# Mystery Moderation **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 26, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570 "2021-08-26T16:06:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/1 "2021-08-26T16:06:30Z")
Could someone please explain what on earth this moderation of a post I wrote over a month ago is all about? Continuing the discussion from [Why do conservatives take some diseases seriously, but not others?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservatives-take-some-diseases-seriously-but-not-others/947012/118): > [@Why do conservatives take some diseases seriously, but not others?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservatives-take-some-diseases-seriously-but-not-others/947012/118): > > > [@Why do conservatives take some diseases seriously, but not others?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservatives-take-some-diseases-seriously-but-not-others/947012/80): > > > > So… is he against Covid vaccinations, and did he say he’d be for them if Trump had won in 2020? > > Modding: > > 1. He made it clear that he is not against them. > 2. It is not against the rules for a mod to raise this kind of question. > 3. It is against the rules to dispute moderation out side of ATMB. > > However your objection is so mild that I will overlook it this time, so no warning. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/2 "2021-08-26T16:08:53Z")
He did say that no warning was issued but it has been common practice to not mod old posts. That would open a can of worms. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/3 "2021-08-26T16:12:04Z")
I don’t understand how any of the 3 points relate to my post. Maybe it was meant to be a reply to someone else? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/4 "2021-08-26T16:14:16Z")
Im not getting it either. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/5 "2021-08-26T16:35:13Z")
Asking @Hari_Seldon directly is probably your best bet. A PM would probably be better then a thread, but a thread is OK too. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/6 "2021-08-26T16:59:31Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > He did say that no warning was issued but it has been common practice to not mod old posts. That would open a can of worms. I don’t feel that’s necessarily a problem. 1. The moderators are not everywhere. I doubt they read every post and even the ones they do read may sometimes only be superficially glanced over. So sometimes they may miss something until time has passed since it was posted. 2. The rules evolve. Sometimes a post that was acceptable at the time it was posted may be unacceptable by current standards. But the post still exists to be read by people in the present. So the moderators want to acknowledge the post violates current rules without punishing the poster who wrote it back when it was legal. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/7 "2021-08-26T17:04:42Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Asking @Hari_Seldon directly is probably your best bet. > A PM would probably be better then a thread, but a thread is OK too. I disagree entirely. The moderation (which I still can’t make heads nor tails of) was public, after all. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/8 "2021-08-26T17:06:31Z")
I just went back and read most of that thread. I can’t make heads nor tails of that moderation either. It sounds like a response to somebody objecting to moderation…but there wasn’t any previous moderation, and no objection to moderation in the quoted post. It reads like response to something that has since disappeared. Or maybe something that was meant to be a DM? ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/9 "2021-08-26T17:09:24Z")
Forget it Jake, it’s Haritown. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/10 "2021-08-26T17:11:18Z")
Awesome. It says so much in so few words. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/11 "2021-08-26T17:18:15Z")
lol. But seriously, **Hari\_Seldon** quoted the wrong post. This is probably the correct sequence. > [@Why do conservatives take some diseases seriously, but not others?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservatives-take-some-diseases-seriously-but-not-others/947012/79): > > Mostly from the view of the right, I think. I’m discussing (well arguing) vaccine issues with a conservative. His last post said that if Trump had won in 2020 I’d be then against Covid vaccinations because he would supposedly be for them. (And he is for them, just not very loudly.) I told him no, I’d do what the science says, and was for vaccines when Trump was in office. > Which shows that this person sees it as a political issue, and seems to have a hard time conceiving that anyone doesn’t. > [@Why do conservatives take some diseases seriously, but not others?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservatives-take-some-diseases-seriously-but-not-others/947012/80): > > So… is he against Covid vaccinations, and did he say he’d be for them if Trump had won in 2020? > [@Why do conservatives take some diseases seriously, but not others?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservatives-take-some-diseases-seriously-but-not-others/947012/85): > > Perhaps it would be best if you read a post before responding. V said very clearly that he is for vaccination only not very loudly. > [@Why do conservatives take some diseases seriously, but not others?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservatives-take-some-diseases-seriously-but-not-others/947012/89): > > I read the post as saying _Trump_ is for vaccination but not loudly, and I was asking whether @Voyager’s friend is against vaccination, which isn’t clear from the story (at least not to me). > > Even if I misunderstood, it’s rude and unnecessary to accuse me of not reading the post. > [@Why do conservatives take some diseases seriously, but not others?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservatives-take-some-diseases-seriously-but-not-others/947012/118): > > Modding: > > 1. He made it clear that he is not against them. > 2. It is not against the rules for a mod to raise this kind of question. > 3. It is against the rules to dispute moderation out side of ATMB. > > However your objection is so mild that I will overlook it this time, so no warning. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/12 "2021-08-26T17:23:00Z")
Oh, that makes much more sense. Buuuuuut, Hari\_Seldon wasn’t moderating when he said, “Perhaps it would be best if you read a post before responding. V said very clearly that he is for vaccination only not very loudly.” so DemonTree’s response still wasn’t an objection to modding. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/13 "2021-08-26T17:24:23Z")
Sounds about right to me. And there is still a month gap. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/14 "2021-08-26T17:24:30Z")
Nice detective work. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/15 "2021-08-26T17:25:23Z")
That makes more sense. Hari’s moderation was ridiculous. Looks like retribution to me. His original comment was unnecessary and rude. Somebody should mod-note him for personal insults in GD. Hiding behind the disputing moderation rules is chickenshit. Especially when that did not occur. I have no further confidence in this mod. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/16 "2021-08-26T19:38:31Z")
Ohhh, now it makes much more sense. Thank you, Max. But the moderation is still wrong. Hari wasn’t posting as a moderator, so I wasn’t disputing moderation, and it’s hardly against the rules to ask whether a third party is against using the Covid vaccine in any case. **Voyager** confirmed that I didn’t misread the post, not that it should make any difference either way. And now I remember that I was going to report Hari’s post, until I realised it was written by a mod. Maybe I should have done so anyway, but I didn’t think it would do any good. The whole thing is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/17 "2021-08-26T19:49:45Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > And now I remember that I was going to report Hari’s post, until I realised it was written by a mod. Maybe I should have done so anyway, but I didn’t think it would do any good. If I recall correctly mods are still subject to normal rules when the mod-hat is off. See this instance of a mod modding a mod > [@Us style attack ads showing in Canada](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-style-attack-ads-showing-in-canada/943201/4): > > > [@Us style attack ads showing in Canada](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-style-attack-ads-showing-in-canada/943201/2): > > > > You guys still shitting on us. The reason the border is still closed and 80 and 90 year olds _still_ can’t get their second shots is that you won’t release enough doses, while some states can’t even use the doses they have. > > This is off topic and an inappropriate nationalist attack in the wrong forum. Get off this immediately and stick to the topic of the ad. > > RickJay > Moderator ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/18 "2021-08-26T20:00:08Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > But the moderation is still wrong. Hari wasn’t posting as a moderator, so I wasn’t disputing moderation For all my dust-ups with DemonTree, I agree with her here. The three points in question: 1. Hari’s original comment was wrong. DemonTree was, I believe, asking if Voyager’s conservative acquaintance was saying he was against vaccinations but would’ve been for them in Trump had won in 2020. Hari’s comment that V is for vaccinations (sounds like the most depressing ABC book ever) misunderstood the antecedent of “he” in DemonTree’s comment, and was sneering and condescending to boot. 2. He’s modding her for disagreeing with his non-mod post, which is not at all cool. 3. He’s modding her a month later, which is something that should be reserved for egregious behavior. This is a triple screwup, but #2 is the worst, IMO. Hari, what gives? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/19 "2021-08-26T21:52:39Z")
Bizarro World. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/20 "2021-08-26T22:38:52Z")
Yeah, but people tend to respond better if you pull them aside and privately address a possible public mistake rather than making it a public dispute and inviting others to comment. The latter has a way of making people more defensive. It’s not like they wouldn’t have to publicly address the mistake. And you can escalate to a public dispute if the private interaction doesn’t go well. But you can’t de-escalate back to a private conversation. What you say sounds fair, but I believe it is less effective. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570.md?page=2)