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Where I am from in Britain, we are sensitive to everything. Based on my culture I flag a lot of posts.

However, many of the people who are responsible for determining if my flags are applicable or not are from other cultures who are not as sensitive as me.

Many of my flags, which seem appropriate to me are being rejected. It seems like there is a lot of cultural differences determining the outcome.

Further to this, what happens if mods decide they don't like you because you've challenged them and their thinking?

So my question is, will the fuzzy logic of cultural difference and group dynamics result in my account being suspended or deleted?

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  • Why is it a problem if a flag is rejected?
    – PieBie Mod
    Oct 5, 2018 at 11:49
  • No problem with flags being rejected. More of a problem if too many get rejected then my account gets suspended for it. I'm not sure if that could happen, which is what the question is asking. If my flags are incorrect too often and that can lead to account suspension or being banned, then I would be better off not flagging.
    – Electron
    Oct 5, 2018 at 11:56
  • Depends on how you flag. It's really hard to tell if you should stop flagging without getting any examples. Flagging as. NAA vs spam or R/A has massive differences in both result and handling, and questions vs answers also has differences Oct 5, 2018 at 11:58
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    Please read this and this. I don't think your account can get suspended or deleted automatically. You can receive a flag ban, but that is temporary and only for declined flags, not disputed flags.
    – PieBie Mod
    Oct 5, 2018 at 12:03
  • Ahhh, perfect. If you could add that as an answer, I can mark it as what I'm looking to understand. Thanks :)
    – Electron
    Oct 5, 2018 at 12:10
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    I still don't understand what you mean by "what happens if mods decide they don't like you because you've challenged them and their thinking?" Most flags are not exclusively handled by mods. Apart from that, mods are elected from the user base, so they have no different thinking than the rest of the users.
    – PieBie Mod
    Oct 5, 2018 at 12:12
  • When people are challenged, they form a natural dislike to someone of varying degrees. When the people you have offended are also responsible for reviewing things like flags or other data, it can affect their thinking. It's a neuropsychology thing. Probably was best left out of the question, to be honest.
    – Electron
    Oct 5, 2018 at 12:16
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    Although I'm no longer able to review flags, I did review some of your edits, and I understand fully if you feel I declined some of those in part or in whole. No offense was meant. Although I applaud your efforts to have a language-error-free GDSE, I also want to explain that I rejected or changed some because I felt they really changed the OP's style. Even within correct usage of English (BE or AE), different people have different writing styles, that I feel should be preserved after an edit.
    – Vincent
    Oct 5, 2018 at 13:29
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    And to suggest if not an answer, then a solution to your 'mods decided they don't like you' part of your question: come over to the Ink Spot and talk it out. All mods are humans and all are open to fair, honest and open discussion.
    – Vincent
    Oct 5, 2018 at 13:35
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    @InvariantChange Mods are failible humans and may have history with some users that is for sure. I think we try to rise above that by debating to reach a consensus or defering to another mod if we feel too involved in a case. I totally agree with you that there can be a variety of perceptions based on cultural differences and there are no magical recipes to handle this, especially when it's put on top of a medium that doesn't allow for body language, tone, etc.
    – curious Mod
    Oct 5, 2018 at 13:40
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    Thanks for the great comments. :)
    – Electron
    Oct 5, 2018 at 13:49
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    And based on feedback and interactions I've had, I am adapting to a more global style and more inline with what is expected in each community. So thanks again for your input :)
    – Electron
    Oct 5, 2018 at 13:51
  • Not sure about your flags, but you surely could Stop Using Title Case In Your Questions - it just makes them more difficult to read.
    – Luciano
    Oct 29, 2018 at 15:04

2 Answers 2

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There is a difference between Declined flags and Disputed flags. When a flag is disputed, nothing more happens, it just disappears into the void. You can never be banned for disputed flags.

The more serious flags (e.g. spam, closure) however can be Declined by a mod. Too many declined flags can lead to a flag ban. You will first receive ample warning though. A flag ban only means you can no longer flag questions for a short period of time (no longer than a week).

For more information on disputed and declined flags, read this meta answer. For more information on flag bans read this meta answer.

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Further to this, what happens if mods decide they don't like you because you've challenged them and their thinking?

If you think a mod is doing that speak up so the other mods can take a look or you can contact the community team (actual StackExchange employees) via this link.

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