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Recently I have noticed a few code-only answers coming into the New Answers to Old Questions (aka NATO) queue that consist entirely of large chunks of code copied verbatim from the question itself, with no explanation or modification added. How should such answers be handled?

Examples:

  1. Uncaught Error: Rendered fewer hooks than expected. This may be caused by an accidental early return statement in React Hooks.

    Snapshot of source.

  2. creating a Javascript voting system.

    Snapshot of source.

  3. Can't remove items from the cart correctly.

    Snapshot of source.

What should I do when I encounter such an answer? Possibilities include:

  1. Leave a comment, downvote, vote to delete.

    The issue here is that commenting requires 50 rep and downvoting requires 125, so new users won't be able to do this when they notice such copied questions.

  2. #1, plus issue a "del-pls" request to SOCVR.

  3. #1, plus raise a plagiarism flag.

    The advantage here is that flags can be raised by 15-rep users.

  4. #1, plus raise a VLQ or NAA flag.

    Personally I doubt that a VLQ or NAA flag would go through, as copied answers tend to look OK when viewed in isolation in a review queue.

I've been flagging for plagiarism (all 3 flags are pending), but in one case I received the following feedback from Yunnosch:

I do not agree. For a plagiarised answer it would have to copy from an answer. More likely this is the result of an unexperienced user (despite account age) trying wether they can actually create a code post like it, then leaving without bothering to clean up their trash behind them

The sheer quantity of copied code, plus the lack of any additional explanation or comment, plus the correct use of snippeting, leads me to suspect that these answers aren't just the result of accidental omissions. (They are also from 1-rep accounts, if that matters). Was flagging as plagiarism the correct way to go here?

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    In my experience, I don't usually use the plagiarism flag unless it's an actual attempt to answer. I typically use a plain custom flag for this, explaining that it's just a copy-paste from the question. Either way, I don't see it being declined. While I do check for such things and Recommend Deletion in review, I also would not flag as NAA as there's too much risk of it falling through the cracks. Commented Jan 8, 2025 at 19:08
  • That said, I want to be clear that for actual Plagiarism, GPT, duplicate answers, etc. (excepting "thank yous"), I will hit "Looks OK" or just skip it and flag it outside the queue. Commented Jan 8, 2025 at 19:16
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    @GeneralGrievance that sounds like a recipe for getting hit with an audit failure. I would skip it regardless (and then flag outside the queue). Commented Jan 9, 2025 at 8:21
  • @Gimby "Looks OK" hasn't been a problem for me thus far, but I understand the reservation with hitting it. Commented Jan 9, 2025 at 13:55
  • Oh dear, being quoted. Luckily I still agree with what I wrote then. And I am happy that it gets discussed here. Good job posting the question. Commented Jan 10, 2025 at 7:42
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    I'm putting this in [status-review] because I & a designer I spoke with suspect that the root cause of the issue is related to the UX around the "copy snippet to answer" button, similar to what the comments here describe. Not going to promise a specific change here and certainly no timeline (not the highest priority), but we at least want to put a pin in this to take a look at Commented Jan 13, 2025 at 22:50
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    @Slate - I'm beginning to think that "Copy snippet to answer" is responsible for the daily, steady stream of plagiarized answers by 1-rep users that consist of snippets copied from other answers to the same question. See e.g. Can we get some automated filtering of answers that are entirely plagiarized from code of other answers to the same question?, stackoverflow.com/a/79359199 or stackoverflow.com/a/79359035. Some automated way of filtering this sort of answer would be helpful. Commented Jan 15, 2025 at 18:05
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    @dbc It's very plausible. Will make sure it gets included as a possibility in notes for the UX team. Commented Jan 15, 2025 at 20:39

1 Answer 1

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My observation is all of these users are new users, and all of them used the code snippet tool... leading me to believe these are mistakes due to a poor UX when it comes to code snippets. There's a Copy snippet to answer button, that's easy to hit accidentally.

What should we do with the answers? They should be deleted ultimately, because they aren't answers. But NAA is going to be iffy on these because there's no real context to help reviewers decide what to do with it. I'd probably reach for a custom flag and leave a comment on the answer.

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    Oh, I never thought of that. It's really just a click away from copy-pasting into an answer... That's kind of scary. Commented Jan 8, 2025 at 19:12
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    Yea... i don't particularly like throwing in a downvote in this case, because i don't view it as being their fault if it truely is just a mistake due to the UX. Certainly wouldn't jump to spam/abusive Commented Jan 8, 2025 at 19:14
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    Oh! I never even noticed there was a "Copy snippet to answer" button because snippeting isn't supported for C#/.NET, where I write most of my answers! That makes much more sense than intentional plagiarism. Commented Jan 8, 2025 at 19:15
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    Given your observation that the "Copy snippet to answer" UX is probably at fault here, I agree that a plagiarism flag isn't appropriate. But I'd like to hear from at least one mod before accepting that a custom flag is the way to go. Commented Jan 8, 2025 at 19:22
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    that said... i don't see how the UX can really be improved to prevent this. The post answer button is quite distinct from the snippet buttons. My main issue with snippets, as far as this situation goes, is there's no way to play around with a given snippet without first copying it to an answer or opening an edit for the post it's in... both of which are steps toward an action you may not be interested in taking if you just want to mess around with the snippet. Commented Jan 8, 2025 at 19:27
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    If it's weird, custom flag is pretty much the only way to go. Commented Jan 8, 2025 at 19:27
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    Without considering the Snippet UI, my first thought was still: when people copy and paste from the question into an answer and then add nothing else, the simple and charitable explanation is that they meant to "reply" to that part of the question but somehow posted before being able to write more. Commented Jan 8, 2025 at 23:09
  • Wings stay on, wings fall off. Commented Jan 9, 2025 at 4:26
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    What this amazing answer demonstrates above all else is... don't assume ill intent until you've seen proof, assume a lack of attention instead. Poor UI sucks, but that does not absolve people of wrongdoing. You have to really be hitting buttons with no regard for correctness if you manage to end up in this situation. Commented Jan 9, 2025 at 8:24
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    Alternatively, writing a comment explaining that it is copied 1:1 (and maybe mentioning that it is a mistake and the OP can delete their answer) (e.g. "Answers that solely consist of a verbatim copy of the code in the question don't actually answer the question. If you accidentally posted this answer, please consider deleting it or adding the actual part answering the question.") and using a NAA (or VLQ?) flag might be an option as well. If there's a comment explaining it, it is probably sufficient context. Commented Jan 9, 2025 at 10:27
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    I also disagree that the snippets UX is poor; the buttons are clearly labelled as to their functions and in order to get into this state the user has to perform two very obviously incorrect actions (click "Copy to answer" instead of "Run", then click "Post answer" instead of "Run"). That said, the logic that's fired when posting an answer (which already checks if said answer is a dupe) should probably be updated to check if that answer contains only the snippet in the question and if so, reject posting said answer. Maybe the snippet UI could be updated to move the "Copy" button to the RHS? Commented Jan 9, 2025 at 11:52
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    Since I've accepted your answer, I went ahead and retracted the three plagiarism flags I raised previously, which were still pending. (The answers had been deleted by reviewers in the meantime.) Commented Jan 9, 2025 at 19:30
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    I wish UI and checking logic would receive some care towards making it harder to post something useless and easier to post something useful. Instead of continuing with the current track to only make it easier and more alluring to post something. E.g. position of "Ask Question" button, lack of obviously needed buttons. A few changes would prevent so many NAA or otherwise flaggable answer posts, just by not waiting to explain in a comment AFTER it happened and instead offering buttons which help to to do the newbie-usecases easily and correctly. Commented Jan 10, 2025 at 7:50
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    indeed, "ask a question" should come after someone has used the search function. the front page should be made up like a search engine's home page: search box smack dab in the middle, and all that other noise has to be moved out of the way. in their desire to squeeze "interaction" out of everyone to make their quarterly KPIs go up, they get in the way of what this place is supposed to do, hurting the site and company. -- or maybe "ask a question" should be the title of the search box itself, and what we call that right now should be called "ask a human" Commented Jan 10, 2025 at 10:11
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    Yeah it bothers me so very much that SE Inc., instead of hiring competent UX people to design a site that is easy to use and geared towards helping users fall into the pit of success, continues to ignore that in favour of making Line Goes Up. But I should stop talking because I'll be suspended again for my criticism. Commented Jan 10, 2025 at 15:23

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