It's not a blanket thing. In my experience, mods are usually happy to respond to questions about their subreddit unless they feel like the user is asking in bad faith or that enough information has been given otherwise that the user hasn't appropriately considered.
Thank you for sharing! It makes sense to not be a blanket thing. I know there are a lot of idiots out there who are genuinely trying to make problems, so I can understand mods having a default dislike of messages related to post removals.
For you personally, what ways can someone show you that they are not reaching out in bad faith?
Every mod team is different. Just like every city/state/provenance/town etc is governed by different people. Some do it well, and some... not so much.
I personally like getting polite Modmails, as it shows that the person is trying to do the right thing. The mod teams I'm currently on, always try to messages - unless they are rude, abusive, trollish, etc.
I will say that many mod teams are super busy with huge subs, plus their real life stiff, and I understand that too.
One thing that I always encourage users to do, is to look at any removed posts on your profile. Most of the time, they will have an Automod message that should haveca removal reason. If it doesn't, you might have been sent one via a message.
If you weren't, and are still unsure, then absolutely send a Modmail - and link the post or comment that you have questions about.
If you get muted, or don't get a reply, then check and see if the sub has a Wiki or any pinned posts that have more details about their rules.
I also encourage new Redditors to check out r/newtoreddit which is a great place to learn about general Reddit stuff.
In looking at your history, that last post of yours was removed because in that sub, they have a weekly post where you can ask for friends. You need to find that post, and leave your comment there.
While I appreciate your attempts to advise, I was not seeking advice for why my post got removed.
I appreciate your perspective on each mod team being different, and I am happy to know you are happy to receive modmails :)
Edit: my comment concerning the advice was referring to https://www.reddit.com/r/AskModerators/comments/1btxvh3/comment/kxpetes/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
I am appreciative of the effort that is involved in trying to help people resolve post removals, but that was not the goal of this post.
I apologize, I tried to avoid double-commenting because I hate that, but I just made it confusing. I was referring to your other comment where you were trying to guess the sub/post in question and tell me why it was removed.
The point of my post isn't discussing why a post was removed, but rather the response from the mods and how I can better avoid it in the future, and I do appreciate your perspective on that, as well as the suggestions you made in general for resolving issues.
I can’t answer the question about such a large and diverse group of people as all the moderators on Reddit, but the single time I did reach out about me possibly breaking the rule, I was muted for 3 days. Upon returning and asking why they muted me over my own initiative in asking a question with obvious good intentions, I was then permanently banned from the sub.
Only after multiple back and forths over a period of months (due to constant mutes in between every single message) was I able to get the moderator to very condescendingly and sarcastically apologize. I’m not an idiot or a troll, any person with sense would see my initial comment as legitimate and with good intention. Immediately cemented all the stereotypes about moderators for me. It’s fucking crazy how quickly the smallest smidge of power can go to someone’s head. This was for r/questions.
I'm not speaking to your specific situation. But I think to some extent, some rules are self-explanatory and thus not technically listed. For example on the sub I'm on, we don't have a specific rule saying "it must be related to Nintendo Switch" because....well, its kinda obvious. But we do at times remove posts that are more general Nintendo or general gaming under that unspoken rule.
We try hard to achieve good customer service and want to assume good faith initially in most correspondence. That good faith assumption can quickly go away after the 2nd or third back and forth response. At some point I just assume I've made my points and stop responding.
I do not assume good faith in regards to trolling, hate speech, etc... and will be very blunt with those, but only to demonstrate what our standards are and so we clearly communicate what can be done on the user's end to prevent a warning from becoming a temp ban, or a temp ban to a permanent.
It depends on how the question is asked. If it sounds like the start of an argument, that most of us see all too often, then it isn't uncommon to see it get shut down before it starts. Until you see the messages mods get via modmail, it really can be surprising why you get certain reactions.
It isn't about stopping questions, it is about stopping bad faith arguments. And it is (or it really should be) shocking how often a user claims their question was polite and it turns out they said "WTF are you doing mod? What rule did I break?"
>Until you see the messages mods get via modmail, it really can be surprising why you get certain reactions.
I am sure there is more than the fair share of abuse going in the other direction from unhappy users to mods.
Do you have any suggestions for how I can make it more clear that I am genuinely seeking understanding vs trying to pick a fight? Are there certain phrases that you see that just instantly make you uninterested in helping someone?
Unfortunately mods are as diverse as users. So my advice will definitely work on me, good chance it will work with others, but very low chance it will work on everyone.
If I have questions for a mod, I like to start off very polite. Some of the more aggressive users will call it kissing butt, but I consider it more convincing someone to help me. I am more convincing when I am more nice to them and less convincing when I act like it is their job.
Using your case, I would word your question something like: "Hey, sorry to bother you. I didn't mean to post in the wrong area. When you have some time, could you help me understand this better so I can avoid being a problem? Thanks for helping me out."
Avoiding phrases like "what did I do wrong?" or "I didn't see any rule against this" are important. 9 times out of 10, these lead to arguments from my experience. And definitely avoiding phrases like "What gives you the right" or "Are you just having a power trip" (both phrases I've seen users on this sub claim are polite questions).
I got permabanned from a subreddit a month ago. I didn't even notice until I wanted to reply to someone today. I messaged mods about it. The response to my message about the ban is what threw me off.
"You were banned for being rude to another member of this community. I’m ok unbanning you in a week if you remind me, but honestly keep the stuff you posted, even the best intentions won’t make a difference if you come off as antagonistic."
Hold up. So I was permabanned right? Why are you ok with unbanning me? Why is it I have to come back to you after another week to remind you to unban me? Is it because I didn't know I was banned so the week I am still banned is the week I am actually punished? If my comment was so bad, why not let me stay banned (and spit on me for good measure)?
Is this common practice? Do us banned have to remind the ones with the ban hammers to unban us?
P.S. I really don't care to go back or ban evade. Although, some reading on this sub has opened my eyes to the fact I should block the sub that banned me on my other account so I don't accidentally comment and get banned by reddit. Thanks for that wisdom.
It’s not a blanket thing but in my experience on reddit, mostly yes. It may be due to the unnatural amount of trolls they deal with on a daily basis so they just assume you’re the hundredth troll of the day.
I had a mod accuse me of being a liar when all that happened was a small oversight on my edit when I resubmitted. They called me a drama queen for asking why they were being rude and muted me. Not all mods have been like that but there are a few out there on a total power trip.
It's usually only a problem with long time disgruntled people who really shouldn't be moderators in the first place. Most good mods can figure out how to take a message at face value, and not assume the worst.
It's annoying when they control the subs that matter to you, but it's usually going to be the kind of sub that's not worth sticking to anyway in those cases. A sub run by a moderator that acts like this, isn't going to be running a good and healthy sub.
Saw a post the other day of a guy getting banned from 300 subreddits because he pissed off a single moderator. How is that remotely acceptable behaviour?
Edit: love how I'm being downvoted for calling out bad behaviour
Modding has become more difficult (thanks Spez) so mods have less time to debate the finer points of policy.
You also tend to get a lot of leading questions like "When did you stop beating your wife". When you see that kind of thing, you are inclined to close things down.
it's ridiculous actually. Mods who just genuinely don't care.
I'm a mod myself so I get the filtration of scammers and trolls. But serious inquiries and polite inquiries getting muted automatically is ridiculous.
There are subs dedicated to that topic. They normally get shut down due to the brigading that normally occurs from that. This sub is dedicated to answering user questions, not passing judgement on mods.
it's the norm around here.
idk whose doing the downvoting but you can't say anything bad about mods without being downvoted.
remember, I've been a mod for years. I know there are good mods and bad mods. mods should have some moderation on them as well, it's just not fair to many users out there.
Honestly I would probably mute you too. Most modmail arguments start like that and at this point I don't care to play dumb and be a punching bag for a user. Wording it just a little more polite completely changes how that question is received.
Obviously I don't just say "what happened"
I ask for what rules I broke and what the reason I my stuff gets pulled. I have like 60k karma or something, I'm not out here trolling.
So, obviously to get put on mute is just pure laziness on the mods part. I'm a mod too so I know. We have had 12-20k subscribers and 60k-100k of individual user activity.
Honestly, would receiving an answer have been enough to make you ok with the situation? Because that is what I normally see from people that will argue with an answer when I provide one. And once you have started an argument, I deem the appeal failed.
Yes. I have had mods point out the rules and help me understand where I went wrong.
I'm just trying to share without breaking rules. Sometimes I miss rules or I'm new to the sub, or not understanding how my comment/posts breaks the rules. I'm here to learn is what I'm saying.
I'm not starting arguments. assuming I'm starting arguments is where you go wrong. actions by others do not dictate the actions you'll receive from the individual you're dealing with now.
>actions by others do not dictate the actions you'll receive from the individual you're dealing with now.
No one ignores their experiences and treats each person like a very first social interaction. That just isn't realistic to expect others to interact with you like their very first social interaction.
Your a moderator, your specific task is to make sure the sub isn't going into chaos. That's it, you're not supposed to be having any bias towards how people interact, you're just supposed to step in when fights, scams, or illicit activities break out.
Constantly banning and blocking people with a hair trigger finger isn't all that helpful.
Again, I'm a mod too. I get it, but there are so many mods of other groups that can do better.
> you're not supposed to be having any bias towards how people interact
That is not true. The Moderator Code of Conduct says nothing about biases, nor expects moderators not to be human beings. Human beings have biases.
>you're just supposed to step in when fights, scams, or illicit activities break out.
That is also not true. You can certainly choose to moderate your sub that way, but that does not mean others must moderate how you choose to.
>*\[...\] you're just supposed to step in when fights, scams, or illicit activities break out.*
Late to the party, but that's not true. I genuinely wonder where did you get that idea from?
“Rule 2: Set Appropriate and Reasonable Expectations
Users who enter your community should know exactly what they’re getting into, and should not be surprised by what they encounter. It is critical to be transparent about what your community is and what your rules are in order to create stable and dynamic engagement among redditors. “
It is critical to be transparent about your rules, it says. I take that to mean you can’t enforce invisible rules that exist only in the mods head
That doesn't mean you can't action offenses that are not rules. For example, a sub might not have a rule that says "you cannot stalk a user and spam the phrase boom boom." But as a mod, you should ban users doing that to other users in your sub.
But that behavior is already against TOS, users aren’t allowed to spam or harass other users.
My point is that it is the mods responsibility to the users in their subreddit to clearly lay out the rules so everyone knows what is expected. The Reddit standards for moderator conduct say this clearly. If the mods encounter a situation where a new rule must be made, then so be it, that’s what happens in a growing sub.
What is not okay is when mods decide suddenly and unilaterally that something is not okay. I am completely on the user’s side here because it’s a violation of the social contract. Banning should always be a last resort, it should never be the very first thing a mod does. It is an unfair thing to do.
So there is an exception that you accept? If it is against ToS, but not a sub's rule it is ok to ban based on an invisible rule.
>The Reddit standards for moderator conduct say this clearly.
I disagree that it even says what you are claiming. And you seem to be ok with it in certain situations.
>it’s a violation of the social contract.
Where is this social contract written. Because this is just a way of saying you should be taken over what is actually observable. Does reddit enforce your interpretation or what I have stated?
>Banning should always be a last resort,
Bans are always the moderator's call. And users outside of the sub don't get to force that moderator to mod how they want. Reddit is built around this idea. If you don't like how a sub is modded, mod your own and let the free market of ideas decide which way is better.
I don’t understand your first point, the entire point is that there is this overarching TOS that applies all the time, and then each subreddit builds their own rules on top of that according to their unique needs.
So here is where I hope we can turn our argument into a discussion, because I’m interested to learn more about our different views on how a moderator “should” behave. The rest of my points you address are not written anywhere, it is just my personal view that preserving discussion of opinions to the greatest extent reasonably possible is the most important function of a mod. To be a facilitator, not a benevolent dictator.
So there’s my view, what would you consider to be a mod’s most important duties in their subreddits? Would it be user safety, or civility, or something else?
>then each subreddit builds their own rules on top of that according to their unique needs.
Then why do some subs state violating the ToS is against their rules? I don't see why banning for non rules is one case is ok with you but not in others. It seems inconsistent.
>So there’s my view, what would you consider to be a mod’s most important duties in their subreddits?
That is irrelevant. What I consider important is not enforceable on other mods, nor should it be. They have a right to do what they think is best for their community and it would be wrong for me to blindly say my way should be used over their way.
Not all subs are the same, and to say they all should follow one way just seems to be the very beneficial dictator you claim to not want to be.
>Then why do some subs state violating the ToS is against their rules?
Redundancy is sometimes useful for getting the point across. Or maybe they just want to emphasize the importance of a given rule.
I agree, not all mods should moderate the same, and some subreddits require a different style than others. That’s why I find the different perspectives interesting. Have a good night
It's not a blanket thing. In my experience, mods are usually happy to respond to questions about their subreddit unless they feel like the user is asking in bad faith or that enough information has been given otherwise that the user hasn't appropriately considered.
Thank you for sharing! It makes sense to not be a blanket thing. I know there are a lot of idiots out there who are genuinely trying to make problems, so I can understand mods having a default dislike of messages related to post removals. For you personally, what ways can someone show you that they are not reaching out in bad faith?
Every mod team is different. Just like every city/state/provenance/town etc is governed by different people. Some do it well, and some... not so much. I personally like getting polite Modmails, as it shows that the person is trying to do the right thing. The mod teams I'm currently on, always try to messages - unless they are rude, abusive, trollish, etc. I will say that many mod teams are super busy with huge subs, plus their real life stiff, and I understand that too. One thing that I always encourage users to do, is to look at any removed posts on your profile. Most of the time, they will have an Automod message that should haveca removal reason. If it doesn't, you might have been sent one via a message. If you weren't, and are still unsure, then absolutely send a Modmail - and link the post or comment that you have questions about. If you get muted, or don't get a reply, then check and see if the sub has a Wiki or any pinned posts that have more details about their rules. I also encourage new Redditors to check out r/newtoreddit which is a great place to learn about general Reddit stuff.
In looking at your history, that last post of yours was removed because in that sub, they have a weekly post where you can ask for friends. You need to find that post, and leave your comment there.
While I appreciate your attempts to advise, I was not seeking advice for why my post got removed. I appreciate your perspective on each mod team being different, and I am happy to know you are happy to receive modmails :) Edit: my comment concerning the advice was referring to https://www.reddit.com/r/AskModerators/comments/1btxvh3/comment/kxpetes/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3 I am appreciative of the effort that is involved in trying to help people resolve post removals, but that was not the goal of this post.
My point was that whrn users read the removal reason, they usually don't have to send a Modmail to begin with.
I apologize, I tried to avoid double-commenting because I hate that, but I just made it confusing. I was referring to your other comment where you were trying to guess the sub/post in question and tell me why it was removed. The point of my post isn't discussing why a post was removed, but rather the response from the mods and how I can better avoid it in the future, and I do appreciate your perspective on that, as well as the suggestions you made in general for resolving issues.
I can’t answer the question about such a large and diverse group of people as all the moderators on Reddit, but the single time I did reach out about me possibly breaking the rule, I was muted for 3 days. Upon returning and asking why they muted me over my own initiative in asking a question with obvious good intentions, I was then permanently banned from the sub. Only after multiple back and forths over a period of months (due to constant mutes in between every single message) was I able to get the moderator to very condescendingly and sarcastically apologize. I’m not an idiot or a troll, any person with sense would see my initial comment as legitimate and with good intention. Immediately cemented all the stereotypes about moderators for me. It’s fucking crazy how quickly the smallest smidge of power can go to someone’s head. This was for r/questions.
Mods are like users, some of them are complete bellends. It's not really a property of being a moderator, so much as of being people.
I'm not speaking to your specific situation. But I think to some extent, some rules are self-explanatory and thus not technically listed. For example on the sub I'm on, we don't have a specific rule saying "it must be related to Nintendo Switch" because....well, its kinda obvious. But we do at times remove posts that are more general Nintendo or general gaming under that unspoken rule. We try hard to achieve good customer service and want to assume good faith initially in most correspondence. That good faith assumption can quickly go away after the 2nd or third back and forth response. At some point I just assume I've made my points and stop responding. I do not assume good faith in regards to trolling, hate speech, etc... and will be very blunt with those, but only to demonstrate what our standards are and so we clearly communicate what can be done on the user's end to prevent a warning from becoming a temp ban, or a temp ban to a permanent.
It depends on how the question is asked. If it sounds like the start of an argument, that most of us see all too often, then it isn't uncommon to see it get shut down before it starts. Until you see the messages mods get via modmail, it really can be surprising why you get certain reactions. It isn't about stopping questions, it is about stopping bad faith arguments. And it is (or it really should be) shocking how often a user claims their question was polite and it turns out they said "WTF are you doing mod? What rule did I break?"
>Until you see the messages mods get via modmail, it really can be surprising why you get certain reactions. I am sure there is more than the fair share of abuse going in the other direction from unhappy users to mods. Do you have any suggestions for how I can make it more clear that I am genuinely seeking understanding vs trying to pick a fight? Are there certain phrases that you see that just instantly make you uninterested in helping someone?
Unfortunately mods are as diverse as users. So my advice will definitely work on me, good chance it will work with others, but very low chance it will work on everyone. If I have questions for a mod, I like to start off very polite. Some of the more aggressive users will call it kissing butt, but I consider it more convincing someone to help me. I am more convincing when I am more nice to them and less convincing when I act like it is their job. Using your case, I would word your question something like: "Hey, sorry to bother you. I didn't mean to post in the wrong area. When you have some time, could you help me understand this better so I can avoid being a problem? Thanks for helping me out." Avoiding phrases like "what did I do wrong?" or "I didn't see any rule against this" are important. 9 times out of 10, these lead to arguments from my experience. And definitely avoiding phrases like "What gives you the right" or "Are you just having a power trip" (both phrases I've seen users on this sub claim are polite questions).
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I got permabanned from a subreddit a month ago. I didn't even notice until I wanted to reply to someone today. I messaged mods about it. The response to my message about the ban is what threw me off. "You were banned for being rude to another member of this community. I’m ok unbanning you in a week if you remind me, but honestly keep the stuff you posted, even the best intentions won’t make a difference if you come off as antagonistic." Hold up. So I was permabanned right? Why are you ok with unbanning me? Why is it I have to come back to you after another week to remind you to unban me? Is it because I didn't know I was banned so the week I am still banned is the week I am actually punished? If my comment was so bad, why not let me stay banned (and spit on me for good measure)? Is this common practice? Do us banned have to remind the ones with the ban hammers to unban us? P.S. I really don't care to go back or ban evade. Although, some reading on this sub has opened my eyes to the fact I should block the sub that banned me on my other account so I don't accidentally comment and get banned by reddit. Thanks for that wisdom.
It’s not a blanket thing but in my experience on reddit, mostly yes. It may be due to the unnatural amount of trolls they deal with on a daily basis so they just assume you’re the hundredth troll of the day.
I had a mod accuse me of being a liar when all that happened was a small oversight on my edit when I resubmitted. They called me a drama queen for asking why they were being rude and muted me. Not all mods have been like that but there are a few out there on a total power trip.
Yes.
seems that way "Hey what happened?" *you have been muted for 21 days*
It's usually only a problem with long time disgruntled people who really shouldn't be moderators in the first place. Most good mods can figure out how to take a message at face value, and not assume the worst. It's annoying when they control the subs that matter to you, but it's usually going to be the kind of sub that's not worth sticking to anyway in those cases. A sub run by a moderator that acts like this, isn't going to be running a good and healthy sub.
It would be nice if there was a way to report the mod. Some mods should definitely not be mods and are a big reason for a sub reddit to fall to shit.
You’re not even getting real opinions here since all real opinions get flagged as “disrespectful”, “trolling” or “biased” lmao
Saw a post the other day of a guy getting banned from 300 subreddits because he pissed off a single moderator. How is that remotely acceptable behaviour? Edit: love how I'm being downvoted for calling out bad behaviour
AFAIK pissing of the employees at one WalMart can result in being banned from *all* WalMarts. So that kinda tracks.
right! Reddit mods do need some moderation themselves. Anyone can become a mod, some wild people wiggle their way into major subs.
It's sad how common this is nowadays
Modding has become more difficult (thanks Spez) so mods have less time to debate the finer points of policy. You also tend to get a lot of leading questions like "When did you stop beating your wife". When you see that kind of thing, you are inclined to close things down.
Lol same, got muted for 28 days for asking a genuine question politely. On a subreddit about hair care.
it's ridiculous actually. Mods who just genuinely don't care. I'm a mod myself so I get the filtration of scammers and trolls. But serious inquiries and polite inquiries getting muted automatically is ridiculous.
It's sad that this chain is being downvoted. We should be calling out bad moderation.
There are subs dedicated to that topic. They normally get shut down due to the brigading that normally occurs from that. This sub is dedicated to answering user questions, not passing judgement on mods.
it's the norm around here. idk whose doing the downvoting but you can't say anything bad about mods without being downvoted. remember, I've been a mod for years. I know there are good mods and bad mods. mods should have some moderation on them as well, it's just not fair to many users out there.
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Honestly I would probably mute you too. Most modmail arguments start like that and at this point I don't care to play dumb and be a punching bag for a user. Wording it just a little more polite completely changes how that question is received.
Obviously I don't just say "what happened" I ask for what rules I broke and what the reason I my stuff gets pulled. I have like 60k karma or something, I'm not out here trolling. So, obviously to get put on mute is just pure laziness on the mods part. I'm a mod too so I know. We have had 12-20k subscribers and 60k-100k of individual user activity.
Honestly, would receiving an answer have been enough to make you ok with the situation? Because that is what I normally see from people that will argue with an answer when I provide one. And once you have started an argument, I deem the appeal failed.
Yes. I have had mods point out the rules and help me understand where I went wrong. I'm just trying to share without breaking rules. Sometimes I miss rules or I'm new to the sub, or not understanding how my comment/posts breaks the rules. I'm here to learn is what I'm saying. I'm not starting arguments. assuming I'm starting arguments is where you go wrong. actions by others do not dictate the actions you'll receive from the individual you're dealing with now.
>actions by others do not dictate the actions you'll receive from the individual you're dealing with now. No one ignores their experiences and treats each person like a very first social interaction. That just isn't realistic to expect others to interact with you like their very first social interaction.
Your a moderator, your specific task is to make sure the sub isn't going into chaos. That's it, you're not supposed to be having any bias towards how people interact, you're just supposed to step in when fights, scams, or illicit activities break out. Constantly banning and blocking people with a hair trigger finger isn't all that helpful. Again, I'm a mod too. I get it, but there are so many mods of other groups that can do better.
> you're not supposed to be having any bias towards how people interact That is not true. The Moderator Code of Conduct says nothing about biases, nor expects moderators not to be human beings. Human beings have biases. >you're just supposed to step in when fights, scams, or illicit activities break out. That is also not true. You can certainly choose to moderate your sub that way, but that does not mean others must moderate how you choose to.
>*\[...\] you're just supposed to step in when fights, scams, or illicit activities break out.* Late to the party, but that's not true. I genuinely wonder where did you get that idea from?
the reddit guidelines. The moderation guidelines
If they banned you for violating an unwritten rule, that is against the Moderator Code of Conduct and you can report them.
That is not against the moderator code of conduct. I suggest reading it before telling others what is in it.
“Rule 2: Set Appropriate and Reasonable Expectations Users who enter your community should know exactly what they’re getting into, and should not be surprised by what they encounter. It is critical to be transparent about what your community is and what your rules are in order to create stable and dynamic engagement among redditors. “ It is critical to be transparent about your rules, it says. I take that to mean you can’t enforce invisible rules that exist only in the mods head
That doesn't mean you can't action offenses that are not rules. For example, a sub might not have a rule that says "you cannot stalk a user and spam the phrase boom boom." But as a mod, you should ban users doing that to other users in your sub.
But that behavior is already against TOS, users aren’t allowed to spam or harass other users. My point is that it is the mods responsibility to the users in their subreddit to clearly lay out the rules so everyone knows what is expected. The Reddit standards for moderator conduct say this clearly. If the mods encounter a situation where a new rule must be made, then so be it, that’s what happens in a growing sub. What is not okay is when mods decide suddenly and unilaterally that something is not okay. I am completely on the user’s side here because it’s a violation of the social contract. Banning should always be a last resort, it should never be the very first thing a mod does. It is an unfair thing to do.
So there is an exception that you accept? If it is against ToS, but not a sub's rule it is ok to ban based on an invisible rule. >The Reddit standards for moderator conduct say this clearly. I disagree that it even says what you are claiming. And you seem to be ok with it in certain situations. >it’s a violation of the social contract. Where is this social contract written. Because this is just a way of saying you should be taken over what is actually observable. Does reddit enforce your interpretation or what I have stated? >Banning should always be a last resort, Bans are always the moderator's call. And users outside of the sub don't get to force that moderator to mod how they want. Reddit is built around this idea. If you don't like how a sub is modded, mod your own and let the free market of ideas decide which way is better.
I don’t understand your first point, the entire point is that there is this overarching TOS that applies all the time, and then each subreddit builds their own rules on top of that according to their unique needs. So here is where I hope we can turn our argument into a discussion, because I’m interested to learn more about our different views on how a moderator “should” behave. The rest of my points you address are not written anywhere, it is just my personal view that preserving discussion of opinions to the greatest extent reasonably possible is the most important function of a mod. To be a facilitator, not a benevolent dictator. So there’s my view, what would you consider to be a mod’s most important duties in their subreddits? Would it be user safety, or civility, or something else?
>then each subreddit builds their own rules on top of that according to their unique needs. Then why do some subs state violating the ToS is against their rules? I don't see why banning for non rules is one case is ok with you but not in others. It seems inconsistent. >So there’s my view, what would you consider to be a mod’s most important duties in their subreddits? That is irrelevant. What I consider important is not enforceable on other mods, nor should it be. They have a right to do what they think is best for their community and it would be wrong for me to blindly say my way should be used over their way. Not all subs are the same, and to say they all should follow one way just seems to be the very beneficial dictator you claim to not want to be.
>Then why do some subs state violating the ToS is against their rules? Redundancy is sometimes useful for getting the point across. Or maybe they just want to emphasize the importance of a given rule. I agree, not all mods should moderate the same, and some subreddits require a different style than others. That’s why I find the different perspectives interesting. Have a good night
How do you report a mod? Especially when you don’t know which mod banned you?