This is kind of a meta-question *for* Meta Stack Exchange.

You may remember my question about a [Vietnamese to English translation issue](https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/361994).

I realized it wasn't suitable for Meta Stack Exchange, and because regular users can't delete questions with answers, I decided to flag for mods to delete it.

My first flag said:

> 
> I realize now that this is not^1 really about SE, so I was wondering if I could have it deleted?
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> 
> 

It was then declined, and I got this message:

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> flags should only be used to make moderators aware of content that requires their intervention
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> 
> 

I tried reflagging and changing my message to this just in case the first one was misinterpreted:

> 
> I already flagged this post asking for deletion, but it was declined. Maybe they misinterpreted my flag? Anyway, could this post be deleted by a mod (I can't; it has an answer) because I now realize it is not about SE?
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> 
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It was then again declined with the same automated message:

> 
> flags should only be used to make moderators aware of content that requires their intervention
> 
> 
> 

Why were my flags declined with such message when I was clearly asking a moderator to delete my question (which I can't do, therefore meaning that it requires a mod to).

What should I do now? The question is off-topic, low scored (perhaps I could mark as community wiki?), and leaves an unneeded black mark on my answer list for a small matter - so I feel like it would be best deleted. I see Journeyman Geek's point though, so I am a little confused. What would the best course of action be?

And I'm afraid to flag a third time, just in case it is declined and I pick up a flag ban.

---

I don't think this question is a duplicate of the FAQ on [How does deleting work? What can cause a post to be deleted, and what does that actually mean? What are the criteria for deletion?](https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/5221) because I already know how deleting works and the criteria behind it, I just want to know why my flags to delete were rejected. The proposed dup question tells you to flag for mod deletion, which I did. It doesn't provide any further info.

^1 I flagged originally without the not - oops, I was typing fast and my mind jumped over a word. For clarity purpose, I meant to add a *not*.
['https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/362271', 'https://meta.stackexchange.com', 'https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/879421/']
The really funny thing is that I was having a conversation about multiple flags earlier today.

> 
> There's nothing that annoys a mod more than repeated flagging of a thing. I vaguely remember there's folks who literally have been flagging the same post over years.
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> 
> It's been seen, we've decided what to do. Mods do talk and leave trails of what happened – and generally have long memories
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> 
> Much like how a bounty is spending 'reputation' to get attention (as opposed to an answer as many assumes) – the goal of a flag, accepted or declined, is to get a mod to take a look.
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> 
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The point of a flag is to get a mod to take a look, so more than one flag from a user for a question is redundant.

While I didn't handle the flag(s) in question – we don't *generally* delete questions with positively scored, well-regarded answers through the mod deletion route. It is unfair for the person or people who answered.

So it's fine. It has been seen, judged, and one or more mods have decided not to delete it.
> 
> I realize now that this is really about SE, so I was wondering if I could have it deleted?
> 
> 
> 

If it's about SE, it's [on-topic for Meta Stack Exchange](/help/whats-meta). That's a good reason to have it *not* deleted, so declining the flags is a logical response.