The right use of flagging

[John_Baite (Baite)]

Continuation of off-topic of this thread: How long does it usually take for memrise to rectify a bug? - #21 by John_Baite

Where was said:

@xvg11

This is very bad advice. Flagging a post is meant to be used to report forum posts that violate the forum rules, so that the moderators can delete those posts quickly, for example if they contain obscenity, spam, or other inappropriate content. Flagging is not meant to call for attention to your own posts, to try to get a faster answer to routine service requests. Doing that is like “crying wolf,” and wastes the moderators’ limited time and attention.

@John_Baite

Oh, is that right? Fortunately, I’ve used it only a few that way and it won’t happen anymore.Thanks for explaining - I thought it had a broader use, but not. Can we use the flag though to ask to move a topic to a different forum? That is what I wanted to use it for the first time, and then the topic was actually not moved, but the issue was picked up!

@xvg11

No, you definitely shouldn’t flag posts for that reason.

If you think a topic should be moved to a different category, you could post in the thread and suggest it, but also understand that that type of post could just add noise to the thread unnecessarily.

If you can’t resist posting to suggest that the topic be moved, you should bear in mind that there are quite a few people in the forum who have the ability to move topics, and they most likely have already seen the post before you, and have decided to leave it where it is. So they may or may not ignore your suggestion.

But regardless of what they do, the fact that you think a topic should be moved to a different category is not a legitimate reason to flag a post.

[John_Baite (Baite)]

Well, the first option for flagging says:

• “It’s Off-Topic - This post is not relevant to the current discussion as defined by the title and first post, and should probably be moved elsewhere.”

So, at least in some cases flagging seems to be suitable for asking to move a topic, i.e. when posts talk about something else then defined by the topic.
There are actually quite a number of people who can move topics - there are about 20 regulars or so.

Anyway, thank you for your advice - it helps keeping a good community!

[Hydroptere (Overlord Hydroptère)]

I never flag a post, unless is really insulting/obscene, ranting /aggressive and stupid etc. I never considered flagging an appropriate method for moving around posts - I find that very impolite toward the author of that message

[alanh]

The forum guidelines are quite clear on ´flagging´ and the role of the Forum Moderators. See http://community.memrise.com/guidelines. They are supplemented by the ‘Welcome to the Forum’ notes (although these are not the easiest for forum ‘newbies’ to find): Start here!

If you come across a post you think has been placed in the wrong category, don’t flag it. Instead, the best thing to do is to follow xvg11’s advice above. If a simple resolution isn’t possible, one of the forum ‘leaders’ or a moderator will probably step in and do what’s necessary.

[John_Baite (Baite)]

OK. Thanks for the insights.