What do I do if I think a Moderator is abusing his/her power?

[proteus]

First step: take a deep breath. Remember that our Moderators are unpaid volunteers, and that they are tasked with the difficult job of keeping conversation civil on an Internet forum frequented by people from dozens of different cultures and backgrounds.

If you think one or more Moderators have abused their power, consider:

• This is not a government or government-run site. Locking or deleting your thread is not a violation of your rights, and is not censorship in any meaningful way
• Be sure you have read the Frequently Posed Queries to be sure that you haven't run afoul of one of the rules or conventions described there. It is very embarrassing for you if you complain about an action only to find out the error was yours.

We will tend to give Moderators the benefit of the doubt; however, we will not support a Moderator's action if it was done in bad faith, due to a personal vendetta, etc.

If you still think a Moderator has behaved unfairly:

• Do not complain about the Moderator or their actions publicly until all other avenues have failed
• Start by sending a polite Private Message to the moderator asking why the action was taken and requesting reconsideration
• If the Moderator's response is not satisfactory, send a Private Message to the Governors (Herr Döktor, Stella Gaslight and HAC) making your case
• If the Governors' response is not satisfactory, send a Private Message to the Admins (proteus or S.Sprocket) making your case
• If you still have an issue, you may now feel free to air it publicly; however, if you choose to do so, your communications with the above persons become fair game for sharing publicly as well.

Remember that we have no requirement to overturn a Moderator action; trivial requests, impoliteness, personal attacks, etc. will not serve your case. And if such things happen repeatedly or are particularly egregious, they may earn you a permanent ban. We all want the forum to work well, and if you can have a Gentlemanly or Ladylike discussion about a perceived error, we're happy to listen.