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As I was using the site, I had an idea for a new feature for the network.

As I searched through the Meta archives, I found that someone already asked for the same thing a long time in the past. The suggestion was positively received, and the team posted a response that they like the request, but due to various intrinsic reasons, it would not be implemented at that time. The request was marked .

Or, I ran into a bug when using the sites, and someone else already reported the issue, but the team declined to fix it at that time due to (usually external) reasons (but still acknowledged that it was a bug). The request to fix it was given the same tag, , but it's been a really long time and no fix has been made, and I keep running into it.

How can I get staff attention for a request that was marked a long time ago, or at least get an update on the circumstances regarding its current placement in the work timeline? It might be possible that (especially if it was given that tag a long time ago) it may have been forgotten about.

The instructions for getting attention for requests with no official response don't really apply, as the request already has an official response. The instructions for requesting declined requests be reconsidered don't really apply either, as they say to post a new question addressing the reasons for declining the prior request, but for deferred requests there are no such reasons, and I've often seen such questions closed as duplicates. Commenting on the staff response explaining the deferral may not always be an option, as the staff member may have since ceased to be an SE employee, and even if they're still so, I've often not gotten responses to those.

For reference: the feature request that prompted me to ask this question. Now that I think about it, there are also some other feature requests, such as this one of mine, that fall under the same thing.

As mentioned earlier, this is not a duplicate of the following posts:

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    Isn't the solution to just bump the post with an update? Fix a bounty on the bug report or FQ? Post an answer explaining why the FQ is necessary and illustrate its merits Even pinging a mod on chat? Aren't the solutions proffered on the older posts the same as here?
    – Mari-Lou A Слава Україні
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 8:55
  • @Mari-LouA 1. and 3. aren't useful actions as the question already has an official status tag and SE generally doesn't change status tags except in very rare cases. 2. is only useful in getting community attention and not staff attention; see the post on no official responses for why. 4. is explicitly advised against.
    – Sonic the Anonymous Hedgehog
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 9:02
  • The title's asking how to get attention. What other ways are there? If the Q has already drawn staff attention, isn't the bump or posting an answer a way of reminding them?
    – Mari-Lou A Слава Україні
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 10:20
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    What do you consider is a long time ago? 6 months? A year, two years? If a FQ has been deferred, isn't that just a kind way of saying "Thanks, we thought about it but decided against it". If a bug is serious, surely there would be other users mentioning it as well? I think you need to make a stronger case for the necessity to resolve trivial bugs vs important bugs.
    – Mari-Lou A Слава Україні
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 10:28
  • @Mari-LouA First question: at least a year or more, though in some cases earlier depending on the actual request. Second question: that's not deferred, that's status-declined; status-deferred means "we thought about it and think it's a good suggestion, but can't/won't implement it at the present time due to [external reason]". Third question: often, these questions have a lot of positive votes, which mean others agree with fixing or implementing it. Response to fourth statement: this question also alternately asks for an update instead of implementation.
    – Sonic the Anonymous Hedgehog
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 10:52
  • @Mari-LouA RE your first comment: perhaps the best way is to post a new question, which is what the author in the request that prompted me to ask this did. But I don't know if that's the right thing to do, especially since I've seen those kinds of things get closed as duplicates. Perhaps that is the preferred way of doing it, in which case this can serve as a reference point that those shouldn't be closed as duplicates.
    – Sonic the Anonymous Hedgehog
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 10:55
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    In any meaningful sense, status-deferred is status-denied. I am not aware of any deferred feature that has been revisited (I'm sure some exist).
    – chrylis -cautiouslyoptimistic-
    Commented Apr 25, 2021 at 8:17
  • There was a published "target" to make a plan for tackling the status-deferreds, but that was not accomplished and never revisited from what I could see. meta.stackexchange.com/a/375561
    – mbauman
    Commented Jan 31, 2023 at 15:25

1 Answer 1

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We're working on it. Rosie's going to be bringing some ideas to the community here in fairly short order (weeks, not months.)

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