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Is there a way to report a moderator who appears to abuse his/her powers? How can a user make sure a moderator is not abusing his/her powers or understand why the aforementioned moderator is not doing so?

These are the facts: This recent post has had several replies

The top reply had a comment mentioning that the post may be improved by not suggesting to write to the person because written comments may have a stronger impact and be more embarrassing. It was also suggesting that by doing it "not face-to-face" may have the opposite effect of implying that there is a bigger problem. This comment was up-voted by about 20 people (which, in this context, is a high number). It appears that a new comment was added that replies to it, but the comment it replies to was deleted.

That was a comment relating to the question and it was suggesting (possibly wrongly, of course, it is a matter of opinion) a way to improve it.

In addition, the user who wrote the answer and who wrote the comment answering the previous "suggestion for an improvement" writes a comment that appears to be upset, annoyed at the criticism, and even a little polemical (at least it appears so, in my opinion).

The deleted comment is similar to another comment that says: This has the disadvantage of involving yet another party, though. Depending on the person, mightn't that make it even more embarrassing? However, that comment was made on a different answer, and it was not removed, though it was essentially the same (it pointed to a problem with the approach in the answer, one can disagree with it, but it has its merits).

I have seen other comments on answers by the same user removed, which is why I am asking this question.

I hope this is clear, please ask for clarification if it is not. Thank you!

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    Ideally, you would ask a question on meta about the action; if you'd like, you could turn this question into one. If you do, please be specific about what happened and why you think the moderator's action was incorrect. We're happy to help. – HDE 226868 Apr 30 '18 at 0:24
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    In addition to what HDE said, please do understand that this site has a very, very strict comment policy. We are acting based on the directions of our users in removing chatty, unnecessary, and argumentative comments from posts. – Catija♦ Apr 30 '18 at 0:25
  • @HDE226868 Thank you. I was trying to understand how to do that? Should I mention the moderator? I was not sure whether that would appear rude – user11175 Apr 30 '18 at 0:26
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    Didn't you already ask a question about why your comments were being removed? – sphennings Apr 30 '18 at 0:28
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    @sphennings This is something completely different – user11175 Apr 30 '18 at 0:29
  • It seems to me like you're still asking "How can I determine how a comment of mine was deleted?" – sphennings Apr 30 '18 at 0:30
  • @sphennings It seems you are trying to judge my post before I even post it – user11175 Apr 30 '18 at 0:31
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    @user I would arrange it along the lines of "Here's the content: [Content]. Here's what action a moderator took: [Description]. Here's why I think that action was wrong: [Rationale]." I would advise checking previous meta discussions first, though, in case this sort of situation has already been discussed. – HDE 226868 Apr 30 '18 at 0:31
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    @HDE226868 Thank you for your reply, you are always very helpful and trying to help – user11175 Apr 30 '18 at 0:47
  • It is funny someone already downvoted a question that was just asking for information. People should really read: stackoverflow.blog/2018/04/26/… – user11175 Apr 30 '18 at 0:49
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    If I can maybe make one more suggestion: Your meta posts are both along the lines of "How can I deal with someone who wronged me?" Perhaps in the future, it might be more productive to ask "Why was [moderation action X] taken against my content?" Maybe it's just a superficial change, but it does mean taking a more positive view of the situation - not assuming that the other person's in the wrong. – HDE 226868 Apr 30 '18 at 1:01
  • @HDE226868 I am happy to retitle the question any way you want, I have no problem with that if it sounds rude the way it is. I thought that the content was quite neutral, but I do think there is a problem, I cannot change that – user11175 Apr 30 '18 at 1:34
  • Welcome to the club. Lots of users here don't agree with what is happening. And many give up using IPS. Some do it silently, some with parting shots. Just have a look at recent other Meat posts. But the moderators insist they are right... – user8838 Apr 30 '18 at 6:26
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I was the moderator who deleted your comment. In full, it read

I think the use of IM is not a very good suggestion. People get much more embarrassed having to reply in writing (or even to be told something in writing). I also think the "not face-to-face is not good", it really implies there is something wrong.

The reasons for deletion are basically the same as elaborated upon in response to a previous meta question of yours:

  • We have a strict comments policy here because of the subject matter we deal with on the site, and the importance of serious, well thought-out suggestions.
  • Comments should only be used to request clarifications or suggest improvements, which is why we 're currently running an experiment to change the wording on the "comment" prompt.
  • Your comment expressed your disagreement with the answer. It doesn't matter if you agree or disagree: the comment will get deleted because it doesn't add anything. If you disagree that much, write your own answer.

There are some other things worth noting. First, you'd previously written a comment similar to that under the answer, and it was deleted by another mod; you then rewrote the comment and posted it in the form I quoted above. Second, I don't think that the answerer's tone in their comment was particularly upset; if it was, it might be because they'd already gotten half a dozen comments on their answer expressing agreement or disagreement . . . and that's half a dozen too much.

On a final note, a member of the community flagged the comment before I got to it, so this wasn't moderator action coming out of nowhere.

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  • About 20 people had up-voted that comment. In addition, how is that comment different than the one I quoted? You do not find Cascabel comment polemical, I find it quite so, how can you leave that one and delete the comment it replies to? I think this site (IPS) is by far the most unfriendly of all, I never dealt in any other SE site with so many unreasonable mods (actually, with no-one), tbh, and I belong to more than a dozen. – user11175 Apr 30 '18 at 1:08
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    Is there a forum where I can suggest that IPS should be changed in the way it works? It is really an unfriendly place, and being a member of the SE community for many years, it really bothers me. – user11175 Apr 30 '18 at 1:10
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    @user 16 people upvoted it, and, well, you can't downvote comments. Plus, the question's gotten thousands of views, and it's certain that people must disagree with it. Finally, votes were never, are not, and will never be a factor when it comes to decisions of moderation. That's not how it works. Also, Cascabel's comment was left as a preventative measure, in the hopes of reducing the number of future unnecessary comments on the post. – HDE 226868 Apr 30 '18 at 1:10
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    Feel free to use the contact button at the bottom of any page if you have any concerns. But, be advised, the CMs (Community Managers - the ones who will receive your message) are the ones who started us on this path. – Catija♦ Apr 30 '18 at 1:11
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    @HDE It seems you are not even going to ever admit you made a mistake, and this is a problem with IPS that does not exist in any other SE site – user11175 Apr 30 '18 at 1:11
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    @Catija I like the path, I do not like the attitude. The recent blog post seems to be wanting to go exactly in the opposite direction – user11175 Apr 30 '18 at 1:12
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    If you want a second opinion, I agree with HDE that your comment failed to meet our comment policy's requirements. I would also have deleted your comment. @user As the comment Cascabel left says, if you have a differing opinion, that's the time to write another answer, not to criticize the top-scoring answer. – Catija♦ Apr 30 '18 at 1:12
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    @Catija Of course, it is so different than the other one that was posted :) – user11175 Apr 30 '18 at 1:13

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