votes
What about the introduction of a new feature which raises the requirement for moderators to close questions from experienced users?
As an experienced user (more than 3k on multiple sites) and a moderator (on 3 sites), I've literally spent thousands of hours on the network in total and am probably something approaching a subject ...
- 152k
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... ...
- 25.6k
14
votes
Is it inappropriate to ask moderator to share details related to my comment's edit history (when it was edited by a mod/staff)?
The real issue is that the system brokenly obscures a comment's edit history from the author of the comment, which is especially bad in a situation where the author can't edit a comment after the ...
- 2,967
13
votes
Is there anything for micro-negative actions when flagging a question?
For the record, I didn't decline your flag (nor did I downvote this question, it's a valid discussion to have) but I agree with my colleague. You're definitely right about the question not being ...
GlorfindelMod
- 243k
13
votes
Is it acceptable for moderators to legislate new policies?
Extraordinary problems may require extraordinary solutions.
Having hundreds of people suddenly post dozens of nonsense answers each, none of which are obviously nonsense at first glance is not ...
- 31.3k
12
votes
Accepted
What is the authority of moderators in defining the scope of a site?
As a moderator, I basically have the same abilities as 3-5 users in a trench coat, and ideally the ability to shape/opinions via meta. For the most part I interpret and help enforce the rules rather ...
- 152k
12
votes
Feedback request: Proposed new flagging and moderation workflow for plagiarism
I'm really glad to see how seriously you guys are taking this plagiarism issue and how much you have planned to lessen the weight on mods' shoulders. The backlog of plagiarism flags is large, but so ...
- 25.6k
11
votes
Feedback request: Proposed new flagging and moderation workflow for plagiarism
Would it be possible to have a built-in moderator tool for assessing whether a post is likely to be plagiarised or not?
I realise this is potentially a big ask, and I have no idea how easy it would be ...
- 28.2k
11
votes
Is it inappropriate to ask moderator to share details related to my comment's edit history (when it was edited by a mod/staff)?
To answer that, one needs to define what "appropriate" means. There are several components that constitute the appropriateness of such a request on the network:
Terms of Service, Code of ...
9
votes
Can we construct a voting model for SE so that moderators aren't necessary?
It's not a good idea to try to completely eliminate moderators.
Moderators have greater access to information than ordinary users. We can see voting patterns and view personally identifying ...
- 22.7k
8
votes
Is it inappropriate to ask moderator to share details related to my comment's edit history (when it was edited by a mod/staff)?
My two cents, as ordinary long time user.
It is appropriate to ask, however it is also appropriate for the moderator to ignore or decline the request.
Comments are minor, people really put too much ...
8
votes
Trustworthiness of proposed links?
Well generally - there's no review process, and even if a link was fine when it was posted, sometimes domains get squatted, good companies go bad and so on.
If you find a link that's rotted to ...
- 152k
8
votes
What is the authority of moderators in defining the scope of a site?
: Community builder hat on :
Unfortunately, I think that commenters nailed it. It comes down to having an active enough community. With that said, I've certainly seen communities where one dedicated ...
- 14.8k
8
votes
What does "company's moderators" mean?
I do think it means the 'formal' moderation teams on the individual sites, as opposed to broader community metamoderation.
In the context of folks abusing LLM tools—most sites have had folks posting ...
- 152k
8
votes
Are there some ways to prevent abuse from moderators?
Your argument for why you shouldn't have been banned:
It was a long time ago.
Just because it happened a long time ago doesn't make it any less of an offense.
Your justification for what you did ...
- 3,043
7
votes
Accepted
Last modification by Community user, but actually not
When an answer is deleted, for example by spam flags or by delete votes, this does not make the question active. Perhaps rightfully so; if an old answer gets deleted (as sometimes happens here with ...
GlorfindelMod
- 243k
6
votes
Is there anything for micro-negative actions when flagging a question?
I declined the flag. I agree with what seems to be the consensus here that the question is not racist and does not qualify as "rude or abusive" to the point of being worthy of the standard ...
- 4,627
6
votes
Accepted
How can I see the list of questions that were removed by a mod from the list of hot network questions on a given SE website?
You can do so using this SEDE query.
This should give you a list of all moderator-removed hot network questions only, along with other details (date and time of removal, number of hours on the HNQ ...
- 9,604
6
votes
Moderation in the community: How can we determine what is right and wrong?
Start with the Stack Overflow Code of Conduct and the website's terms of service.
Anything else is subject to that specific site's description of what is and isn't on-topic, usually found in the Help ...
- 50.3k
6
votes
What is the authority of moderators in defining the scope of a site?
In answer to your question:
In other words, is the definition of a site's scope entirely in
the hands of the moderators?
I would say that, once a site has exited Area 51 (where initial scope is ...
- 34.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Use of strong words, modifiers, and hyperbole in per-site meta post titles disputing something
I think it very much depends on the writer, and the tools they are most comfortable with.
Some of my favourite people are storytellers — and it's a rhetorical device I've seen used effectively. Some ...
- 152k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible