The Impact of Edits Removal on Quora’s Community: Insights and Consequences

Quora, a platform known for its diverse and engaging community, faced a significant change in its moderation tools when it eliminated the ‘Suggest Edits’ feature for answers. This move, while understandable in its aim to reduce harassment and vandalism, has sparked concerns and discontent within the community. The platform often claims that suggesting edits should now be done in public comments, but this alternative does not meet the needs of community editors effectively. This article explores the reasons behind the change and its repercussions.

Reasons for the Edits Removal

The primary reason for the removal of the ‘Suggest Edits’ feature is harassment and vandalism by certain users, often known as trolls. According to my observations, these trolls have been targeting high-profile users as well as lesser-known contributors. For instance, the Brazilian Bandito Boy, a prolific user who created over 100 accounts, engaged in blatant vandalism and harassment. He suggested disgusting edits to my answers and those of others, which were often of a X-rated nature. These changes were not only inappropriate but also disruptive to the community.

The Brazilian Bandito Boy and His Impact

The Brazilian Bandito Boy, also known by various aliases such as Gabriel Silva, Joo Pedro, Glauco Schmiedt, and many others, was notorious for his disruptive behavior. His actions included:

Repeatedly suggesting inappropriate and harmful changes to both answers and questions. Vandalizing questions multiple times using different profiles, making it difficult to unsort and revert the edits.

Although his activity has diminished, his impact on the community was substantial, and many users, including myself, cooperated to revert his changes. I received dozens of disruptive suggestions on a single question, which illustrates the extent of his harassment.

Consequences of the Edits Removal

One significant consequence of the edits removal is the difficulty in addressing such issues transparently. While Quora claims that edits should be suggested in public comments, this approach does not effectively serve the needs of community editors. It makes it harder to track and address inappropriate behavior systematically.

Impact on Community Engagement

The community as a whole faces additional challenges in the wake of this removal. Certain features that once facilitated community collaboration and improvement now appear cumbersome and less effective. The ability to suggest edits directly has been a valuable tool for users to improve content quality without public scrutiny. Public comments, on the other hand, open the suggestions to broader community scrutiny, which can intimidate some contributors and deter them from joining the improvement process.

Community Reactions and Solutions

Many community members are vocal about their dissatisfaction with the new policy, emphasizing the practical issues it poses. For example, Stephanie V, Matthew Bates, and Sock Puppet are among several contributors who have voiced their concerns and shared their insights.

The removal of the edits feature has led to a fragmented approach to community management. Instead of a centralized tool for suggesting edits, users must now navigate through a more complex process involving public comments and direct messaging. This has resulted in a time-consuming and often overwhelming experience for contributors.

Conclusion

While Quora’s move to eliminate the ‘Suggest Edits’ feature was likely motivated by a desire to curb harassment and improve community engagement, the implementation has fallen short of meeting the needs of the community. The new approach, which relies on public comments and direct messaging, often lacks the streamlined efficiency of the previous system. It is incumbent upon Quora to reconsider its strategies and seek a more effective balance between protecting the community and maintaining a robust tool for content improvement.