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The question is about this answer: Why did this python list get passed by value?

It contains a gibberish text that is in no way related to the question and a link to a crypto exchange website. For me, this is obviously spam, so I marked the answer with the appropriate reason.

Then I got a rejection for the flag with the generic rejection reason "Rejected - a moderator reviewed your assessment but found no evidence". This was not only very surprising for me, but also disappointing and demotivating.

Yes, the answer has been deleted by the author in the meantime, but that should not be a reason to reject the flag. So could someone please explain to me why this flag was rejected? Or was this a mistake on the part of the moderator? A mistake which, I should note, shows up negatively in my flagging history.

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  • 29
    That's 100% spam, no doubt about it. Must be a mistake and that's what humans do from time to time. If your flagging history is otherwise fine, there's no reason to worry. I've got > 1K helpful spam flag, and 3 declined, one moderator mistake, one my mistake and one edge case.
    – jps
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 7:32
  • 3
    I only have 13 spam flags in total, and one of them has now been rejected. I can live with that, but I wanted to make sure I hadn't overlooked any bizarre rules that would make this post non-spam.
    – Matthias
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 7:40
  • 9
    Before the ongoing strike, Smokedetector would have identified this is as spam within a few seconds, and if coinbase is blacklisted (I guess it is), the post would probably have been autoflagged and deleted in no time. So you did the right thing.
    – jps
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 7:47
  • 17
    Let's just wait for the moderator who handled the flag to arrive here, as it would still be useful to know how the mistake occurred. No need for pitchforks though, this is not the first mistake moderators made, and it won't be the last.
    – E_net4
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 9:13
  • 23
    If you weren't demotivated enough, now you were called a lier, I'm sure this will motivate you ;-)
    – Nadav Har'El
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 11:34
  • 2
    "This post is hidden. It was deleted 4 days ago by the post author." (Emphasis mine) Could that have invalidated the flag?
    – Cerbrus
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 12:39
  • 9
    Considering many mods are on strike, there's a possibility that SE staff was the one who handled the flag, but this is just a big assumption.
    – Andrew T.
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 13:49
  • 2
    @Cerbrus I think self-deletion does not invalidate red flags anymore.
    – TylerH
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 14:14
  • I'm a little baffled as to why that was declined too - that sure looks like spam to me.
    – EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 14:48
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    @NadavHar'El The - now deleted - comment you referred to was like a slap in the face. Thank you for your reaction to it.
    – Matthias
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 15:32
  • 3
    It was, perhaps, poorly worded, but I think it was meant as a joke and should be taken (despite now being deleted) in good humour.
    – Cody Gray - on strike Mod
    Commented Jul 13, 2023 at 4:47

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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It's a mistake. I don't really remember why I declined it but it should have been instant-nuke. Sorry.

So much for being on strike but handling spam flags...

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    No problem, mistakes happen. I'm glad about everyone who works as a mod for this community. I just wanted to understand what caused the rejection and whether I didn't understand any rules myself. Thanks for your effort.
    – Matthias
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 15:30
  • 4
    Got another one if you'd like some redemption 😉: stackoverflow.com/a/76672684/3965631 (flagged/dovnvoted/voted to delete already). And mostly just poking fun; we know you're on strike, and appreciate anything you can (or choose to) do regardless 🙂
    – Tim Lewis
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 16:32
  • 23
    done. I support the strike, but on the other hand I just cannot stand spammers.
    – Jean-François Fabre Mod
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 17:03
  • 2
    This is unacceptable, you should be more inclusive and tolerate spammers :P that way you can easily go on strike and not even look back (at least for a while). JK, Cheers
    – M--
    Commented Jul 13, 2023 at 19:04
  • 6
    Looking back, I can see the pile of the 12000+ flags from 1 mile away. I'm not longing for the end of the strike!
    – Jean-François Fabre Mod
    Commented Jul 13, 2023 at 19:40
  • 1
    @Jean-FrançoisFabre: I once had a colleague who had an efficient way of dealing with their stuffed mailbox after vacation, they'd just delete them all, stating that "if it's important, they'll send another". Given that you're on strike... I'd feel the behavior even more justified. Any flag raised during the strike period can be summarily rejected, and if it really matters it'll be flagged again.
    – Matthieu M.
    Commented Jul 14, 2023 at 15:10
  • 7
    I know about the CTRL+A + del method. But there are 3 problems: 1. declining all flags takes almost as much time as processing them properly 2. it counts negatively for users 3. it's flagging work which is lost. And users can't flag again on a declined flag
    – Jean-François Fabre Mod
    Commented Jul 14, 2023 at 15:16

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