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I asked the question Are taxi drivers in Bangkok expected to round up the taxi fare to the nearest multiple of 10 THB? and received the following comment:

Maybe just enjoy your immense privilege and stop quibbling over literal quarters?

Why wasn't my deletion flag on this unconstructive comment approved? This comment is at best some chit-chat and at worse, rather rude (doesn't seem to abide by the be-nice policy).

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    My prediction came out, you posted a meta question. I have told you before, some comments do get deleted, others do not. No reason to ask a meta question about. (Going into the chat and asking there might be a better option.)
    – Willeke Mod
    Jun 6, 2020 at 18:00
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    @Willeke meta is a proper place for questions about moderation.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Jun 6, 2020 at 18:01
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    Meta is for serious matters, this is not one of those, in my view.
    – Willeke Mod
    Jun 6, 2020 at 19:31
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    @Willeke Why a flag was declined/not acted on is a matter for meta. I am with the OP here
    – Xnero
    Jun 6, 2020 at 21:27
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    @Willeke meta is for anything meta, serious or not.
    – o0'.
    Jun 6, 2020 at 22:49
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    @Willeke Responding to a moderator's public put-down of a comment flag is a serious matter. Moderators (whether acting wrongly or rightly) should not be free from scrutiny.
    – JBentley
    Jun 7, 2020 at 11:52
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    @Willeke: There are so many truly nonserious questions on Meta such that this one makes more semse.
    – guest
    Jun 7, 2020 at 17:32
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    The whole thread has become a right mess now, given all the people commenting (incorrectly, I might add). I've moved it to a chat. You can address issues in there, but not in comments.
    – Mark Mayo
    Jun 8, 2020 at 3:49
  • @MarkMayo thanks
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Jun 8, 2020 at 3:56

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
23

It's a judgment call, but I do see a few points in favor of deleting the comment:

  • The OP already stated that the comment made them uncomfortable (by flagging it).
  • Speculating about another user's privilege is at best unnecessarily personal and off-topic, and at worst ad-hominem and rude.
  • Our code of conduct states, among others,
    • No subtle put-downs or unfriendly language.
    • Focus on the content, not the person.
    • When in doubt, don't use language that might offend or alienate.
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    In addition---and, as a European, I might be wrong here, so feel free to correct me---"privilege" seems to have become a politically loaded term in the US recently, which might make matters even more complex/controversial.
    – Heinzi
    Jun 7, 2020 at 5:52
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    I don’t the comment speculates on the OP’s privilege. They are a westerner who can afford to travel to, and live/work/holiday, in a foreign country where the majority of the population live on a dollar or less a day. They are objectively privileged, both absolutely and relatively to most Thais.
    – Darren
    Jun 7, 2020 at 11:17
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    @Darren You are right, it doesn't speculate. It outright presumes, as you are doing. You have no idea about what the OP can afford relative to most Thais, and you certainly don't know that OP's privilege (if any) is "immense".
    – JBentley
    Jun 7, 2020 at 11:55
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    @JBentley well done on so substantially missing my point.
    – Darren
    Jun 7, 2020 at 11:56
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    @Darren Your point was quite clear. You stated that OP is "objectively privileged, both absolutely and relatively to most Thais", and you also made a statement about what the OP can afford. None of which you can possibly know unless you have access to OP's financial information.
    – JBentley
    Jun 7, 2020 at 11:57
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    @JBentley OK, I do have to spell it out. Average daily income in Thailand is less than $8 a day. For a good chunk of the population it’s less than that. As a European (OP is in Netherlands) they are significantly likely to have an income far above that based on no other knowledge. Based on the fact OP has access to the Internet and is able to afford travel to another country, it can be taken they are not in poverty even by European standards. That puts them well above most Thais in terms of wealth, social status, education and all those other things that can be summed up as “privilege”.
    – Darren
    Jun 7, 2020 at 15:10
  • @JBentley slight correction. The original asker of the question is American. But the point stands.
    – Darren
    Jun 7, 2020 at 15:11
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To add to Heinzi's answer it also doesn't fit with the site's policy on comments:

Use comments to ask for more information or suggest improvements. Avoid answering questions in comments.

The comment in question:

  1. Does not ask for more information.
  2. Does not suggest improvements.
  3. Borders on answering the question in the form of a frame challenge, along the lines of "Don't bother worrying about whether or not Thai taxi drivers overcharge tourists, just pay the difference anyway".
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    How does this answer the question on why it wasn't deleted? (I upvoted anyway)
    – guest
    Jun 9, 2020 at 13:48
-12

The comment was not deleted because it did not break the rules. It is realistic, to the point, and not rude.

It may not feel positive for you, but it is not rude and it tells the truth, in my view.

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    If the decision not to delete the comment came from you, which I believe it did, I believe you should disclose it as this might bias your answer.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Jun 7, 2020 at 11:53
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    How do you know that it is realistic and "tells the truth"? Are you privy to OP's financial information?
    – JBentley
    Jun 7, 2020 at 11:56
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    The comment in question is easily one of the most offensive I have ever seen on Travel. I cannot understand how anyone would consider it "not rude", let alone a site moderator.
    – Michael Hampton
    Jun 12, 2020 at 2:33

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