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I've noticed quite a few times that people comment, just to comment - whether that's to fill a quota towards a badge or whatnot, I don't know. However, oftentimes people can post comments that are either blatantly wrong, at least misleading, and they can often throw off the momentum behind a good answer.

How should we handle these? There are three default flags (Harassment / No Longer Needed / Unfriendly), and the "Something Else" flag. I personally have been using the "Something Else" flag, and typing in the description, "Misleading", or "This is proven incorrect".

Is this the best procedure to follow? Or should I just leave the misleading comments and hope that the user realizes why they're wrong and returns to delete them?

Perhaps we could get a "Misleading" flag?

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When you use a comment flag, you are asking a moderator to review that comment.

We moderators are here to make sure that everyone acts respectfully and abides by the rules. We are not here to be arbiters of right and wrong, that's the job of the community, i.e. all the users.

If you think that a specific comment is wrong and needs to be rebutted, you can:

  • comment back, providing references on why you think is wrong
  • if applicable, post an answer that shows how the comment is wrong
  • you can discuss the contents of the comment in chat
  • if really necessary, you could discuss the comment here on meta
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    $\begingroup$ I might add that a custom flag is fine, but you need to explain why you think it is misleading. $\endgroup$
    – Jamiec Mod
    Nov 1, 2018 at 17:05
  • $\begingroup$ So I completely understand where you're coming from, but it doesn't address the fact that we can't do anything to push down/hide wrong or misleading comments. If an answer is wrong or misleading, it gets downvoted, flagged, and so forth - it doesn't stay there to mislead. A high ranking answer with a misleading comment at the top has a strong potential to deceive those who have no background knowledge, or are looking at the question casually, without reading the entire comment thread. I think this a problem that is not fixable through the solutions you listed. $\endgroup$
    – M28
    Nov 1, 2018 at 17:10
  • $\begingroup$ @Matt I understand your point, but the system and the rules are what they are, I don't have the power to change them. And a rebuttal can still hide the wrong comment. $\endgroup$
    – Federico
    Nov 1, 2018 at 17:12
  • $\begingroup$ @Federico Would you not support a feature request for a "Misleading" tag? $\endgroup$
    – M28
    Nov 1, 2018 at 17:13
  • $\begingroup$ @Matt I guess you wanted to write "flag". No, I would not. Moderators are not experts in every aspects of Aviation, so we could not always determine if it is indeed misleading or simply a user that wants to silence another one. $\endgroup$
    – Federico
    Nov 1, 2018 at 17:15
  • $\begingroup$ @Federico Yes, "flag", and I agree that a moderator is not necessarily an aviation expert, though I would consider identifying a "misleading" comment to be trivial compared to identifying a "wrong" comment. You gave me the answer, but not the one I wanted! :) $\endgroup$
    – M28
    Nov 1, 2018 at 17:22
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There has been discussion on being able to downvote comments, which I think would solve your problem. They are .

However, the system is what it is. Imperfect at times, but mostly fine.

I assume this question is due to your flagging of this comment

@[User] or to put it another way, add up two seconds of the controllers time per flight and see how long it takes to hit $90M in added costs. (I get something like 2.75 billion landings)

I don't follow how that is misleading in any negative sense. It might be objectively "wrong" but it doesn't detract from the answer it is attached to whatsoever.

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  • $\begingroup$ There's various questions I've noticed are misleading, but yes, that one was what compelled me to ask this question. Specifically, I believe it's misleading because it presumes an included cost in infrequent speaking, coupled with baseless calculations. There was no purpose to the comment other than incorrectly rephrasing the answer. $\endgroup$
    – M28
    Nov 1, 2018 at 17:20

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