Public Member vs. Moderator Feuding

Do you allow it? Are members allowed to publicly question a moderator's decision or warning? For example, a moderator says in a thread, "Guys, please cool it before things get too heated in here" and some members say, "Oh please, we are only debating facts. You have no business in this thread anyways."
How do you handle that? What if it became more extreme than that?

 

Oh yea, some of my mods and members get after it like cats and dogs. I just do not want the mods giving infractions to members when they are going after it.

Nor do I take sides.

 

On my forum,that remark by a member, pm or public post, is a potentially infractionable-offense. It is a rule that members must respect and respond to mod/management guidance & direction. IMO the member response you posted is not a mod & member 'getting into it.' That's a mod acting in their role as mod and a member refusing to acknowledge their role. That's an out-of-line member.

Moderators must be able to give direction and get a respectful response, regardless - management must back them up on that - or they can't moderate and keep the forum good.

My mod team would consider that member response in context. If that member had a habit of disregarding mods they would be moving toward suspension just really fast, or already there, on that remark. See my other thread, Annoying Member, the more recent posts describing how we have re-considered the time we have spent on people who just don't cooperate with management. We used to give more latitude but we are seeing things differently, based on the response of other members, and mod experience.

Allowing members to get away with a response like that annoys the heck out of the other members. It does affect the appeal of the board as a place reasonable, civil and interesting people want to hang out. It discourages the mods from modding.



In another scenario, if a member and a mod just disagree on a discussion point, let's say a classic Republican-Democrat political debate ... both have to post according to the rules of the forum. That includes not baiting - posting provocative remarks not to make a point, but just to annoy others and bicker. If a mod was baiting a member I would have to deal with that mod ... if it continued I would probably have to give them a golden handshake. If it's a reasonable and fair discussion then carry on everyone. Members and mods are expected to be mature about those discussions and not let it carry over into anything else.

So that's the difference I see in what you are asking ... is the mod acting appropriately as a mod? Is the mod participating as a member, and following the rules, including no baiting/bashing? Or not?


I have had a very few members who saw certain mods as 'picking' on them. It was more that we don't have many mods so it isn't uncommon that a member who is pushing the limits will hear from the same mod more than once. If we see that might be the case we tag-team and hand off responses, to impress upon the member that this is not just one mod opinion. I will step in to back the mod up. In fact I did that twice in the last week when a couple of really difficult members thought they would "tell" on the mod that has dealt most with them. They found out my view of their infractions was not friendlier, at all.

 

Kevin, it's like you're in my mind! GET OUT! :p

I'm with Kevin here. I've had members and mods go into arguments on the subject, and they're friends again the next day. No big deal there. I think it was Ray (50calray) who said to me he has two friends, a strict conservative and strict liberal who are best friends, or something to that effect.