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In a question (Can I write a paper on a method that is novel but yields similar results compared to existing methods?), someone edited the title and introduced the word "wrong" which I believe was entirely unwarranted by the question. How do I flag this? From the discussion I have had with the person who made the edit, I anticipate that if I roll the title back, that person will just un-roll it -- and then where will we be?

The OP wrote, "In some cases our previously proposed method which uses 2 images gives inaccurate results compared to 3 image solution." Clearly, the OP sees the new method as mildly superior to the previous approach which used two images. However, the person who edited the title created the following title, which I believe is an inaccurate expression of the OP's question: "Can I write a paper on a method that is worse than existing ones?"

The original title was "Can I write a paper to solve a problem which uses 3 images instead of 2 images approach discussed in literature?"

The person who made the edit meant well, I believe, attempting to help the OP keep the question open by making the question more general. But I see nothing anywhere in the thread to suggest that the OP wanted to write a paper on a method that is worse than existing ones.

I don't think one should introduce one's judgment about the merit of a question, or judgment about matters mentioned in the question and its associated clarifying comments.

But I don't know how to flag the comment.

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  • As the person who made the edit, I wish to note that I did not only edited to make the question more general for generality’s sake but also because I consider it a valid generalisation of the question in my understanding of the question (which you disagree with).
    – Wrzlprmft Mod
    Commented Dec 7, 2015 at 9:11
  • FWIW, I declined your flag on the question, as in my original review of the flag I thought "just edit the question yourself, you don't need a mod for that". Seeing the post here, though, I appreciate your flagging it and I shouldn't have declined it.
    – eykanal
    Commented Dec 7, 2015 at 15:59
  • Note that the situation that sparked this question has now been resolved (at least in my opinion) thanks to clarifications by the OP. (This does of course not invalidate this question.)
    – Wrzlprmft Mod
    Commented Dec 8, 2015 at 9:59

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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To answer the question, this is the right place to bring it up. If two users, or groups of users, get into an editing war, a mod will lock the post until things can get sorted out. Hopefully, by raising the issue in meta the issue will get sorted. I am not sure what the right answer is in regards to the title in question. It might be best to ask a specific question on meta about that question and link to the meta question in a comment on the main question. This current question is probably fine, but not ideal, since it has the needed details.

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  • While I generally agree, in the specific case, I suggest to wait a while before starting a meta discussion to give the OP (who has not opposed the edit so far and accepted an answer based on the same assumptions as the edit) an opportunity to comment on the disagreement and possibly resolve it.
    – Wrzlprmft Mod
    Commented Dec 7, 2015 at 9:16
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In addition to StrongBad's answer, you can also attempt to "flag" the question for moderator attention, and then provide information about what's wrong under the "in need of moderator intervention" box at the bottom of the pop-up menu.

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