Complaint against a moderator

Question

Hi guys,

I am a regular user of this forum and have a very genuine complaint against a moderator 'kidderek'.

Please see the thread below and I don't need to explain anything.

https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/t53345

Is this the kind of job moderators are supposed to do? Not to mention the threatening private messages he sent me.

I really feel frustrated and insulted and won't be participating any further on this forum if you have moderators like 'kidderek' driving away and insulting participants. Please read the above thread if someone can tell me that I even have 1% fault, I will apologize to the said moderator otherwise he should apologize to me.

I hope moderators are not above law and participants have the right to question their actions and provide feedback.

Thanks

kidderek · Answer

1) Please post my threatening messages.

2) Also, please re-type your profanity-laced final message in that thread that had to be edited out by Fig.

financeguy has a history of posting false information and passing them as truths as well as attacking other members:

https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/t49418?po ... c&start=20

https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/t49723?st ... torder=asc

financeguy · Answer

I have just added a symbolic protest sign to my profile picture.

I hope that the moderation team will have the courtesy to attend to my complaint.

I don't intend to do any damage to this forum but I have the right to protest against the individual actions of a moderator when these actions are not compatible with the expected role of a moderator.

My protest will continue by the time I hear from any of the moderators or 'kidderek' himself.

Note to other Mods: Please tell me if anything I am doing is against the rules of this forum.

Thanks

financeguy · Answer

1. I will let other members and moderators decide who's wrong and who's right by them looking at the thread.

2. The only defense you have is an over-play on the so-called profanity message. What was profane about my comments except you didn't like them. Look at Fig's comment and there was nothing wrong till the time YOU decided to ABUSE your moderator powers. For God's sake, look at your replies in the same thread. Do you sound like a moderator by any chance ??

3. What do these two examples tell you? history of posting false information?? Are you sure you are a GMAT student? What logical fallacy are you employing to support your point of view?

Thanks for giving more information to people on how you process and classify information.

Thanks

emoryhopeful · Answer

Financeguy, I think you're going a little overboard with your protest of kidderek. To be honest, reading the thread, you both were a little in the wrong, but if you resorted to profanity, you were more in the wrong.

My take on the thread is that you were simply correcting the idea that multiple CAT's were available. But, at my first glance, it looked like you were being a smartass and nitpicking the original message. This may have been what kidderek thought as well, and he stepped in with his opinion. Reading through the post again, I realize you were just trying to make sure that people knew it was one test, and not many. The moderator didn't do anything wrong. As a moderator, they are allowed the right to step in where they see fit. He thought you were nitpicking and to a small degree insulting another person posting on the forum. Then, you both escalated the thread. 

I think neither person is at fault here. No real need for apologies over a simple misunderstanding of the original "tone of voice" that you were going for. Its hard to know what the intent is sometimes over the internet.

Fig · Answer

I share the same point of view as emoryhopeful's one here.... U have both demonstrated that we are all doing mistakes and by the way, the first class one is "misunderstanding"

... Perhaps, I'm doing one here too

:) In my view, nothing has to be proved here... guys, just turn to the next page, and please, a positive one

... U are both right or both wrong... My 2 cents : keep it courteous next time that's all

Edit 2 : financeguy, pls, change this avatar's picture

... The former one is very good

... That one to me has no more reason to be

financeguy · Answer

emoryhopeful,

I agree with you 100% in principal with everything you said. But please understand that a moderator has a special responsibility regarding such situations. I am willing to look back at what I said and even willing to apologize if I did anything wrong but look at his responses. The way he has behaved in the previous thread or even in this thread doesn't seem acceptable for a moderator's standards.

Now lets discuss the profanity. We are all 25-35 years old adults and if someone thinks that the expression WTF is profanity, I have no issue with being profane.

From my perspective, I tried to clarify something in a post and ended up getting hostile responses from a moderator who eventually locked the thread when he was proven wrong, threatened to kick me out of the forum and then defended his actions by making personal attacks on me.

Is this all justifiable by any standards?

kidderek · Answer

Emory and Fig, thank you for your level-headedness.

I still don't see the "threatening" messages I sent him. Also Fig, since you edited his profanity, please confirm that he indeed did use direct profanity at me. 

Thanks.

Fig · Answer

I closed the thread

... If u want to recieve excuses about what happened, I'm happy to give u them : sorry and "flat" excuses on what happened. If, by any ways, u believe he is wrong, well give him a chance to be human not a god doing no mistake

... Let him do a "mistake" with u here

I'm neither with nor against u...

financeguy · Answer

Message 1:

Hey financeguy,

You can have your opinions, but watch your language or you will get banned.

kidderek


Message 2:

Let me know as well, I need to report your use of direct profanity.

Now please explain to me that how the 4 letters word minus the first f is profane on an adult forum unless you live in Saudi Arabia.

How do you explain your other actions if we take out profanity from this discussion??

Fig · Answer

Nothing of a big deal by an exterior point of view... It would have just fueled something unecesseray to be fueled

Guys, just relax here... U are both clean... and human

emoryhopeful · Answer

After this, I really think you should drop it. This is not threatening at all. It simply states the fact that if you continue to use profanity you will be banned. That's a simple statement of the coniditions to post on the forum, not a threat. 

I was trying to support both sides of the argument here, because misunderstandings happen. But, after that evidence, I can't agree with you there financeguy.

financeguy · Answer

I am not asking for excuses and I know I am right. This was an unacceptable behavior for a moderator and I am not going overboard with anything.

I know he was wrong and it's his own character if he still tries to defend his wrong doings. I even apologized for the any un-intentional thing caused by my responses and I expected a similar attitude from kidderek but I find him a poor moderator and a small person.

Nothing more to say.

financeguy · Answer

No!!!!!!!!

1. I received undue hostility from a moderator.
2. He used a 'profanity' excuse to defend himself from a thread.
3. He alleged that I have a previous history of spreading false information in order to cover up his act.

And he is a moderator!!!!

kidderek · Answer

Fig, I'm still awaiting your e-witness testimony to what financeguy actually wrote. 

Financeguy did NOT write, "WTF." He wrote "FU*K OFF!"

For the record, please confirm Fig.

financeguy · Answer

How do you explain this kidderek?? What false information did I post and who else I have attacked except you.

I will attack you because you have failed this forum in performing your job as a moderator.

I take all the blames you are trying to hide behind but can you claim that all you did satisfies the codes of conduct for a moderator???

financeguy · Answer

kidderek,

A read for you from Wikipedia on the roles of moderators and you can see your actions in the light of this article.

---------------------------------------------------------------

  Among a moderator's enforcement duties is often the duty to stop flaming and keep the board a friendly place, free of personal insults   (but different boards have different standards, and what is acceptable on one will invariably be prohibited on another). Most boards also ban illegal material (such as warez) and outright pornography,  and many also restrict the use of profanity and any violent or sexual images, however in other boards this is considered perfectly acceptable, or even the norm.  Some sites will disallow pornographic subjects on the main forum but will set up a sub-forum solely for that.

  On some boards, moderators are expected to stay out of all contentious debates,   or at least to use alternate accounts to engage in them unbeknownst to common members. On most boards, however, moderators may participate just as any normal member, provided they remain civil and generally obey the site rules.   Some boards require moderators not to moderate any discussion or topic they're involved in, and many moderators on other boards take this upon themselves to avoid conflict of interest and bias.  


Depending on the forums ambition, it is important for a moderator to be available at all times to stem any crises or stop the forum's rules to be broken. Basically it is the moderators job to keep the forums clean and used properly.

-------------------------------------------------------------

1. Now instead of trying to keep the discussion friendly, you have been hostile and tried to flame the issue which was not even there.

2. In regards to acceptable standards of profanity, the use of *uck is NOT profane unless you live in Saudi Arabia and if you do, then its your problem. I can cite 101 posts from this same forum where this word was used without being termed as profane.

3. Moderators are expected to stay out of all contentious debates and NOT actually start such debates as you did.

And what most fully explains your reaction and behavior is the following point.

 Some boards require moderators not to moderate any discussion or topic they're involved in, and many moderators on other boards take this upon themselves to avoid conflict of interest and bias 

How the hell you can moderate a thread where you were loosing an argument. Doesn't this explains all of your actions and the reasoning and motivation behind them.

I am still demanding an apology from you and I will end this dispute unless you change your attitude from bullying and blaming to more moderator like attitude.

Thanks

Fig · Answer

After 1 ride in A4 back to home, yes, It was this term employed... again perfectly comprehensible yet not tolerable.

Fig · Answer

Glad to see u are seeing this way the principle of a moderator... yet, it's again a god definition term of a moderator... that after all, and I'm the first, is still just a man/woman doing mistake... I think u could not ask excuses here simply because since u ask, u would not recieve them and even if u recieve them, they would not have the delectable taste of spontaneous ones

... I think this thread is also going way too far... I would like to lock it but I cannot

Praetorian · Answer

Everyone

I understand that both of you strongly feel that you are right. 

I am more interested in how we can past all of this. We don't have these problems often. When these do occur, they are often a misunderstanding. Sometimes, even the most honest of intentions cannot be communicated over the internet.

The best forum or community is where no one ever feels the presence of authority. This is my ideal and a standard I strive to hold myself to and instill in our community. 

Now, you guys can either fight this out till judgment day or simply try to find ways to promote cooperation and understanding in the future.

Complaint against a moderator

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