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Please bear with me as I'm new to the 2k moderation tools.

As the title suggest, what to do with worldbuilding posts that entered low-quality queue?

This is not about obvious posts that should be deleted or closed, but rather a borderline low-quality posts. This is the example, which is in my opinion I'd see rather deleted if not improved, although it started a hint toward a good answer.

In my other question in Meta SuperUser, we should immediately flag an answer as low-quality, if we think it is.

I wonder what is the general mood in Worldbuilding about borderline low-quality posts that can be improved.

Should we pick Looks OK while it's in borderline low-quality? Or should Recommend deletion? Or should we leave it in the queue (for x hours) waiting for editing, then close when unacted?

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  • $\begingroup$ Your link only points to the question. Did you mean the question or are you referring to this answer? It is the only one I saw with a comment from you. $\endgroup$
    – Secespitus
    Jun 29, 2017 at 12:46
  • $\begingroup$ @Secespitus The answer is already been deleted. $\endgroup$
    – Vylix
    Jun 29, 2017 at 12:56
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    $\begingroup$ I don't have time and haven't found it after a quick search, but I'm pretty sure we had discussions about this. I remember a mod saying that this is pretty precisely the reason they spend the least amount of time in that queue and use the skip button a lot. Personally I'd say if you are unsure, use skip. The review shows that most reviewers seem to think immediately pressing delete so that no deletion-worthy post goes through is okay. I'll search for the discussion later. Disclaimer: I was the first reviewer there. $\endgroup$
    – Secespitus
    Jun 29, 2017 at 13:05
  • $\begingroup$ Sorry, didn't see you edited your comment. Do you mean this answer to the same question? Linking to the review might help because right now only users who can see deleted posts can see your example. $\endgroup$
    – Secespitus
    Jun 29, 2017 at 13:10
  • $\begingroup$ @Secespitus yes that one. But it's just an example so actually it doesn't matter much, as both I deemed as barely floating and soon sink if not edited. $\endgroup$
    – Vylix
    Jun 29, 2017 at 13:26

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The specific answer linked to in the question references a short story by a named author, and points to where it can be found, but does not really describe the solution used by that author, short of a brief mention that the specific solution is not explicitly discussed in the work in question.

That is effectively what we already consider an outgrowth of link-only answers, and besides the network-wide consensus that link-only answers are not answers, those have been discussed here previously in the specific context of Worldbuilding SE.

The consensus there is essentially (but do follow the links for a more in-depth discussion) that such answers are not answers. Because they are not answers, if they are posted as answers, they should be deleted. A diamond moderator can choose to convert a non-answer answer to a comment, but don't fret it if a moderator isn't around.

Consequently, in a case like this, you would (depending on your reputation) most likely pick either Recommend Deletion or Delete.

Also, if you don't know what to do with a post you are reviewing, never be afraid to click Skip. In the review queues, "Skip" literally means "I don't know what to do with this post". Clicking Skip is never the wrong choice. It might be a suboptimal choice, but you will be leaving making an actual choice to those in the community who feel more confident about what to do with the post in question. It's better to click Skip than to click Looks OK if you are uncertain. Heck, I've had a diamond right here on Worldbuilding, and I've been close to being elected moderator twice, and I end up clicking Skip in review queues more often than I really care to admit, for a wide variety of reasons.

It's worth keeping in mind that except for diamond moderators, delete votes are just that, votes. It takes at least a few delete votes to actually delete a post, and the number of delete votes needed to delete a post grows with things like the net score of the post in question. So no matter what you do, unless you have a diamond attached to your name here, it won't be only you who delete a post.

And of course, deletes in the Stack Exchange model are soft deletes; the post will remain viewable to high reputation users, who are able to vote to undelete, or flag for moderator attention, if they feel it shouldn't have been deleted.

The person who wrote a post which has been deleted can access it relatively easily for a while by going to their profile, following the tab link to either questions or answers, and at the bottom of that page following the link to deleted recent questions or deleted recent answers, as appropriate. They are then able to edit it to bring it in line with the site's standards, after which they can either flag it for moderator attention or simply bring it up e.g. in chat to draw attention to it and hopefully have it undeleted, or failing that, at least receive further advice on how the post needs to be improved before it can be undeleted.

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    $\begingroup$ How does recommend delete work compared to voting to delete? $\endgroup$
    – Bellerophon
    Jun 29, 2017 at 13:56
  • $\begingroup$ This is very helpful. Now that post is just an example. What should we do about the general borderline low-quality ones? Or it's really a case-by-case? $\endgroup$
    – Vylix
    Jun 29, 2017 at 13:57
  • $\begingroup$ @Bellerophon meta.stackexchange.com/a/145292/157730 $\endgroup$
    – user
    Jun 29, 2017 at 14:06
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    $\begingroup$ @Vylix It's always on a case-by-case basis. Some cases are easy to judge, and by the time you have the reputation to access the review queues in the first place you are supposed to have learned your way around the site, the community and its standards sufficiently to have some idea of how to navigate the stream. Other cases are far more difficult, where you have to judge multiple outright conflicting factors into a single "yes/no" decision. If you are uncertain, never be afraid to click skip -- that's what that button is there for! It literally means "I don't know about this post". $\endgroup$
    – user
    Jun 29, 2017 at 14:07
  • $\begingroup$ @MichaelKjörling Well, I was the one flagging questions, and now I need to handle the flags, so I feel a bit overwhelmed ;) At first I thought the worldbuilding is a bit more lax in giving time for edit improvement, but seems I was wrong :) Thank you! $\endgroup$
    – Vylix
    Jun 29, 2017 at 14:43
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    $\begingroup$ @Vylix It varies. I'm of the opinion that bad posts, and bad questions in particular, should be dealt with quickly, and not be left to linger. You can always look back to your flag history if you want to, but unless you have had a large number of declined flags, your flagging has probably been in line with how you should handle flags on similar posts going forward. $\endgroup$
    – user
    Jun 29, 2017 at 14:49

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