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How do you stop a moderator when they have so much power? they can literally destroy you in an instant, so what can you possibly do?

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    $\begingroup$ Can you reincarnate? $\endgroup$
    – Alexander
    Oct 19, 2022 at 23:11
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    $\begingroup$ @Alexander I'm voting for repent. $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Oct 19, 2022 at 23:14
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    $\begingroup$ Ryan, whatever experience you've had, here's some facts. (a) Moderator authority is established by Stack Exchange, not the individual Stacks. (b) At the bottom of every page are feedback and contact links. SE takes complaints about moderators very seriously, but you're expected to do your due diligence, which means being very specific, providing examples, links where possible, and being 100% honest about the situation. In my experience, 99% of the time the person complaining about moderator actions didn't understand the help center or tour rules. $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Oct 19, 2022 at 23:16
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    $\begingroup$ (c) Read the tour and help center rules very carefully before submitting a complaint or you should expect to be told that ignorance is not an excuse for breaking the rules. (d) Finally, complaints about stack operation and policy matters occur in Meta, not Main, so I've flagged your post to migrate the Q someplace more appropriate. It'll likely end up in Meta.WB. $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Oct 19, 2022 at 23:17
  • $\begingroup$ @Alexander from context he presumably already has 🤔 so, Yes? $\endgroup$
    – Pelinore
    Oct 19, 2022 at 23:18
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    $\begingroup$ One last thing. To directly address your question: moderators are basically the police of Stack Exchange. What do you do when you believe the police have too much power? You get involved with the government and get the law changed. That means getting involved on Meta Stack Exchange, gaining a good reputation, proving yourself a competent contributor, and gaining support for your changes. It's really no different from Real Life. If you're not willing to put that much time into it, your option is to learn how to get along with the police. $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Oct 19, 2022 at 23:22
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    $\begingroup$ This is a better question for the worldbuilding meta stack exchange $\endgroup$
    – DWKraus
    Oct 19, 2022 at 23:38
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    $\begingroup$ Try this Meta Stack Exchange post: What recourse do I have if I believe a moderator has abused their privileges?. $\endgroup$
    – Escaped dental patient.
    Oct 19, 2022 at 23:58
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    $\begingroup$ Cont: definitely follow JBH's advice and do your due diligence before contacting them else risk feeling like a silly child with a blue tongue and sticky hands in the headmaster's office. $\endgroup$
    – Escaped dental patient.
    Oct 20, 2022 at 0:05
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    $\begingroup$ I have never heard of a moderator destroying a user, so I think this is a worldbuilding question. About a software-based world, I presume. (On a completely unrelated note: we should have an Agent Smith badge for removing user accounts.) $\endgroup$
    – Joachim
    Oct 20, 2022 at 0:23
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    $\begingroup$ @Joachim, worldbuilding.meta.stackexchange.com/q/9609/30492 second line in the table $\endgroup$
    – L.Dutch Mod
    Oct 20, 2022 at 5:58
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    $\begingroup$ I'm not a rules fan either. Sometimes I'm disappointed to see certain WB-rules invoke closures, because I'd like to put an answer, despite a WB-rule being applicable. In a way, I cheat a bit, by answering while justified close votes are coming in. But I down-voted this question. WB is not a game playground for re-opening accounts under different names, or approaching mods as some kind of enemies. Mods give directions about the culture of their website. When the mod returns over and over, you're apparently not "WB-compatible" and better go quora? It has less rules and plenty of answerers. $\endgroup$
    – Goodies
    Oct 24, 2022 at 18:22
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    $\begingroup$ @Goodies One of the first things highlighted in our tour is that we're different than other sites and that "Not all questions work well in our format." If you're not a fan of the format, then this site probably isn't for you. There's an expectation written into our rules to "answer well asked questions". If you find yourself taking steps to circumvent this rule, and answering questions that this site considers inappropriate, then perhaps this site isn't for you either. $\endgroup$
    – sphennings
    Oct 25, 2022 at 16:36
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    $\begingroup$ You can try and become a moderator yourself and then you can determine the rules. @HDE 226868 hasn't posted in a while so we're due to replace him and have another moderator. $\endgroup$
    – ITM_Coder
    Oct 27, 2022 at 18:27
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    $\begingroup$ @ITM_Coder, the moderator status is not related to the posting activity. And moderators do not determine the rules. $\endgroup$
    – L.Dutch Mod
    Oct 28, 2022 at 14:53

3 Answers 3

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Let's have a short recap of your deeds:

  1. you post several questions which are poorly thought and a poor fit for this community

  2. said questions get closed and downvoted, resulting in your profile being automatically blocked from creating new posts

  3. trying to act smart, you delete the blocked profile and start again from point 1. I have lost count of how many of them you have dumped

  4. you are told by many users what's wrong with your posts, you are addressed to the help center which explains what we do want and don't want in questions, but you insist in the 1. 2. 3. loop, showing disrespect for the community and its rules

  5. since you are playing tricks to avoid the system and its checks, a moderator has to step in, because you keep asking low quality and poorly conceived questions, in addition to openly disregarding the difference between main site and meta.

  6. Update on Nov 18th: After having read this answer, you have posted a now deleted apology turned out to be fake like a 3 $ bill, considering that you have kept creating throwaway accounts used to post low quality posts or plainly derogatory.

If you had wanted out of this, you would have stuck to one profile, you would have bear with the consequences of asking poor questions (blocks included) and improved your question asking by listening to what other users tell you. You can't expect a different outcome from the reiteration of the same behavior.

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    $\begingroup$ (a) Let me underscore the word "automatic." Too few people realize that Stack Exchange is just as interested in people following the rules as moderators and the community itself. Users can and will be blocked for poor choices without any human involvement. (b) L.Dutch is a fantastic moderator and since the termination of Monica Cellio has been carrying the moderator burden nearly alone. That I've ocasionally butted heads with him is my fault. God bless you, L.Dutch. This Stack would be a mess without you. $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Oct 20, 2022 at 2:52
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    $\begingroup$ @JBH And that "automatic" means that not all actions are made by moderators ^^. The system is quite lenient -I picture to avoid false-positives-, so if you get suspended automatically it means you really went far with the rules $\endgroup$
    – Tortliena
    Oct 20, 2022 at 14:30
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More often than not, conflicts can be resolved by talking to each other.

  • If you would like to talk to a moderator 1 on 1, go to chat, open a new chatroom and invite the person in question.
  • If you prefer to handle the matter in public, post here on meta. Describe the situation and ask why the moderator acted the way they did.

When that does not work for you, and you seriously believe that a moderator abuses their power, then you can escalate the matter to the Stack Exchange community team by using this contact form. But keep in mind that using worldbuilding stack exchange is a privilege, not a right. And that privilege is granted with the expectations that you will use it in accordance with the site policies. You are expected to follow the guidelines explained in the help center. When you don't, then the moderators have the duty to remove you from the site, and the community team will not intervene. So please don't waste their time.

You don't like the site policies of worldbuilding stack exchange? Then you also have options:

  • Create a question here on meta where you make your point why you think a policy is counter-productive and how it should be changed. When the majority of the community agrees, then you might actually achieve a change.
  • Start your own Q&A community.
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Hope one of the other mods notices

I thought the power ceiling is low, I was wrong

I thought people got mod powers after reaching a certain rep, But it turns out that is wrong. Mods have to be elected but then have no term limits. So if you are elected once you are in for life, barring major action from other mods or SE. All moderators have the same abilities, and rep doesn't matter. So as long as less than the majority of moderators don’t abuse their power things should work out. Though, it turns out that "majority" of mods is just two mods. So yeah, if you get the power there are few people who can hold you accountable. However if you make an appeal here, where one of the two other moderators check, people will be held to account. I think.

I though the power floor is higher than you think, I was also wrong

According to Sphennings

A single user's vote will have 0 impact unless there is sufficient agreement with other members about a particular course of action.

So don't bother voting, that won't really change things. Only Meta posts really matter.

I thought the number of mods was high, it is actually really low

There are exactly three mods, HDE 226868, Monty Wild, and L.Dutch

L.Dutch and Monty are pretty active on meta, visiting I think about a few times a week. HDE 226868 visits meta once a week or so. So yes, any two of them could try to pull something, but it would take at maximum about a week for the odd man out to figure out something is up. So if an issue occurs, you can just send a message here and one of the three people should notice.

If all else fails, contact SE exchange directly. This is a small team so it is understandable.

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    $\begingroup$ A high rep user cannot abuse unilaterally close, reopen, or delete a post. It's built that way by design. A single user's vote will have 0 impact unless there is sufficient agreement with other members about a particular course of action. No amount of reputation will ever grant a user the ability to pause or delete another account. The 10K privilege just gives you access to better search options and the ability to vote to delete questions. Only moderators can delete an account or act unilaterally. $\endgroup$
    – sphennings
    Oct 25, 2022 at 16:26
  • $\begingroup$ @sphennings Can other moderators reverse unilateral decisions? I don’t know what 25k mods get. Also, are mods different than people with 25k rep? Is there some other process you need to do to become a mod? $\endgroup$
    – user64888
    Oct 25, 2022 at 17:51
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    $\begingroup$ You're mixing up site moderators and community moderation privileges. A high rep user engaging in community moderation is not a site moderator. You can identify a mod by the â—† Mod tag after their name. As far as I know moderators can undo the work of another mod, but the expectation from SE is that they work together to maintain the health of the site. If there was conflict they'd probably resolve it privately rather than dragging the public into it. $\endgroup$
    – sphennings
    Oct 25, 2022 at 18:04
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    $\begingroup$ The 10k privilege granting access to "moderator tools" gives you the ability to "access to various lists and statistical reports, giving you a broad overview of activity on the site". This is access to some of the tools used by mods, not granting the full powers of a mod. $\endgroup$
    – sphennings
    Oct 25, 2022 at 18:08
  • $\begingroup$ @sphennings and this guy is complaining about mods, not high rep users. But I guess I am confused about mods. Looking at the requirements you only need like 3000 rep to be a mod. I thought 3000 rep was a low amount of rep. But that and a few badges lets you get elected potentially. $\endgroup$
    – user64888
    Oct 25, 2022 at 18:09
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    $\begingroup$ 3k rep doesn't make you a mod. It gives you the ability to vote to close, and reopen questions. A moderator can simply close or reopen a question, no voting needed. To become a moderator, SE needs to first decide to hold an election, which they only do when there is a need for additional moderators on a site. Moderators don't serve a set term, they will remain a mod as long as they continue to serve the community. They only way to stop being a mod is to step down or be removed by SE. $\endgroup$
    – sphennings
    Oct 25, 2022 at 18:15
  • $\begingroup$ @sphennings I know it doesn’t make you a mod, I just figured the cut off for even being electable should be 25k. Like, why would you give someone mod abilities before they are eligible for all the privileges of the site? I think I might be eligible to be elected as a mod and that doesn’t seem right. $\endgroup$
    – user64888
    Oct 25, 2022 at 20:29
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    $\begingroup$ The more you edit this the more you grossly misrepresent how moderation on this site works, and the systems surrounding community moderation. There is no community vote suspend a user, or delete them. Only mods are entrusted with that responsibility. If you need a moderator's attention you can flag any post or comment and explain the situation. The recommended action for unresolved conflict with a moderator is to contact a community manager via the link at the bottom of the page. $\endgroup$
    – sphennings
    Oct 26, 2022 at 1:13
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    $\begingroup$ Note: The user asked this because several of their questions were closed in a row, and before L.Dutch intervened several users (including me) voted to close. When the querent was locked for asking too many bad questions in a short span of time, they created a new account, effectively circumventing the ban and reasking the exact same kind of questions. That's approx. when mods took more... "preemptive" actions before anyone in the community reacted. $\endgroup$
    – Tortliena
    Oct 26, 2022 at 1:15
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    $\begingroup$ "I just figured the cut off for even being electable should be 25k. Like, why would you give someone mod abilities before they are eligible for all the privileges of the site?" loaded question - why not? The tools diamond mods are entrusted to use via their position are quite different from the regular site moderation tools available. And basically any of the privileges over close/reopen votes are not quite relevant for moderating a site. They give more options but none of them are really crucial. Why would you need to be able to do full edits to tag wikis to be a mod? $\endgroup$
    – VLAZ
    Oct 26, 2022 at 6:28

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