# Administrator vs Moderator
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [November 24, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972 "2011-11-24T14:51:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/1 "2011-11-24T14:51:33Z")
Can a mod over rule an administrator? š
From this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14479013#post14479013)
> [@Drunk Driving](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drunk-driving/603379/7):
>
> It sounds like the OP is asking for information on how frequently people drive drunk. Thatād be a factual question, so Iām moving this to General Questions from Great Debates.
> [@Drunk Driving](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drunk-driving/603379/14):
>
> You disappear for five years, then open a thread in General Questions asking for opinions.
>
> Moving this one to IMHO, from General Questions.
>
> **samclem** , Moderator
I do think **samclem** makes a hell of a lot more sense.
---
### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/2 "2011-11-24T15:28:56Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#):
>
> Can a mod over rule an administrator? š
With regard to moderation decisions, thereās no hierarchy between moderators and administrators. The main difference is that administrators have access to a few more control functions than moderators.
Thread moves are pretty much at the discretion of the moderators of each forum. Once Iāve moved a thread out of GQ, itās basically up to the mods of the new forum what they want to do with it. Itās not an āover rulingā if they decide itās a better fit for another forum.
On rare occasions Iāve have however gotten into a ping-pong match with an IMHO mod whoās sent thread back to GQ after I sent it over there (or vice versa). š
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/3 "2011-11-24T15:29:55Z")
Not sure if thereās a serious question there, but in case there is: both mods and admins do regular moderation duty like moving threads. Admins have additional back-end access, so can do things like, oh, ban every single person on the boards, change usernames, etc.
For day-to-day stuff, thereās no significant difference between the two ranks.
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### Author:  [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/4 "2011-11-24T16:03:13Z")
> [@twickster](#):
>
> Admins have additional back-end access,
Kinky!
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### Author:  [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/5 "2011-11-24T16:05:23Z")
> [@twickster](#):
>
> Admins have additional back-end access
Read: keys to the liquor cabinet.
looks like i got ninjaādā¦ and by the better quip, too!
---
### Author:  [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/6 "2011-11-24T16:10:11Z")
Also, thread moves are generally discretionary and non-final. In the OPās example, I assume \*\*samclem \*\* didnāt notice \*\*Marleyās \*\*post. But if youāre asking if \*\*samclem \*\* is somehow bound by \*\*Marleyās \*\* thread move, the answer is no. Of course, as a matter of comity, we usually wonāt move a thread back to a forum whose moderators have said it doesnāt belong there:
1. On purpose;
2. Without discussing the matter with the moderator who moved it.
ETA: This isnāt what I expected to find when I opened this thread. I was hoping for a bit of the olā ultra-violence. š
---
### Author:  [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/7 "2011-11-24T16:15:46Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#):
>
> I do think **samclem** makes a hell of a lot more sense.
> [@](#):
>
> You disappear for five years, then open a thread in General Questions asking for opinions.
>
> Moving this one to IMHO, from General Questions.
>
> samclem, Moderator
How in hell does **samclem** make more sense?
The thread wasnāt opened in GQ, and I donāt see what going AWOL for five years has to do with where the thread belongs.
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### Author:  [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/8 "2011-11-24T16:24:46Z")
I imagine the thought there was that, after a 5 year absence, you may have gotten a little rusty on where threads go.
There will certainly be an adjustement period while you get the hang of the new Moderation styleā¦
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### Author:  [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/9 "2011-11-24T17:27:57Z")
> [@Tristan](#):
>
> I imagine the thought there was that, after a 5 year absence, you may have gotten a little rusty on where threads go.
>
> There will certainly be an adjustement period while you get the hang of the new Moderation styleā¦
Not unlike a conversation I recently had with a colleague wherein he noted that my shortfall in mental acuity might be related to an attendant shortfall in recent acts of sexual congress, whereby he advised a rigorous, if somewhat solipsistic masturbatory regime.
---
### Author:  [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/10 "2011-11-24T18:59:08Z")
Well, if the Admin is unhappy with a moderator decision they could ban the entire board.\*
\*Not that this situation has ever happened
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### Author:  [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/11 "2011-11-24T19:37:51Z")
> [@SiXSwordS](#):
>
> How in hell does **samclem** make more sense?
> The thread wasnāt opened in GQ, and I donāt see what going AWOL for five years has to do with where the thread belongs.
To answer the question how often people drive drunk, simply has no definite answer to my mind and can only be answered by a best guess or _opinion_.
Never mind that the OP asked for thoughts and opinions.
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### Author:  [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/12 "2011-11-24T19:40:12Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#):
>
> Well, if the Admin is unhappy with a moderator decision they could ban the entire board.\*
>
> \*Not that this situation has ever happened
How do you know that a moderator couldnāt ban every administrator and other moderator ?
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### Author:  [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/13 "2011-11-24T19:52:09Z")
Iām in charge! Iām in charge!
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### Author:  [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/14 "2011-11-24T21:56:57Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#):
>
> How do you know that a moderator couldnāt ban every administrator and other moderator ?
A challenge has been issued!
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/15 "2011-11-24T22:40:11Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#):
>
> Iām in charge! Iām in charge!
I knew Al Haig, and believe me, you areā¦ š
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### Author:  [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/16 "2011-11-24T22:54:44Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#):
>
> How do you know that a moderator couldnāt ban every administrator and other moderator ?
They can. Mods on the SDMB all have Super Moderator privileges, which allows them to ban users, other mods and admins. Mods donāt have access to the Admin Control Panel, which allows for things like banning IPs and other miscellaneous board settings (including shutting the board off with a single click).
Even if a mod were to ban all other mods and admins, a root administrator could reset/restore the board to its previous state.
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/17 "2011-11-24T22:54:45Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#):
>
> Well, if the Admin is unhappy with a moderator decision they could ban the entire board.\*
>
> \*Not that this situation has ever happened
Wasnāt that an April Fool prank, or locking every single thread on the board, or something else that demonstrated the awesome might of TPTB?
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### Author:  [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/18 "2011-11-24T23:24:29Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#):
>
> To answer the question how often people drive drunk, simply has no definite answer to my mind and can only be answered by a best guess or _opinion_.
> Never mind that the OP asked for thoughts and opinions.
How many other questions fall into that same category and are nonetheless handled factually? How many people are there on the planet? How many people die of smoking related causes each year? How many people will die in car crashes in 2012?
At first blush, the OP in question seems to be a factual question regarding frequencies. Iām not arguing that it belongs in GQ, just that **samclem** missed that it was not opened in GQ and that the issue of the OPās absence has nothing to do with its appropriateness to any given forum.
Not to mention, **sameclem** lacks backdoor privileges and has to ask for extra sugar and powdered creameresque for his vending machine coffee.
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### Author:  [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/19 "2011-11-25T00:26:04Z")
> [@SiXSwordS](#):
>
> Not to mention, **sameclem** lacks backdoor privileges and has to ask for extra sugar and powdered creameresque for his vending machine coffee.
**samclem** _is_ the vending machine.
---
### Author:  [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administrator-vs-moderator/603972/20 "2011-11-25T00:51:52Z")
> [@kunilou](#):
>
> Wasnāt that an April Fool prank, or locking every single thread on the board, or something else that demonstrated the awesome might of TPTB?
Had it ever occured we might call it Marloutage, or the Big Red Button Affair.
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