There is an extremely low-quality answer on the question "Largest integer factored by Shor's algorithm"
This answer is clearly poorly received by the community: It sits at -9 score and has received many flags indicating it is of low quality and requesting deletion.
The decision of the moderators at the time was to decline to use mod powers to delete it, and the prescribed solution was:
... It will thus not be removed by moderators. Any flags asking for this will be declined....
... I won't stop anybody from voting to delete this A[nswer] themselves (using their 20k+ privileges) or from recommending deletion in the low-quality review queue....
I happen to disagree with this proscribed solution, for the reasons stated below.
Issues with proscribed solution
There are two methods that were listed as to how this answer could be removed:
- 20k+ reputation users can vote to delete it
- reviewers in the low-quality review queue can recommend deletion
While the following mechanisms will be ignored:
- Flags indicating low-quality and/or requesting deletion, irrespective of how many of these flags accrue.
Unless it can somehow resurface, the time for this answer to be present in the low-quality review appears to be long past. This eliminates one of the available options for deletion of this answer.
As for the other: There are 10 users with 20k+ reputation. Some of them are inactive. Two of the active 20k rep users are moderators who cannot "vote" to delete, as they can only "choose" to delete, which they must abstain from doing in this case.
At least one of our 20k rep users has left a flag on this answer, and there are 2 votes for recommended deletion already.
Unless one of the few remaining candidates finds their way to this answer, it will not receive the requisite number of deletion votes.
I would like to use this meta question to explicitly ask the community:
What should be done with this answer? Are we content with the proscribed solution(s)?
I understand the hesitation to use mod powers to delete the answer: We should let the community decide is the mantra when such decisions come up. And that's a good thing, and the right way to do things.
However, it seems that "The community" should represent more than the top 10 users. And the current options do not appear to reflect this.
Currently, even if every single user but the top 10 vote this answer as low-quality and recommend deletion, they will be ignored.
What does the community feel about this situation?
While responses from the moderator team are of course welcome, I would like to see responses from members of the community at large.
