@MartinSleziak it depends a bit. On a spam flag a mod might also just destroy the account altogether (if it is a spam account). I think if there already is a spam flag they might also just as well only delete as the effect is I think the same. If they'd be the first to see it'd make a difference though.

I might be wrong, but I recall seeing two different "deletions" of spam posts.

Simply deleted post (but still visible) - I think I saw something like that when my spam flag was declined (but the mod still decided to delete).

@MartinSleziak yes, this is why I said it would make a difference if they are the first to see it. A delete would be a regular deletion a spam flag would be a spam deletion.

Yet if there is a pending spam flag a deletion by a mod will delete like a spam flags.

If in this case a mod just wants to delete they clear the spam flags first.

I see. So unless the mod first declines the spam flags, there is no difference. (If the mod votes to delete of flags as spam, the effect is the same.)

They can also do this retroactively (for posts that were deleted by flags only.)

@MartinSleziak yes, I think so. I'll try to pay attention to it and correct it if I am wrong.

It does not really matter that much. (I do not plan to become a moderator - so these differences do not play a big role for me.)

I only opened this topic since I was surprised that mods use flags at all - but that was already explained.

In addition it seems that there are or at least were things that internally got handled as flags. An example is mentioned in the post I linked to. Maybe conversion of answers to comments is/was another. Not sure. But my MESE flag history suggests it.

It seems a mod converting an answer to a comment technically casts a NAA flag.