Do the moderators have a code of conduct that they have to follow?

I would be upset if they weren’t held to he same standards. If you think one of them is crossing the line with you I suggest you send a PM to Andrew or Ben. Or, you could speak to one of the other mods and I’m sure they would take care of it.

I have a lot of faith in the moderators of this site, they do a very good job.

If a mod has sent you a PM and used a term you personally find offensive PM them back and tell them so. All the moderators I know of seem sane and normal and therefore it is probably an honest mistake. If you do not get an apology or explanation after you have given them the chance to defend themself you could contact Ben or Andrew (the founders) or Richardhenry (Community Manager).

In answer to your question I would hope the moderators have a code of conduct just as all the other members have a code of conduct.

The moderator code of conduct
Be courteous, kind, and forgiving. Be gentle and peaceful each day. Be warm and human and grateful, and have a good thing to say.

Be thoughtful and trustful and childlike. Be witty and happy and wise. Be honest and love all your neighbors. Be obsequious, purple, and clairvoyant.

Be pompous, obese, and eat cactus. Be dull and boring and omnipresent. Criticize things you don’t know about. Be oblong and have your knees removed.

Be tasteless, rude and offensive. Live in a swamp and be three-dimensional. Put a live chicken in your underwear. Get all excited and go to a yawning festival.

Steve Martin

Don’t forget ‘friendly, courteous, kind, brave, clean, and reverent’

Or tactless, muddled, obfuscating, arbitrary ,bullying, and extremely drunk, just as Andrew and Ben have requested

Whatever the code of conduct may be, remember: they are only human.

[mod says:] The moderators are upheld to the same guidelines as any other member. But like augustlan said, mods are still human though some might disagree :P and sometimes get caught up in a controversial/heated thread. And when this has happened and it has probably happened with every mod at least 2–3 times their quips are removed just like any other user’s would be. An important thing to remember is that all mods on this site first joined as a jelly and a part of the community, just like everyone else. The reason we are mods is to help shape the site in the right way. But if we were told that we have to curb our opinions and play nice on every thread irrespective of our personal emotions, then I don’t think a single one of us would still remain mod.

It is important to remember that whenever a mod answers a Q, they answer the Q as any other jelly and so their answer represents only their own opinion. The only exception to this is if they have marked their quip with a ”[mod says:].” If that is the case, only then are they speaking on behalf of the whole mod team.

Also, I haven’t really seen anyone refraining from flagging a Q/quip just because it was asked by a mod. But if that is the case with some of you, you should know that you should feel free to flag mods if you feel their answer is against the guidelines, and we have then proceeded to remove the quip/Q if the rest of the mods agree with your reasoning.

Seriously guys, this isn’t a bully system. You aren’t all little kids that we are here to monitor and rebuke. Consider it more of a “peer review” system. We try to stay as objective as possible and there are sufficient checks and balances in place (such as each mod gets emailed about all mod activity) that one mod can’t go awry (without consequences) even if s/he tried.

Thanks for the info from a mod perspective PnL :)

Ben and Andrew were mean to me. Who do I complain to?

thanks for the support asmonet =)

@Chuckie – I’ll take care of it.

And Devi is mean to me too!

only because you never deliver my mail on time

Don’t worry Chuck, we’ll get em back. You get down on your hands and knees behind em and I’ll give them a shove. That’ll fix em!

@PnL- Not true. I just put it in the wrong mailbox. Is it my fault your neighbors don’t bring it to you?

I joined as a jelly. Wobble wobble.

@AstroChuck The next level up is Jesus (Christ). Email jesus (at) fluther (dot) com if you’d like to report Ben and Andrew to him. He’s not very busy these days so I don’t think he’ll mind.

@richardhenry What kind of banner does Jesus get?

Gladly, the cross-eyed bear.

I think the way to solve this problem is to MAKE the moderators wear specific avatars that denote them as moderators. Perhaps an iron-clad jellyfish. Any input on moderator-only avatars is welcome. I think we lesser jellyfish (non-moderator) types should get to vote on what avatar is suitable for our fluther masters. :-)

@evelyns_pet_zebra, Don’t make me change my avatar :( It is the jellyfish I was given when I joined over two years ago, and I am quite attached to it.

@evelyns_pet_zebra – Reread the part where I talk about mods started out as normal jelly fish members and will not appreciate the abilities available to normal members being taken away from them. One such ability is choosing your own avatar :P

Removed by normal, kind, gentle, humorous people who have only your best interests in mind- and are, in fact, people just like you, who own pets and love children (or vice-versa) too!

. o O ( own children and love pets? )

@Grisson I own a whole herd of children to kill and eat when I’m feeling hungry.

@richardhenry Awesome… I was just trying to figure out the vice-versa thing.

@richardhenry, if you need some new recipes, let me know. I have several that go over well in the cannibalist circles I run in, including Toasted Toddler Surprise and Marinated Roast Infant with baby potatoes and carrots.

@evelyns_pet_zebra Baby potatoes. Lol.