I do not agree with the moderation policy here at Parrot Chatter that gives the moderators absolutely power without any kind of control, check or accountability for their decisions.

I am all for rules. I firmly believe that people need rules and laws in order to exist in any kind of society but rules need to be enforced by people who, in reality, are making a subjective decision based on their own personal interpretation of the rule. If moderators have no accountability whatosever and there is no mechanism in place to 'challenge' a decision, how is it that Parrot Chatter hopes to achieve an acceptable degree of fairness in their dealings with the posters?

Are we to assume that all the moderators are as wise as Solomon, as logical as Mr. Spock and master the English language like a Noah Webster? That they are absolutely and always infallible? That they never have a bad day or get sick or get old? That they are incapable of disliking a person and targeting him/her for harrassment? I am sorry but I absolutely disagree with such an utopic notion. Human nature been what it is, there is no such thing as a perfect person and power without controls corrupts even the best of us.

I have no problem with somebody telling me that I made a mistake but if I disagree with that, I want a mechanism where I can go and have this decision reviewed. A moderator deleting my posting and quoting a rule that, in my opinion, does not apply to what I wrote and refusing to elaborate by telling me that his or her decision is not 'up for discussion' just doesn't sit well with me. I really and truly dislike been treated like a child or a second class citizen.

So, that is my suggestion: establish a mechanism where people can have moderators decisions reviewed by a number of other people... could be other moderators, could be members, whatever... but it needs to be more than two people so votes can never be deadlocked.

Beatriz I can see the point you are making here, and understand (I think) where you are coming from. But I don't think that the moderators are left with no accountability. In the rules it states that if you have an issue with a decision then to please address it through private messages and not on the board. There is nothing that says you cannot involve another party to help diffuse the dispute. I am sure if somebody has a problem with one particular moderators actions it would be acceptable to PM one of the hosts/owners/administrators to address the problem.

I personally have never encountered a situation on PC where I felt a staff member had done something wrong, etc. And I am not sure if you have either. However my best suggestion in such a situation would be to involve another staff member, who is not involved in the situation to try and get some resolution to the matter.

IMO, most issues are handled quite well here on PC.

Just my 2 cents worth!

well, there are a number of moderators on this board, more than two. so i am fairly certain that large decisions aren't made by just one or two people. i think sometimes "offending" posts are locked down so the mods can discuss it.

i think it's perfectly fine to challenge a decision, i just think it should be done so privately as not to involve those that weren't involved to begin with. if you don't agree, you are definitely entitled to an explanation.

i do understand what you are saying, and would like to help any way i can. everyone deserves to be happy here.

Thank you very much for your suggestion Bea.

Sounds like someones worried to me....Hmmmmm

I did have an incident where I thought the moderator was wrong. I still do. I had mentioned a religious minority in a posting but just because a minority is mentioned by name it doesn't necessarily make the statment discriminatory. The information was a matter of public record, like saying "American Indians own the casinos in Connecticut". Whether one agrees with gambling or not is irrelevant, the sentence itself is not discriminatory as the base is facts and not bias or personal feelings. And when I asked what was discriminatory about the posting (my first request for explanation just gave me a reply with the discrimination rule in quotation marks without any text or elaboration) all I got was the "not up for discussion" reply. That's why I feel that there needs to be a mechanism, explicitly spelled out, for people to have 'their side of the story' heard.

i don't know what happened and i won't pass judgement. however, i do believe beatriz deserves an explanation. and i understand her concern.

All communications and decisions regarding corrective actions are reviewed by the entire management team, in order to assure accountability and adherence to policies and guidelines. None of the moderators of PC operate in a vacuum, or without benefit of peer review and administrative oversight.

It is also our policy never to intrude on the privacy of our members to discuss corrective actions on the board. Certainly, anyone who feels that they have been treated unfairly should contact an administrator via PM. Since our rules state that matters regarding corrective action will not be discussed on the board, and that questions regarding deleted posts not be addressed on the board, this thread is closed. Again, if you disagree with corrective action, please PM an administrator. Thank you.

http://www.parrotchatter.com/f2/new-...html#post67456