Also:

• Before you consider a duplicate: see if there are replies. Until it becomes possible to actually move nodes around, the janitors are generally not allowing nodes with decent replies to be reaped.

  In short, consider the one that doesn't have replies.

• If you consider a true duplicate node, either edit (if you can) the node title to ensure the rest of us know which one should be reaped or (if you can't edit) send a private /msg to an editor. You can post a CB comment if you like, however, it might not be seen by an editor.

• If you consider and do not specify a reason, it's most likely that nothing will be done. Most monks seem to be voting keep when they don't know why you considered the node.

• If in doubt, err on the site of forgiveness and compassion. If that's too much a stretch, then handle the node the way you'd rather we handled a similar one from you.

If you don't have the time or patience to investigate the situation properly, then please consider waiting for someone else to take care of the situation.

--f

++'s all around! Some clarifications.

• janitors don't have any power to prevent reaping (we can ask nicely for vroom to unreap after the fact and we can abstain from purging the node, which is something we usually do to true duplicates -- it leaves no visible traces). I think the level-6+ club is prevent the reaping of nodes that have replies, probably just by voting up the node. (:
• Be sure the other duplicate hasn't already been considered! Don't approve the considered node! In fact, to avoid race conditions, I check both nodes to make sure which one I want to delete, then change the title to reflect my decision (and unapprove it if needed), then check again before I do anything that I can't just undo (like considering the node or voting "editor delete" on it). Since most of you reading this are not janitors, I'd suggest you announce in the chatterbox that you are about to consider a node as a duplicate before you do it in order to avoid race conditions.
• I don't consider /msg'ing an janitor a good idea, at least as a first step. The consensus was to first, call for an editor in open chatter and then move on if you don't get a reply. Just because I'm an editor and I'm currently listed in "Other Users", doesn't mean I'm free to do any editing (or that I'll even get your /msg). The most common way to move on is to consider the node but a /msg is acceptable to me (if you asked in open chat first and I'm currently "around").
• If a node is considered w/o a reason, I assume it was a simple mousing error. If it already has 2 "edit" votes than I just unconsider it (well, I usually take a quick look to see if there is anything obvious to fix). If not, I vote "edit". If you aren't an editor, I'd rather you just not vote on such things as doing so would (at least until this bug is fixed) prevent you from voting on it if it gets considered again.
        - tye (but my friends call me "Tye")

I often see nodes considered for editing which have apparently been fixed by an editor already.

Should we non-editors be doing something at this point? Should we vote "keep", or vote "edit", or /msg someone, or just wait for it to be eventually cleaned out of the Nodes To Consider list?

I usually just leave them alone, personally. But if there's a more appropriate course of action...

buckaduck