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I read a few discussions on meta somewhat related to this question, but I'm still unsure about it.

I've noticed that one user has been submitting a large number of edits where he or she simply added one tag to the question (in fact, he or she added the same tag each time which sort of raised my suspicions). I would classify the tag as "mildly relevant" to the problems but definitely not "essential". I ended up approving the first edit and skipping the subsequent ones.

For a frame of reference, I would classify the tag of "inequality" as "mildly relevant" to the question:

Question 1. How does one use the $\varepsilon$-$\delta$ definition of continuity to prove that the function $f(x)=x^2$ is continuous on $\Bbb R$?

In other words, I understand why one might include this tag since this proof involves the manipulation of inequalities. However, I doubt the addition of this tag would draw the attention of otherwise uninterested users.

In contrast, I would classify the tag of "algebraic-geometry" as "essential" to the question:

Question 2. If $f\in\Bbb C[x_1,\dotsc,x_n]$ is irreducible, how does one prove that $\Bbb V(f)$ is an irreducible variety?

Does anyone else skip or maybe even reject edits that only consist of the addition of "mildly relevant" tags or am I over-thinking the situation?

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    $\begingroup$ I will usually reject such edits if they're suggested on a post that's more than a few hours old, unless the tag is essential to the question. (But based on the approve / reject statistics I see, I'm probably an outlier). $\endgroup$
    – user61527
    Commented May 10, 2014 at 0:42
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    $\begingroup$ The first question isn't relevant to inequality (instead of mildly relevant) at all. Edit should improve a post instead of adding stuff that cause any form of misleading. edit like this should be rejected (IMHO, as invalid edit). $\endgroup$
    – achille hui
    Commented May 10, 2014 at 1:08
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    $\begingroup$ @achillehui I agree. I guess I'm using the term "mildly relevant" as a PC term for "almost irrelevant". For example, I think "inequality" is more relevant than than "prime-numbers" but not relevant enough to merit an edit. $\endgroup$
    – Brian Fitzpatrick
    Commented May 10, 2014 at 1:19
  • $\begingroup$ I feel quite concerned by your question: meta.math.stackexchange.com/questions/13676/… $\endgroup$
    – Gilles Bonnet
    Commented May 10, 2014 at 21:02

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No, I don't think adding these "mildly related" tags constitutes a significant edit. The tag system is intended to sort questions by topic, so my rule of thumb for tag edits is that they should be reserved only for when there is a reasonable possibility that someone searching for that question might look under that tag. I can't imagine someone pulling up a list of questions looking for your Question 1. In other words, just because the question contains an inequality doesn't mean it's about an inequality.

I should add that I especially feel this way about editing older posts, and especially editing a large number of posts. This type of behaviour creates front page spam, and if the editor has also answered these questions, it amounts to gaming the system. Either way, it is suspendable behaviour.

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