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What it says in the title. The following question has been posted (at least) twice:

https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/1746975/fol-equivalence-proof

First order logic equivalence proof

Each time the OP engages for a short bit, then deletes the question. My question is: what should I do about this? Do I flag an instance as it arises? Do I undelete the original and vote to close the others as duplicates? (Note that the user in question is not registered, so appears as a different username in each posting.)

EDIT: Three times, this one's still up:

https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/1746796/fol-equivalence-proof

I've added a comment asking the user to stop doing this. Should I still flag?

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  • $\begingroup$ Flag it (well, in general, no need to flag this instance any more). The user is registered, though. $\endgroup$
    – Daniel Fischer
    Apr 17, 2016 at 20:54
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    $\begingroup$ It's not "still up", it's up again. As I edited in my comment, you don't need to flag this instance. $\endgroup$
    – Daniel Fischer
    Apr 17, 2016 at 21:06
  • $\begingroup$ @DanielFischer Oh, my bad, I missed that. Thanks! $\endgroup$
    – Noah Schweber
    Apr 17, 2016 at 21:07
  • $\begingroup$ The question is gone again? Why isn't it staying up. Also, how does one know a user is deleting then undeleting? Maybe someone keeps deleting their questions maliciously. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    May 1, 2016 at 18:37
  • $\begingroup$ @TheGreatDuck At the bottom of a deleted question (which you can see once you have sufficient rep - I think 10k), it tells you who deleted it. The first two iterations were deleted by the user who posted them; the third was deleted by "Community," which I think means an automatic deletion after being on hold with no upvotes and no answers (I'm not sure about this, so someone correct me if I'm wrong). $\endgroup$
    – Noah Schweber
    May 1, 2016 at 18:40
  • $\begingroup$ It says by moderation, not community. A moderator shot it down. And no, on hold posts disappear when they are not edited. It has nothing to do with upvotes on the post itself. They disappear when there are no upvoted answers. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    May 1, 2016 at 18:42
  • $\begingroup$ @TheGreatDuck The question "math.stackexchange.com/questions/1746796/fol-equivalence-proof" currently says "Deleted by Community" at the bottom; I'm not sure what you're looking at. Can you post a link? $\endgroup$
    – Noah Schweber
    May 1, 2016 at 18:42
  • $\begingroup$ "This question was removed from Mathematics Stack Exchange for reasons of moderation. Please refer to the help center for possible explanations why a question might be removed." "deleted by community" is /nowhere/ in that page. I think you need to either screenshot it or reread it... $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    May 1, 2016 at 21:30
  • $\begingroup$ @TheGreatDuck "Reasons of moderation" is different from "by the moderators." That's the generic "post deleted" screen that users with rep below a certain point (10k I think) see; users with sufficient rep can see the deleted post, as well as a banner saying who it was deleted by and when. That's what I'm referring to. Also, "Community" is a specific "user" (in quotes because Community isn't really a person, just a bot); see e.g. meta.math.stackexchange.com/questions/12273/…. (Amusingly enough, the answer there was edited by Community! :P) $\endgroup$
    – Noah Schweber
    May 1, 2016 at 22:10
  • $\begingroup$ Also, note that the answer there largely confirms what I said above re: automatic deletions. See also Community's page: meta.math.stackexchange.com/users/-1/community. $\endgroup$
    – Noah Schweber
    May 1, 2016 at 22:14
  • $\begingroup$ Oh, on the other answers I saw removed by author, so I just assumed it would say "removed by community" as in deletion votes, or "removed by a moderator" which /was/ the case. Community didn't cast close votes. It used automated mod powers. Hence, the post /was/ removed by a moderator. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    May 1, 2016 at 22:27
  • $\begingroup$ @TheGreatDuck OK, if we're going to call Community a moderator. I guess that's a type question. :P $\endgroup$
    – Noah Schweber
    May 1, 2016 at 22:28
  • $\begingroup$ Well it /is/. It's account is labelled that way. I doubt the system distinguishes. Besides, when you say it was "deleted by community", that leads me to believe you meant actual user making actual close votes. XD $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    May 1, 2016 at 22:31

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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In general, flag such occurrences. Deleting and re-asking the same question is an abuse of the site. We send a message to users doing that, and occasionally, if the message doesn't help, suspend them.

Moderators can find the pertinent posts easier than ordinary users, but if several accounts are involved, it would still be helpful to link to the other accounts or the posts from these accounts in the flag.

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