Do mods make unilateral decisions when it comes to banning?

When it comes to banning, is a single mod allowed to make a unilateral decision to issue a ban, or does there have to be one or more mods to sign off on it? Are there checks and balances to make sure a mod isn't abusing their privileges, by (for example) spinning the rules to fit their own personal agenda in order to ban someone who didn't really do anything wrong, but just said something the mod didn't like or disagreed with?

Hello @psx2514,

Moderators are entrusted to act within the Moderator Gold Standard. We act as a team, but have discretion to augment moderations (i.e. ban a user posting threats or severe cases without sending any warnings or strikes) as we individually deem necessary. Often, when a course of action is unclear, we will discuss it as a group before taking action so that we can all learn from the issue and try to remain consistent.

If you feel like a mod IS abusing privileges, please contact the community manager, @DigitalDame, as per the instructions in the Community Code of Conduct:

If you have a problem with a Mod decision, please contact the moderators by using the Ask the Mods board, here. If your issue is with a moderator, you can contact the Community Managers. If you have an issue with a specific mod, contact our community manager.

Disagreements between mods and users are acceptable as long as they remain civil, but once a moderator has asked a user to drop an issue in a public forum, it is expected that the user comply. What you see as "spinning the rules to fit their own personal agenda" may be an actual violation of the Code of Conduct, ormay be in a gray area that the moderator has used his or her own discretion. Again, if you truly feel a moderator is not acting in line with the Moderator Gold Standard, your best bet is to contact the community manager so that she may identify if there is a misunderstanding and if moderators should receive more input as to how to act.

Ask the Mods is more for specific grievances where you do feel power is being abused, but for general questions regarding "is it ok to post _____", Ask the Mods board is the perfect place.

I hope that helps, and perhaps some other moderators will respond with their thoughts.

Regards,

GameSpot Moderation Team

Wow, I've had threads locked/deleted in the past more times than I can count for other reasons that what's listed in the Moderator Gold Standard. It's usually because the mod doesn't agree with my personal politics, and/or unreasonably got offended, and/or didn't like an opinion I posted (I said negative things about a game they like, for instance)

Hello,

If you have so many threads which were locked unreasonably, you should probably talk with the community manager about them.

@BranKetra: It was a long time ago. No point in bringing it up now.

@psx2514:

That is puzzling since you already mentioned it in this thread, to a certain extent.

Ask the Mods is not really a place to vent frustration about moderators, so that is why I say that. It is intended for discussion of questions and disputes related to the rules and guidelines of the forum for both normal users and the moderator team. Similar to what @zyxe said, in order for the moderator team to function properly, the Moderator Gold Standard is adhered to. Issues related to it are taken seriously and you can help us improve by reporting any wrongdoings you feel need be addressed in detail. Moderator-specific complaints should go directly to the community manager.

I do not intend harshness. You are mentioning something as if it is important to you, but not mentioning anything specific or seeking to move forward towards positive change reads quite a bit like venting.