# A striking example of moderator bias **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 9, 2016, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641 "2016-02-09T18:09:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/21 "2016-02-10T00:54:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It appears to be more a function of the one-sidedness of the SDMB as a whole, and not necessarily just of the mods. > > **Chihuahua** ’s political jab wasn’t reported. But > Nobody saw fit to report the first jab, because it was a jab at Republicans, and the board as a whole is OK with that. Nor did anyone report the OP, for the same reasons. The jab back at Democrats got reported, and thus came to moderator attention. IOW Dopers are more likely to get away with posts that transgress the rule against politics in GQ if their potshots are against Republicans. Because the other posters overlook it, and so the mods don’t notice. > > Don’t know if there is anything to be done about it. Sure there is. If you take Colibri’s word as truth (as you say below), report the crap out of Dem jabs. If (and I assume he is) telling the truth, you’ll see Dems moderated more often once you start reporting him. And on the unlikely assumption that he’s not telling the truth, you can call “bullshit” if he (or any mod) says “Nobody reported that post.” So there: a clear course of action to take. And I agree with your idea that since there are more Dems reporting posts, there are more Repubs getting noted/warned. The solution is above: report misbehavior on their side. ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/22 "2016-02-10T02:04:40Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > #1. Conservatives/republicans left this place in droves. Who are these people? Can you name, say, 5 of them? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/23 "2016-02-10T02:35:53Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > Of course, the mods ran off the vast majority of the conservatives/republicans eons ago, so it doesn’t matter much. > [@sleestak](#): > > #1. Conservatives/republicans left this place in droves. Interesting claim. Any evidence? When have there been droves of conservatives to drive off? Do you think that the Mods were involved with the “driving off” of Wiccans, Fundamentalist Christians, Creationists, supporters of GWB’s Iraq invasion, chiropracters? Others? The Straight Dope originally appeared in alternative- or counter-culture publications that attracted a much larger base of Left-leaning readers and that group has always made up and continues to make up the larger portion of the membership. **Bricker** has proposed, on a few occasions, that a change in the application of rule enforcement might lead to a less Left-tilted membership. I freely acknowledge the Left-tilting culture of the membership, but I have not yet seen examples of where changes in enforcement would result in a change of culture, (unless one proposes that the Mods treat the Left more harshly–which **Bricker** has never proposed). **Shodan** ’s claim that the anti-Democratic post was not reported (as much?) because the board tilts Left may be true.\* The further claim that the Mods are promoting that tilt appears to be little more than an expression of confirmation bias. - I find it interesting that among posters who routinely report philosophy-based infractions, we have rather more Left-leaning reporters reporting attacks on the Right than Right-leaning posters reporting attacks on the Left. (There are posters on both the Right and Left who will report any such attack, regardless of the target, but more Right-leaning reporters will report only attacks on the Right than Left-leaning reporters will report only attacks on the Left.) ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/24 "2016-02-10T03:15:12Z")
So, if I am reading this right, the next step would be to accuse the Mods of being biased against people who are biased towards seeing bias? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/25 "2016-02-10T03:19:08Z")
It’s why I wear different-sized heels. I automatically have a bias. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/26 "2016-02-10T03:34:59Z")
For the record, it wasn’t my intention to take a jab at Republicans when I started the thread. I knew if I left that part out, 99% of the responses would have been “because the Republicans are poopyheads that want to bury Hillary and will do it by any means necessary.” I was hoping to avoid that, but I inadvertently set the dominoes toppling in the other direction. I really didn’t want it to be a debate. I was actually wanting to know if Hillary did anything that could be considered illegal, and was hoping for a factual response that wasn’t laced with hate, but she’s a naturally polarizing figure and drama will ensue no matter what. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/27 "2016-02-10T04:08:59Z")
> [@3trew](#): > > So, if I am reading this right, the next step would be to accuse the Mods of being biased against people who are biased towards seeing bias? And what if you read this left? Would you accuse the mods of not being biased against people who are not biased towards not seeing bias? ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/28 "2016-02-10T08:05:24Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Interesting claim. > > Any evidence? > > When have there been droves of conservatives to drive off? > Do you think that the Mods were involved with the “driving off” of Wiccans, Fundamentalist Christians, Creationists, supporters of GWB’s Iraq invasion, chiropracters? First, I never said droves. Read for comprehension. I said the majority of conservative/republican 'dopers left. I never claimed there were a large number of conservatives, just that most of them left. These days there are few conservative/republicans on the board. I am not going to dig through 15 years of posts to prove what should be obvious to anyone who wants real discussion and not the echo chamber the Dope has become. However, if you want proof of bias, well a certain banned Doper got away with posting insane rants about conservatives for years before finally being banned. I won’t name him as I am not sure about the rules on discussing banned Dopers. A hint, he liked red shirts. If a conservative posted the insane crap his poster did, they’d have been banned in a day yet this guy lasted for years. But, ya know what? Screw it. Nothing will change. Slee ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/29 "2016-02-10T10:05:22Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > You haven’t demonstrated anything. > > One might think that a couple things, taken together, might indicate a problem. > > #1. Conservatives/republicans left this place in droves. > [@sleestak](#): > > First, I never said droves. Read for comprehension. I said the majority of conservative/republican 'dopers left. Ohhhh…kay then. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/30 "2016-02-10T10:34:37Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > #2. People see a bias in moderation of conservatives/republicans. > Slee Who are these ‘people’? Is it just you? > [@sleestak](#): > > If a conservative posted the insane crap his poster did, they’d have been banned in a day yet this guy lasted for years. > Slee Any proof of this assertion? Is it just in your imagination? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/31 "2016-02-10T10:45:58Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > First, I never said droves. Read for comprehension. I said the majority of conservative/republican 'dopers left. I never claimed there were a large number of conservatives, just that most of them left. If there were never droves, how could they have left in droves? > [@](#): > > However, if you want proof of bias, well a certain banned Doper got away with posting insane rants about conservatives for years before finally being banned. I won’t name him as I am not sure about the rules on discussing banned Dopers. A hint, he liked red shirts. Just to be clear, he was suspended for awhile, but he’s still posting here. Not banned. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/32 "2016-02-10T10:51:27Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Ohhhh…kay then. You’re obviously not reading for comprehension. “Droves” does not mean “droves.” This is also why you don’t see the obvious bias. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/33 "2016-02-10T14:53:27Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > I find it interesting that among posters who routinely report philosophy-based infractions, we have rather more Left-leaning reporters reporting attacks on the Right than Right-leaning posters reporting attacks on the Left. (There are posters on both the Right and Left who will report any such attack, regardless of the target, but more Right-leaning reporters will report only attacks on the Right than Left-leaning reporters will report only attacks on the Left.) This is probably confirmation bias. Or perhaps - > [@](#): > > Interesting claim. > > Any evidence? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/34 "2016-02-10T16:39:34Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > - I find it interesting that among posters who routinely report philosophy-based infractions, we have rather more Left-leaning reporters reporting attacks on the Right than Right-leaning posters reporting attacks on the Left. (There are posters on both the Right and Left who will report any such attack, regardless of the target, but more Right-leaning reporters will report only attacks on the Right than Left-leaning reporters will report only attacks on the Left.) I personally don’t see any bias in moderation - we’re human, we’re going to disagree. I am curious if the above is per capita though, because with the population of posters not evenly distributed, the above would be expected. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/35 "2016-02-10T17:31:53Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > For the record, it wasn’t my intention to take a jab at Republicans when I started the thread. Yet that is exactly what you did. It could have been really easy to not take a jab by, you know, not taking a jab. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/36 "2016-02-10T22:44:50Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Yet that is exactly what you did. It could have been really easy to not take a jab by, you know, not taking a jab. Here’s what would have happened: Q: What did Hillary do that was considered illegal? A1: Nothing. Repubs are out to get her. A2: Nothing. Repubs are out to get her. A3: Nothing. Repubs are out to get her. A4: Nothing. Repubs are out to get her. A5: Nothing. Repubs are out to get her. A6: Nothing. Repubs are out to get her. What I was hoping was that I could preempt the drama, but it happened anyway. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/37 "2016-02-11T00:18:16Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Here’s what would have happened: > > Q: What did Hillary do that was considered illegal? > > A1: Nothing. Repubs are out to get her. > A2: Nothing. Repubs are out to get her. > A3: Nothing. Repubs are out to get her. > A4: Nothing. Repubs are out to get her. > A5: Nothing. Repubs are out to get her. > A6: Nothing. Repubs are out to get her. > > What I was hoping was that I could preempt the drama, but it happened anyway. You tried to pre-empt the drama by creating the drama yourself. You didn’t have to say “I understand the GOP wants to tear her down as much as possible and this is more a political ploy than anything else”. How about “I’m only interested in the GQ answer, not what one side thinks the other sides purely political motives are.” Instead, you put yourself squarely on one side of the political argument. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/38 "2016-02-11T03:38:07Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > First, I never said droves. Read for comprehension. I said the majority of conservative/republican 'dopers left. I never claimed there were a large number of conservatives, just that most of them left. To be driven off “in droves,” (your phrase), there had to have been droves to begin with. > [@sleestak](#): > > These days there are few conservative/republicans on the board. I am not going to dig through 15 years of posts to prove what should be obvious to anyone who wants real discussion and not the echo chamber the Dope has become. There are actually more active posters on the Right, today, than there were a couple of years ago. However, there has never been anything like a 50/50 split of those on the Left and Right, so your claim is based on your imagination. > [@sleestak](#): > > However, if you want proof of bias, well a certain banned Doper got away with posting insane rants about conservatives for years before finally being banned. I won’t name him as I am not sure about the rules on discussing banned Dopers. A hint, he liked red shirts. If a conservative posted the insane crap his poster did, they’d have been banned in a day yet this guy lasted for years. You are wrong on several points, here. The most notable is that there was a poster on the Right who submitted the same sort of vitriol, who actually lasted longer than the poster to whom you referred before Mod intervention interrupted his screeds. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/39 "2016-02-11T12:42:00Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > There are actually more active posters on the Right, today, than there were a couple of years ago. However, there has never been anything like a 50/50 split of those on the Left and Right, so your claim is based on your imagination. > > . Cite? Did you imagine the numbers, include those who just hover, or is there any evidence of the claim? It sounds to me your claim is based on your imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641/40 "2016-02-11T17:19:13Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > However, if you want proof of bias, well a certain banned Doper got away with posting insane rants about conservatives for years before finally being banned. I won’t name him as I am not sure about the rules on discussing banned Dopers. A hint, he liked red shirts. If a conservative posted the insane crap his poster did, they’d have been banned in a day yet this guy lasted for years. Who, **Der Trihs**? He’s not banned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-striking-example-of-moderator-bias/745641.md?page=3)