Even given that some information is unwanted, is it appropriate to use spam mechanisms when a post needs to be more focused?

Question

On “Is there any way to squeeze more performance out of a vintage Itronix GD8000 laptop PC?” (previously titled, “What, for a Paleo computer, can be done to get performance out of an Itronix GD8000?”), I received a singularly blunt comment of:

@JonathanHayward - I spent more then 30 seconds reading your question, and all I learned, Paleo Diet folks need a better spam company and spam isn't just limited to 1 reputation user apparently. The point of my comment, was to indicated, I reported your post as spam.

This is harsher than I expected; a previous poster had asked me to cut down my wall of text and I immediately did so, seeing this comment on the way after editing out information about Paleo motivation. When I said that I had cut my post down and asked about reversing a downvote, someone commented:

A spam flag is an automatic downvote, which I can't reverse, even if I did I wouldn't want to. As somebody with 200+ reputation, you should know, asking about or providing information on the Paleo diet wasn't welcome.

Is this how the StackExchange community communicates? Rudely even after someone has made amends?

I'd like to think the StackExchange community is more polite than this; and that "spam" mean something narrower than "something off-topic that takes time to read." This reads like the RBL maintainers responding to small ISP's complaints about inappropriate treatment by placing small ISP's that complained on the RBL. "Spam" doesn't just mean "verbose" or "off-topic"; "spam" means bulk recruiting or selling. It's not a catchall for "I don't like your post, and I'm still mad after you backed down."

I think most people on reading these comments will not think, "I should back down;" a possible impression is "Powerful people here are rude." And in this case, powerful people remain rude after you back down.

Could there perhaps be better recommended practices when, in this case, someone provides context that is not to the point with genuinely good intentions?

Answer 1

You state this:

I'd like to think the StackExchange community is more polite than this; and that "spam" mean something narrower than "something off-topic that takes time to read." This reads like the RBL maintainers responding to small ISP's complaints about inappropriate treatment by placing small ISP's that complained on the RBL. "Spam" doesn't just mean "verbose" or "off-topic"; "spam" means bulk recruiting or selling. It's not a catchall for "I don't like your post, and I'm still mad after you backed down."

So basically you are upset that your initial post was tagged as spam by a community member? Because past that issue there is a fair statement to be made: Even when pared down, your question still makes my head spin. Seriously I still don’t get it.

I did attempt to better focus your question by retitling it:

• Is there any way to squeeze more performance out of a vintage Itronix GD8000 laptop PC?

Instead of the previous:

• What, for a Paleo computer, can be done to get performance out of an Itronix GD8000?

But back on topic; I do believe the “spam” flag was unwarranted. But still, I barely understand the question and from what I am gathering even when I better “grok” it it might still be considered off-topic due to the broad, opinion-based focus of it.

UPDATE: I am assuming good faith in your postings and efforts, so I went ahead and cleaned up your question so there is a shorter question and a longer question. Edit is here but the summary question can be pared down form what you originally had to be this:

Is there any way to squeeze more performance out of a vintage Itronix GD8000 laptop PC?

I am attempting to use an Itronix GD8000 laptop with 4GB of its 8G RAM given to a Mint 17.2 guest OS under Windows 10 host for an open-source Django development environment, but performance on this kind of setup seems sluggish. What—if anything—can I do to squeeze some more performance out of this setup so I can better use it as a daily development environment.

I still believe the “spam” flag was a mistake and should not have happened, but honestly the question as you originally posted coupled with the use of “Paleo” in a non-standard way in the title could make a casual editor believe the post was spam.

Perhaps when all is said and done you can appreciate how this community works and while you might be upset with the initial “spam” flag at the end of the day your question is now better focused and more likely to get true and useful response. “Pobody’s nerfect” but there’s always someone here who is willing to help if you ask and wait.