If non-autoeditors make a ton of bad edits, should we ask them to revert their time-consuming changes?
We could ask but…
In days of yore, a lot more edit types would require votes when made by non-autoeditors, I think that’s the real problem.
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…there’s a risk they may ignore us, double down or quit. I’ve seen it time and time again: a new or semi-established editor makes the same mistake repeatedly, I or another editor attempt to reach out them and point out what they’re doing wrong, and either nothing happens or we get attacked. Responses have run the gamut from sass to insults to outright threats and retaliation. I’ve watched editors delete their accounts in protest. It’s a tough line to toe.
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In my experience too only a minority will react constructively, so it’s much faster to take care of it directly.
(A side note, but I’ve always wondered why a complete rethink of the incentives behind our editing system is not a top priority. We rely a lot on autoeditors and voters, but we are not very successful in attracting users who fit those profiles.)
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Definitely ask!
I leave a few friendly and polite notes, give it a week or two, and after that I report them tbh.
If it takes longer to fix what an editors breaking than it would to add the info in the first place then that’s not helpful (assuming they have been asked politely and repeatedly and it’s clear they wont change).
p.s. whether @Freso, who deals with my reports, is a fan of this approach or not, I don’t know, it’s never come up 
edit: to clarify, as Freso says below, I don’t report for not fixing, I report for knowingly continuing to enter bad data/breaking things/ignoring guidelines after friendly efforts have failed
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FWIW, I don’t generally take action on people who have been told by other editors that they did wrong edits and didn’t put in the work to fix their mistakes. I do take action if editors have repeatedly been told not to do something yet continue to do said thing. If it can be solved by editors talking with each other, that should always be the first approach. I’m only here for the cases where y’all can’t solve it among yourselves. 
And on that note: yes, please do ask editors to clean up their own edits, but don’t demand or expect that they do. If they repeatedly violate guidelines after having been informed of them and asked to respect them, please do report them.
(Also, in case anyone is interested and not aware of it, feel free to have a look over MetaBrainz’ Conflict Resolution Policy.)
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