yes and no, It should keep AB clean of repeats and offensive stuff but clever and witty questions and answers get sh*it canned too. So moderation is the hobgoblin of little minds

Not at all. It helps the database of information to have things logically arranged for both current users and those that may come back later. When someone comes here to look up info, if they can't find good information because it's not in that category, that's a shame, for the person and for the reputation of this website. Visitors may come here through a search engine via one question and if they can see that there is a whole cateogry with those kinds of questions, they can take advantage of it and stay longer, maybe return for more. If they come here through one question (maybe about plumbing) that is in Outside the Bag or Entertainment, they don't gain anything by looking through those categories. The same goes for combining GOOD accurate duplicates. It helps the database if they are all in one or two questions. And it is always a great idea to get rid of Offensive things and Spam, which is not allowed on this site. When members don't help out and flag things, then it's very difficult for others that do to keep up with all the wrongly categorized questions and duplicates. I could probably flag all day and still not keep up with it.

Not really. Personally, I seldom search for things to moderate (I usually stick to the front page), but if I recognize a dupe, or notice something in the wrong category or that is spam/offensive, I will flag/move them. Moderation helps keep the database cleaner. DUPES - When someone searches for an answer, they can find all the answers under one question - they don't have to go through multiple questions and answers. RECATEGORIZATION - They can also search/browse the relevant category - For example, they don't have to search Outside the Bag for Food questions/answers. While many think their questions are in the correct category, 1) they will get MORE answers if they are categorized correctly, and 2) even if it's a joke answers, sometimes people are LOOKING for those (for speeches, an essay, a story, whatever), and the best place to find them are in the correct category. SPAM/OFFENSIVE - Answerbag SHOULD NOT be used for advertising specific sites. It should also not be used to insult anyone. SPAM - When people put websites in the questions and answers, they need to be extremely relavent to the question OR answer, and not simply because someone wants "hits" on their page, or to sell something. OFFENSIVE - The reasons for this should be obvious. There ARE times that a question is flagged as offensive when it really isn't, but most that I've seen flagged this way ARE offensive, trying to start a fight, or they are offensive comments disguised as questions. Gratuitous use of "curse" words in questions and answers should also be kept to a minimum - There ARE kids that read the site. It ALSO needs to be understood that if users flag a question, a staff member (or more than one) review the flag to accept or reject it. The reason for the users flagging is to help speed up the process for the staff. Thousands of questions, answers, and comments are posted daily. It would require tens to hundreds of staff to review them all. When only those that users see as problems are flagged, it cuts down the number extensively, allowing MUCH fewer staff. So, is moderation a waste of time? No. There is a need. There is also the desire by most users to keep AB as "lean" and "mean" as it can be.

No, not for the reasons I moderate. My biggest issue are those who post abusive or really offensive Q&A and spam. I will also flag dupes sometimes. I always search for dupes before I post (I don't post a lot of Qs), but there are times I don't find anything, but I'll still get Qs deleted for being dupes.

1) No, it can be very useful against: - too much spam or too much offensive submissions - too much nonsense Recategorization permit to bring questions in the right category, which helps to bring some organization in the questions. Found duplicates allow the answerers no to make the same work a lot of time and give the asker already existing answers. 2) There are some known problems about moderation: - sometimes, a flag could get accepted because there is not enough time to evaluate it properly. In this case, you could try to make a feedback about this. - I have heard about massive recategorizations where many question had been more than once recategorized or even back and forth. Maybe just a rumor... - the category tree has become very big and complicated and it it more difficult to find the right category. 3) Flagging and also accepting or rejecting the flags is sometimes very clear, but other times quite difficult! I think that some moderation points are necessary. Maybe not so much than now, but if they were suppressed, it could be that much less moderation would take place. People like their work being acknowledged (even if those are just points).