As of now, submissions can not have a judging verdict until a minimum time has passed. Currently that is set at 72 hours (but it easily changed).
Prior to this time the only options available to a judge is judging underway and needs for info
(actually as of typing this neither of these is available due to a bug).
The point of this is to try to curb "quick decisions" which seem to be at the heart of a the majority of judging controversies lately (such as
this topic).
A judge should make use of the judging underway option to announce they are handling the submission but then let the conversation play itself out before making a decision. There is still a lot a judge can do in this window like setting to judging underway, providing feedback, ask question, and propose possible verdicts.
Judging underway has these advantages:
For other judges - they know this one is being handled and can focus their attention to other submissions
For the author - they know their submission isn't getting neglected, someones is concerned and handling it
For the audience - someones paying attention, give helpful feedback!
For the admin - submissions that are old and new status are apparently being neglected, no judge has claimed them, better look into this situation.
I also have been happy with how Truncated & klmz have both often posted where they are leaning in a post and reasons they feel that way. As Warp posted
here, authors should have a chance for rebuttal, especially since the judges conclusions might be
incorrect.
Anyway, I hope this forced delay helps for a smoother judging process. The time limit was set to a somewhat arbitrary 72 hours. Feel free to use this thread to argue some other value instead.
