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I. Short Version

Make it easier for lesser rep users who actually contribute in janitorial work, by giving them access to some of these tools between 3k and 10k.

II. Long Version

A. Pre-ramble Preamble

Upon reaching 10k, a user has access to a "tools" page which lets them view questions with close votes, delete votes, edit queues, migration stats, etc. The last meaningful privilege that a user earns is at 3k, which is the ability to vote to close/reopen. The 5k privilege of approving tag wiki edits is absolutely worthless because there is no way of knowing which tags have been edited and are waiting for approval! So effectively, it's a barren stretch from 3k to 10k, and given that privileges feed our hidden masochistic desire to clean up the muck, my request in this post is to gradually rollout the different 10k tools for users who help keep the site clean.

B. Recognize users who actually contribute in janitorial work

There are users who are of tremendous help to the community and have been working hard without access to any of these tools. We should stop placing 10k users on a pedestal and start making it easier for lesser rep users who actually contribute in janitorial work by giving them access to tools. For example:

  1. Let users who also have the Strunk & White badge earn the privilege to view edit queues at 3k#. This way, the badges count for something other than merely being show pieces on your profile and there is a motivation to work towards something.
  2. If they have successfully closed/reopened (not cast votes) say 50 posts, they can be granted access to the close queue at 5k#. I understand that this might be a harder number to track (maybe not...).
  3. Let users who have the Deputy badge review flags in the queue at 7.5k# rep.

This way, SE can recognize the efforts of these users with something more than a measly badge and they too, in turn, will be more than happy to be able to assist in cleaning up with the help of shiny new tools.

C. Possible extension to other users

While II-B above is the primary intent of this post, it might not be a bad idea to ponder about extending this to other users.

For example, for users without the respective badges, you could grant access to the edit queue at 5k, close queue at 7.5k and flag review page at 10k. So here, the incubation time is 2.5x the rep at which they earn the right to edit/close (as opposed to roughly 1.5x for those with badges).

D. Advantages

Currently, the 10k tools are a big dump of statistics and queues, which actually end up disappointing a lot of folks who think they get access to mod hammers. As Shog9 notes, there could also be the possibility of people going berserk when they see a big list to burn all 50 close votes. By rolling out the tools one by one, the least harmful first, we can greatly minimize this and perhaps even train them the right way.

  1. A user first learns to use the tools with the edit queue. This is the least harmful of all, because a bad edit approval/rejection can be trivially fixed by just a single user with 2k rep. On the other hand, a wrong closure requires 5 other users with 3k rep to reopen. In the period it takes for them to get from 5k to 7.5k, hopefully they'd have learned to not go crazy and review and act only on those that they know for sure are correct.
  2. A lot of the flags are for dupes/not constructive/etc., which are flagged by <3k rep users. This unnecessarily adds to the mod queue. By letting more users see the close queue and act on it, such flags get resolved sooner, and the mods can utilize their time for more important flags.
  3. By the time they reach 10k, users have an idea of what to expect and won't have their hopes too high or too low. They'd also figure out how much time is worth spending on each and perhaps learn to use the tools better.
  4. More users involved in clean up ==> less crap to stink up the place.

#The actual thresholds and nitty-gritties are up for debate or left to the discretion of the dev team.

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  • 2
    This sounds like two very different (though related) suggestions. You should, um, post them as separate [feature-request]s. Or re-write this in a way that doesn't make it sound like you're presenting a grabbag of features without tying them together until the very last paragraph.
    – Shog9
    Commented Sep 10, 2011 at 18:12
  • 2
    @Shog9: SE is going to make the decision which (if any) of these suggestions gets implemented. Why not keep them in one place? The goal is the same.
    – user102937
    Commented Sep 10, 2011 at 18:13
  • 2
    Because, @Robert, I dislike the first suggestion, but like the second, and I can't simultaneously up- and down-vote it when they're smushed together.
    – Shog9
    Commented Sep 10, 2011 at 18:16
  • @Shog9: There's already 12 score on this question; I think it may be too late to split it. If you post two answers giving your opinion about each section, they can each be voted on their own merits.
    – user102937
    Commented Sep 10, 2011 at 18:17
  • DON'T GIVE UP HOPE!!! @Rob
    – Shog9
    Commented Sep 10, 2011 at 18:19
  • 2
    @Yoda: Don't tag wiki edits appear in the Suggested Edits Approval queue? I don't understand your assertion that you don't know which ones have been edited.
    – user102937
    Commented Sep 10, 2011 at 18:21
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    @RobertHarvey They do, but only in the 10k tools.. Not when you actually earn the privilege, which is at 5k
    – Lorem Ipsum
    Commented Sep 10, 2011 at 18:27
  • 1
    @yoda I feel this is mostly completed, marking it as so. The review changes alone give a new stream for "janitors" to contribute. at 5k you now get access to the suggested edit queue. we can open separate questions to adjust any edges left.
    – waffles
    Commented Feb 3, 2012 at 0:01
  • @waffles I agree. Thanks for the changes :)
    – Lorem Ipsum
    Commented Feb 3, 2012 at 8:24

2 Answers 2

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46

I just changed it so at 5k you get full access to the suggested edit queue, this makes the 5k priv way more substantial.

I agree that giving our most awesome editors and flaggers special rights makes sense. However, as it stands, all privileges unlock at a reputation bar. A change along these lines will have to be carefully thought out. We also need to ensure there the privs route would clearly explain the requirements.

As it stands there is no - "how awesome of an editor" score anywhere on the users page. We would probably need something like that as well. Some number that is indicative of the quality and quantity of your suggested edits.

It probably makes sense to only give "unchecked" edit privileges to editors that passes a certain bar in the "suggested edit weight" bar, but flipping the "rep gains privileges" model on its head is a difficult and complex change.

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  • 1
    Shouldn't this be listed as a feature change?
    – Chris Frederick
    Commented Sep 12, 2011 at 6:35
  • 3
    sure ... go for it @Chris
    – waffles
    Commented Sep 12, 2011 at 6:46
  • I guess that this is a meta-only change for now?
    – Wladimir Palant
    Commented Sep 12, 2011 at 7:51
  • You could measure "how awesome of an editor" by positive outcomes that occur on the question after it has been edited versus simply when it's been bumped.
    – Alex Angas
    Commented Sep 12, 2011 at 7:52
  • "how awesome of an editor" is a little wordy. I suggest "edit weight." Waitasecond, that looks frighteningly familiar...
    – Kevin Vermeer
    Commented Feb 3, 2012 at 2:45
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So why not let them see the edit queue at say 5k# and the close queue at 7.5k#?

The best argument I'm aware of for not making the 10K information available to low-rep users is that it could increase pile-on (or contrarian) voting. Hopefully by the time you hit 10K you'll have used the tools enough to have some knowledge of how they should be used and avoid casting votes mechanically (although there's no guarantee of this).

I originally wrote a lot more about this suggestion, but... It all boiled down to "It sucks" and possibly "You suck for not realizing that it sucks". So read the revision history if you care.

Recognize users who actually contribute in janitorial work.

This is a much better suggestion. As I noted, there's no guarantee that a user with 10K will have ever used any of the tools he is now presented with detailed information on. I would have no qualms about opening up the edit queue to anyone with a Copy Editor badge, or handing the list of clos[ing|ed] and re-open[ing|ed] question to anyone who has managed to successfully close or re-open 500 questions*.

Indeed, I see no reason to tie it to rep-level at all. If you're actually out there, using the tools, and demonstrating competency, then by all means let us help you do more of that!

*80 edits and 50 close/open votes seems entirely too low though. You could easily hit that in a week!

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6
  • well you can approve/invalidate chat flags at 10K. That should be every user's privilege.
    – Engineer2021
    Commented Sep 10, 2011 at 19:01
  • 2
    Good idea about opening the tools to those who've shown they know how to use them.
    – ChrisF Mod
    Commented Sep 10, 2011 at 19:13
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    @Shog9 Now I have the problem with not being able "simultaneously up- and down-vote it when they're smushed together".
    – Grigory M
    Commented Sep 10, 2011 at 19:14
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    SEE!!! @Grigory
    – Shog9
    Commented Sep 10, 2011 at 19:16
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    I can tell you from experience that even users with, say, 200K rep often vote to close mechanically. And vote to migrate crap mechanically. Some of the most prolific users of the 10k tools just see "oh it's being voted to close, let me click the close link too and choose whichever button has the most close votes already, without really thinking, wheeeee crap sent to SU for them to deal with! :D :D PUPPIES"
    – nhinkle
    Commented Sep 12, 2011 at 8:01
  • "You suck for not realizing that it sucks" has me laughing.
    – ErikE
    Commented Feb 3, 2012 at 3:28

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