Hey everyone,
I'll try my best to explain this in a way that makes sense.
For starters, obviously, the moderator team consists of more than one person, each with a slightly different style and tolerance for certain behaviors.
Remember that administrators also perform moderator duties from time to time.
Essentially,
are0lies and
Joekerr are on the right track here.
Us moderators prefer to let the threads and conversations ride their course, but will step in when things get out of hand.
I do particularly agree with the statement that the moderators are under the premise that we are all mature adults here.
But when people start to act like little children, then that only creates a situation that's going to descend into chaos.
This has little to do with being politically correct or building safe spaces and everything to due with fostering mature and constructive discourse that doesn't go against the forum rules.
Technically, yes, one could argue that some of the forum rules do act as a safeguard of sorts against elements such as racism and other forms of derogatory and inappropriate language.
The rules against this kind of language has been set in stone on BIMMERPOST since day one and I'd argue that they exist for good reason.
Those who genuinely feel contempt for these rules and see them as impediments to good, mature, intellectual discussion are probably on the wrong board.
Remember, this is a BMW Forum, with an off-topic (i.e., politics) section.
Again, a forum community as large as BIMMERPOST (with over 300,000 registered members) is inevitably comprised of individuals from all walks of life, backgrounds, experiences, etc.
The rules against inappropriate language/behavior is more about common decency & respect than it is about being PC.
Naturally, the psychology behind sitting behind a screen on the internet semi-anonymously and arguing with someone one disagrees with is going to enable all sorts of brave language that he wouldn't even say to someone to their face.
The rules help to curtail troublemakers and instigating/trolling behavior while also allowing for diversity in opinion.
With that being said, my personal style as some of you may already know is to try to build an understanding with the members.
I've often interrupted discussions here to give public warnings (in the form of a post instead of through the warnings/infractions system) as my token of transparency to everyone.
In such cases, I understand that there is no inherent ill-intent to the discussion, just that it got heated/emotional. By stepping in and interrupting briefly with a PSA of sorts, I hope, in those cases, to steer conversation back to the right track.
Of course, in some cases, moderators including myself will have to resort to the aforementioned warnings/infractions system instead for more blatant/direct violations/offenses.
These are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, as every scenario is slightly different.
And then, there's the "report this post" function.
Moderators cannot possibly see and scrutinize every single post that is made.
If a member sees a violative post, using the "report this post" function brings the attention of the said post to the moderation team.
Action is taken appropriately depending on the severity of the violation and moderators will use discretion depending on situation.
In some cases, there may be a reported post in a thread that is already on fire.
Deleting that one reported post will fix nothing, but deleting an entire page of discussion eliminates any continuity of discussion because the thread was already so consumed by the fire/heat.
In such instances, closing/deleting the thread is the more viable option.
Bans are the most severe form of disciplinary measure on any forum and here on BIMMERPOST, they are not handed out very liberally.
These are reserved only for severe or flagrant offenses or repeated violation (i.e., history of violation) of the rules.
Additionally, it would be really tough to earn a permanent ban, or a ban without warning, unless you are either a spambot, repeat offender, or an individual is full of contempt for others and the rules (i.e., a toxic, despicable individual).
usshelena725 used an analogy before that I also like to use.
Basically, you'd want to behave (carry yourself) in a way where the other person would want to have a beer with you, just like in real-life.
The internet should be no different.
Be respectful, play nice, act mature, and we won't have any issues.
