4 ms·

That little 'flag' link is for articles that get posted that you think are poor content, badly written, ill informed or troll bait... right?

• tptacek 13y ago
  No. The 'flag' link is for stories that are inappropriate for the site. What you describe is a "downvote" button. Using flags to downvote is abusive. My understanding is, the mods catch people using the flag button to downvote, the mods make your flag stop counting.
  • Crito 13y ago
    > "My understanding is, the mods catch people using the flag button to downvote, the mods make your flag stop counting" The "flag" link disappears entirely, it doesn't just stick around but become a noop.
    • tptacek 13y ago
      How sure are you about that? Obviously the flag link goes away for some people.
      • Crito 13y ago
        Maybe they do both, but I am certain that the flag link disappears for some people after abuse. I'm not sure what the advantage of doing both would be (though I assume hellbanned users normally still see a flag link that does nothing).
        • SamReidHughes 13y ago
          I've inferred from some info I've heard that some known abusers keep abusing the flag feature -- it seems like it would be disabled for them, or disabled for submissions matching certain keywords.
          • Crito 13y ago
            If minor abuse turns the flag link into a NOP, then I don't see any extra utility in removing the link if they keep it up.