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Thanks for reviewing. I really appreciate it.

Recently review got reformatted quite a lot. Personally, I don't like many of the changes. I guess I'm an old stick-in-the-mud. But about one feature in particular, I think my feelings are correct. I'm talking about the Leave Feedback option that, for some reason I will never understand, allows you to pretend to be Community♦ (although instead of having a diamond, it is now labelled bot).

We've already had a couple of complaints about these comments here on meta

and people have said they feel the feature is being misused. My feeling is that the problem is not with the users of the feature but with the feature itself. There is no way to use this feature that I would be okay with.

The comments from Community[bot] can't be meaningfully replied to. They take away accountability from the reviewer. Even if the comment is relevant (they rarely seem to be), this turns review into a throwaway task.

So since I feel I can't ask for this feature to be removed just yet, I'm asking y'all to think about not using it, as a personal favour. :) <3

I need to be clear on this: I have no right to stop y'all from using it. I promise I won't yell at anyone for using it. This isn't a rule I'm arbitrarily and unilaterally making. I'm just asking y'all to think about whether you really want to leave a comment pretending to be Community, or whether it would be more respectful and welcoming, and more useful, to leave a comment as yourself.

Thanks a lot, friends :)

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  • 3
    "So since I feel I can't ask for this feature to be removed just yet": why not? Has anyone asked for this to be rolled back on MSE yet?
    – terdon
    Nov 25, 2021 at 17:57
  • 4
    Well @terdon a lot of people objected to it at the time and there were some modifications but really a doubling down. Other than in answers there I don't know if anyone has asked for it to be completely rolled back. Sometimes I feel like MSE is another planet. Anyway, personally I'm just not ready to raise the battle; the time doesn't feel right to me.
    – Zanna Mod
    Nov 25, 2021 at 18:05
  • 1
    SE answers to SO. The rest of take whatever they shovel us.
    – Paul
    Nov 25, 2021 at 20:38
  • 11
    Hi, @Paul! SO mod here. Unfortunately, what you say is not true. I absolutely despise this feature, as do many other moderators and power-users on SO, but we can't get it gone, either. I am not sure who SE answers to, but I know it's definitely not SO. Nov 27, 2021 at 4:19
  • 2
    @CodyGray Maybe they are using it to divide us so we fight against one another?
    – Paul
    Nov 27, 2021 at 13:00
  • 5
    Hi Zanna. I wholeheartedly agree. Always consider customizing the comment to make it more relevant, and tick the box to review as yourself. This wasn't an option in the beginning, but it is now. 😊 Nov 27, 2021 at 17:45
  • 4
    @ArturMeinild yeah... I don't think those comments are any good. I write all my own comments even though on NAAs many of them are the same. I don't like the smell of can.
    – Zanna Mod
    Nov 28, 2021 at 7:59
  • 3
    I believe the intention with the revised reviews were good, but the ones designing it didn't really get proper feedback before it went live. Nov 28, 2021 at 9:22
  • You can reply to community by flagging the comment as "something else" and then using the comment section of the flag to reply but I guess that really doesn't solve the overall problem and it's not really a direct reply.
    – mchid
    Dec 6, 2021 at 2:05
  • @mchid yeah the person who posted the feedback won't see that (unless they are a mod hahaha)
    – Zanna Mod
    Dec 6, 2021 at 7:16
  • @mchid We cannot flag a Community bot comment as Something else. It can only be flagged as It's no longer needed. i.stack.imgur.com/PorPw.png Dec 9, 2021 at 18:28
  • This is a another really terrible example askubuntu.com/q/1379955/243321 Dec 10, 2021 at 16:24
  • 2
    Here's a screenshot of that example, since I'm removing that comment now!
    – Zanna Mod
    Dec 10, 2021 at 16:37

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