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Old February 28, 2013, 01:52 PM   #1
Willie Sutton
Junior member
 
Join Date: January 26, 2012
Posts: 1,066
Moderators recusal from infracting members

Gents (Moderators),

As a Moderator myself on another forum (not firearms related) with as large a membership as you have here, I am confronted personally with the difficulties in moderation. One of the hardest things to do is to both participate in the give and take of a discussion (as an ordinary member) and interpose upon that the duties of a moderator. On the forum that I moderate, our rule is that we do not infract a member in any conversation that we are personally engaged in, and as a more abolute rule we NEVER issue an infraction if we believe that we *ourselves* are the subject of any off TOS or infractable offense. It is a conflict of interest for a Moderator to infract a member for a discussion that a Moderator is taking part in personally. Generally if we feel that a look is indicated, we ask another moderator to take a look, and then that moderator in discussion with other staff members takes action.

I find myself with an infraction given by a moderator with whom I have been having a friendly exchange, which is the point of the forum. Tit for tat, he ridiculed me, and I exchanged back a good natured and well intended bit of ridicule myself in the friendly spirit of camaraderie. His responce instead of a smile and a "OK.. ya got me" was to (1) Issue an immediate infraction, (2): delete the posting, and (3) Lock the thread to prevent retort.

I believe that this response by the staff member is a serious conflict of interest, and is not in the best keeping of the traditions that we all expect. I am agrieved, and have so indicated to the moderator in question. I asked him to privately consider the ramifications of conflict of interest and let me know his thoughts, he has not responded, and thus I put it to the staff.

Would you please take up this subject privately, and come to a concensus opinion regarding conflict of interest and moderation? The general rules of most forums are that moderators either participate in a thread, or they moderate it, but that they do not do both.

I would appreciate a private response to this so that I know that it has been addressed, and what the policy might be.


Respectfully,

Willie

.

Last edited by Willie Sutton; February 28, 2013 at 02:12 PM.
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Old February 28, 2013, 02:32 PM   #2
Mike Irwin
Staff
 
Join Date: April 13, 2000
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 35,251
Point of order... If you wanted a private response, you should have sent this privately instead of lecturing our staff about what other forums do.

Additionally, complaints about moderator actions taken against you are also not to be aired in the public forums, but taken up with the moderator who took the action.

For those two reasons, I am closing this thread.
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