<h1><em>Don't</em> respond</h1>
<p>It's best not to engage -- writing a comment or answer or otherwise exchanging words -- with a bad actor. They want to get attention, sow discord, and otherwise cause a ruckus. Don't let them.</p>
<h1><em>Do</em> vote, close and flag</h1>
<p>Instead, there are several options that can be taken individually or in any combination, as the situation merits.</p>
<ul>
<li>Questions which are simply spam, offensive content, or flagrantly unrelated to anything to do with this forum <strong>should</strong> be downvoted. Questions with a very negative score are pushed off the front page, depriving the post of attention.</li>
<li>Off-topic questions <strong>should</strong> be closed as off-topic, so every vote is helpful in that regard.</li>
<li>If you feel that the questions merit special attention, you can either flag for moderator attention or use one of the standard flags, whichever is most appropriate.</li>
</ul>
<p>The aggregate effect of these actions may even trigger an automatic suspension of the user. This suspension is a feature of the Stack Exchange software &amp; is a positive step to keep garbage off this site. This will slow down the user until a moderator can look into the mess and take any additional remediation steps. (Diamond moderators are asked not to disclose specific details about how the automated systems work to prevent bad actors from evading them.)</p>
<p>Just as a reminder, the main Meta.SE site is a great resource for topics that are common across all of the SE network, such as <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/problem-user">problem users</a>, <a href="https://%5Bdown-votes%5D" rel="nofollow noreferrer">down votes</a>, <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/spam">spam</a>, <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/flags">flags</a>, and <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/355421/what-are-our-policies-regarding-self-harm-and-suicide/355422#355422">suicidal users</a>.</p>
