# Inappropriate moderator post **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 2, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594 "2020-11-02T22:02:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/21 "2020-11-02T23:21:19Z")
Not congruent with the majority opinion is not necessarily divisive nor is being divisive forbidden. Assertions about off board personalities has never been against the listed rules. However, when those assertions are modded under the pretext of a more general rule there is a clear trend. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/22 "2020-11-02T23:29:56Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Not congruent with the majority opinion is not necessarily divisive nor is being divisive forbidden. I wasn’t talking about some hypothetical divisiveness, I’m talking about the things you say which are inflammatory and divisive and which frequently derail otherwise interesting threads. No, you don’t get a pass because you’re in the minority. Have you been modded for that? Because I’ve never seen it. > [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > We have a **Magiver** post that **Hari\_Seldon** moderated… Now that looks like a double standard to me. Unless I’m missing some really compelling context. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/23 "2020-11-02T23:34:49Z")
I’d say because it was a baldfaced lie, and we as posters are not allowed to call someone out for lying. Therefore, saying something that is blatantly and obviously a lie is trolling, as it only intends to rile people up, and it is impossible for posters to respond meaningfully. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/24 "2020-11-02T23:34:53Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > What does bother me, though, is **Hari Seldon’s** _rationalization_ - "it’s not trolling **because I agree with it."** That’s bias. That would be like an umpire saying, _“You know, that pitch was inside the strike zone but I’m going to call it a ball anyway because I like the Yankees.”_ Speaking here as a junior mod on this forum, and an experienced political mod on a prior forum… when someone says something extreme, but they actually believe it, it isn’t really “trolling”. There are various definitions of trolling, but strenuously stating an opinion you believe is at most borderline. Saying something you don’t believe because you think it will upset others is trolling. Clear cut. Of course, you never really know what a poster believes, you can only make your best guess. So I took his statement to mean “this is the sort of extreme statement that might look like trolling. But I believe it’s actually true, so I suppose the poster probably does, too, and therefore it is probably not trolling” just my opinion. Or maybe, my best guess. I’ve been wrong before. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/25 "2020-11-02T23:48:34Z")
It’s ironic that in a thread totally unrelated to me you made it about me with personal attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/26 "2020-11-02T23:52:04Z")
Not a personal attack. Entirely focused on your behavior, specifically because you are claiming some widespread double standard. But I’ll drop it. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/27 "2020-11-02T23:55:53Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Speaking here as a junior mod on this forum, and an experienced political mod on a prior forum… when someone says something extreme, but they actually believe it, it isn’t really “trolling”. There are various definitions of trolling, but strenuously stating an opinion you believe is at most borderline. > [@Re: SlackerInc banned for trolling](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-slackerinc-banned-for-trolling/923073/17): > > You appear to be under the misapprehension that trolling requires that one not believe in what one is posting. This is incorrect. You can be perfectly sincere in what you post, and still be trolling. The moderation of late has taken a horrible turn. Inconsistent, jumping in at little or no provocation, modding posts that they misunderstood and then going back and un-modding, not following the rules other mods have laid out in threads about hijacks and such… And dont get me started on community flagging: worst idea ever… just my opinion, of course. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/28 "2020-11-02T23:56:33Z")
What’s ironic is that in a thread totally unrelated to you, you made if all about yourself and your sense of persecution. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/29 "2020-11-03T00:00:29Z")
Let’s see if I can summarize this. When Hari Seldon moderates an obvious lie, that’s unacceptable. When Hari Seldon fails to moderate an obvious truth, that’s unacceptable. I think we all get what’s being said here. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/30 "2020-11-03T00:02:38Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > > [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > > > We have a **Magiver** post that **Hari\_Seldon** moderated… > > Now that looks like a double standard to me. Unless I’m missing some really compelling context. What I think you’re missing is that the modded comment by **Magiver** is blatantly and obviously false, while the one being discussed here is, at worst, a matter of opinion. Don’t want to get sidetracked into politics here, but I can think of many examples where Biden has faced tough questioning as well as critical fact-checking, including by allegedly “friendly” media like CNN. **Magiver** ’s comment was just preposterous. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > So I took his statement to mean “this is the sort of extreme statement that might look like trolling. But I believe it’s actually true, so I suppose the poster probably does, too, and therefore it is probably not trolling” I took it the same way, so it’s not just you. My only nitpicky criticism is that “because I agree with it” may not have been the best choice of words; I think the real intended meaning was “because it’s factually supportable”. But as @LSLGuy implies, when you’re modding a lot of posts and making a lot of quick decisions, sometimes you don’t get the words exactly right. But I guess some have to nitpick the living daylights out of it and make a mountain out a molehill. No, it isn’t “proof of moderator bias”. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/31 "2020-11-03T00:04:21Z")
I don’t feel like this summary is accurate. When Hari Seldon says that he would have moderated a post if he didn’t agree with it, that’s bad. This is bad no matter the content of the post. In this case, it happens to be a post that I agree with, and it’s still bad. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/32 "2020-11-03T00:06:08Z")
> [@Re: SlackerInc banned for trolling](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-slackerinc-banned-for-trolling/923073/17): > > > [@puzzlegal](#): > > > > Speaking here as a junior mod on this forum, and an experienced political mod on a prior forum… when someone says something extreme, but they actually believe it, it isn’t really “trolling”. There are various definitions of trolling, but strenuously stating an opinion you believe is at most borderline. > > > [@Re: SlackerInc banned for trolling](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-slackerinc-banned-for-trolling/923073/17): > > > > You appear to be under the misapprehension that trolling requires that one not believe in what one is posting. This is incorrect. You can be perfectly sincere in what you post, and still be trolling. > > The moderation of late has taken a horrible turn. Inconsistent, jumping in at little or no provocation, modding posts that they misunderstood and then going back and un-modding, not following the rules other mods have laid out in threads about hijacks and such… > > And dont get me started on community flagging: worst idea ever… > > just my opinion, of course. Yeah, it’s possible to troll truthfully. But I think that’s a lot less common, and a lot more borderline. Yes, you can pick statements that you believe but that you know will trigger other posters, and you can post them not because you are trying to make a case, but because you want to piss people off… But that’s not the usual type of trolling, in my experience. To be clear, I am not a political mod here. I mod places like “cafe society” where copyright violation is a more common problem than trolling. And I have vast respect for Colibri, and he knows the standards of this board better than I do. But something you believe is a lot less likely to be a troll job than something you don’t believe. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/33 "2020-11-03T00:06:49Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > What I think you’re missing is that the modded comment by **Magiver** is blatantly and obviously false, while the one being discussed here is, at worst, a matter of opinion. I am 100% certain that **Magiver** , and many people like him, absolutely believe that Biden is shielded from tough questions. That’s his opinion. His uninformed, obviously at odds with reality, opinion, but his opinion nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/34 "2020-11-03T00:07:28Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I took it the same way, so it’s not just you. My only nitpicky criticism is that “because I agree with it” may not have been the best choice of words; I think the real intended meaning was “because it’s factually supportable”. But as @LSLGuy implies, when you’re modding a lot of posts and making a lot of quick decisions, sometimes you don’t get the words exactly right. But I guess some have to nitpick the living daylights out of it and make a mountain out a molehill. No, it isn’t “proof of moderator bias”. Yes, it wasn’t the best choice of words. Thanks for being really clear. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/35 "2020-11-03T00:09:23Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > To be clear, I am not a political mod here. I mod places like “cafe society” where copyright violation is a more common problem than trolling. But you are a mod here, and are replying in an ATMB thread about modding, so that gives your posts some cache. Maybe it would be best if you stayed in your lane. ---
**Author:** ![Delayed\_Reflex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/delayed_reflex/32/3172_2.png) [@Delayed\_Reflex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delayed_Reflex)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/36 "2020-11-03T00:10:16Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > > > > [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > > > > > We have a **Magiver** post that **Hari\_Seldon** moderated… > > > > Now that looks like a double standard to me. Unless I’m missing some really compelling context. > > What I think you’re missing is that the modded comment by **Magiver** is blatantly and obviously false, while the one being discussed here is, at worst, a matter of opinion. Don’t want to get sidetracked into politics here, but I can think of many examples where Biden has faced tough questioning as well as critical fact-checking, including by allegedly “friendly” media like CNN. **Magiver** ’s comment was just preposterous. > > > [@puzzlegal](#): > > > > So I took his statement to mean “this is the sort of extreme statement that might look like trolling. But I believe it’s actually true, so I suppose the poster probably does, too, and therefore it is probably not trolling” > > I took it the same way, so it’s not just you. My only nitpicky criticism is that “because I agree with it” may not have been the best choice of words; I think the real intended meaning was “because it’s factually supportable”. But as @LSLGuy implies, when you’re modding a lot of posts and making a lot of quick decisions, sometimes you don’t get the words exactly right. But I guess some have to nitpick the living daylights out of it and make a mountain out a molehill. No, it isn’t “proof of moderator bias”. I disagree that Magiver’s statement was anything other than an opinion as well, as how “tough” the questioning was perceived to be is totally in the eye of the beholder. IMO it is obvious that neither Magiver’s nor madmonk28’s comments are worthy of moderation. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/37 "2020-11-03T00:10:23Z")
Yeah, I’m writing more about my experience modding a completely different board. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/38 "2020-11-03T00:10:51Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Yes, it wasn’t the best choice of words. To be clear. That’s all I’m saying. Hari Seldon’s choice of words was inappropriate. That’s all. I’m not calling for his head here or even asking for any moderation action. I’m just trying to communicate that I feel like he could have chosen his words better. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/39 "2020-11-03T00:11:45Z")
> [@Delayed\_Reflex](#): > > IMO it is obvious that neither Magiver’s nor madmonk28’s comments are worthy of moderation. I 100% agree. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594/40 "2020-11-03T00:14:53Z")
> [@Delayed\_Reflex](#): > > I disagree that Magiver’s statement was anything other than an opinion as well, as how “tough” the questioning was perceived to be is totally in the eye of the beholder. IMO it is obvious that neither Magiver’s nor madmonk28’s comments are worthy of moderation. Not opining about this case, as I wasn’t involved with the thread and maybe what I’s describing isn’t relevant,. But in other cases, in other places, I have seen uninformed opinions stated. And posters disagree and cite factual reasons why that opinion is not supported. And sometimes the poster backs off and says, “wow, I didn’t know that”. And other times the poster doubles down and ignores all the factual references and continues hammering his opinion. The latter, whether or not it’s technically trolling, is destructive to conversation, and is something that moderators don’t like to see. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-moderator-post/924594.md?page=3)