Please also review our SoylentNews Moderation Guidelines.
As always, we are willing to make changes to the system, but please post examples *with* links to any cases of suspected mod abuse. It's a lot easier to justify changing the system when evidence is in black and white. I also recommend that users make serious proposals on changes we can make. I'm not going to color the discussion with my own opinions, but as always, I will respond inline with comments when this goes live, and post a follow up article a few days after this one
(Score: 2) by wantkitteh on Wednesday May 20 2015, @01:41PM
Sounds like this scheme has the possibility for organised groups to effectively silence opponents using the metamodding system. You'd need a metametamod system to handle that....
(Score: 2) by BK on Wednesday May 20 2015, @03:25PM
Both moderation and meta-moderation are / can be tools to silence dissenting voices. Meta-moderation amplifies this effect by blocking unpopular but good moderators and letting past popular but bad moderators. Just because it worked for the green site doesn't mean it is needed here.
There should be a way for the admins to temp-ban or even perm-ban moderators who massively abuse... I have seen (and taken part in) threads where I am almost certain viewpoint based moderation was going on for multiple viewpoints... This is _always_ harmful. But foxing it requires meta-mods who are prepared to sometimes -- even often -- punish those they strongly agree with and to reward those who they strongly disagree with. It's not easy to do that well.
...but you HAVE heard of me.
(Score: 3, Informative) by paulej72 on Wednesday May 20 2015, @06:27PM
We do have a way to temp ban and almost perma ban moderators. It is simple date in the database. If that date in in the past you can mod, if not you are banned. We have done this to some moderators that improperly used the spam mod, and we have it available for people who mod bomb. This system requires admins to look at the info and manually decide to ban a user.
Team Leader for SN Development
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 20 2015, @10:08PM
I have seen (and taken part in) threads where I am almost certain viewpoint based moderation was going on for multiple viewpoints... This is _always_ harmful.
Oh, really? Citation needed, as per the FA.