So I just reported a new thread in the Elections forum. It was clear spam, so no biggie. Then, I go to post the word “reported” in the thread so no one else has to bother, as I understand is standard protocol, and I get the error message about needing to wait 60 seconds between posts. My previous post was over an hour ago. Is my reporting of a post counted as a post itself? Is this new? Or just some odd hiccup?
This is normal board behavior. Which has been explained many times in this forum.
The “trick” is to post “Reported” in the offending thread first. *Then *click the report link on the offending post. You’ll be able to make the report even if it’s still within 60 seconds of your “Reported” post.
It just doesn’t work if you do it in the other order. As you discovered.
You can avoid that problem by first making the Reported post and then actually reporting it, I believe. As to why that’s the case, I don’t know.
Guess I missed the previous discussions. Can’t believe I hadn’t noticed this before, though. I don’t report a lot of spam, but it’s not like I was a virgin either.
ETA: thanks to both of you for the post first, then report, suggestion.
The reason is because reporting a post actually automatically generates a post in the mod forum and the system counts you as making that post even though you don’t even have access to that forum.
Funny, it never occurred to me to do it the other way around. It just jars badly, as a programmer, especially one who deals with concurrent systems, you would just never ever do this in. There is always that chance that you would not manage to do the reporting of the post after you posted that you had. Nit-picking in the extreme I know.
Perhaps I will resort to posting “Reporting” and then hit the report button - just to keep my inner geek happy. Lordy I am a sad case sometimes. 
As a fellow programmer, I have the same '“problem.” I propose you post “Reporting” as a way to lock the post slot, then do the report. Then edit the original post to release it. 
I know we’ve been told to post first then report before. Out of curiosity, do we know that the automatic post to the hidden forum works in this case? Does it bypass the 60 second check?
When I was a mod, reported posts came through as an email, as a forward from the SDMB. It’s just a programming quirk that you have to post first, then report.
I too had the same problem. Felt awkward even yesterday when I did it again for the umpteenth time.
I haven’t been quite so anal-retentive as to post “reporting” then subsequently edit it to “reported.” But I thought about it.
And yes, we know the other thread posting works; the mods have confirmed it in previous threads on topic. For whatever reason the 60-second check is bypassed. Perhaps it’s on a different thread or something similar.
Yes, it works. It does bypass the 60 second check in this case and we do receive the post in the mod forum.
A while back, someone asked who receives PM reports, which was something that didn’t exist in earlier versions of the software, and as it turned out, they weren’t going anywhere useful. So basically nobody was receiving the PM reports. At that time, the software was modified to send the PM reports to a new mod-only forum, which is now checked regularly. PM reports don’t get lost now.
At the same time, it was also modified to copy the post reports there as well. We still get the old fashioned e-mails, too.
But do you then have to wait 60 seconds to edit the existing post?
I don’t believe the 60 second rule applies to edits. The 60 second rule is for flood control and edit one post all you want, you can’t flood a board with it.
edit: see?