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StackExchange grants users the ability to use "Contact Us" at the bottom of the page to report issues with Moderators. I don't see a rule prohibiting questioning a mod's actions here.

I have one moderator openly calling me an "asshole" and I just got chat-banned for thirty minutes for pasting the log of it because I was in violation of bringing up mod-drama in chat.

This very same moderator has recently amplified the recent site drama and threatened to resign. How come in the case of the recent drama we can get hundreds of posts, resignations, and even religious manifestos by diamond moderators on this network questioning the network's actions. But when it comes to questioning their own actions, even with screenshots, we're prohibited and told to message [email protected] privately?

Can we use MSE for accountability, or not? I would like a consistent stance on this. If it's a site run by us we should all be allowed to demand redress with our peers, not just the anti-COC clique that's in vogue right now.

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    Getting automatically chat banned for having your message chat flag deleted is not a mod action, and the fact that we don't welcome this in the tavern isn't a mod action either. The tavern isn't MSE in general, and we have our own rules there.
    – Magisch
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 15:17
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    Don't. If you have a problem with a moderator, use the Contact Us. That's what it's for. Don't smack it out on MSE.
    – Mast
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 15:17
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    @Mast would you apply the same standard to the Monica-drama, which this network has been utterly replete with for the past month?
    – Evan Carroll
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 15:18
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    I'm replying to your question, not other questions. If I would, I'd do that over there.
    – Mast
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 15:19
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    See the FAQ What recourse do I have if I believe a moderator has abused their privileges?. It essentially says that to complain about a moderator's action(s) you should raise a flag or use the "Contact Us" form. It does not recommend opening a Meta post or brining it up in Chat.
    – Raedwald
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 15:22
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    You can most definitely NOT use The Tavern for your pursuit of accountability.
    – Bart
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 15:24
  • And I agree, the anti CoC people should conform to that FAQ too.
    – Raedwald
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 15:25
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    @EvanCarroll I agree to what you said here: i.sstatic.net/gG6jg.png
    – Marco13
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 16:10
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    Weird how you don’t mention the personal attack you made against a resigned moderator: dba.meta.stackexchange.com/a/3277/5555
    – Phil
    Commented Oct 30, 2019 at 8:53

4 Answers 4

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A flowchart:

I want to know what I could have done differently:

  • You can post on a meta site, constructively, and state clear goals for wanting help to improve future interactions. This needs to be in good faith because folks will call you out for wasting time otherwise. You can contact us as well, especially if you're not certain what "good faith" might look like here.

I want to tell you what the mod could have done differently:

  • Use the contact form. It will be assigned to a CM to look into.

That's the best way I know to break it down, since circumstances around wanting to explore either option can vary pretty vastly.

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    @EvanCarroll Nobody can ignore the context of everything going on, but we have to think past it when speaking in a more general sense of how we expect things to work. So my best answer would be "it depends." If it has churned its way down to name-calling as your post suggests, I think contacting us would be the best option. If one felt like they could reconcile and bring the conversation back up to a more civil level, and folks in the room seem amiable, then that could be an option. Once it's unclear how any progress could happen - better to take it private.
    – user50049
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 16:16
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    OK well I've contacted you. Let's see what happens. Mod calls me an asshole and I get banned. It's all yours.
    – Evan Carroll
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 16:40
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    An ASCII flowchart! Such nostalgia :D
    – Cerbrus
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 20:27
  • For those reading, and as one would have predicted -- nothing happened. For defending the CoC and merely being thankful that those that disagree with it part from the network, I was banned. The moderator who called me an asshole stayed a moderator. There was no obvious intervention.
    – Evan Carroll
    Commented Nov 12, 2019 at 17:25
  • @TimPost could you please critique this for good faith? web.archive.org/web/20210518063603/https://… I also used the contact email as suggested, twice.
    – Evan Carroll
    Commented May 24, 2021 at 15:25
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Why not just copy-paste this into the "Contact Us" form? That's what it's there for after all, to escalate issues that you don't feel the moderation team can (or will) handle.

The CM team are usually good at keeping a level head about these things and will raise things with the moderation team separately if anything needs to be addressed.

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    Because (a) nothing ever happens with that, I've done it LOTS. And, (b) the moderators themselves don't do that. They threaten to resign publicly and routinely air their own drama, desires, and demands: that's not a right we grant when we elect them. So why do they get it, and not I?
    – Evan Carroll
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 15:20
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    Because moderators have done so with respect.
    – user351483
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 15:23
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    @EvanCarroll If you want to know your rights on the network, check the Terms of Service. You can't demand rights just because you think you should have them, that's not how it works. Especially on a website.
    – Mast
    Commented Oct 29, 2019 at 15:24
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StackExchange grants users the ability to use "Contact Us" at the bottom of the page to report issues with Moderators. I don't see a rule prohibiting questioning a mod's actions here.

Meta Stack Exchange (the site) is not the Tavern on the Meta (a specific chat room in the site).

Questioning moderator actions in the chatroom is probably unfruitful, but not disallowed. You are perfectly welcome to do that, provided you don't barge into and interrupt ongoing discussions and do it respectfully.

However, personal attacks, name calling, insults, and language intended to upset, cause a heated argument, or directly belittling users or moderators is not. This will generally get your comment binned and earn you a kick from the chat room.

I just got chat-banned for thirty minutes for pasting the log of it because I was in violation of bringing up mod-drama in chat.

This was not a moderator action, it was users flagging one of your chat messages. The 30 minute suspension from chat is automatic and comes with having one of your messages flag deleted.

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"Contact us" is the appropriate method for escalating a moderation concern

From What recourse do I have if I believe a moderator has abused their privileges?

I think a moderator has abused their power, but I feel powerless against them.

What recourse do I have now? What can I do when I feel that a moderator has abused their power, and has been repeatedly unfair in their dealings with me?

To which the answer is:

If you have a dispute with a diamond moderator your options are:

  • Send a message to the Stack Exchange team via the "contact us" link at the bottom of any page with your complaint and links to the
    questions/answers.
  • Flag for moderator attention and request a second moderator to have a look.

Those are your options, you'll note that publicly complaining about it on MSE or in MSE chat are not listed as options.

The CM team will escalate or act on any legitimate complaints it receives through these channels.

You ask about a chat ban, but the MSE chatroom is not the same as MSE proper. Complaining about moderation is not on topic for the MSE chatroom.

Also, that action was done as a result of multiple flags from normal users, not a moderator.

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