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Comments on Seeing which moderator marked my flag as helpful (which should be hidden)

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Seeing which moderator marked my flag as helpful (which should be hidden)

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Correct behaviour

At the bottom of the right hand panel of the user profile page (or at the bottom of the page on mobile where there is no right hand panel), the number of flags that the user has raised is displayed. When viewing your own profile page, this number is a link to the Flag History page showing all of the flags you have raised, and their outcome.

Here you can see whether a flag was marked as helpful, and you can see any response that the moderator added. However, the identity of the moderator is concealed. You can see what they said to you, but not which moderator said it, or which moderator marked your flag as helpful or otherwise. This is as intended.

Incorrect behaviour

The bug is that sometimes the identity of the moderator is leaked. If it was leaked to the person whose post is being flagged, I would raise this in private rather than advertising it publicly. However, it is only leaked to the person raising the flag, and only in cases where the flag is likely to be marked as helpful, so I'm raising it here.

The problem occurs when my flag leads to a moderator deleting the flagged post. I can now no longer see the deleted post directly (as I do not have the ability to see deleted posts), but it is still visible to me as a preview in the flagged posts page. In particular, this shows the username of the person who deleted the post, which is highly likely to be the moderator who processed my flag.

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

2 comment threads

Should be transparent (2 comments)
Conceivably leaked another way, too. (2 comments)
Should be transparent
Olin Lathrop‭ wrote 7 months ago

This is backwards. Moderators are accountable for their actions, so shouldn't be hidden. And yes, I'm a moderator (on EE).

A serious problem Elsewhere was lack of openness and transparency. Letting moderators be anonymous makes it easier for abuse in the long run. The best solution for that is openness.

trichoplax‭ wrote 7 months ago

My intention with this post was just to highlight that the anonymisation that is already present can be bypassed in some circumstances. If you'd like to see the existing anonymisation removed, I recommend a separate Meta question. I don't have a strong opinion either way.

Personally, my main concern is that everyone (including moderators) have a clear indication of what their privacy level is. I'm fine with moderators being anonymous if that's what the community decides. I'm also fine with moderator actions being open and transparent, with their username attached if that's what the community decides. I just don't want moderators to think that some actions are private if there's a little known way of bypassing that apparent privacy.