14

I reviewed an answer yesterday (here). Someone had already beaten me to it and had reviewed and edited it already. I always have a quick look to see what has been edited and in doing so on this occasion, I discovered that the post had previously contained some unsuitable language which I deemed to be included for no reason other than to try and be "offensive".

For this reason, I flagged the post as offensive, even though the current revision doesn't fall into this category. If a user reviews previous edits, they still see the unsuitable and potentially offensive language.

Was I wrong to flag this post?

  • 1
    +1 for a good question. I don't think it was wrong, but as current rules stand, unless a moderator reads the review queue he won't see the reason for the flag. For all intents and purposes, all info on SE is permanently stored, even if flagged as offensive. – Doktoro Reichard Jan 10 '14 at 11:28
  • No, I'm pretty sure offensive and spam posts are permanently removed from the database. – MBraedley Jan 10 '14 at 13:16
  • 2
    @MBraedley They're not, actually. Just deleted and hidden. – Frank♦ Jan 10 '14 at 13:30
  • @MBraedley Nope, they are soft-deleted like everything else. Hard deletion of a revision is a developer-only tool. I would not worry too much about a moderator not seeing the offensive part, most would look at the edit history if they see a strange spam/offensive flag. – Mad Scientist Jan 10 '14 at 13:44
  • I rolled back the edit in question. Flag it people, burn the troll. – LessPop_MoreFizz Jan 10 '14 at 16:38
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    @LessPop_MoreFizz You fool, rollbacks clear the offensive flags it had received! (See here). Never ever edit an offensive post unless the offensive material was added in an edit; just flag and move on. – Billy Mailman Jan 10 '14 at 16:45
  • @billy It only clears those flags cast since the edit. – LessPop_MoreFizz Jan 10 '14 at 18:03
  • 1
    @Less Yes, which were most of the flags this post had received. It only got at most one offensive flag prior to the edit. – Billy Mailman Jan 10 '14 at 18:09
  • Thanks all for the clarification on the matter. – Lyrical Jan 13 '14 at 11:10
17

Don't edit spam and offensive posts! Just flag them as such!

Also, let's become better at flagging spam and offensive posts while we're at it. Oh, and there's this, and a bunch of other links in those. So no, you were not wrong in flagging it as offensive.

If you've got the time (and the 20 rep required), pop into chat and leave a text link (not a bare, oneboxing link, i.e. use something like [text for link](gaming.se.com/q/question#) with the actual link) to the spam/offensive post to the tune of "burn with fire" or just a simple "spam" or "offensive". That will typically take care of it pretty quickly if chat is even marginally active.

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    Since you clarify the required rep, it would be good to point out more clearly what "oneboxing" means in chat (a new user is most likely not familiar with that behaviour). – user98085 Jan 10 '14 at 19:14
5

The answer is incomplete, as the comment on it points out. It is factually wrong; the actual distance will vary. And, the guy acknowledged that messages he posts get deleted. I cannot see this as being anything but a troll. The user who edited it should be better informed about the general Stack Exchange policy for offensive content (don't feed the trolls, just flag and walk away), and the post should be deleted as offensive.

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