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Just today, I flagged the first nonconstructive trolling comment below a legitimate question as not constructive. When going to my flagging history, I see that the flag is nether declined nor deemed helpful, but there is a yellow blob saying that it is "active".

I have never seen this before, what does it mean for a flag to be "active"? Does it mean that the flag is still active because it has not yet been handled? However, it is no longer listed among the flags waiting for moderator attention in the right side bar ...

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Does it mean that the flag is still active because it has not yet been handled?

Yes. I think. (the flag system has been changed internally a bit)

However, it is no longer listed among the flags waiting for moderator attention in the right side bar .

Umm, where? There never was a "# of flags waiting for attention" bar on the side. Also, comment flags behave a bit differently.

FWIW that comment isn't trolling, but it's not constructive either (I purged the thread). And we'd appreciate it if you didn't attack commenters about their comments and effectively call them trolls. That puts you in the wrong too.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks for this answer and for purging the thread. Please note that there is a subtle difference between calling the behaviour of somebody trolling and calling a person a troll. The first one should be legitimate, if someone posts very scornful and nonconstructive comments (as the comment I flagged was, that is exactly why I avoid posting too obviously about certain topics on the main page to not attract such comments for example), whereas the second form is attaking the person indeed and therefore not legitimate. I am always careful to avoid the second form. $\endgroup$
    – Dilaton
    Jul 29, 2013 at 10:55
  • $\begingroup$ For what it's worth, I consider the OP of the flagged comment to be not a troll at all but a good contributor and probably nice person, but this particular comment was trolling and calling out such not ok comments should be a good thing to keep the good standard of the site and to allow for good constructive discussions of all physics topics. $\endgroup$
    – Dilaton
    Jul 29, 2013 at 10:58
  • $\begingroup$ @Dilaton Fine, but both are not allowed. I have already told you this. While the definition of troll does not inherently assume intentions, the negative connotations make it more or less a derogative term. Calling a comment trolling only has the effect of magnifying the problem and starting a flamewar. Especially if the person didn't intend to troll but was just making a joke (which could very well have been the case here) $\endgroup$
    – Manishearth
    Jul 29, 2013 at 11:00
  • $\begingroup$ I hope we at least agree that posting such comments as the one I flagged below legitimate questions is not a good thing ... Even if it should have been a joke, making fun of the subject somebody asks a question about in such a scornful and attaking way makes nobody laugh. I seriously dont understand why you defend such behavior. $\endgroup$
    – Dilaton
    Jul 29, 2013 at 11:05
  • $\begingroup$ @Dilaton It's not a good thing because the comment isn't really constructive. But to me it seem like a joke in good humor. But yeah, in general it's not a god thing. $\endgroup$
    – Manishearth
    Jul 29, 2013 at 11:22
  • $\begingroup$ The other part was it was slightly an adult comment. $\endgroup$
    – Manishearth
    Jul 29, 2013 at 11:22

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