All I can tell you is my experience. Dunno if it will make any sense.
There were a couple of times, early on, when I was modded, and it outraged me. It was quite arbitrary. Now those were the days before the rules were clarified, so things were trickier then. But I had one question that the moderator just didn’t get. They asked for more detail, and the whole point of the question was to not prejudice people and allow them to open up. Maybe that question would have gotten through under social now.
But there was no real attempt to understand me. In all my communications, the mods were very defensive in trying to explain why they didn’t like it. The communications just weren’t very useful.
In those days, I was somewhat unhinged, so that could have played a role, but I felt so wronged that I can’t believe it was all me.
I think that some kind of appeals process would help. I don’t think a lot of modded questions should get to the appeal, but I do think that in rare cases, the mod fucked up.
I have been modded several times since then. In every single case, I thought I might get modded, but I decided to see if it would get through. The questions needed to be in the form I wanted, but that form was a potential violation of the rules. But it was acceptable, because I understood the rules. They are much clearer now, and not so much subject to arbitrary decisions by individuals. My impression is that you talk things out more, now.
It might be nice if new users took a voluntary quiz about the rules early on. Maybe it could be a fun game, and people could get various awards for passing different sections. That would probably appeal to the kind of person who is most likely to violate the rules. Serious people wouldn’t be interested, but then, they would probably understand without ever having to be told.
But communication is the key. It has to be as clear as possible up front, what this place is. I realize many people won’t read stuff. They just want to get started, but at some point along the way, we want to make sure people understand. Right now, it seems to be happening on an ad hoc basis, as people get into trouble and the mods try to set them straight.
Mostly, these days, I get a question modded because it has typos. Once in a while because it doesn’t have enough details. Sometimes I get an answer modded, but that’s because I’m being too flippant or off-topic with a serious question. Those things don’t bother me. It’s getting modded when I feel very strongly the moderation is inappropriate that I mind.
I used to think that the mods should pay attention to me because I’ve been around a while, and people seem to generally appreciate my comments, even if they don’t agree with me. But I realize that I don’t have any clout around here—at least, not with the mods. I know I’m easily replaced, just as at work. It really doesn’t matter what kind of work you do these days. No one is irreplaceable. I think the mods keep us clear on what the bottom line is. I try not to think about it much. It makes me too depressed. But it keeps me honest, too. The only reason to be here is if you’re having fun doing what you’re doing. You use the site for your own pleasure, and the site puts up with you as long as you toe the line. If either side doesn’t like it, you’re gone. No love lost. Not how I’d run it, but then, no one asked me.
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