What are the disadvantages to complaining in the actual thread? I understand about making new submissions for the sake of complaining.

Because it always results in the same exchange of dialogue. If you don't think a post is appropriate, flag it. That does something that might result in action. All commenting does is consume space for nowt.

Commenting also lets people know that a post - like this one - is inappropriate for the site.

Well, that was my motivation. It's been on the front page for 6 hours now. Obviously the flagging system is broken for popular off-topic submissions. (We are all in agreement that this submission is flagrantly off-topic, right?)

No it's not. Don't you think it would be on-topic if this was happening in the USA?

I remember very well all the coverage here about the occupy movement.

So just because it doesn't affect your ass directly doesn't mean it is off-topic.

Edit: Same thing as all the Turkey Riot threads. Did you comment against every one of them?

> No it's not. Don't you think it would be on-topic if this was happening in the USA?

No. It's about politics, and in the mainstream news.