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I answered the following question:

4th Point Of A Rectangle - Co-Ordinate Geometry

I then learned it was part of an active contest:

https://www.codechef.com/JULY20B/problems/PTMSSNG

I voted to close the question on the grounds that it should be locked until the contest was over. It picked up some additional close votes, but it has not been locked despite receiving hundreds of additional views. What reason should I give to ensure that an active contest question is locked?

I tried to delete my answer. However, it had been accepted before I learned it was drawn from an active contest. Since it was accepted, I could not delete my answer.

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    $\begingroup$ You could start by deleting your answer until the contest is over. You can also be more cautious in the future before deciding to answer completely questions that you haven't searched to check if they are dupes, or contest problems. But, ultimately, you've enabled this asker to cheat on an active contest problem. So locking at this point in time won't undo your enabling. Locking the post might prevent further users from cheating. $\endgroup$ – amWhy Jul 10 at 15:11
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    $\begingroup$ Also, as the question is a PSQ, you could have avoided helping a user cheat if you knew better than to answer PSQ's. $\endgroup$ – amWhy Jul 10 at 15:14
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    $\begingroup$ @amWhy I tried to delete my answer. However, it was accepted before I learned that it was drawn from an active contest. Since it was accepted, I could not delete my answer $\endgroup$ – N. F. Taussig Jul 10 at 15:15
  • $\begingroup$ Yes, you are right, @N.F.Taussig. I forgot about that issue. $\endgroup$ – amWhy Jul 10 at 15:16
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    $\begingroup$ Did you flag the question for moderator's attention - as recommended in the FAQ post on this issue: “Contest problem” policy? $\endgroup$ – Martin Sleziak Jul 10 at 15:27
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    $\begingroup$ @MartinSleziak I believe I did. I recall opening a dialogue box in which I stated the reason I was voting to close the question was that it was part of an active contest. Thanks for voting to close the question. $\endgroup$ – N. F. Taussig Jul 10 at 15:31
  • $\begingroup$ @amWhy Thanks for voting to close the question. $\endgroup$ – N. F. Taussig Jul 10 at 15:31
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    $\begingroup$ Worth noting: The user in question posted more than one problem from that ongoing Codechef contest. The other is taken from codechef.com/JULY20B/problems/GEOXD. $\endgroup$ – lulu Jul 10 at 15:59
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    $\begingroup$ @N.F.Taussig What you describe seems to me more like voting to close than flagging. Maybe you can check in your flag summary whether you did flag the question. (My experience is that mods are relatively fast with handling contest question, I mean it might take hours, but not days.) In case my previous link dos not work, you can find the list of your flags in the activity tab of your profile when you click on the text "181 helpful flags". $\endgroup$ – Martin Sleziak Jul 11 at 8:46
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    $\begingroup$ @MartinSleziak You are correct. It appears I failed to flag the answer, which explains why this question went unnoticed for a week. $\endgroup$ – N. F. Taussig Jul 11 at 9:30
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In these situations please flag your answer, and we will take care of this.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks for the advice. $\endgroup$ – N. F. Taussig Jul 10 at 16:39
  • $\begingroup$ Do users who post questions from an active contest face penalties such as suspension or removal of their accounts? $\endgroup$ – Batominovski Jul 12 at 9:12
  • $\begingroup$ @Batominovski: Sometimes, it depends if the account was created solely for cheating purposes, or things like that. $\endgroup$ – Asaf Karagila♦ Jul 12 at 9:12
  • $\begingroup$ I hope that they at least get a warning from the moderators. $\endgroup$ – Batominovski Jul 12 at 9:13
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Although it isn't as comprehensive in hiding the content as deleting would be, I've taken the liberty of editing ("defacing") the Accepted Answer. Once the contest is over my edit can be rolled back (or sooner, if my approach doesn't meet with your approval).

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  • $\begingroup$ It meets my approval. Thank you. $\endgroup$ – N. F. Taussig Jul 10 at 16:04
  • $\begingroup$ This is a very smart work-around. $\endgroup$ – JonathanZ supports MonicaC Jul 10 at 17:37

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