# 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:** 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:** [August 26, 2021, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/21 "2021-08-26T22:56:45Z")
This combined with his post of not modding something as trolling because he agreed with it in the political forums does discredit the neutrality mods always claim. ---
**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:** [August 26, 2021, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/22 "2021-08-26T22:58:43Z")
You realize that the sanctions and instructions mods provide aren’t enacted with the same level of concern? ---
**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, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/23 "2021-08-26T23:04:34Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > 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. Only if you feel that some random mod getting butthurt matters at all. ETA: Sure, if it looks like a simple mistake or a misunderstanding, take it up in private if you want. This wasn’t that. But having to appease or wheedle a mod to get them to do the right thing? Not in this lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/24 "2021-08-27T01:06:14Z")
I cut the mods a lot of slack (because they deserve it) but this makes no sense to me at all. Is this moderating while drunk?\* (That’s the best way I can explain it.) I’m not even sure this is abuse of power, it’s just so wrong it feels like a massive mistake. I can’t even think why someone would do this intentionally. \*Not a personal slam. I’ve had people post crazy things on SMDB and after I question them, they’ll respond that they posted while drunk. This feels like one of those things. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/25 "2021-08-27T07:38:39Z")
> [@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. The whole thing is ridiculous. Totally ridiculous. You should _not_ have been modded for any of that, but **Hari** should be modded for for the rudeness of his reply. And a month later? Someone needs to read posts more carefully but it isn’t **DemonTree**. And how about having **Hari** explain this one to everyone instead of just posting “Done” like he did last time. We don’t need guessing from other mods, we need to know what Hari was thinking when he modded a month old post. > [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > I have no further confidence in this mod. I lost that a while ago. From the outside looking in, it seems mods have no accountability for their errors. Posters get public mod notes, public warnings, public topic bans, public suspensions and public banning. Mods get nothing as far as we can tell. Maybe open up that mod loop in cases like this so we can see that something is actually being done to correct the behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/26 "2021-08-27T10:43:45Z")
Add me to the “I don’t understand this” dogpile. I like **Hari** as a poster but he is not very good at all at compartmentalizing and keeping his mod duties (to be performed impartially) separate from his personal posts (in which he can say whatever he wants). To be fair, I’d likely struggle at this as well…which is why I’d never agree to be a moderator. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/27 "2021-08-27T15:07:50Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > SMDB Crap, was I drunk? ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/28 "2021-08-27T15:20:32Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > From the outside looking in, it seems mods have no accountability for their errors. Posters get public mod notes, public warnings, public topic bans, public suspensions and public banning. Mods get nothing as far as we can tell. Not only that, but we’re fairly restricted when it comes to what we can say about mods and moderation, and where we can say it. I’ve said before, I’m not comfortable with mods participating in threads as non-mods, butting heads with a poster (especially in the Pit, where butting heads can get quite heated) and then in the same thread modding the same posters (or not responding to flags and reports about obvious transgressions from that same poster - i.e., tolerating things that wouldn’t otherwise be tolerated because they’re aimed at a poster with whom said mod has butted heads). ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/29 "2021-08-27T17:01:52Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Crap, was I drunk? If you can’t remember, you were probably drunk. 😃 It’s actually amazing how often that gets screwed up here. Either we’re all drunks or there’s something about that combo of letters that makes it look right no matter what order they are in. > [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > I’ve said before, I’m not comfortable with mods participating in threads as non-mods, butting heads with a poster (especially in the Pit, where butting heads can get quite heated) and then in the same thread modding the same posters Theoretically, this should only happen in the Pit, where Miller is the only mod. Since the Pit really has no rules, it’s not a big thing. All the other forums have more than one mod, even if they aren’t all logged in at the same time. Looking at it a little more, I wonder if someone did report **Hari’s** post and that’s where he got this: 3) It is against the rules to dispute moderation out side of ATMB. I have no idea what he is referring to in this: 2) It is not against the rules for a mod to raise this kind of question. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/30 "2021-08-27T17:06:40Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Theoretically, this should only happen in the Pit, where Miller is the only mod. Since the Pit really has no rules, it’s not a big thing. The Pit _doesn’t_ have no rules. It may not have many, and they’re certainly not enforced consistently, but it does have rules. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/31 "2021-08-27T17:17:04Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > It’s actually amazing how often that gets screwed up here. Either we’re all drunks or there’s something about that combo of letters that makes it look right no matter what order they are in. I think it was my brain/fingers confusing SDMB and iMDB. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2021, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/32 "2021-08-27T19:13:20Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I cut the mods a lot of slack (because they deserve it) but this makes no sense to me at all. Is this moderating while drunk?\* (That’s the best way I can explain it.) I’m not even sure this is abuse of power, it’s just so wrong it feels like a massive mistake. I can’t even think why someone would do this intentionally. > > \*Not a personal slam. I’ve had people post crazy things on SMDB and after I question them, they’ll respond that they posted while drunk. This feels like one of those things Aside from the typo, I agree with this entirely (as well as LHoD’s excellent summation a few posts above). ---
**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 28, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/33 "2021-08-28T21:17:15Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > See this instance of a mod modding a mod If I’d known moderators do mod each other’s posts, I definitely would have reported it. Still no reply from @Hari_Seldon, though. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/34 "2021-08-31T09:12:01Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I think it was my brain/fingers confusing SDMB and iMDB. Or possibly BDSM. ---
**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 31, 2021, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/35 "2021-08-31T12:51:51Z")
It’s a small issue since no warning was given or anything, but I’d really like to see this thread addressed by a mod (beyond ‘contact Hari directly’). ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/36 "2021-08-31T16:42:56Z")
Yes, why doesn’t @Hari_Seldon participate in threads about his modding? This is the second thread about him in a short time and, IIRC, all he ever posted was the word “Done” in the first thread. Meanwhile he’s posting and modding like this thread doesn’t exist. Again. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/37 "2021-08-31T20:10:59Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > This is the second thread about him in a short time and, IIRC, all he ever posted was the word “Done” in the first thread. It could be that “done” meant that he was done posting in threads about his moderation? ---
**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 31, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/38 "2021-08-31T20:29:57Z")
Like you said earlier, mods have no accountability. Apparently @Hari_Seldon follows the ‘never apologise, never explain’ philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/39 "2021-08-31T22:44:01Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > It could be that “done” meant that he was done posting in threads about his moderation? Ah, how could I have overlooked the obvious explanation? 😃 > [@DemonTree](#): > > Apparently @Hari_Seldon follows the ‘never apologise, never explain’ philosophy. I’ve said this before but getting an apology about a mistake most places on the internet is like pulling teeth. It’s like if they admit error they irreparably damage themselves somehow. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570/40 "2021-09-01T06:47:03Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > I’ve said before, I’m not comfortable with mods participating in threads as non-mods, butting heads with a poster I agree with this. Mods should not post in threads they moderate. It happens too often that you get an exchange and the Mod puts the mod hat on and chastises the poster, and the poster responds like he did for the last 10 posts, but now it is arguing with a mod and enforceable. The policy should be that if you post in the thread, you don’t mod the thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-moderation/949570.md?page=3)