I've conversed with a couple members today about a thread in which they were getting a little out of hand. I conveyed this type of message to them and it seemed to go well. So I will expound upon it here to give a better understanding from my point of view.
In a perfect world, every member would only debate/discuss the issues in a given thread, instead of discussion turning into more of a personal one. Personal digs at others (subtle or otherwise) doesn't go very far toward proving a point and maintaining a solid debate.
However, this isn't a perfect world and none of us are - perfect. We all make mistakes and get sidetracked. It happens. When discussions gets derailed toward one that would go against the rules/principles of CF - no matter how subtle, they often spiral south rather quick.
As moderators, it is our job to mitigate these things from happening. It is a judgment call sometimes and could go either way. We discuss them and try to take the most appropriate action in a timely manner. Wait too long and the damage is done – then the entire thread may need to go. That’s a route we like to stay away from.
A mod takes public action (post editing, posting reminders/warnings, etc.) and suddenly we're mean people that have power-trip issues. In reality, our goal is to maintain a board where members can participate in various debates/discussions and all feel welcome to express their opinions without being chastised in the process. And, many of us are still new to this game. Keep in mind CF hasn’t been around forever. The moderating team, just as the site – continues to grow and evolve.
As noted in this thread, perhaps we need to send members more personal messages rather than just editing posts. It is far more time consuming to do this and sometimes the doesn't help matters - but only escalates them. Other times though, it smoothes things out. Damned if ya do, damned if ya don't.
As far as not being able to see a deletion or who did it - sometimes we hit the wrong buttons. I know of at least one case where I did that (just last week) and realized it after it was too late. We have a few options when editing posts/threads and I've caught myself a few times hitting the wrong one.
As noted, if you find a post to be out of line or close to it, use the report post function. It's sent to a mod board where we discuss them and decide what action to take. We've never been critical of members using this feature - we encourage it as it helps us out.
If you disagree with how a post was moderated, by all means contact that moderator. I personally welcome this, I'd like to know where you are coming from. What I don't appreciate and won't receive well, are the venom-laden responses to having something you posted moderated. If you want to discuss it, we can do so as adults. Otherwise you likely won't get the response/action you are seeking. Contrary to some beliefs, I nor any other mod is out to get anyone. If I enjoyed fighting with people rather than discussing the topics at hand, I’d be in politics!
I also saw something here about inconsistency with what is allowed to stay and what isn’t. This board sees a lot of activity – more than the other Cyclone boards combined. While that is fantastic and I hope it continues, it’s very hard for us to see and thoroughly read each and every post. So again, please use the report post function when you see something you feel needs addressed.
Hopefully that clears some things up or maybe it muddied the waters for you. I’d be more than happy to discuss these things with you in a civil manner at any time – just PM me.
Thanks in advance for your cooperation.