We are not supposed to take sides in a personal feud.
Warning someone for a a statement that may or may not be a rules violation when the offended party has already addressed the issue may look like taking sides.
Unbelievable.
Sorry to belabor the point, but this seems kind of important: if you can’t moderate a rules violation that occurs in the course of an argument without appearing to take sides in the argument, you are flat-out unable to be a moderator. It’s pretty fundamental.
It’s so obviously wrong that I have a hard time believing you really think it, but I have to take you at your word that you’re just not cut out to be a moderator.
No one is asking you to take sides in a personal feud. You are a moderator.
As spinky points out, you are supposed to take sides when it comes to the rules. You are supposed to be on the sides of those who keep to the rules.
If you enforce the rules evenly against everyone, no matter where they stand on any given argument, and no matter who they like or dislike on the SDMB, then it will be clear that you are not taking sides, but rather enforcing the rules.
Poster A is arguing in favor of X. Poster B is arguing in favor of Y. Poster A says to B “why do you think you can make things up?” In what way is it taking B’s side to say “Don’t accuse other posters of making things up”?
I would think you of all mods would not be prevented from doing your job by fear of what people might think.
Regards,
Shodan
I think what he’s saying is that he didn’t see it as a clear rules violation. It was judgement call if “you’re making stuff up” was equivalent to “you’re lying” in this instance. If he had seen it as a clear rules violation, then he would have acted, but if it’s not, then it just feeds claims that the moderators are biased and pick on conservatives or liberals or christians or atheists or that they circle the wagons for their moderator buddies, or any of the other hundred claims that regularly occur in ATMB.
Strange, I almost never see such claims about Mods. Can you point to some?
I’d just like to say while I don’t agree obviously with Tom’s decision, I respect it and appreciate his answering the questions and explaining his reasoning.
Beyond that, if a Mod is going to make a mistake I think it’s better to not take mod action when he should than issue a warning when he shouldn’t.
In retrospect, I wished I’d sent a PM rather than open a thread on the matter.
I think this is an excellent reply. Perhaps if I were you (yet with my own flexible moral standards) I would have tried to get some kind of IOU agreement with the mods – like “This is the posture I’ll adopt and stick to if you give me a pass on the next ambiguously worded insult that I aim at … anyone.” 
<< ambiguous smiley 
Heh…no.
In all seriousness, I got what I wanted.